Spoke wheels vs Mag Wheels
- Thread starter harleyed
- Start date
I too like the look of spokes, but with the pain to keep clean along with the fact that if you get a flat your screwed, makes me like the mags better. With a mag you can repair on the road to get to a tire shop. With spokes you need a trailer. Just my thought on the subject. :52:
Walleye, your logic is sound regarding on the road repairs. Manufacturers moved to cast wheels to migrate fully to tubeless tires due to their long safety record and development cycles on the street and the track. Much less air loss over time (lower maintenance), and less heating due to internal rubbing of a tube within the protective tire skin, allowing softer compounds to be used.
Although tubeless tires are harder to mount, the drop-in center rim bead design makes machine mounting possible, at the same time allows good sealing once both tire beads "seat" sealing postively (special soft pliable rubber compound conforms to rim defects well). Cast wheel and tire assemblies are less likely to have catastrophic failures with "explosive rapid air pressure loss" like a spoked wheel with tubed tire. This is due to the "self healing" nature of the tubeless tire inner soft rubber lining.
Although tubeless tires are harder to mount, the drop-in center rim bead design makes machine mounting possible, at the same time allows good sealing once both tire beads "seat" sealing postively (special soft pliable rubber compound conforms to rim defects well). Cast wheel and tire assemblies are less likely to have catastrophic failures with "explosive rapid air pressure loss" like a spoked wheel with tubed tire. This is due to the "self healing" nature of the tubeless tire inner soft rubber lining.
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crshoveride1
Member
I currently have the original spokes on my bike as well. I love the look of the spokes as I'm trying to keep a "classy" look for the bike while still trying to make it my own. However, I've recently looked at some Mags I like and I think it would make a very dramatic difference in my bike and I'll still have the classy look I want. I've got Mags on my Wide Glide and I don't notice any difference in handling. Only difference is the amount of heads snapping when going by my bikes. Basically I think it'll come down to what YOU like as far as the look of your bike and whether or not you want to spend the money on Custom Rims. Good luck in deciding!:bigsmiley12:
Hobbit,
If I understand your post correctly, you are saying you can use a plug on spoked tires? I am under the impression this is impossible as the air will leak out of the spoke's. I also understood this is why a spoke tire goes flat almost instantly. I know there were some companies using a inside coating with some success to "seal" up the spoked rims but I was told there is limited success. Let me know if I am off base. Thanks.
There is a trick used in "Simulated" Spoke Wheels...the drop center rim has a layer of epoxy that seals the wheel, combining the "Classic" look of spokes, only no inner tube or rim "tape" is required. Another design developed in the 70's to maintain the classic looks of British cars in modern times like the Aston Martin, Jaguar and others...
