I thought I'd post this in case anyone wants to try this. I read about this in another DIY disc wheel thread, but did not find any detailed instructions or videos on the interwebs on how to do this.
wheel: chinese zipp 303 knock off carbon tubulars, very lightweight, has straight (and non dimpled) rim profile good for gluing the monokote to
materials:
top flite monokote film 2'x6' - $20
superglue acrylic contact cement - $8
yoghurt lids or other scrap plastic - free
tools
sealing iron - $40 (you can get a cheaper one)
heat gun (i just used my regular home remodel one I have, worked fine)
compass
felt tip pen
exacto knife - $11
scissors
scrap piece of foam or brush (to spread the contact cement on the rim)
DIY level: intermediate.
time to complete: 3hrs
I cut 3 circles out of various scrap plastic (yoghurt lid or similar) for the hubs and the valve hole. I attached the ones for the hubs using tiny scraps of duct tape rolled with the sticky side out.
the monokote film is very lightweight, its 24" wide and 6' long and a single roll will cover 1 wheel with plenty of extra for experimenting. i chose matte black, but its actually a dark grey color, just like in the picture.
I did the more dished, non drive first, and then the drive side. I decided to have the valve hole on the drive side because the valve is closer to that side. I marked the valve location on the tire with the sharpie (yes, its where the tire decals are, but just to be exact). I iron sealed the film over the yoghurt circle around the hub first (did not use any glue there) and then used the contact cement around the rim and glued the outer edge down. This is what it looks like before you shrink it with the heat gun.
I shrunk it to a tight drum like finish with the heat gun, this takes quite a bit of time and practice. It seems the film first stretches when you start heating it, and then if it reaches a certain temp and then cools then it shrinks. It took me quite a while to figure out the correct temp and time to get all the wrinkles out, and managed to only burn one hole in it on the first side I did. Once it cooled, i cut out the valve hole and glued another yoghurt circle plastic from the inside to enforce the valve hole on the drive side.
the non-drive side. I did this one first, i patched a small hole I burnt near the rim.
The final product:
Two wheels good. Four wheels bad.
wheel: chinese zipp 303 knock off carbon tubulars, very lightweight, has straight (and non dimpled) rim profile good for gluing the monokote to
materials:
top flite monokote film 2'x6' - $20
superglue acrylic contact cement - $8
yoghurt lids or other scrap plastic - free
tools
sealing iron - $40 (you can get a cheaper one)
heat gun (i just used my regular home remodel one I have, worked fine)
compass
felt tip pen
exacto knife - $11
scissors
scrap piece of foam or brush (to spread the contact cement on the rim)
DIY level: intermediate.
time to complete: 3hrs
I cut 3 circles out of various scrap plastic (yoghurt lid or similar) for the hubs and the valve hole. I attached the ones for the hubs using tiny scraps of duct tape rolled with the sticky side out.
the monokote film is very lightweight, its 24" wide and 6' long and a single roll will cover 1 wheel with plenty of extra for experimenting. i chose matte black, but its actually a dark grey color, just like in the picture.
I did the more dished, non drive first, and then the drive side. I decided to have the valve hole on the drive side because the valve is closer to that side. I marked the valve location on the tire with the sharpie (yes, its where the tire decals are, but just to be exact). I iron sealed the film over the yoghurt circle around the hub first (did not use any glue there) and then used the contact cement around the rim and glued the outer edge down. This is what it looks like before you shrink it with the heat gun.
I shrunk it to a tight drum like finish with the heat gun, this takes quite a bit of time and practice. It seems the film first stretches when you start heating it, and then if it reaches a certain temp and then cools then it shrinks. It took me quite a while to figure out the correct temp and time to get all the wrinkles out, and managed to only burn one hole in it on the first side I did. Once it cooled, i cut out the valve hole and glued another yoghurt circle plastic from the inside to enforce the valve hole on the drive side.
the non-drive side. I did this one first, i patched a small hole I burnt near the rim.
The final product:
Two wheels good. Four wheels bad.