l am new to cycling. l have some vintage bike wheels l am using for a project.

they are true, but some spokes seem a little loose. I`m not trying to rebuild these wheels, just ''freshen them up on a budget''.

do you just snug the loose ones?

or do you give all the spokes a equal amount of turns at the nipple?

do you tighten them at opposite sides of the wheel like you would tighten car lug nuts, or can you go around from one to the next?

what size is the teeny wrench you use on the spoke nipples?

thanks
and..l am in Portland Oregon. l visit the shops here too.

While keeping the rims true, u want equal tension on each spoke on the front wheel. On the rear rim, the spokes on the drive side will also have equal tension, but the amount of tension will be slightly greater than the tension on the non-drive side of the rear wheel.

If u have spokes that r loose, u can not rely on the wheel remaining true. Spoke breakage is also a greater possibility with loose spokes.

When ''bringing a wheel to tension,'' u can just start at the spoke nearest the valve & work ur way around the wheel. There is no sequence; u just want to make sure that every spoke is tension is addressed.

Know that there is a desirable amount of tension, & exceeding that tension on any one particular spoke can result in lower tension in adjacent spokes. There r tension meters available to help u obtain the right tension in each spoke. If u want, u can simply take ur wheels to an experienced wheelbuilder or LBS to have the tension checked after u give it ur best shot.

Wrench size depends on nipple size, which in turn depends on the gauge of the spokes.

This is going to sound weird to those of us who know how to build & true wheels, but for the purposes of ur question l will suggest to u that there is no ''sequence'' to follow. If u have loose spokes, just snug them up but do not put any real tension on them until u understand what u r doing. Truing a wheel is simple, but it is deceptively complex.

Spokes on a wheel r seldom all at even tension, & (especially on a used wheel) if u go around tightening them trying to achieve that u will almost certainly take it out of true and/or develop flat spots in the radial dimension. The proper way to do it is to use a ''truing stand'' or something rigged up to work like that where the wheel is fixed solidly & able to spin freely..with an adjustable indicator that rides close to the rim surfaces so that u can see what each turning of the nipples has done. You have to think three-dimensional when doing it as well. ...deceptively complex. :o)

You want to use a spoke wrench instead of a crescent or whatever. The spoke nipples r soft & damage easily..spoke wrenches fit them properly & on at least 3 sides to prevent rounding them off. If u use another tool u may damage them (easily & cheaply replaced, but still.). It is also hard to turn other tools because there is not a whole lot of room to work. You can get quality individual spoke wrenches for about $4, or cheaper multi-fit ones for just a couple bucks. Walmart used to sell those cheapies, even..not sure if they still do.

I'd suggest that u take the wheels into a shop & have them look them over...if they feel that they need to be trued, ask if u can watch. Most shops r pretty cool about that & u will get to see a little of how it works. Like l said, it is not hard, but it sure will help u to watch & learn from someone in person before u screw up ur own wheels & have to take them into a shop anyway. Once u learn the ropes, hunt around for some cheapie or trash wheels that u can practice on..many shops have at least a few lying around that they may let u borrow or pull from the recycle bin (warranty wheel/hub replacements, etc). Just ask.

Hope this helps some..

Every thing you need to know is here:

http://parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=81

Pro bicycle mechanic
mark

A wheel is a dynamic system, & as such, it performs differently in real life than it does on a work bench. It is possible to true a wheel so that it is perfectly straight in a truing stand , but it will not roll straight on the road. This is because ur weight affects the wheel when u r riding ur bike. Ideally, all the spokes should be at equal tension, but, over time, rims deform slightly from hitting bumps in the road, & from the times that spokes break. Once the rim has become deformed, it is no longer possible to have all the spokes at equal tension. It is necessary to have some spokes at higher tension to compensate for the deformation in the rim. Back wheels r a special case. The spokes on the side where the drive cogs r have to be at much higher tension than the spokes on the non drive side, & because of this, & the greater weight that back wheels have to carry, rims on rear wheels wear out much faster than front rims. Normally, when u true a wheel, at the place where the rim bows in one direction, u tighten the spokes on the side opposite the bend, & u loosen the spokes on the side towards which the wheel is bent an equal amount. This is done in small increments, between 1/8 & 1/4 turn at a time. If u r not careful, u will put the wheel out of round, which is just as annoying as a wheel that is not true. As the other respondants have stated, u need to use a spoke wrench, There r 3 or 4 sizes in common use, u have to buy the type that fits the nipples on ur wheels.

l wo not matter unless you have a clothes pin and playing cards when your done.

The most important thing to do is take ur front wheel off & go to a bike shop & get a good spoke wrench. It makes it much easier to make very small adjustments. Go over the wheel & find the lose spokes & give them a 1/4 turn & keep going around looking for the lose ones. l do not have a truing stand so l just turn my bike over & use a brake pad pushed over so that is just touching the rim, works really good.

This video should help.

http://bicycletutor.com/wheel-truing/

If you are new to cycling- do not mess with rims! Take them to somebody who KNOWS truing rims. Spend the $10/rim and get a shop to properly tension them. They have the equipment to do this. Trust me, it is well worth it!

To snug & adjust do them in three is Normally if u tighten one u loosen its two neighborson the other side. And vice-versa. Loosen one & tighten the two across from it. Start off learning with doing threes & then u will get the ''touch'' & do fives. Soak the nipples in BP Blaster over night first. Get the right spoke wrench or face the very likely possibility of rounding the nipple. Spin the wheel faster to ''see'' the side-to-side deflections. Do not forget there is also up & down rim deflection. Sometimes the rim is actually warped & no matter what u do it will not straighten. If the spokes r just uniformally (more or less) loose, do what they said, start at the valve hole & go around the whole wheel & tighten each one the same amount 1/4 turn. If necessary, go around a second time. Then. do the fine trueing adjustments. But do this first: Take off the tire, squirt Blaster or WD40 on the spoke ends for a while. & use a small screw driver on the ends to tighten if u do not have a proper spoke wrench. How tight? Go to a bike shop & go around squeezing two spokes where they cross each other to get the right ''feel''. How to know which way to turn: with a spoke nipple pointing up, think of it as a ketchup bottle, Righty tighty, lefty loosey Practice, practice, practice. .