This is the first video in the series.From there you can find the rest. I found it to be pretty helpful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTb3x5VO69Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTb3x5VO69Y
How much $ is reasonable...
- Thread starter Annika
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I was shown a trick by a Schwinn restorer that I work with. If you have a old rim with the same number of holes, tape it to the good wheel with the spoke holes lined up. Then one by one move the spokes from the wheel you want to paint to the rim taped to it. Thirty six spokes later you will have your rim for paint. After you get it painted and thoroughly dry tape the edge of the old rim so you don't damage your new paint job and tape the two together. Now start moving the spokes one at a time back to the other rim. This method keeps the cross pattern exactly like it was and the spokes never leave the hub. Tension is not as important on a bike as it is on a motorcycle. Try counting the number of turns on a nipple or just compare with the tension on a finished wheel. Counting the turns on a nipple will get you into the ball park for being true. You can also sometimes see how many threads on the spoke are exposed or how deep the spoke is into the nipple. I tend to watch the number of exposed threads until they disappear into the nipple and then I start counting the number of turns on each spoke. Whew! Thats a lot of work just talking about it! Good luck with your project.
I tore mine down, had the rims powdercoated, then relaced myself with the help of the tutorial. It really wasnt that hard, If I can do it, you can too!!!
But when it came time to true them up.... off to the LBS for $16 a wheel, you cant go wrong!
But when it came time to true them up.... off to the LBS for $16 a wheel, you cant go wrong!
The late great Sheldon Brown has a nice step by step tutorial on his website. That's where I learned how. But you can't just read it and instantly know how. It's better to have the wheel, spokes, and hub sitting with you on living room floor. Then, just follow the steps. If you don't have a truing stand, you could at least have it tensioned up and close, then let the bike shop true it. It's very rewarding to build a wheel and use it. Much like tieing your own flys for fishing.
jon said:
And pay $50 in shipping! :lol: D'oh.
Ok.....ANOTHER question. I am such a NOOB!
SUPPOSE I wanted to paint chrome rims...would I just dremel-sand them with a fiber cup brush? Get them nice and rough? Will good automotive rattlecan paint stick?
I'm not insane contrary to popular belief; I know I can just buy new red rims; but I want old drop-center rims and I want them terra cotta orange!
If the chrome is real nice, I wouldn't paint them. Trade them for what you need/want. If the chrome is trashed, pitted and rusty and needs paint to look better I would use a green scouring pad to scuff and perhaps use an adhesion promoter. The scuffing gives the paint something to hold onto. The adhesion promoter should help too. Some great tutorials on duplicolor.com. Or there used to be.
Duck said:
I'm in a funny situation and still (as you can tell by my flip-flopping indecision) brainstorming what I want this project to turn into.
I have one nice wheel that I really like. The other one doesn't match it...it was a replacement some decades ago.
Maybe what I'll try first....before diving headfirst into a rim-painting project...is what you said: Try to get the wheel I want, since I have one good one already. Off I go to the classified section....:lol:
...and the more I stare, the more these look like surface boogers to me, and less like pits. Only one way to find out. As soon as I wake up tomorrow morning I'm off to get all the supplies I need to get started!
Well after reading this I decided to finish my 36 spoke bmx wheel, it wasn't pretty watching me do this (yes spokes do bend back in place) but I got it done
You can make your own truing stand with an extra set of forks and two screws or bolts. You drill holes in the forks and adjust the bolts or screws in toward the rim as you make the wheel straighter. You may as well try it yourself. The only chance you are taking is that you might save money and learn something. If it doesnt work for you, then you can take it to a shop or get new wheels.
