Spoke Tensiometer questions

After years of wheel building without a spoke tensiometer, I'm considering
buying one. I've been looking at three different spoke tensiometers. The Park
tool at under $50, the Wheelsmith tool at around $120, and the DT Proline dial
tensiometer at $250. I've read the critical comments about the Park tool from
Jobst Brandt. The Wheelsmith and Park tool appear similiar. Which tool should
I consider?

V Copelan writes:

After years of wheel building without a spoke tensiometer, I'm
considering buying one. I've been looking at three different spoke
tensiometers. The Park tool at under $50, the Wheelsmith tool at
around $120, and the DT Proline dial tensiometer at $250. I've read
the critical comments about the Park tool from Jobst Brandt. The
Wheelsmith and Park tool appear similar. Which tool should I
consider?

If you do this much, the Wheelsmith tensiometer is the easiest and
quickest to use. It isn't easily readable and convertible but it is
accurate and fast (handy). It was invented by Norm Ogle who was a
great talent in such things. The simplicity and durability of the
instrument should receive design awards.

That said, it was too bad that its measurement includes the spoke
thickness, but then I can't suggest a way of getting past that with
the design at hand.

Jobst Brandt

Writes:

If you do this much, the Wheelsmith tensiometer is the easiest and
quickest to use. It isn't easily readable and convertible but it is
accurate and fast (handy). It was invented by Norm Ogle who was a
great talent in such things. The simplicity and durability of the
instrument should receive design awards.

Thanks for the reply. I'd really like to buy the DT Proline tensiometer. It's
just the price tag that's slowing me down.

(VCopelan) writes:

After years of wheel building without a spoke tensiometer, I'm
considering buying one. I've been looking at three different spoke
tensiometers. The Park tool at under $50, the Wheelsmith tool at
around $120, and the DT Proline dial tensiometer at $250. I've read
the critical comments about the Park tool from Jobst Brandt. The
Wheelsmith and Park tool appear similiar. Which tool should I
consider?

I have the Wheelsmith tool, and zero it out on a free spoke from the
set I am going to use in the wheel (I don't know if this is actually
helpful, BTW). As Jobst says, it's quick. However, I really just use
it to set and check the tension of one spoke and compare the rest of
the spokes to that one by plucking and listening to the pitch of the
spoke. Much faster than applying the tool to each spoke. Every pass
around the wheel, I recheck the tension of the "master" spoke (which
is next to the valve hole to keep track of it easily).

VCopelan- After years of wheel building without a spoke tensiometer, I'm
considering
buying one. I've been looking at three different spoke tensiometers. The Park
tool at under $50, the Wheelsmith tool at around $120, and the DT Proline dial
tensiometer at $250. BRBR

After using the Wheelsmith one for years, I got the DT one and it is a
'Porsche' of tensionometers(the Wheelsmith one being a Toyota). Feels ohh so
nice in the hand, easy to use/read, really a nice piece of gear. If ya build a
lot of wheels, and can afford it, get the DT one.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

Qui si parla Campagnolo wrote:

After using the Wheelsmith one for years, I got the DT one and it is a
'Porsche' of tensionometers(the Wheelsmith one being a Toyota). Feels ohh so
nice in the hand, easy to use/read, really a nice piece of gear. If ya build a
lot of wheels, and can afford it, get the DT one.

So using the above analogy, the DT spoke tensiometer is overpriced, not
as reliable as it should be, outrageously expensive to maintain, and
purchased mainly for status value, while the Wheelsmith spoke
tensiometer is fairly priced, about as reliable as reasonably possible,
of average expense to maintain, and purchased by people who appreciate
its value.

For what it is worth, Porsche was headed towards bankruptcy a few years
back, but was saved by changes suggested by a consulting firm formed of
retired Toyota executives.

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities (Illinois Side)

Tom Sherman writes:

After using the Wheelsmith one for years, I got the DT one and it
is a 'Porsche' of tensionometers(the Wheelsmith one being a
Toyota). Feels ohh so nice in the hand, easy to use/read, really a
nice piece of gear. If ya build a lot of wheels, and can afford
it, get the DT one.

So using the above analogy, the DT spoke tensiometer is overpriced, not
as reliable as it should be, outrageously expensive to maintain, and
purchased mainly for status value, while the Wheelsmith spoke
tensiometer is fairly priced, about as reliable as reasonably possible,
of average expense to maintain, and purchased by people who appreciate
its value.

For what it is worth, Porsche was headed towards bankruptcy a few
years back, but was saved by changes suggested by a consulting firm
formed of retired Toyota executives.

That's a lot of myth and lore. The company was saved by actions by
Ferdinand Piech, grandson of Ferdiand Porsche and CEO of VW-Audi, who
was instrumental in getting Wendelin Wiedeking to take over the
company:

http://automobile.karrierefuehrer.de...iedeking.shtml
http://www.businessweek.com/1998/02/b3560016.htm

Piech was the man who developed the Porsche 917 and later
the fastest, most powerful car on the production GT market with 1003hp
and 400km/h, the Bugatti Veyron:

http://members.fortunecity.com/freec...bugatti_01.htm
http://www.car-data.com/xpage.previe...i&model=veyron

Bugatti Veyron 16/4
-----------------------------
Year: 2001
Power: 1001 HP
Cylinders: 16
Displacement: 7993 ccm
Top speed: 406 km/h
0-62 mph: 3.2 sec.
Gears: 7
Price: EUR 750,000

Jobst Brandt

wrote:

Tom Sherman writes:


After using the Wheelsmith one for years, I got the DT one and it
is a 'Porsche' of tensionometers(the Wheelsmith one being a
Toyota). Feels ohh so nice in the hand, easy to use/read, really a
nice piece of gear. If ya build a lot of wheels, and can afford
it, get the DT one.


So using the above analogy, the DT spoke tensiometer is overpriced, not
as reliable as it should be, outrageously expensive to maintain, and
purchased mainly for status value, while the Wheelsmith spoke
tensiometer is fairly priced, about as reliable as reasonably possible,
of average expense to maintain, and purchased by people who appreciate
its value.


For what it is worth, Porsche was headed towards bankruptcy a few
years back, but was saved by changes suggested by a consulting firm
formed of retired Toyota executives.


That's a lot of myth and lore....

That maybe so, but it is not what the automotive press reported at the time.

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities (Illinois Side)

Tom- So using the above analogy, the DT spoke tensiometer is overpriced, not
as reliable as it should be, outrageously expensive to maintain, and
purchased mainly for status value, while the Wheelsmith spoke
tensiometer is fairly priced, about as reliable as reasonably possible,
BRBR

Tee hee, I wondered how many posts would say somethin like this.

I would love to have a Porsche, along with my very old Rolex, instead of a
Toyota or Seiko...

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

wrote in message
...
Tom Sherman writes:

snip

Piech was the man who developed the Porsche 917 and later
the fastest, most powerful car on the production GT market with
1003hp
and 400km/h, the Bugatti Veyron:

http://members.fortunecity.com/freec...bugatti_01.htm

http://www.car-data.com/xpage.previe...i&model=veyron

Bugatti Veyron 16/4
-----------------------------
Year: 2001
Power: 1001 HP
Cylinders: 16
Displacement: 7993 ccm
Top speed: 406 km/h
0-62 mph: 3.2 sec.
Gears: 7
Price: EUR 750,000

Very nice, but where do you put the roof rack? -- Jay Beattie.