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Serious question.....given the obvious downsides of a spoked wheel as we saw with Anderson, the constant spoke tightening, the ease of which an mx wheel can be out of "true" why have we not gone to a plastic/resin/carbon wheel? Can we not produce a wheel stronger and cheaper that is not a spoked wheel?
Who remembers these?
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Have always wondered this myself. Figured the factory teams would have some super lightweight mags by now or something. Maybe to much flex?
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Yeah. It's hard to believe that even in 2018, spoked wheels are the best combination of strength and light weight. I wonder if a carbon fiber mag wheel would work. Would the AMA or FIM even allow them? Obviously they would be incredibly expensive.
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Edited Date/Time:
BST Carbon fiber wheels for a R1(and any other road bike) are around 2,5-3k.
A A60/Talon Carbon wheelset for a MX bike is 2k. Actually 2190(that is a lot of money for wheels) dollars on Dubya USA website.
So the most expensive wheelset for a MX bike is on the same price category as carbon fiber wheels for a road bike.
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Forged Magnesium or Aluminum. That would be more then strong enough.
Another thing I was wondering in regards to spokes, I wonder why no one has came up with a cover that goes over the spokes to protect them from pegs etc. I am sure they would be fugly, but would be effective to protect against what happened to Ando. We run disc covers, skid plates but nothing to gaurd againist the spokes?
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ehr400 wrote:
Forged Magnesium or Aluminum. That would be more then strong enough.
Another thing I was wondering in regards to spokes, I wonder why no one has came up with a cover that goes over the spokes to protect them from pegs etc. I am sure they would be fugly, but would be effective to protect against what happened to Ando. We run disc covers, skid plates but nothing to gaurd againist the spokes?
The rear wheel on speedway bikes have a "guard". I've also seen them on front wheels but that is very rare.
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None of the mentioned alternate materials can offer the performance of a spoked wheel. Flex, elasticity, impact absorbtion, a spoked wheel is the superior wheel design for the rigors of mx
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No way would I ever ride Carbon wheels. Metal bends, carbon explodes without warning. It's easy to replace spokes or rims. A solid wheel means you have to replace the entire thing. This is why stuff like the production rule exists. To allow us to afford this sport.
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Serious question. How often in AMA pro racing does a freak accident cause multiple spokes to blow out of a wheel and end someones race? I would imagine it happens more often than the average fan realizes.
Also, if a wheel like the OP posted got caught in a titanium footpeg at the end of a start straight, wouldn't it do pretty serious damage regardless of what the material was?
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skyway tuff wheels the good old days of BMX right Guy B ?.
id think a light weight carbon fiber or plastic type of wheel disk for the front would have saved Ando's spokes , and add room for more sponsor logos too , big ugly green claws spinning on everyones front wheel
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ehr400 wrote:
Forged Magnesium or Aluminum. That would be more then strong enough.
Another thing I was wondering in regards to spokes, I wonder why no one has came up with a cover that goes over the spokes to protect them from pegs etc. I am sure they would be fugly, but would be effective to protect against what happened to Ando. We run disc covers, skid plates but nothing to gaurd againist the spokes?Motofinne wrote:
The rear wheel on speedway bikes have a "guard". I've also seen them on front wheels but that is very rare.
Thats exactly what I was thinking of, I knew I saw them on speedway bikes or something. No reason why it wouldn't work on a mx bike. Plus it could prevent dirt buildup on the rims on the ourdoors.
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Canadad wrote:
Serious question.....given the obvious downsides of a spoked wheel as we saw with Anderson, the constant spoke tightening, the ease of which an mx wheel can be out of "true" why have we not gone to a plastic/resin/carbon wheel? Can we not produce a wheel stronger and cheaper that is not a spoked wheel?
Who remembers these?
This is not a serious question. Please don't reference the tuff wheel two either, that was serious racing machinery
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does anyone stop to think.....
"If its been around this long, its probably because its the best option"
As if no one in history though to change a wheel design 
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rmoto003 wrote:
does anyone stop to think.....
"If its been around this long, its probably because its the best option"
As if no one in history though to change a wheel design
Maybe you should research John Britten and the Britten motorcycle....there are those who stop thinking and do as has been done before and those who stop and think about how to solve a problem disregarding what has been done before.
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I remember Mike Metzger having some custom wheels back in the day. Probably wouldn’t work for SX/MX tho..
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ehr400 wrote:
Forged Magnesium or Aluminum. That would be more then strong enough.
Another thing I was wondering in regards to spokes, I wonder why no one has came up with a cover that goes over the spokes to protect them from pegs etc. I am sure they would be fugly, but would be effective to protect against what happened to Ando. We run disc covers, skid plates but nothing to gaurd againist the spokes?Motofinne wrote:
The rear wheel on speedway bikes have a "guard". I've also seen them on front wheels but that is very rare.
ehr400 wrote:
Thats exactly what I was thinking of, I knew I saw them on speedway bikes or something. No reason why it wouldn't work on a mx bike. Plus it could prevent dirt buildup on the rims on the ourdoors.
Guys who run the cover on the front or run the aero kit on short tracks need to immediately start on the penalty line
"A link is only as long as your longest strong chain"
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Dtat720 wrote:
None of the mentioned alternate materials can offer the performance of a spoked wheel. Flex, elasticity, impact absorbtion, a spoked wheel is the superior wheel design for the rigors of mx
ehr400 wrote:
Then why aren't cars using spoke wheels anymore?
Sheriff245 wrote:
Because they are not subjected to the rigors of MX. Different application, different needs.
You think a one piece Forged aluminum wheel is weaker then a spoke rim with extruded rims with a resistance weld to connect them, aluminum nipples, cast hubs?
Then why does moto GP not use spoke wheels?
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Donovan759 wrote:
Why not just ...
Block passing anywhere on the track! Seriously though, spoked wheels have worked very well for so long. You get your arm caught in a MAG wheel it's coming right off.
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I believe a solid wheel would be to stiff, spokes are forgiving. Think Dakar bikes, none of them use mag wheels. Spokes are strong because of the offset from center of the rim out to the edge of the hub. Forms a triangle, that is the strongest shape.
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ehr400 wrote:
Then why aren't cars using spoke wheels anymore?
Sheriff245 wrote:
Because they are not subjected to the rigors of MX. Different application, different needs.
ehr400 wrote:
You think a one piece Forged aluminum wheel is weaker then a spoke rim with extruded rims with a resistance weld to connect them, aluminum nipples, cast hubs?
Then why does moto GP not use spoke wheels?
When does MotoGP huck 70 foot triples (or Larocco's Leap) and blitz whoops in 4th gear with Dunlop MX32's? Different application, different needs.
