What causes spokes to loosen?

Just wondering, I have had to tighten my spokes recently and was wondering what caused them to get loose.

Vibrations can cause threads to back off, and also stress relief occurs in everything under tension after a while. This is normal.

I am guessing that having to tighten spokes after every other ride is not normal.

OregonMatt wrote:

Just wondering, I have had to tighten my spokes recently and was wondering what caused them to get loose.

Could it be.... Satan?:laugh:

Funny . My bike is officially 31 years old, has 80k miles on it, and the spokes have never loosened up. I suspect it's because the heads are rusted tight inside the wheel. The dipsticks that change tires using soapy water don't realize the water trapped next to the rim rusts it over time.

matt it sounds like the nipples are or have been overtorqued and the threaded portion is stretched. therefore losing its grip on reality. you should not have to retrue or retorque after every ride, i usally check mine when ever i change a tire or once a year when i'm going over it before the first ride.

How loose are they?

Mat, If your spokes need attention after just a few rides,somethings' amiss. there are lots of possibilities... atrophying spokes/worn nipples/deteroirating rim/mating cups/inconsistant tensioning/out of true /et;all... old wheels tend to seize spokes/nipples...to work in harmony, spokes need uniform tension. at next inspection, check up & down, & lateral run-out, & tap spokes/w/wrench. proper tension is not much, @ 6-10 inch lbs, usually, but enough to make spoke "ring" as opposed to "thud". NOTE..Absolute true is seldom achievable, hoops usually have a slight "hop" at weld, and pot-holes/curbs "bell" rims. if you can get "hop"& run-out within a couple mill, be happy. hope this helps, G