Spoke Tension

The deflection reading should be somewhere within the 22 to 32 range.

You can tighten the spokes to a reasonably accurate amount with your fingers, using your eyes and ears to check the spoke tension. Pinging each of the spokes, or tapping them with a metal object (a screwdriver shaft or small spanner etc.) is an easy way to tell if any of the spokes are noticeably looser than the rest. A low-pitched dull ping usually indicates that the spokes are too loose and in need of tensioning, whereas a higher-pitched clear ping on all the spokes is the sound that you really want to hear. If you can hear the spokes creaking as you ride, they are too loose. As the GM spokes are much thicker than normal spokes (and considerably shorter too) they require a higher tension to get the same amount of stretch, therefore you can tension GM spokes as tight as you can get them without starting to round off the square drive on the nipple.

The main requirement is to make sure the spokes are all evenly tensioned ensuring that the wheel rim remains concentric, true and properly centred.