Thinking about this wreck....

Let me apologize as well and clarify. I have no problem whatsovever with cast wheels. I think they look just fine. My like was for Scott's brother in law comment.
 
This thread was discussing the expense and labor of making old spoke wheels look nicer, so........THESE ARE NOT NEW SPOKES. Remember those Paint-By-Number sets? The rim is polished. The spokes are degreased, steel wooled, wiped with acetone, tack clothed, brushed with Rust Reformer, and finally painted with two coats of spray paint applied with a brush. I'm a happy guy.
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This thread was discussing the expense and labor of making old spoke wheels look nicer, so........THESE ARE NOT NEW SPOKES. Remember those Paint-By-Number sets? The rim is polished. The spokes are degreased, steel wooled, wiped with acetone, tack clothed, brushed with Rust Reformer, and finally painted with two coats of spray paint applied with a brush. I'm a happy guy.
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Those are a work of art...I only hope my 2 wheels look anywhere as nice as yours. My '77 wasn't taken care of for it's entire life, me thinks...:(
 
Wow, nice job Scott. That's a lot of work!
Beautiful.

Thanks Rob, thanks MB, the aluminum has gotten some water spots and smudges. We had a rash of high humidity and floods a while back. Things were just dripping in the garage, never seen it like that before. So bad that heat or ventilation would not have helped.

Scott
 
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I kinda like my mag wheels. I had them blasted and powdercoated in a color called "anthracite" but I would call it gunmetal.....

They (in my eyes) look a lot better than when I got the bike. I just really want to try a set of spoked wheels. There are also some tires I want to try that don't come in 16" which is what my rear mag is.

Maybe I conduct this experiment and then switch back to Mags...Iduno.... maybe this grows into 2 fully functioning bikes. Time will tell.

Anyway, to keep it on topic... I did email the guy a few questions, he emailed me back and said he read my email and will call me to discuss. He must have a similar life to mine, where days just sort of go by and disappear so I have yet to talk to him about the bike.

Clearly I'm not doing anything related to the XS "on the cheap". I would have failed that test long ago. I try not to overpay but the joy of working on these is the reason I'm into it.
 
It's nice to have spare wheels ready to go. If you get a flat or wear a tire out, you can swap the spare on while you fix the original. The 18" rear will quicken steering and handling a little, as long as you stick with the proper 110 tire width, and I think you'll like that.
 
I really think that 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder' or builder...I think my idea for the 'mag' look turned out well. However, I would rather have spoke wheels.
 

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Besides a "thanks for reaching out, I'll give you a call later today" confirmation email when I first emailed the guy, I have heard nothing.

I sent him one more yesterday just letting him know I'm leaving town for a bit on Friday but would still be interested to talk before then. I have had this happen before on CraigsList. Some people post stuff, but just don't respond.

Taking the fam to DC for some R&R on Friday. When I get back I'll pick the project back up. Maybe I'll just try to source some spoked wheels or hubs on here and begin from scratch.
 
Yupper! I try to get a phone number and keep it in my tickler file. I have sometimes bought bikes months and even YEARS after the original ad ran, IF I have a phone number or REAL email.
 
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