21 inch rims

cheftay

cheftay

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Hey guys I'm in the process of chopping my 1980 frame and i need to get my wheels figured out before i weld it all together.
I love the stance of the FONG bros cream xs with the 21inch front and back rims mounted to the stock hubs.

Does anyone know of any good rims that wont run me out the wazzoo that can mount to the stock hubs of a 1975....

The Fong bros used Ankronts but i they run about 150 a piece i believe.

Thanks!

Chef
 
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I found two 36 spoke rims from old dirtbikes. Both happen to be Sun Metal rims. One was from an old YZ and the other off a Husaberg or Husqvarna.

MikesXS has spokes for a 21" front, but not the rear.

For the rear, I read somewhere that 19" front spokes would work with the rear drum hub and a 21" rim. Don't quote me on that, but if you got some 19" fronts, it'd be worth a try. Otherwise, you can send your hub and rim to Buchanans and they'll make spokes for it.

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Just went through all this. If you worried about it costing a lot....STOP NOW! I did the 21 conversion from mikes looks better than I can describe. Between parts powder and getting the wheel trued it adds up quick. I'm sure you know about Buchanan but if your worried bout money you should stop there too!

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yeah i'm trying to go as cheap as possible. DT250's have a 36 spoke 21inch front and 19inch rear which i might just use both of those and not have a 21 in the back....
or i could go with two front rims but then i'd have a 3.00 in the back, do you guys think that's too skinny? ( vs the 4.00 18in rim.....)
 
Man, you got me all excited with the talk of DT's having a 3.00x21 rim. I was just imagining running a 120/70-21 instead of the 90/90-21. Then I realized that you were talking about the tire width not the rim width.

Every 650 you have ever seen that runs 21's front and back have a super skinny tire on them. The widest 21" tire that is manufactured is the 120/70-21 (~ 4.75), but in order to use that tire, your rim has to be a minimum of 3" wide, 3.5" is recommended. Most 21" rims range from 1.60-2.15. A 90/90-21 tire is about 3.5" wide so it's not a whole lot skinnier than the stock 4.00.

I definately agree with the going as cheap as possible. If you can find some dirtbike rims in decent shape for $15-20 it sure beats $150 a pop. I got lucky and got both of mine for free.

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If you just want to order spokes from Buchanan's all you have to do is tell them you have a rear hub from a '75 and that you're lacing it to a 21" rim. They'll have the measurements for your rim and will adjust the spoke length accordingly. No need to send your hub and rim to them.

Lace it yourself and then you can either true it yourself or bring it to your local bicycle shop.
 
Teebs said:
If you just want to order spokes from Buchanan's all you have to do is tell them you have a rear hub from a '75 and that you're lacing it to a 21" rim. They'll have the measurements for your rim and will adjust the spoke length accordingly. No need to send your hub and rim to them.

Lace it yourself and then you can either true it yourself or bring it to your local bicycle shop.
Click to expand...

I thought that too, but when I called, they told me that the spoke holes may have to be re-angled. So I sent both rims and paid the extra $40. Got them back and all they did was take a slightly larger drill bit and enlarge the spoke holes a bit to allow the spoke to point at a slightly steeper angle. I'll do the next set myself. And it's a good idea to take a photo of the lace pattern for later reference.

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I love that Fong Bros bike, I'm not even done with my first build (a generic peanut tank bobber) and I'm already planning to do something like that Fong Bros bike next.

Sorry I've got no info for you regarding rims but good luck with the build!
 
Found where I read about spoke swapping.

Anyone wanting to convert to a 21″ rear , Tip- after some measuring and study , the spokes from the 19″ front wheel configuration on 74-79 standards will lace the 18″ hub up to 21″. You can do the front conversion with Buchannon spokes to go from 19 – *21″
Click to expand...

got that from here
http://www.xs650chopper.com/2010/07/boardtrack-21/#more-9136

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Nice i'll see if buchanan's can hook me up with some spokes... What I would really like is to lace the 21inch from the DT250 to an XS1 front hub because it's simply beautiful. But those hubs are a little expensive.

Thanks for all the tips!

I don't know much about tires but I suppose I could get a slightly taller sidewall on the 18inch rim to make it a more the same size as the front..
 
- ive got both XS1 and SR500 front drum hubs, they look very similar, with the exception that the SR hub has 5 holes on the lhs instead of 6...i find the SR brake works better than the XS1...may be cheaper ?
 
Earz said:
I thought that too, but when I called, they told me that the spoke holes may have to be re-angled. So I sent both rims and paid the extra $40. Got them back and all they did was take a slightly larger drill bit and enlarge the spoke holes a bit to allow the spoke to point at a slightly steeper angle. I'll do the next set myself. And it's a good idea to take a photo of the lace pattern for later reference.

Posted via Mobile
Click to expand...

Of course the spokes aren't going to line up perfectly, and you are going to have to do some modification. If you're building your own scoot, doing it all yourself, that's just kind of a given, I think. How much more (beyond the $40) to ship both wheels both ways?
 
They drill the holes a little larger and there mounted in a gig that has the correct angles for the larger rim. I'm looking into mounting 17's front and back (costly ....but what the hell, its only money right? ).
Have fun with it.....jimi
 
Honestly, unless you're trying to get your build on the road right away, I'd save your money and go the Buchanan's route. I purchased the stainless 21" conversion spokes from Mikes and have to say the Buchanan's spoke set is worth the extra $40.

The spoke nipples in the Mikes set are total crap. First of all, they're a one size fits all. Additionally, they don't tighten down well unless you have them cranked down pretty far, which makes it very difficult if not impossible to true. Because of that, they crack easily and they don't include many replacement nipples or spokes... I think maybe two and both of the replacement spokes in the set were not threaded (is this common practice??)

In my case, I could try to order replacement nippels from Buchanan's (since Mikes doesn't sell they're own), but I figure I'm better off cutting my losses early and going for a matching set of spokes and nipples that fit the hub and the 21" Akront rim I'm running. You get what you pay for with parts.
 
I did a mikes 21 front 64 spoke set and it worked great. A recent 18" front conversion not quite so smooth but it's together and been run hard no issues. Mikes now supplies 40 spoke sets so you have 2 extra innies and outies if there are some QC issues. I buy wide 18" rims from Italy and the rim hole angles require fuggling to get all the spokes to set straight once laced, not ideal by any means, again so far no issues in use.
 
That's excellent to hear Gary! Obviously the length worked great, but like I said the lack of spare pieces in the set I purchased and quality of spoke nipple weren't so hot; however, I first built these wheels before Mikes changed owners... not sure if this particular product changed, but maybe it has since then?
 

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