The most at risk for my is stripping the nut side of the nipple, which I’ve done to a few way before over tightening by not making sure the spoke wrench was secure.
I’ve heard of, and seeing a couple of times in vids (i think one of the uni’s spokes had previously been cut from grinding), people over tightening, all fine then on the first moderate hop breaking several spokes.
Yes.
This is a common problem with 36" wheels. Since the spokes are so long it easy to over tighten them. This causes 2 problems: the nipples snap under load and the wheel is prone to going tacho (newer better rims help stop this though).
Obviously on a 26" or even a 24" it would take more effort and it would be more obvious that they are over tight, but it is certainly possible still.
Although this is rarely seen on unicycles, you can pull the nipples through the rims on cheap steel rims.
Roger
Take your wheel to a shop for tensioning and truing, it is easy to mess up a wheel if you are not familiar with wheel building.
I build wheels, so I can tell when the tension is alright. I will say that I have seen far more undertensioned uni wheels than overtensioned ones.
The nips will strip before the spokes, but too much tension can break spokes. Low tension will make a wheel feel spongy and it’ll make “springy souds” when you ride.
Uniform low tension won’t mess up your wheel, but a tension imbalance can lead to a bent rim.
Like Roger said, 36er rims go taco easier than you’d think, so take care with tensioning big wheels.
There are tutorials on line, so if you are a mechanically inclined person, you could learn to true your wheel. I think it would be better to practice on an old bike wheel first, maybe loosening the spokes and retension them, get used to how spokes feel when tensioned, see how the rim moves when tensioning.
This is what’s happening on my Trials rim right now, aluminum rim, breaking everywhere. I think it’s mostly due to abusive riding though haha!
I’ve been building my wheels for about 5 years now, I striped a few nipples on my first wheels, I even broke a spoke or 2 by over-tensionning the spokes. They were old spokes but they still broke.
If you’re not sure about your thing, bring it to a bikeshop and let them do the job nicely for you. Like Ben said, it’s easy to mess up your wheel!
If you decide to tighten them yourself… check that your wheel is true. Starting at the valve, tighten each spoke only one quarter turn each until you come around to the valve again and repeat if necessary. Over tightening the spokes can stretch the spoke and reduce it’s strength. If your wheel runs smooth and silent as you cycle then it’s probably ok.
Yes
Unlikely to be a problem with a normal unicycle hub, and to be honest it’s very rare for spokes to be over tensioned - if you’re not used to building wheels the chances are you’ll think they’re too tight well before they actually are. Most new wheelbuilders undertension their wheels (the very first set of wheels I ever built I had to stop at the roadside to tighten the nipples by hand as they were so loose they were coming undone as I rode!)
I’m clearly missing something here - why does the longer spoke make it less obvious that the spokes are too tight? I’d think it was maybe actually a problem with the larger rim taking less tension, but you also mention nipples snapping…
I’m wondering the same, could someone enlighten us?
[QUOTE=arace
I’m clearly missing something here - why does the longer spoke make it less obvious that the spokes are too tight? I’d think it was maybe actually a problem with the larger rim taking less tension, but you also mention nipples snapping…[/QUOTE]
I think it’s because the longer spokes have more stretch ability. So you can be tightening and stretching the spoke without knowing, and the spoke is getting progressively weaker the more it’s stretched. You wont achieve the same tautness with a long spoke as you would with a short spoke. To attempt to do so would just stretch and weaken the long spokes. So the spokes on a 36er should never be as rigid as the spokes on 24" etc.
That’s just my opinion for what it’s worth.
longer spokes and over tightness.
Spokes are springy by design. The longer they are, the more they act as springs and stretch… and the easier it is to put more tension on them. The other thing that catches out many bike shops is that they test tension by plucking the spokes, the longer the spokes the lower the note… hence they think they are not tight, when they are!
Roger
I have just tightened my spokes on all my wheels (19" 20" 24" 26") i did it tight so that when squeezed together using thumb and finger they don’t move.
Is this to tight?
allot of people mentioned just a quarter turn but some took 3 - 4 full turns to tighten them.
I have a big Muni trip planed this weekend to a remote location and dont want to have spokes breaking as i have no spears 
If they don’t move at all when you squeeze them, then yes, that’s too tight. It’s hard to give a specific amount of tightness though. Most of mine move around 1/8-1/4" if squeezed, but then I tighten them until they ‘feel right’. Sorry, I know that doesn’t help. :o My 36er spokes aren’t as tight as my 26er spokes.
You can strum them to get a note. The note is an indication of tightness, with higher notes indicating more tension.
Someone here may be able to tell you what notes you want from your spokes.
Scott
It is really impossible to know if you are putting enough pressure on the spokes to gauge the tension. Unfortunately this is one of those times that you need someone in the flesh to check the work and tell you if it is good.
As for the number of turns. It is generally recommended that you turn the nipples in small increments to get a feel for how it works, and to prevent problems that arise from aggressive adjustments.
If you have a few spokes that were that loose on an otherwise evenly tensioned, and true wheel that could be a problem. The goal is even tension all of the way around. When you have a rim that is bent you have a choice of a true wheel, or even tension. In truth just about all wheels are a compromise between absolute trueness, and even tension. If you are not running a rim brake you can probably afford to err on the side of tension, and live with a little wobble. Uneven tension makes weaker wheels that taco more easily.
The only time I’ve had spokes that needed more than 1-2 full turns to tighten, the spokes were visibally loose, I.E. you could wiggle the spoke very freely and nearly see the nipple moving within the rim eyelets.
thank you for the reply’s i have loosened them ever so slightly so there is a tiny bit of movement when squeezed together hard.
is this still to tight?
Help!!!
HELP!!! 
I was loosening the spokes up on my 24" oracle when it went wonky so much so it wont even spin round any more it just jams in the frame 
what should i do
i thought i had the spokes even on both sides but it is still wonky
HELP what can i do i am sceduald to ride it for a video this weekend and at the moment it is useless
Don’t worry. This is a chance to learn something. I suggest that you loosen off all the spokes until they are all slack. Then starting at valve spoke, tighten each spoke until all of the spokes are moderately slack, i.e. springy. Then take a break for 30 minutes and forget about the wheel. When you come back start tightening the spokes more slowly 1/4 turn each until they become less springy. Now spin the wheel and check that the rim is true. If so continue tightening spokes 1/4 turn each until taut i.e. 1/8 inch movement with firm squeeze. Make yourself comfortable when doing all of this. Turn your unicycle upside down and sit a on a chair. If you’re comfortable then you will do better job.
Hope this helps.
P.S. This is the maximum tension that I use on my 24" and 26" wheels. On my 36er I allow more slack due to the very long spokes.
If unibokk’s advice doesn’t work for you (though it is really good advice), you can always take it to a bike shop and have them do it as a last resort.
thank you for the advice:)
i thought it would be easier it take the wheel off the frame and in doing so the disc break caliper has closed up as if the break is on
how can i get the two pads inside to open up again so i can put the wheel back on?