Hi all @ slowtwitch, my name is John and I’m the head of www.TTFlyWheels.com
We create disc wheel covers, they weigh approximately 40 to 50 grams and our process semi-permanently attaches a heat shrink plastic cover around your hub to below the braking surface, for $105.
Also, we’re working with bicyclewheelwarehouse.com to assess demand for new disc wheels, so you don’t have to mail to us to get covered but can just order a new wheel and get it within the week.
Many of people’s questions are up in the FAQ section of my site, and I have a few photos of existing bikes hyperlinked on the right section of the site.
So far we’ve shipped out orders to several individuals, and a batch order of 10 to a bike shop in Ottawa, Canada, no complaints so far.
The main advantages of the wheel covers are
- weight (basically the same as the wheel you send in)
- stiffness (from my experience the lightweight carbon/composite disks have stiffness issues)
- you can still true the wheel from above the rim with a screwdriver
Disadvantages
- durability, they won’t stand up to abuse, but will last fine under normal riding circumstances
- lack of custom logos AT THIS POINT (we’re planning on hiring either a) an artist who’s good w/ an airbrush or b) a vinyl cutter to cut out logos
We’re based out of harrisonburg, VA right between the valleys, and starting this weekend we plan on making our presence known at most races in the Virginia Triathlon Series
Myself, I’m racing Angels Race in VA, the sprint tri, w/ my personal flywheels cover, so if you’re at the race you can see it. I’ll be doing the run portion of the Rumpass/Bumpass relay at Lake Anna, and will bring along a sample wheel to show around there too.
Check out my site, its www.TTFlyWheels.com, and feel free to email me at any time
Sincerely,
John Dorrance
I wish I could advertise like this.
how are these covers different than wheelbuilders.com covers.
i cant really see the contruction of them on your site.
350 grams
how are these covers different than wheelbuilders.com covers.
i cant really see the contruction of them on your site.
So is this process& material like the old J-Disc wheels?
so they’re lighter and cheaper?
40-50 grams though, that seems ridiculously light i have no idea how that would hold up.
ttflywheels, can you post up some more pictures of your product.
It looks and sounds like J-disc I had one long ago,works great.
our process semi-permanently attaches a heat shrink plastic cover around your hub to below the braking surface
That’s the difference. You can’t take this on and off like a wheelbuilder cover. Also sounds like it’s a bit more delicate. I need to get back to work on my custom carbon fiber cover.
so they’re lighter and cheaper?
40-50 grams though, that seems ridiculously light i have no idea how that would hold up.
This is the same as the homemade wheel covers many here have made, but hopefully more professionally done. They hold up fine, barring puncture. Even then, they can be patched. It’s only ultracote or similar, plus a plastic bit or two for the valve opening and hub. It’s bonded to the rim.
i saw the carbon fiber ultracote and i laughed. you can even fake the bling factor.
check out the video on the site, i tried to get close ups form most every angle
and yes, it is similar to Nosler’s J-Discs, with a cover similar to monocote too
If you’ve a right angel valve adapter, I’d suggest getting a small cut out, otherwise just tape over the valve stem cut out come race time.
What kind of close up photos do you want? i tried to hit all the possible angles in the video
I think people would like pics b/c they’re higher resolution than the video. How delicate are we talking here for the cover?
DANG!!! That’s one honkin’ huge valve opening. You must have a honkin’ huge pump. Is it safe to assume you don’t have to have a valve opening that large? Also, any issue doing 650c wheels?
if you stab it with a screwdriver, it will break, if you were to punch it as hard as you could, it might come off the rim, thats the kinda delicate i’m talking about
hold on i’ll work on some photos, once they’re up they will be under the ‘wheels’ page on the site
lol to the carbon fiver coating too
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It must be that way so you can use the Vittoria Pit Stop w/o an adapter. 
Performance wise a disc is a disc is a disc. I think you’ve got a real winner here. I’ll be sending you a Neuvation M28 Aero for a fitting.
One of the ST criticisms of the CH/wheelbuilder cover is that it doesn’t give that cool “wump wump” sound. And it’s all about being cool right? From your website, this will make a lot of people happy:
"What about the “Wump Wump” noise of a disc wheel? Wheels built with our covers make more of a “whoosh whoosh noise”, distinctive and similar to the “wump wump”.
Posted a couple photos of the original checkerboard wheel up on the ‘wheels’ page
Thanks for the support cerveloguy
Any suggestions for making the website more clear? This post is not even so much about advertising my business as it is throwing around ideas about it, and I know you all here @ slowtwitch are some of the best bike geeks around
Posted a couple photos of the original checkerboard wheel up on the ‘wheels’ page
As one who has, several times, made my own cover along the same lines as yours (I used a cut-up yogurt container and lid for the valve opening and the hub interface :-), I gotta tell you: that’s the crappiest trimming I’ve ever seen. Seriously. You need to have a jig with a really sharp blade and trim the circumference perfectly. My J-Disk was perfectly trimmed. Yours looks like how mine might have looked had I been doing it left-handed in the dark.
I hope you have better examples.
Judging by the pictures, it looks like the knife was too dull. Nothing 5 minutes with a good sharpening stone can’t fix.
I’m more concerned with the waviness of the cover near the valve stem. It’s not that bad, but how much has that wheel been used? It looks like it might start counteracting the aerodynamic advantages of a disc if it loosened up too much.
How does the covering react to heat (hot, sunny summer day)?
yeah, the checker board wheel was one of my first few attempts, and I’ve streamlined the process since then.
For one thing, a yogurt lid isn’t optimal for a surface for heat shrink plastic to adhere to, it needs to adhere to fiberglass or wood, not plastic, also a direct bonding to metal isn’t ideal.
my cuts have gotten a lot better, that wheel pictured is my personal wheel, and I overbuilt the internal framework and didnt cut it with a string /compass method like I did with that wheel.
Most importantly, the cover has to have a surface to adhere to that is PERPENDICULAR to the plane of the wheel, as that way when it shrinks (as you know it shrinks to up to 80% or so of the original diameter, it pulls heavily on the outer bonds, so with the wheels I make there is about a 2.5 mm adhesion surface that the cover goes around , where it is most important.
The area of structural significance with the covers is around the rim and especially around the valve area.