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I've mounted a new hand built wheelset (XR270 with novatec 171/172) on my cyclocross bike and bounced it off ground for a few inches unloaded to check for any rattling of the new wheel (way to check spoke tightness??), and have heard quite a loud shivering sound coming out from the spokes. no such sound after I put my old wheelset back on.

The wheel seems true and no problem during test ride, but I'm worry about the sound and wonder would it because of poor spoke tension during wheel building, and how to rectify the problem.

Any thoughts /advice are welcome. Thanks

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  • New wheels often make noise, as the spokes rub against each other.
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Commented Sep 23, 2015 at 17:08
  • The wheel set is repeatedly making this noise? Or made it the first time you bounced the set and has quieted down since?
    – Deleted User
    Commented Sep 23, 2015 at 17:55
  • A random idea: Are the spokes laced so that the spoke that comes out from outside the hub flange crosses behind the one from inside, like this: sheldonbrown.com/images/wheel36.gif. If not, they can rattle.
    – ojs
    Commented Sep 23, 2015 at 19:56

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New wheels often make noise when the spokes settle. Avoid leaving tension in the spokes while building the wheel to avoid some of it.

Read http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html#torsion

I don’t know the English word for the German „Abdrücken“, but it basically means pressing the wheel downwards like this with considerable force all around the wheel and from both sides. It will relieve the spokes facing downwards, releasing their tension and you’ll hear lots of *pling* sounds from the spokes when doing this. After doing that you’ll probably have to re-true. Rinse and repeat. If you do that thoroughly enough the spokes shouldn’t move any more during usage and you shouldn’t hear any *pling* sounds on your first ride.

A tensiometer is a good investment.

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  • Thanks for you reply, but the sound is not "pling" from the tension of the spoke, but more like a rattling sound (lower pitch) that come from the vibrating of the spoke - which i suspect to be lack of spoke tension and it rattle, or you are right there is too much tension between the spoke. I will try the „Abdrücken“ method later. Just for your information there is no such rattling sound if i bounce the wheel off the bike.
    – treeman
    Commented Sep 23, 2015 at 19:33
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    Mhhh, only seems plausible if the tension is really low. As the Sheldon Brown article mentions: Especially on the rear wheel’s drive side the tension should be pretty high. Plucking the spokes should result in a high-pitched sound and squeezing a pair of spokes towards each other should only move them a few centimetres or less. It’s hard to get right without a good wheel for comparison or a tensiometer.
    – Michael
    Commented Sep 23, 2015 at 19:42
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    "rattle" implies something is loose enough to make noises unrelated to tension. Touch each spoke and see if they move? I assume your new wheel is running true ?
    – Criggie ♦
    Commented Sep 23, 2015 at 23:13
  • Tap the spoke lightly with a screwdriver, think guitar string! They should more or less sound the same note. If there's one that doesn't you have the culprit!
    – Carel
    Commented Sep 24, 2015 at 15:43

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