24" Tuff Wheel, 7 spoke installation solutions!
There are a number of solutions for installing the Kool Caps onto 24" Graphite Tuff Wheels, and 24" Tuff II's. However: None of them are "plug and play".
As this page unfolds we will show you how it can be done! But, be aware, not all the 24" wheels are the same!
Therefore, I am reluctant to admit that it will work for the 24" wheels at all.
Be advised, that for every solution, there is often another fly in the ointment. Graphite, non-graphite, mold vintage, T-spoke, H-spoke, etc... The variants seem endless on the 24" wheels.
Here is why...
The Problems:
1. The basic problem with 24" installations is that the new Tuff Wheels have been manufactured with 7 spokes just as they were in the 1980's. However, the new hub design also incorporates 7 plastic spokes as well. 5 spoke flanges, don't cover all 7 spokes.
As we all know, in the 80's, the hubs only had 5 flanges, just like the 20 inch counterparts. So, creating a 7 spoke Kool Cap would cover the hub spokes, but would not give the real look and feel of the 1980's versions of the wheels.
2. There are different versions of the 24" Tuff Wheels. Among them, the H-spoke, and the T-spoke versions. Some have plastic wedges near the hub which must be removed or built over. Some have a thicker ring around the hub area, which either has to be cut down, or built around to install them. Some of them don't have either of these known issues and seem to work fine with the Kool Caps. In short, I beleive the molds have changed over time. I have no idea which wheels you have, or if they will fit, when it comes to the 24" wheels. Period.
The Solutions:
There is more than one solution to overcome this issue. And there are a few variants of the 24" wheels. But, we will show you the best ones. And will continue to show you any new ones, as they come to life.
From a manufacturing standpoint, there is no perfect solution here. Producing a 7 flange Kool Cap just doesn't seem right, because, they were never that way in the 80's, so they wouldn't be right now either. So, the next best thing is to get as close as possible to the look and feel of the early 80's, and still offer some "artistic liberty" to suit preferences.
The solution that we like the best, is this one. Because, it does not require any modifications to the wheel structure, and it is cheap, and relatively simple to do. However: it is still a "Do It Yourself" project. There is no real good way to offer it as a stand alone product, because of volume, cost, personal preferences, color choices, and numerous other variables involved. (The 24" wheels seem to change every so often.)
So, that said, if you are willing to be creative, and follow a few instructions, and apply a little bit of elbow grease, we can get you hooked up with some pretty cool looking retro 24" Tuff Wheels! Not to mention some cool, customization options, that aren't blatently incongruent to 1980's truths. ( Such as having 7 flanges )
Materials needed for "Solution 1":
1. Start with 4 each "Mini CD's or Mini DVD's. Not the standard size CD's, the wierd little ones. Your choice of using CD, or DVD discs, also creates a few distinct possibilities of unique variants with "artistic liberty".
We suggest taking them from your continuously growing pile of old software installation discs that you don't need anymore, and always wondered why they had to give you a "soon to be obsolete" smaller disc in the first place.
2. A Dremel moto tool, and a rotary bit.
3. Paint.
Ready?
Here goes...
Step one: Take one of your Mini CD's and decide which method you want to use to modify it, and decide which option you want to finish with.
Mini CD's have a very shiny silver coating on them. Sometimes they have a shiny black coating on them. Sometimes they have a shiny gold coating on them.
Mini DVD's often have a shiny purple appearance, as well as a myriad of other variants that exist.
We will start with a basic silver Mini CD. If you want to end up with a chrome looking back drop for your Kool Caps, you will need to be very careful of the shiny silver surface as you proceed, as it scratches easily. If you are going to opt for a matching colored back drop for you Kool Caps, then it doesn't matter how you treat the Mini CD, or if it was scratched in the first place.
Just as in the Gen I installation page:
For starters, you need to be safe, and wear all the proper safety equipment, such as safety glasses, and have some familiarity, and confidence, with use of the tools shown in the process.
Begin with a basic Dremel hand tool and a small rotary bit.
Or,
If you have the ability to do so, you can do as I do... Use a lathe.
In either case, the objective here is to make the center hole of the Mini CD, or Mini DVD the same size as the hubs on your 24" Tuff Wheels. Just take your time, and the plastic will cut like butter.
The cool thing here, is that there is a manufactured impression (a line) on the discs that lines up almost exactly at the size you want, which means you don't even have to scribe a circle, and it's already made perfectly on center... Almost like they knew what we were going to be using them for. It's the farthest line, just to the left of the tool bit here.
Whether you use a Dremel tool, or a lathe, just carefully cut the hole to the size of the hubs.
Caution! Since you can't clamp a thin plastic CD/DVD disc tightly in lathe jaws, you have to watch for them coming loose as you cut the hole. Be careful.
What you will have is a nice shiny disc, that is thin, tough, waterproof, and if you were careful, scratch free. I was not careful on this one, I wiped it on my flannel shirt and it had plastic junk on the disc. ...
Now you can make some artistic decisions. If you want to preserve the shiny finish, you can spray the disc with clear paint. And, truth be known, if you spray a scratched disc with clear paint, the light scratches will go away... It's true.
Or, you can spray it with white, black, blue, red, or any color you want.
Depending on what type of disc you started with, it may already be black, gold, purple, blue, or some other variant, and you can just use clear paint.
What would it look like in silver? On a white 24" wheel? With a Blue Gen II Kool Cap?
Like this...
Or, you could use a blue wheel with silver discs, and gold Kool Caps. Or, Black wheels, with a black Mini DVD, and gold Kool Caps. Or....?
I understand that this is the installation page for 24" wheels, and I am using a 20" wheel here. That is because I don't have every different color and size of Tuff Wheels on hand. The fact is, that now you can not see the 7 spokes under the Kool Caps, and you now have a huge number of cool options to work with here! The installation is the same.
And the hubs have 5 flanges. Just as they should! Even if the 24" wheels have 7 spokes, (just as they should)...
Or...
Or, you can just paint them...
As you can see here, I chose to carefully wipe the disc with my flannel shirt, and preserve all the dust with some semi-gloss black paint.
Since this is a demonstration, of but one, of many (hundreds of) possiblilities that work great, I just chose semi-gloss black. And, at this point, you can now add another variant to the surface finish. You can brush it with coarse steel wool. You can brush it with fine steel wool. You can brush it with a Scotch Brite pad. You can brush the finish in circles, or around it like a record. You can even air brush it, to look like it's 3D if you want to get carried away... Or, you can just drop it on while it's still wet, and take a photo, with the dust on it, as seen here... ;)
Yeah, I agree, I probably wouldn't put a black disc onto a white wheel. But, put the black disc on a black 24" graphite, with the right gloss on the disc, most people aren't ever going to be able to notice that the center is solid now! ...On the other hand, I kind of like this combination... Hmmm.
A white disc on the white 24" wheel, and voila!
Or... Blue on blue?
Or, red, on white, with gold?
Or, for the classic gold on the 24" graphites.
The possiblities are endless. And, it makes the 24" wheels very cool, very retro, and if you want, very unique! Unfortunately, I don't have an endless supply of Tuff Wheels to show off all the possible combinations. But, I will add more as I can! Send me some photos of your Kool Cap project (20" or 24") , and we'll see if we can't post them up for everyone!
Install them just as you do the Kool Caps. (Installation page) Use 100% pure silicone adhesive. It won't hurt the wheels. They will never fall off. And it is removable, if you really want to remove them, and change something later!
The possibilities are endless!
This page is under construction, so, more images will be added as time permits.
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Thanks to all for making these such a fun item!
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