The Key to a Good Wheel

The yellow item is called a spoke key - it's the little 'spanner' that tightens spokes in a wheel.

I've had this for many years, and took it to my first wheelbuilding course. In those few days I discovered the wonder of spoked wheels; how every spoke acts under tension to pull the rim into a perfect circle, how the fact that spokes work at an angle to the rim (look at a bicycle wheel from the side) to resist sideways forces, how every spoke is pulled and released with every revolution in the life of the wheel, how a loose spoke puts extra strain on the others, how the pattern you weave helps each spoke support its neighbour, how rolling a spoke just 2mm thick will make it both stronger and lighter even though it is now just 1.5mm in diameter.

I learned how to balance the high tension of every spoke carefully, so that the wheel is both free from wobbles and perfectly round, that when you pedal or brake only the spokes in a certain direction cope with those extra forces. And how a handbuilt wheel really does feel different and more 'lively' because of that balance.

The spokes and nipples are the spares I kept for the first wheel I built alone, with their elegant taper for weight saving and strength.

The key is almost always with me whether I'm a supporting mechanic, riding guide or simply a happy cyclist. It's been the length of the UK, round the Highlands, the length of France 4 times and over the Alps and Dolomites. After changing someones spoke on a charity ride from London to Paris I was horrified to realise that I'd left it at the roadside; and hours return drive later I found the exact spot and was reunited with it.

The critical part of the key is tiny, yet very special to me.

Thanks for the catalyst, Nicoiseannie and ApolloFly.