Live from New York, it's... a new member

wilkson said:

Don't you guys just pull people out of their cars and beat the .... out of them in New York .

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Depends if I can still get on my feet after some dick hits me...

Mg wheels: 1 set for the street, 1 for the track

Jello said:

Oh I totally agree. Riding in Manhattan is absolutely the worst (and has now officially damned near killed me - took some flying lessons over the top of a yellow cab after someone hit me in a very unfortunate way). That said, I still need to get on and off of this rock, and the potholes are pretty significant.

In short, how realistic is the threat of Mg wheels being compromised from said potholes?

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Sorry to hear about the unregistered flight you took. Welcome to you though.

About the Mg wheels, couple of thoughts. Big controversy about whether Mg is as brittle as the wives tales of old, but figure this:

1. If your potholes would make any wheel bend/dent, do you want it be your Mg, or would you rather it be it be forged Al?

2. Are you going to track it (dare I ask?) or push it near the limits after 'off-roading' it in NYC? Reason I ask:

bent wheels would pose a much greater safety hazard if you went as fast as Wilkson or George on the track (or the OneArmBandit on the street) without knowing whether they're damaged or not (compared to "going for a whip" now and then)

Wait! I gots an ideer!

Get 1 set of Mg wheels for the street and 1 for the track/limit-pushing.

Magnesium wheels + street riding in NYC = broken wheels fast (possibly a few bones too).

Carbon fiber wheels..... well - you know. (crunch, crunch).

quackquack said:

Depends if I can still get on my feet after some dick hits me...

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Shock and adrenaline are an amazing thing - despite breaking both wrists, my leg in two places, tearing my MCL and basically ripping off my right foot. (All ligaments/tendons torn leaving just my skin and my boot holding my foot on) - I was able to leap to my feet "Who the #$%&@+?! just hit me?!". I swear I could have elbowed this person to death at the time.

George Villar said:

Magnesium wheels + street riding in NYC = broken wheels fast (possibly a few bones too).

Carbon fiber wheels..... well - you know. (crunch, crunch).

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Tell us more . I have seen wheels on a tri 1199 bend that bad the seal of the tyre was compromised .
I have run magnesium and CF wheels on the road for years and quite ...... roads with 0 issue .

Jello said:

Shock and adrenaline are an amazing thing - despite breaking both wrists, my leg in two places, tearing my MCL and basically ripping off my right foot. (All ligaments/tendons torn leaving just my skin and my boot holding my foot on) - I was able to leap to my feet "Who the #$%&@+?! just hit me?!". I swear I could have elbowed this person to death at the time.

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I know how you feel but it was a long time ago. In 1979 while riding a Kawasaki Z900 a guy hit me after running a red light and almost severed my right foot. The driver never stopped.

Congrats on the SL.

rocdoc said:

Sorry to hear about the unregistered flight you took. Welcome to you though.

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Thanks. At least I got a very unique view of NYC traffic (above it, upside down through the air, haha).

rocdoc said:

About the Mg wheels, couple of thoughts. Big controversy about whether Mg is as brittle as the wives tales of old, but figure this:

1. If your potholes would make any wheel bend/dent, do you want it be your Mg, or would you rather it be it be forged Al?

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I'd rather it be neither! Only once I had an issue with a pothole and a rim on a Gixxer (many many moons ago), but never since. So I'm trying to assess how overblown the "weakness" of Mg vs Aluminum might be in practice.

rocdoc said:

2. Are you going to track it (dare I ask?) or push it near the limits after 'off-roading' it in NYC? Reason I ask:

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I'll definitely be tracking this bike. As pretty as it may be, it was made to be ridden, not for "Starbucks" (or the Ear Inn) parking lots. Despite some fun roads to open it up on in upstate NY, you can't ever really come close to pushing a bike unless on a track. I.e. This is no living room piece.

rocdoc said:

bent wheels would pose a much greater safety hazard if you went as fast as Wilkson or George on the track (or the OneArmBandit on the street) without knowing whether they're damaged or not (compared to "going for a whip" now and then)

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Yeah, so this is part of why I'm asking. I'm not even sure I know what to look for - as I understand it the Mg wheels are harder (and thus more brittle) and won't bend so much as crack/compromise in some awful way. What exactly am I looking for here? How paranoid does one need to be?

rocdoc said:

Get 1 set of Mg wheels for the street and 1 for the track/limit-pushing

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Bah... that's good in theory, but it quickly devolves into N+1 bikes. Keeping more than one bike in NYC (Manhattan) is not really practical. Keeping a trailer with parts in it is also not really practical. I've typically just taken my bike straight to the track. If I have a friend who is trailering, I can join in, but many a time I'll just ride-in/ride-out. Not going to do that with spare wheels/tires strapped to my back

George Villar said:

Magnesium wheels + street riding in NYC = broken wheels fast (possibly a few bones too).

Carbon fiber wheels..... well - you know. (crunch, crunch).

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Do you have first hand accounts to share? And are you saying CF is worse than Mg? Not sure I follow you there...

wilkson said:

Tell us more . I have seen wheels on a tri 1199 bend that bad the seal of the tyre was compromised .
I have run magnesium and CF wheels on the road for years and quite ...... roads with 0 issue .

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Thanks Wilkson, the only wheel failures I've seen have been of exactly this kind - an obvious bulge on the lip of the rim that compromises the seal, and leads to either an obvious slow leak or an even more obvious fast leak.

Sorry to flog the point here, but I don't want anecdotes unless they are first hand - since I'm trying to assess the practical threat there and not proliferate the folklore

I have bent magnesium rims before they bend and can be repaired the same as alloy rims .
The bent rims were caused by crashing not pot holes .
My Desmosedici had mag rims that thing had a very stiff chassis andwas a road bike only never had a issue .
Had a 998R with mag rims never a issue . If your going hit a pothole and bend your rim it's going to bend either being alloy or magnesium .
Worst case insurance will replace your rims . Don't stress over this .

Molto Grazie

wilkson said:

I have bent magnesium rims before they bend and can be repaired the same as alloy rims .
The bent rims were caused by crashing not pot holes .
My Desmosedici had mag rims that thing had a very stiff chassis andwas a road bike only never had a issue .
Had a 998R with mag rims never a issue . If your going hit a pothole and bend your rim it's going to bend either being alloy or magnesium .
Worst case insurance will replace your rims . Don't stress over this .

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+ ∞
Many thanks!