Riot shield wheel covers

(Dished wheel covers, 2mm polycarbonate)

Does anyone get annoyed by rough, DIY wheel covers ruining the look of their polo bike? I have the facilities to produce dished wheel covers, made from polycarbonate (riot shield material) with screen-printed artwork, for about £10 a pair (to cover both sides of 1 wheel).

Before I go any further I just wanted to see if any of you would be interested. I’d be grateful if you’d give your opinions and/or reply to the poll.

Thanks

I don't get annoyed with the aesthetics of it, just having to replace them after epic shots from the opposition.
If they held up better then I might be interested.

A few questions...
How do they compare against corex in terms of weight?
Durability - do they scuff up, crack?
How easy would they be to punch holes in for fitting?

Would look good made up like actual police riot shields.

Maybe with the word "Poloice" in the same font as "Police".

Very zeitgeist, very 2011, very rioty.

: P

Polycarbonate wont crack.
I haven't tested tham for scuffing but how visible scuffs are would surely depend on the colour of the plastic used, i.e. on black they would hardly show.
They would probably be heavier than Correx but as they're only 2mm not very much so.
They will come will holes pre-drilled with the spacings to suit various numbers of spokes. You can then secure them with a set of screws. I may be able to supply these too if price is not too prohibitive

Could you just get transparent ones if required?

Yeah, clear, any solid colour, or any semi-transparent colour

I think the key question is the weight, could you please, give us exact weight for one cover, please.

Set me up for a pair! Btw is it one size fits all? Cos there are a myriad of rims in the polo scene hence the question :)

@coventry eagle: Can be pre-cut for you. I'll include a size option when ordering to cater for different rim sizes.

@rik: Regarding weight I can only give an estimate at the moment. My calculation:

25.5"diameter (to suit a 26" rim)
axle clearance hole 5cm diameter
= approx. 600grams

Similar to the fiberglass ones we used last year then.

any pics of prototypes? for that price i am definitely interested.

I think the key question is the weight, could you please, give us exact weight for one cover, please.

@rik: Regarding weight I can only give an estimate at the moment. My calculation:
25.5"diameter (to suit a 26" rim)
axle clearance hole 5cm diameter
= approx. 600grams

sorry to double check, 600gr is just one cover?

seen to me a bit to heavy...

could you do them of just 1mm and reduce weight in half???

Interested in a pair...

I'm using an average figure I found for density of 1.2g/cubic cm. If I used a lower density polycarbonate i.e. 1.0g/cubic cm they could be about 400grams each. Getting this plastic shouldn't be an issue

but then will they be weaker?

I was thinking if enough people are interested to make the whole thing viable I can send out some samples and get some feedback, then go into production

for the fiberglass ones Gabes mention before, for 700c the weight is 495gr per side, been 1.5mm in thickness
I run them for over 8 months, and they are very heavy, yes plenty strong, but very heavy, I ended up goig back to state agent covers

I think you should be aiming for under 300gr per side to make this interesting, at least for me

That's a great help, thanks rik. I'll bear this in mind

Does anyone have the weight of a correx cover?

pique?

~220g for one side.

Don't know who Stu F is, but I built some for myself.

rubbish photos but will do for now.

If you're looking for input from someone who's done it, 2mm is WAY overkill .
I'm using thinner and taking as much as possible out of the centre-section for the sake of low weight - low weight is good.

I've done some unscientific testing which has involved smashing-'em-with-a-golfclub - it ended in small dinks in the polycarb and a truable wheel which in my eyes isn't too bad. Still a ton tougher than the estate agent alternative.
The scuffs visible in the photo are actually just dirt and muck picked up from our winter pickup court not scratches.

Been letting the wheel-covers ride onto the rim so that it will spread the force through more of the spokes than if it was sat flush to 'said' spokes. I'm sure this helps quite a bit, but is reliant on having either deep rims or no rim-brake on your covered wheel.

Colin

i think i'm gonna stick with the lighter, free, corex

i hope my street cred doesn't go down with my DIY covers ruining the look of my polo bike

The bonus of corex is that it soaks up the force of the ball from the spokes. Having the polycarb will spread the load but nipples will still snap.

Zipp ties are good because they're cheap but also easy to make safe. a metal fastening will be more likely to cause harm in contact with skin.