OK. Just added Spackle to the one side and bout to do the other. Looking a lot better I must say. Still nervous as to how thin the vinyl is when it gets here. I am going to sand the Spackle tomorrow morning. The floor stuff I was going to use is made of polypropylene and they say it would melt or if not hot the carbon would not adhere to it so I went ahead with the Spackle. I bought some latex primer spray to go over it first. Then the carbon.

Just finished both sides. How smooth do I have to have this stuff when I'm finished sanding tomorrow morning.

Guess that question should be for shark. How sanded do these need to be for the vinyl

I finished. Got interrupted for a bit cause I had to work that came up but got back to it. Like yall said it is slightly bumpy, however the sound is incredible and way better than my cover. I am in process of doing another. This is for my good wheel though. Can't wait. Learned a lot on this one. Realized the work is not nearly as bad since I won't be using spackle. Gonna shove foam and sand til smooth. Then use floor muffler for the top.

If we were using carbon cloth and epoxy, then the finish can be doctored more, hit it with a two part matte clear when all said and done.

But with this project if it passes the 10 foot test, then it's all good.

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Training Tweets: https://twitter.com/Jagersport_com
FM Sports: http://fluidmotionsports.com

It's when the light hits it is when a little undulating. Who cares tho. I am not posing it as real anyway. And based on my finishing times in duathlons no one will ever see it unless they pass out after their final run In the transition zone when I'm coming in from biking. 😊

I love the fake checker plate vinyl!

I think the checker plate would also work like the dimples on some wheels to reduce the boundary layer effect as well. Choice Bro!

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TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

I've thought that instead of using a spoked wheel, an foam with a carbon or vinyl covering, using preformed foam sheet (Styrofoam SM or the stronger 40 and 60 versions) to fill in a blank rim.

Use a form to hold the hub in the middle, and rim at the right place. Sheet foam cut to shape for each side. Glue the two sheets together to clamp the hub and rim in place, then cover the sides with carbon. Bond the carbon to the hub and to the side of the rim (cover the braking surface to give good bond and also make a wider wheel as is the current rage) and there you have it, a wide wheel flat (not lenticular) disc.

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TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

I forgot to put the final pictures. My bad. Use the floor muffler and place over the foam you sprayed on (and then sawed off) to make a super smooth surface and use gorilla glue to glue down. It will take all night to set and dry. Then place on vinyl carbon fiber and hair dry heat it to adhere it to foam. And no it has had no problems for six months. And yes it does make the sound. No one can tell it is fake but I completely tell everyone it is. I am more proud I made a fake wheel than to say it is authentic.https://goo.gl/...os/133AbSDGq4bzWUkX9

How do you replace/inflate tubes? This look really interesting, may want to give it a try, I'm assuming the foam stuff and the carbon layup is 100% for appearance as you are using a regular old wheel? But you say that it does make the whomp whomp sound?

I cut out that part and placed a piece of carbon vinyl over it. You can't tell where it is because it mtcxhes up perfectly. When time to air it up, peel it back and pump with air.

And whomp whomp whomp is a yes

Bringing this topic back from the dead, it looked like a fun project so I'm giving it a swing with some low quality items and upon success I may step it up and make something better this winter.

Went to the LBS last night and BS'd around with the fellas, told them about this project, turns out they had a take off rear wheel with the hub sitting around collecting dust which they sold to me for 25 dollars. AlexRims DA22 wheel with a Ritchey hub.

It's a tank, with tape and skewer last night it pulled in at a little over 1000 grams.

I had purchased a 2 foot by 6 foot roll of 3D carbon vinyl wrap from an amazon company "SimCarbon" late last year for something else but never used it. The roll cost me 5 dollars, this was not any sale or special price. Not sure what the quality will bring but it has good reviews on Amazon. I do plan on adding an additional adhesive before laying it down.

Last night I picked up 2 cans of "GREAT STUFF" insulating foam sealant intended for big gaps. 4 dollars a can.

Project cost so far (USD):

AlexRims Da22 + Ritchey hub: $25.00
2ft x 6ft Carbon wrap: $5.00
Poly foam sealant: $8.00

Total: $38.00

As of now, here's what I have done.

I started by removing the skewer and cleaning up the wheel as best as I could. I found a big old cardboard box, cut one side out that would be larger than the wheel itself, measured center wheel to brake track, then used the skewer (center of cardboard) + string + ink pen (length equal to center wheel to brake track) to stencil a circle on to the cardboard. Cut out the circle using a box cutter. This will be the backing to one side of the wheel so I could spray the foam in and have a surface for it to sit on, the idea being it will expand but primarily out of one side.

I decided to use the non drive side for the cardboard fairing since it has the more concaved shape and this would be the tougher of the 2 sides to evenly sand.

Fixed the cardboard to the non drive side using gaffers tape because that ish doesn't budge, sealed up around the hub so it wouldn't leak, I also wrapped the drive side freehub with paper and tape to protect from the rising expanding foam once I laid it down.

Last thing before I sprayed the foam, I decided that I would use 32mm presta tubes for this wheel. I took a tube and pushed it through the wheel and marked on the cardboard where the valve would sit. Using a paper towel roll, I traced a circle around this area, cut it out of the cardboard, then fixed the towel roll through. I also took a straw and threaded it up through the wheel where your tube stem would go and connected it to the towel roll. Thought being this would save trouble down the line and hopefully produce a nice looking space to inflate the wheel once it's read to go.

