Cracked Alloy rim

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dantriumph

dantriumph

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Apr 27, 2010
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Evening gents.

Last sunday before our 3 weeks summerholiday was the day to do the final jobs on the MK3, oilchange, new rear tire ect. After removing the Roadrider I was pretty chocked to finde at least 11 cracks in the rim.
Cracked Alloy rim

These are Akront rims. They were on the bike when I bought it 16 years ago and they weren´t new then, so no idea of how old they are. I´ve never needed to tighten the spokes and there´s still no loose spokes. I must admit that I´m not one to polish my rims every sunday, but I do like to keep my bike clean. I changed from TT100 to roadrider last year, and I´m 100% sure there were no cracks by then as they´re quit easy to see when you get close. Bike is only used on road, no racing or trackday. So any idea what has caused the rim to crack? Age?
I was Lucky to finde someone who had a spare MK3 rearwheel with a good steel rim that I could borrow, it was just a 400km roundtrip to pick it up.

Any ideas where I can get polished Excel rims?

Here´s a couple of photo´s from Southwest England
Cracked Alloy rim

Cracked Alloy rim

Cracked Alloy rim


Cheers

Dan
 
Just got a pair of flanged Exels from Hagons. The quality is the best I have ever seen. It's impossible to tell where the weld is. Clever them Japs!
 
Matchless said:
Just got a pair of flanged Exels from Hagons. The quality is the best I have ever seen. It's impossible to tell where the weld is. Clever them Japs!
Click to expand...

Do they do them in anodised silver for lazy b*stards like me dya know?
 
I think aluminium age-hardens, however I've never seen one crack like that. Might be the wrong type of aluminium for rims ? There are simple spot tests which can be done to identify what sort of aluminium it is.
 
Wow, thanks for sharing – I have similar (if not identical) Akront rims, and a similar history – on the bike when I bought it in 1998. I'll have to have a close look. dantriumph, you mention 'the rim': was this both rims, or front, or rear?
 
I’ve never seen anything like that either and I’ve had a few old trials bikes with Akronts. I would have thought it might occur on a front wheel with the high tension of the off set spoking, but not the rear. I bought a pair of flange less Exels from Buchanan’s in America a few years ago and they aren’t the ducks guts. They have a clear finish so don’t get corrosion and when I spoked them I set them up using a dial gauge and there was virtually no run out to begin with. I’ve spoked a few dozen or so new rims, steel and alloy, but the Exels were by far the truest.
 
I have been running Akront rims on my Norton for over 37 years now and my rims are as good as the day they were put on no cracks at all and spokes have never come lose, have you hit any big pot holes or gutter looks like stress fratures from the spokes.

Ashley
 
Some builders run too much tension on their spokes thinking this adds strength to the wheels.
Not saying that's your situation but I have seen this many times.
 
Fast Eddie said:
Do they do them in anodised silver for lazy b*stards like me dya know?
Click to expand...
I don't know about that,but I would use them on my own bikes as they really are very nicely made. If you have children give them a tube of Solvol & tell them to look lively! After all, you're no longer allowed to send them up chimneys, so they have to be useful for something.
 
'Quality does not cost - it pays' ? The problem is that if we want to buy quality products, we rely on reputation rather than testing. The rims on my bike are Borrani. Not that that means much these days. The ISO9000 definition of quality is 'fit for purpose' - 'attention to detail' does not get a mention. And that was done intentionally. Most politicians are imbeciles when it comes to science, yet they are the people who sign us up to free trade agreements. In Australia, we used to make wheels for railway trains out of manganese steels in our railway workshops. Now the wheels are bought from China, cheapest quote - their wear rate is much higher.
 
Matchless said:
If you have children give them a tube of Solvol & tell them to look lively! After all, you're no longer allowed to send them up chimneys, so they have to be useful for something.
Click to expand...

Ha! I’ve got two, and I’ve tried that, and there’s no bleedin’ chance !!
 
Looks like the common problem of incorrect drilling, still widely seen today with steel rims on new restorations. Most wheel builders will tell you they know what they are doing and will supply a 40 hole rim, incorrect answer and you must walk away. It must be drilled to the Norton 40 hole pattern.
A standard 40 hole pattern can be laced up but you will notice if you look closely that the nipples don't just quite sit right. They are very similar, but not the same - ensure your wheel builder knows this!.
 
That's one of the reasons Buchanan's Spoke and Rim is so popular in the US. They get the rims blank and custom drill them for each application, and make the spokes to suit. And they know how to do them properly for Commandos:)

Ken
 
Speaking of Buchanan's, I was pleased to learn that their spokes have rolled threads instead of cut. I realize it has nothing to do with this thread but I like the idea. Many of the spokes that are cut to length for a Commando are then threaded with a die which leaves a potential fracture point on the spoke.
 
A thread rolling tool for spoking wheels is readily available, using a die is dangerous.
 
rvich said:
Speaking of Buchanan's, I was pleased to learn that their spokes have rolled threads instead of cut. I realize it has nothing to do with this thread but I like the idea. Many of the spokes that are cut to length for a Commando are then threaded with a die which leaves a potential fracture point on the spoke.
Click to expand...
Really? I have never seen spokes threaded with a die! Rolled threads are the only way surely
 
Japanese spokes were manufactured using cut threads traditional British spokes are rolled thread where the thread is proud of the spoke diameter

the cyclo gear workshop spoke rolling machines are no longer available ,most wheel builders now buy in ready made spokes for application
 
Frankie17 said:
Japanese spokes were manufactured using cut threads traditional British spokes are rolled thread where the thread is proud of the spoke diameter

the cyclo gear workshop spoke rolling machines are no longer available ,most wheel builders now buy in ready made spokes for application
Click to expand...
I have only ever had wheels built by Derek York he pierced the blank rims to your bikes spec, he bent the spokes and rolled the thread I'd assumed this was normal practice for wheel builders sadly he is no longer with us
 
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