Recumbent - plastic disc wheel covers question...

i have a new set of plastic wheel covers but... when i tried to install them on my deep-walled taipan rims they dont fit just inside the rim like on my others wheels, they actually sit on the rim and the mounting hardware that came with it arent long enough. is it safe to buy longer bolts w/ nylocloc-nuts and istall on sitting on the rim? thanx, fast eddie outty

Where did you get your wheel covers?

Ron

i bought a few pairs of them in 2005 from joe rinni wheels, they only had 3 left at the time so i took em all.

i have a new set of plastic wheel covers but... when i tried to install them on my deep-walled taipan rims they dont fit just inside the rim like on my others wheels, they actually sit on the rim and the mounting hardware that came with it arent long enough. is it safe to buy longer bolts w/ nylocloc-nuts and istall on sitting on the rim? thanx, fast eddie outty

Sounds like the older style disc with those sunken small bolt holes. I dont know if zip-ties would work, byt they might work. I'm not sure about long bolts (weight factor) so if zip-ties won't work- give them a try.

You could always get that thin bungie cord and wrap it back and forth around the whole rim....just kidding!

I am new to bents but I did find these covers which I want on my killer bee http://www.grahampage.info/trike/05speed_11.htm

The only wheel cover that I ever like well enough to try, were the ones made by UNI, I think it was.
UniDisks.
Anybody remember those?
They were nylon fabric with a wire rim sewn in along the edge. This "rim" snapped into little plastic clips that snapped onto the spoke nipples. Course that was what? 20 years ago? Yeeesh, how time flies when you have kids! :D

I guess that makes wheel covers...sooo '80's! ;)

unless you compete in IHPVA events. . . :rolleyes:

:D

You can make your own spoke covers pretty easily. I've used Styrene/ABS. Make a compass out of a length of string, cut the disk, slit it to accommodate the wheel's dish, and zip-tie it to the spokes. Make sure you leave the flap at the valve stem, and that the flap opens the right way to prevent the induced wind from opening the slit as you ride. BTW, you can use 'for sale' signs at the local big-box hardware store as a source for the plastic, as long as they're big enough. Here's my spoke covers:

http://www.biketcba.org/TRICORR/projects/disks/covers.html

You can also make more elaborate fabric covers. I've seen lots of bent riders using these, usually made out of lightweight ripstop nylon. The fabric is the easy part of making them, so if you poke a hole in one or get it too dirty, just make more. Pack an extra set when going on tour! If you don't work with carbon, you can make clips out of something heavier, like small pieces of sheet steel.

http://www.recumbents.com/wisil/ariail/fabric_wheeldisks.htm