UniChris

In the name of science just pulled a 29er wheel out to compare (though it has a large diameter IGH so the proportions are still a little atypical).

Anyway, on this I seem to be able to excite both the whole-spoke and cross-fretted modes. This wheel doesn't "pluck" as well as the long free length of the 36er spokes beyond the cross, tapping the spoke with a wrench seems to excite both modes more. One comes in a bit under 400 Hz the other in the 600's both corresponding to something in the 100-110 KgF range.

I think what I'm concluding from this is that evaluating the big 36er wheel based on the cross-fretted mode is valid, but for something more like an ordinary bike wheel the whole-spoke vibration mode can be apparent, too. A spectral display app is useful for seeing the mix of what it present and putting a number on it (actually works better with the sample rate low), ear is better for comparing spoke to spoke when finger damping can make a particular mode clear.

And yes, while consistency around the wheel is a primary goal, it's also important to have some idea that overall tension is in the ballpark. Part of the reason I rebuilt the factory wheel I'd been riding is that it kept breaking spokes at the elbows - probably from a lot of miles (not just mine but the previous owner's) too loose, and the nipples that never seemed to be an exact wrench size to begin with were rounding off making further maintenance impossible (wrench flats portion broke right off some as I disassembled the wheel). But the goal was not just to replace the worn out and fatigue parts but to end up with something of a proper tension hopefully making it more durable than what I had before.