Spoke key.

[presta]

A few pings happened when turning the spoke key?

That's caused by the stiction in the thread. When you start turning the nipple the spoke turns with it, then once the torsion is enough to break the stiction, the spoke suddenly recoils with a loud ping. The net effect is that you now have an unknown amount of adjustment applied, unless you marked the spokes before you started.

Musson heavily emphasizes "massaging" or squeezing pairs of spokes together during and after the process. This releases torsional twist from the spokes so the wheel doesn't immediately snap back out of alignment on your first ride.

No, it's for stress relief. The torsion is removed by carefully turning the nipples until the spokes are straight again, which has to be done blind, and by feel, if you didn't mark them at the outset.

 

[Milzy]

That's caused by the stiction in the thread. When you start turning the nipple the spoke turns with it, then once the torsion is enough to break the stiction, the spoke suddenly recoils with a loud ping. The net effect is that you now have an unknown amount of adjustment applied, unless you marked the spokes before you started.


No, it's for stress relief. The torsion is removed by carefully turning the nipples until the spokes are straight again, which has to be done blind, and by feel, if you didn't mark them at the outset.

I put tape on the spokes which got turned.

 

[SuperGalactian]

No, it's for stress relief. The torsion is removed by carefully turning the nipples until the spokes are straight again, which has to be done blind, and by feel, if you didn't mark them at the outset.

What stress needs to relieved other than torsional? To my understanding, tensional stress is what you are trying to achieve, by tightening the nipple on the spoke thread. If you turn the nipple back to relieve torsional stress, you will also loose the tension. Because the spokes are pretty much anchored at the hub, the only way torsional stress can be relieved is by the nipple turning in its hole (or eyelet) in the rim. Hence the need to oil that junction and massage the spokes to prompt the release. Flags can show you which spokes are still under torsional stress, but personally I found them tedious and non-essential. I suppose you may equally prompt the release by turning the nipple to and fro. However, because crossover points between spokes can also hinder the release of tension, I’d put my money on squeezing pairs of spokes to do the job better.
Please feel free to correct me if I’ve got it wrong. I’m only a DIY cyclist, not a pro wheel builder.

 

[rogerzilla]

Ah, you need to read Brandt

I think some of of the metallurgical stuff behind stress-relieving is a bit of a stretch (if you'll excuse the pun) but it does work. I think one of its main benefits, by temporarily overloading the spokes, is to get them really straight and set the bends, so there are no soft curves that can flex in use.

Brandt claimed to have picked it up by seeing an Italian wheelbuilder literally walking on new wheels to stress relieve them.

Incidentally, the best wheelbuilder I've ever heard of was a guy in Swindon RC who built himself some 16-spoke time trial wheels, using 32-spoke hubs and rims but missing every other hole, and raced them for a season. Assuming it was a geared bike, there were only really 8 spokes holding up the rear wheel

 

[Milzy]

I was scared the wheel would collapse down a hill but it’s ok so far. Must have bodged it well.
I wish I knew a wheel builder that wouldn’t charge much. He gets therapeutic wheel building and I save money & get better wheels than off the shelf.

 

[rogerzilla]

I can build most things from 20-spoke Moulton wheels to 40-spoke tandem wheels. They'll never need retruing unless you have the kind of crash that puts you in an ambulance (that's happened, twice - I know some gonzo nutters). I don't do crowsfoot, tied-and-soldered, or snowflake wheels. They go in and out of fashion.