Trials Australia Forums

Howdy Y'all,

Looking to get a bit of work done on my wheels. Can anyone recommend a competent builder, preferably in the sunshine state?

Also, stainless steel spokes, strong (and forgiving) enough for trials?

Cheers,
Your friendly neighbourhood ScorpaMan,
Scorps

There is a rider in Canberra who rides a Sherco 200 that is a wheel builder. Give Don a call I am sure he would know his contact details.

Hi Scorps,

One of the best wheel builders I have used over the years is Mike Warner at Kawana Waters Sunshine Coast. He can Build you any wheel that you want. Mike does a great job in rebuilding and polishing the older rims also.

Here's his web page.

mike warner wheels, wire wheels, lacing, balancing, motorcycle wheels, alloy, welding,
Kawana, Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Australia, tyres, fitting, ...

http://www.mww.com.au/


Scott
Sherco Qld
http://www.sherco.com.au

PA wrote:There is a rider in Canberra who rides a Sherco 200 that is a wheel builder. Give Don a call I am sure he would know his contact details.

Hi Scorps,

As PA said he’s not in the sunshine state, but this guy “Alan” of Wheels and Spokes, is a Trials man and a wheel building perfectionist!!
He also does some special Galvanized Spokes. Which apparently are much stronger.

Give him a call on 0413662029


Best of balance.

Neo

Scorps I would recommend stainless steel spokes if you want them to stay looking good with the least maintenance. Many 1970s Spanish bikes still have the original SS spokes and while the rest of the bike may look a bit aged after all this time, the spokes look as if they had been made yesterday. Can post a photo of a 1968 wheel with its original SS spokes if you want to see what the spokes on your beloved Scorpa might look like in the year 2046.
As well as the choice of material, the strength of a spoke also depends on the diameter of the wire and how well the thread is made. You can get quite thick SS spokes if you are worried about the tensile strength of SS.
If you want a serious bling effect, polishing up SS spokes is quite good while if you want something unique, hot-roddish and with even higher resistance to corrosion, how about titanium spokes?
Wheel failure caused by overload is almost impossible if the spokes are tensioned evenly while spoke failure is commonly seen when spoke tension is not maintained.

Howdy Y'all,

Thanks for the heads up David. Titanium would be nice for bling, but I am just after spokes that don't tarnish or corrode, as it is a pet peeve of mine. Can you get the nipples in SS or Ti too?

Cheers,
Your friendly neighborhood ScorpaMan,
Scorps

Scorps,
Sure you haven`t stacked on that much weight, that the standard spokes are snapping like carrots ?????
ShercoH

[quote="Scorps"]
Can you get the nipples in SS or Ti too?

SS - yes (had to go and check some to be sure)
Ti - don't know, haven't tried.

David

Sherco H wrote:Scorps,
Sure you haven`t stacked on that much weight, that the standard spokes are snapping like carrots ?????
ShercoH

A more polite suggestion might be:

Scorps,
Sure you haven't improved your sprung-to-unsprung-weight ratio to the point where the limits of the design have been reached?

David

David,

I like your sophisticated style. I have observed Scorps over the the past few months and was very impressed by his commitment to the sport of trials as in his approach to improving body shape in an attempt to increase traction. The rear tyre on his Scropa rolls and clings to all obstacles like moulded jelly. I am not in the same league to produce this type of traction from my rear wheel. However I can ride a lower powered bike because of it.

Notice throughout the entire dialogue I never once said Scrops was FAT. He is actually losing weight so he tells me.

Starky