Wheel Building Tension Calculator
Target spoke tension from rim width and spoke count.
About this calculator
This calculator estimates the target spoke tension a wheel builder should aim for on the drive side, then works out what the non-drive side needs to match it. It starts from baseline tensions by wheel position — 90 kgf for a road front wheel, 120 kgf for road rear, 90 kgf for MTB front, and 110 kgf for MTB rear, reflecting that rear wheels (which transmit drive torque and typically dish asymmetrically) are built tighter than fronts. That baseline is then scaled for rider weight relative to a 75 kg reference rider (clamped between 0.8x and 1.3x) and for spoke count relative to a 32-spoke reference wheel, since fewer spokes each need to carry more of the load and so run higher individual tension.
The result is capped at whatever maximum tension the rim manufacturer rates it for, since exceeding that risks cracking the rim at the spoke bed. For rear wheels, the calculator derives a dish ratio from the hub's flange offsets (non-drive flange spacing divided by drive-side spacing) and applies it to get the non-drive-side target — physically, the side with less leverage over the rim needs proportionally less tension to balance the wheel's dish. It also converts kgf to Newtons and reports a target tension-uniformity window of about ±5% of the drive-side tension, the tolerance experienced wheel builders use to judge whether a wheel is properly balanced spoke-to-spoke, not just correctly tensioned on average.
Inputs
Results
Drive-side tension (kgf)
123.4
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter Spoke count, Rider weight (lbs), and Wheel type (0-3).
- Set Rim max tension (kgf), Drive flange offset (mm), and Non-drive flange offset (mm).
- Review the Drive-side tension (kgf) result.
- Use Non-drive tension (kgf) and Drive-side tension (N) to inform your decision.
How the result changes with Rider weight (lbs)
| Rider weight (lbs) | Drive-side tension (kgf) |
|---|---|
| 85 | 96 |
| 128 | 96 |
| 255 | 130 |
| 400 | 130 |
What each input means
- Spoke count
- Total number of spokes in the wheel.
- Rider weight (lbs)
- Rider body weight in pounds.
- Wheel type (0-3)
- 0 = Road front, 1 = Road rear, 2 = MTB front, 3 = MTB rear.
- Rim max tension (kgf)
- Maximum spoke tension rated by the rim manufacturer.
- Drive flange offset (mm)
- Hub center to drive-side flange distance in mm.
- Non-drive flange offset (mm)
- Hub center to non-drive-side flange distance in mm.
What each result means
- Drive-side tension (kgf)
- Target spoke tension on the drive side in kilograms-force.
- Non-drive tension (kgf)
- Target spoke tension on the non-drive side in kgf.
- Drive-side tension (N)
- Drive-side tension converted to Newtons.
- Non-drive tension (N)
- Non-drive-side tension in Newtons.
- Dish ratio
- Ratio of non-drive to drive flange offset (1.0 = symmetric).
- Average tension (kgf)
- Average spoke tension across both sides.
- Max variation ±(kgf)
- Target maximum tension variation per spoke (±5% of drive side).
How this is calculated
Worked example, using the default values
- Identify Input Parameters4 parametersSpoke count = 32, Rider weight (lbs) = 170, Wheel type (0-3) = 1, Rim max tension (kgf) = 130 = 6 input(s) provided
- Calculate Drive-side tension123.4 = 123.4
- Calculate Non-drive tensionNon-drive tension = driveSideTension * dishRatio70.5 = 70.5
- Calculate Drive-side tensionDrive-side tension = driveSideTension * 9.806651210 = 1210
Engine last updated . Checked against 3 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators. Built by Paul Gunder, a software engineer, not a licensed financial, medical, or legal professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the non-drive-side tension usually lower than the drive-side tension on a rear wheel?
The calculator computes a dish ratio as your non-drive flange offset divided by your drive-side flange offset, then multiplies drive-side tension by that ratio to get the non-drive target. With the default hub geometry (35mm drive, 20mm non-drive), the ratio comes out to about 0.57, so the non-drive side is set to roughly 57% of drive-side tension. Enter your own hub's actual flange offsets — different hub designs can produce a ratio closer to or further from 1.0.
Why does entering fewer spokes increase the target tension per spoke?
The calculator scales the baseline tension by a spoke count factor of 32 divided by your entered spoke count, using a 32-spoke wheel as the reference point. With fewer spokes, each one has to carry a larger share of the total load the wheel needs to support, so the factor rises above 1 and pushes the target tension for each spoke higher — for example, a 24-spoke wheel gets a factor of 32/24 ≈ 1.33.
What happens if my rim's max tension rating is lower than the calculated target?
The calculator clamps the drive-side tension to whichever is lower — the calculated target or your entered rim max tension — so the output never recommends exceeding the rim manufacturer's rating. If you see the drive-side tension output exactly matching your rim max tension input, that means the formula's unclamped target was actually higher, and you're being capped at the rim's safe limit.
How should I use the ±5% tension variation figure when actually building the wheel?
It's a target consistency window, not a separate calculated tension — it equals 5% of the drive-side tension target, and it's meant as a check while truing: as you tension each spoke, the tension meter readings around the wheel should ideally stay within that band of the drive-side (or non-drive-side) target. Wider variation than that between neighboring spokes usually signals uneven tensioning that needs more truing before the wheel is ready to ride.
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