Serious wheelbuilders will use a spoke tensionometer to measure the spokes and to know when they have the spoke nipples at their optimum tightness.
What if your budget doesn't run to one of these tools? Or, you just want to check some pre-made wheels?
Well, fortunately, spokes make a predictable tone when they are plucked or twanged (just like a guitar). By comparing this tone with a predicted list, you can ensure your wheel has its spoke tensions correct.
A useful article here http://bikexprt.com/bicycle/tension.htm has a list of musical notes that match the optimum tension in both plain and db spokes.
The following four notes are the most common pitches for standard (3 cross) wheelbuilds:
700c plain spoke - approx 290mm - G - 392Hz
700c DB spoke - approx 290mm - A - 440Hz
26" plain spoke - approx 260mm - A - 440Hz
26" DB spoke - approx 260mm - B - 493Hz
Match them up to your own spokes using a tuning fork to make the musical tones http://www.seventhstring.com/tuningfork/tuningfork.html
700c plain spoke - approx 290mm - G - 392Hz
700c DB spoke - approx 290mm - A - 440Hz
26" plain spoke - approx 260mm - A - 440Hz
26" DB spoke - approx 260mm - B - 493Hz
Match them up to your own spokes using a tuning fork to make the musical tones http://www.seventhstring.com/tuningfork/tuningfork.html
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