Black Ariel Spokes and Rims

[Roger Gwynn]

Vincent, I think you know what you are talking about, you usually do but you said 3 spokes in line when what you really mean is 3 dimples in line, the holes for the spokes are drilled at various angles from those holes.
I get similar mileage out of Avon roadriders, nice tyres, last well, better than the ribbed or cheap tyres that I used to use.

[SimonFletcher]

Roger, can I ask what tyre sizes you are using with the Avon RR? I have them on another bike (airhead) and like them a lot, but when I studied the size charts that Avon have on their site, I came away somewhat perplexed. I guess the question that arose is about metric vs. imperial. This would be for somewhere in the future, on my ‘54 VH…

Would you use the same as @cmfalco mentioned earlier?
(3.25×19" front and 100/90×19" rear).

[paul.jameson]

I have 100-90 - 19 on the rear of RH500 and KH - the 4G having an 18" rear wheel. Fronts are 3.25-19 on 4G and KH with 100/90-19 on the RH500.

[Roger Gwynn]

Same sizes as Paul, the rear is a little fatter than standard so may rub on the chainguard, a judicious bit of tweaking gets round that. Tyre sizes can be perplexing especially when changing from imp to metric, early metric and the really old ones where they go by the outside diameter.

When I wrote the last 4 stroke catalogue I worked it all out and wrote it down, section 22 for anyone with a paper catalogue or here if electronic. https://draganfly.co.uk/product-categor ... res-tubes/

There have been 5 schemes of listing tyre sizes over the years starting with referring to tyres by the overall diameter of the tyre rather than rim diameter and height, for example a standard 3.50” x 19” was listed as 3.50” x 26”; rim diameter equals the diameter less twice the height, however this method causes problems when the tyre is 3 1/4” wide! This was replaced in the early 1930’s by width x rim size. In the late 1960’s the low profile tyre was born that required a new method of marking so the width marking was increased by .6 in most cases, in our example the 3.50” x 19” became 4.10 x 19. A low profile tyre is one that is wider than it is tall; our 3.50” tyre was still 3.50” tall but 4.1” wide. At some point tyre sizes went metric and as other profile ratios were coming in that was included in the size as well. Some of these will fit the older bikes but are to be avoided as they will upset the handling geometry and centre stands will be too close to the ground. The 4.10 x 19 became 110/90×19, i.e. the tyre is 110 mm wide and the height is 90% of 110 mm, rims are still made and listed in imperial sizes. The latest scheme is to replace the width by a 2 letter code, the first letter is always ‘M’ and our 4.10×19 has now become MN90x19, bureaucracy gone mad!

[SimonFletcher]

That's brilliant, thanks to you both for your replies.

Here's a little chart I made to compare the Roadrider Mk.II to the perhaps more prevalent combo of Avon SM rear and Speedmaster front:

This info is gleaned from the Avon website: https://www.avontyres.com/en-gb/tyres/roadrider-mkii

There are three versions of the Roadrider, the original Roadrider – only available in a few limited sizes now, the Roadrider Mk. II – available in 37 different sizes including those in the chart above, and the AM26 Roadrider which is a racing tyre made from a softer, grippier compound (presumably a shorter life for road use, though I note that some members are using them?).

The RR Mk.II 100/90-19 is about ½" wider than the SM 3.50-19. The RR Mk.II 90/90-19 is a bit of a low-profile tyre compared to the 3.25-19. I have seen one fitted to the front wheel of a swinging arm NH, but it did look a bit skimpy.

Thus concludes my analysis. Hope someone finds it useful. I will be fitting Roadrider Mk.II to my VH next time around – I've found they perform well on my Airheads. Admittedly I am curious about the AM26, but do wonder about the wear factor?

[j.coleman]

The 1929 -30 LB,LF colts had 3-1 dimple pattern. The 62 deg bend will be on the shorter spokes on the brake side of the hub.
I paint spokes with there thread screwed into a piece of ply, as a set of 40 or 36 using Upol 2 pack after an etch primer, and haven't had any problems with paint coming off! I tried all sorts of ways, even hanging from strong magnets, but 2 dedicated bits of ply were the answer, I used a broken spoke as a tap in the ply hole, just using a battery drill.

[Vincent.vanGinneke]

ah! Roger! missed your remark. I was lingering in the bliss that I had put it down correctly , but nooo I did not.
you are right, it's in the holes, not the dimples