ElectricMotorcycleForum.com
Makes And Models => Zero Motorcycles Forum | 2013+ => Topic started by: ZeroMark on September 12, 2015, 10:16:59 AM
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Curious to hear anyones take on why in this day and age of alloy wheels, anyone would want spoked wheels on their motorcycle. I have spoked wheels on my 2014 DS, but i would trade them in a heartbeat if someone wanted to, especially ZERO. I'm secretly hoping they will trade them for the 2014 alloy wheels the other bikes all came with, or the 2015 alloy wheels on the 2015 DS. Both my front and back wheel seem out of round with these spoked wheels, and i would bet the alloy ones never do.
Is there any practical or even logical reason why all other zero 2014 bikes had alloy rims and the 2014 had these spoked wheels?
Can I put a tubeless tire on those spoked rims, or is that yet another reason i dislike the spoked wheel. Other then looking good for the first few days, why in the world would anyone want spoked wheels/rims?
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Spokes are tougher, better for off road, can handle shock loads better, vs work hardening of alloy, which will crack.
that's why steel spokes are used for off road and also why off road 4WD drive car wheels are also steel vs Alloy.
Also some people like the look of chrome spoke wheels. Alloy is easier and cheaper to manufacture.
if you only ride on road then alloy will be ok.
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+1 on firepower's comments, plus I believe spoked wheels are significantly lighter.
I'm no fan of spoked wheels - I've got two of them now with broken spokes awaiting the next tire change - but if you ride in the dirt a lot they're really the only game in town. When something nasty is hit real hard (which happens to me at least 5 times per ride), the wheel must 'give' a little or it will eventually fail.
Another issue is tire size. A while back I got a '14 DS 19" front rim (leftover from a SM build) and hope to eventually have 18 x 2.5" and 19 x 2.15" rear wheels so I can use all the latest MX tires. Spoked wheels allow mixing and matching like this.
Re the tubeless tire - perhaps there's a way to use a mousse-type insert with them? or maybe they can be run with tubes? I realize this defeats a big reason for running tubeless tires, but IMO the major benefit - having the latest-design tires on your bike - remains.
http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/5174/i/michelin-bib-mousse-flat-proof-competition-foam-tube?WT.mc_ID=80003&P_ID=43373&colorid=9&sizeid=856&SITEID=Google+SEARCH+NON-BRAND+Product+Level+Ads+-+Google+Shopping+Campaign&P_ID=1554160532&adpos=1o1&creative=53697087053&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=CM7yo7668ccCFVOQHwodJ7EIgg (http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/5174/i/michelin-bib-mousse-flat-proof-competition-foam-tube?WT.mc_ID=80003&P_ID=43373&colorid=9&sizeid=856&SITEID=Google+SEARCH+NON-BRAND+Product+Level+Ads+-+Google+Shopping+Campaign&P_ID=1554160532&adpos=1o1&creative=53697087053&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=CM7yo7668ccCFVOQHwodJ7EIgg)
Ray
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I believe wheels with spokes provide more "give" when riding off-road and are less likely to crack than stiff cast wheels. That is why BMW uses spoked wheels on all of their GS models. While most (but not all) wheels with spokes need tubes in them to keep the air from leaking out through the spoke nipples,the tubes allow you to run lower air pressure than tubeless-tires without the chance of the tire rolling off of the rim and that lower pressure will better absorb off road hits and provide much better traction when riding in the rough. While you can get tubeless wheels that use spoke support, such as are used by BMW and Moto Guzzi on their most expensive GS-style models, those wheels are very expensive and heavy, which adds an unsprung load to both your suspension and your wallet. ;) So I can see why Zero specified spoked wheels for their DS models. (Surprisingly, I have found that most spoked wheels as used on street-legal motorcycles are noticeably heavier than modern cast wheels.)
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All 's have alloy wheels
All ds's have spokes including the 15 which I think you believe has alloys,
All ds are spokes don't change that if your going to ride off-road!!!
Edit: I stand corrected 15s have alloys....
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All 's have alloy wheels
All ds's have spokes including the 15 which I think you believe has alloys,
All ds are spokes don't change that if your going to ride off-road!!!
The '15 DS has alloy wheels, not spokes.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk
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I don't think modern alloys are too brittle and I suspect it's purely aesthetic nowadays. Even Dakar rally and rallyecross 4x4s use alloy wheels now and they take a frightening amount of punishment.
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I
I don't think modern alloys are too brittle and I suspect it's purely aesthetic nowadays. Even Dakar rally and rallyecross 4x4s use alloy wheels now and they take a frightening amount of punishment.
But all the bikes use spokes! I think it would be safe to say that bike manufacturers have good reason to still put spokes on dirt bikes, and I highly doubt it would be for aesthetics! Yes, alloy these days is very tough, and most spoked bikes have alloy hubs and outer rims. It's cheaper and more convenient to replace broken spokes or rims, rather than a whole wheel. It's bad enough to damage a rim or break spokes, but I think that if a full alloy wheel broke on a bike, it would be much more dangerous, and it would be impossible to limp the bike home.
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All 's have alloy wheels
All ds's have spokes including the 15 which I think you believe has alloys,
All ds are spokes don't change that if your going to ride off-road!!!
The '15 DS has alloy wheels, not spokes.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk
Are the 2015 DS wheels compatible with the 2014 bike?
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ZeroMark,
One thing I didn't comment on, regarding seeming to be "out of round", most spoked wheels, if done correctly, are very close to being true, and when a tyre is on it, I doubt we'd be able to feel a difference.
Regarding "tubeless", the closest thing to that for a spoke wheel would be the TUbliss system. It's had good reviews, but I've never tried it: http://nuetech.com/tubliss/#sthash.g2nfbdvf.dpbs (http://nuetech.com/tubliss/#sthash.g2nfbdvf.dpbs)