Laid the wheel down in my basement with the cardboard towards the floor, and started filling up with the spray foam. Last night I thought I ran short and should have bought 3 cans. This morning, holy crap! That stuff really expands!

I'm letting it sit today, then tonight I'll remove the cardboard and start cutting, shaving and sanding down the shape. Afterwards I'll take another can of the foam and attempt to fill some of the minor air pockets on the sanded edges. Saturday I'll sand those down, wipe it down, then wrap it up.

Hopefully by Sunday we'll be rolling.

I have taken a ton of pictures and documented the entire process, upon success I will put it in a YouTube video without the music.

Does anyone have a recommendation on an additional adhesive to use between the carbon vinyl wrapping and the polyurethane foam?

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Regards,
J. Smith

3M professional automotive trim adhesive is pretty solid stuff avail. @ auto supply shops.

The parallel genre that these DIY disc wheels fall under to me is model aircraft building.

The wheel I built is kinda heavy so I thought why not try to go at it will balsa sheet to bridge the spokes, then finish with fabric, as in wing, cover.

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Training Tweets: https://twitter.com/Jagersport_com
FM Sports: http://fluidmotionsports.com

Don't need the balsa sheet, just a disc to adhere the monocote to near the hub. We used to use a modified coffee can lid for this, back in the day.

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Tech writer/support on this here site. FIST school instructor and certified bike fitter. Formerly at Diamondback Bikes, LeMond Fitness, FSA, TiCycles, etc.
Coaching and bike fit - http://source-e.net/ Cyclocross blog - https://crosssports.net/ BJJ instruction - https://ballardbjj.com/

I'll swing by an autozone tonight and grab some, cheers. And thanks for the topic. I've had the idea in the back of my mind for a while now, but it's refreshing to find that somebody else had already dove in and lived to tell about it, especially pointers.

Glad to see you're still active too, would you be up for a couple of questions?

How has your original disc held up? How many miles have you put on it and has it stayed true? Did you ever make your second disc going for weight reduction base on what you learned with the first?

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Regards,
J. Smith

I used it as a "beater" disc last year - just something fun and different to ride on. Not much for miles though I think. I got a set of near new HED 6/9 that I have on the CR901 at the moment. The disc is lumpy. If I were to do again, I would delete the foam completely and use balsa wood as the filler (ie a hollow wheel) then perhaps a real carbon top sheet layer to keep that all in place. Or even a fiberglass. Polyester resin would work nice. I have done a few projects recently with fiberglass.

Disc wheels - as in a good used are rare and hard to find. I've never been able to buy one. I paid almost $1000 for a worn in Zipp/flat disc years ago. This DIY one rides smoother to be honest, but it is heavier. So to make a usable training disc out of a wheel I was going to toss is a bonus really. Makes the project worth it.

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Training Tweets: https://twitter.com/Jagersport_com
FM Sports: http://fluidmotionsports.com

Cool. I have an aerojacket but just bought one of the Aeron discs which is a bonded carbon over a hollow spoked wheel, we'll see how that works out. One day I'll pick up a Zipp.

I picked up a variation of Gorilla glue at Lowes that specifically bonds vinyl and poly. Today I shaved off the first application then filled gaps. Tomorrows plan is shaving the second application of foam then brushing on some glue and applying the vinyl. I'm still not positive what route I'll go to seal the vinyl to the rim to make a clean edge. Was thinking g some clear caulk applied by hand using a finger, really light.

This has been a lot of fun to do, push come to shove it will make a nice wall decor and a story to boot.

I like your idea with basal, in fact if you did it right and c clamped all the way around the wheel you could still potentially foam the inside and as it expanded it would worm its way out of the tube nozzle cut out. That stuff weighs nothing I've learned, you would spend maybe 25g weight in foam in exchange for the "whomp whomp" everyone is so fond of, won't get it with just the cover.

More to come

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Regards,
J. Smith

I now see the major problem with the "lumps", my first application expanded and then retracted! I shaved it after 24 hours and it was pretty smooth but it's since retracted in about an 1/8 to 1/4 an inch between the spokes.

New plan, pick up another 2 cans of foam, reapply to one side then let it sit for 72 hours, cut and shave then another 24 hours, then any last altercations. Then the other side.

In no rush, we'll see if this helps create a smoother surface area to apply the vinyl. I e got half a mind to get 1/16 in paper poster board and apply that to the foam, hit it with "modge podge" to waterproof it, then apply the vinyl to that.

Lots of fun though!

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Regards,
J. Smith

If you can, post some pics of the progress! I'm watching this thread and your progress with interest as I'm considering making one of these too... I actually work fairly often with this type of foam in my job doing insulating jobs on houses, the stuff is incredibly sticking/messy! Their are a few options, some expand a lot more than others, I would think the foam that expands more will be lighter weight... I'm probably the most curious about "bonding" the outer skin to the foam and the wheel's rim... I know some products will "eat" the foam... curious to know from those who have made these wheels, do you overlap the skin a little over the rim? Or is the skin strictly covering the foam and trimmed right up to the rim, but not overlapping the rim?

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Tony
http://www.triathleteguru.com

I think I would be hesitant to use the poster board.. Any water infiltration would lead to warping and bonding issues, despite efforts to waterproof it.... How about Tyvek ?? Would that be of any use in such an application?

wow, just found this beautiful project! https://laserbuildingprocess.wordpress.com/2013/12/

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Tony
http://www.triathleteguru.com

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Tony
http://www.triathleteguru.com