Author Topic: Z Rims (Read 2551 times)

Lawrie · « **on:** November 11, 2005, 11:13 AM »

I sit here, pondering the mysteries of Z-Rims and suddenly my brain has an idea, which doesn't happen too often.

As Z-Rims aren't a very rigid rim, would they act as a sort of suspension by flexing on landings, thereby taking some of the shock out of the hit? I don't suppose they'd make that much difference but I thought that at least some of the shock would be dissipated in the flex of the rim instead of being transmitted to the frame.

And another thing, after a big flex, surely the rim wouldn't return to perfect shape? I bought a set NOS and the back rim has a pretty bad buckle in it, so i'm sure after use they would never be perfect again.

ORB · « **Reply #1 on:** November 11, 2005, 11:16 AM »

storage is a bugger for twisting them

Lace em up, get em trued and they will be mint

Jazzchimp · « **Reply #2 on:** November 11, 2005, 11:41 AM »

Has anyone ever flexed z-rims cos I always thought they felt stiffer than traditional rims. As for the famous Z-rim advert how does it 'ping' back to shape when the spokes don't flex. Think they must have had Paul Zennon on that one!!

They look great though!

theRuler · « **Reply #3 on:** November 11, 2005, 01:33 PM »

a friend of mine had z-rims, and we used bend the back wheel double by flicking the back end out.
the same with the front, but by doing cowboys.
they do return to normal, but if you bend them too much, the spokes bend and hold the rim in it's buckled form.

acorn magnums were also really bendy.

get alloy rims and learn to land smoother!!!

retrorider.u.k · « **Reply #4 on:** November 11, 2005, 03:03 PM »

z rims are shite ! in fact most of the acs stuff was rank

ORB · « **Reply #5 on:** November 11, 2005, 03:05 PM »

Apart from ACS BOA Calipers, to this day I still recon they are the nuts.

RADHAB · « **Reply #6 on:** November 11, 2005, 03:11 PM »

Quote from: retrorider.u.k on November 11, 2005, 03:03 PM

z rims are shite ! in fact most of the acs stuff was rank

I'll go with that.

theRuler · « **Reply #7 on:** November 11, 2005, 03:13 PM »

yeh the rims were manky. the z wheels were ok. for mags.

BOAs however are dope calipers. i run one for a while before 990 mount plates became available.

the reaction megabrake was hot too (the mod'd BOA)

retrorider.u.k · « **Reply #8 on:** November 11, 2005, 03:25 PM »

anyone ride with a doubler by acs.what utter shite too.no point unless you ran a potts mod locking lever.

kdw712 · « **Reply #9 on:** November 11, 2005, 04:52 PM »

i saw a 26" single Z rim for sale on ebay and laughed

christ must be like trying to ride on a water bed with a set of those

theRuler · « **Reply #10 on:** November 11, 2005, 04:53 PM »

lol
that would be mr soft!!!!

anyone ever have graphite zrims?

The-flying-banana · « **Reply #11 on:** November 11, 2005, 07:07 PM »

Man these wheels are crap but look good and thats it ! i had a set bitd and the folded regular and they were blow out city due to spokes going through the inner tubes $:-\$

ps though i would put them on a old school build as they look great

greentoad · « **Reply #12 on:** November 11, 2005, 07:39 PM »

My memories are coming back.

I used to run z-rims on grass and town riding - a group of us (Mason, Shep, PB and others) used to go onto a golf course and jump on and off the holes, plus go down the steep hills / valleys

(we used to get chased quite often but it was great)

When doing tricks and they flexed it was a great feeling....still don't have clue where they went though.... $:-\$

The-flying-banana · « **Reply #13 on:** November 11, 2005, 07:42 PM »

What the golf balls

Down em hole's i,d imagine

fatboymal · « **Reply #14 on:** November 11, 2005, 08:22 PM »

I used to love Z-Rims, yes they flexed like mad. The difference with the Z's was that compared with both Tuffs and alloy rims, they were almost impossible to chip, flatten, or break. Replace a couple of spokes and true them, and they were back to normal.

We used to do 180's off a ramp, land at an angle and bend them almost double. They would then straighten and throw the bike upright again (throwing you off at the same time). You might bend a spoke or three, but they were cheap to replace.

We also used to have drop off competitions on the local pier, who could drop off the highest point onto concrete without fooking either their wheels or their wrists. I flattened a whole bunch of alloys, took a big chunk out of a Tuff, but never a Z. I also now have a pair of 26" Z's with Phil Wood hubs, they run like a dream..

Christ I'm feeling defensive - can't we go back to bashing burners

billstup · « **Reply #15 on:** November 11, 2005, 11:51 PM »

I ran a z-rim for a while. After Bob Haro had done the demo at the NEC coasters were in big demand, but nobody had any, so I took my old mongoose wire wheel with a bendix 76 coaster hub, stripped it down and got a z-rim to lace it in to, but the spokes were too thick for the holes in the rim, so I drilled them out and laced it up with the thick spokes so there wasn`t much flex in that one

Lawrie · « **Reply #16 on:** November 12, 2005, 10:06 AM »

These days I don't really judge a part by how it functions, just if it looks cool and reminds me of the good old days. So needless to say, I don't do much Z bending. I'm glad to hear that Z's can be straightened though, as my back one is so buckled at the moment that the rear brake doesn't really work.

theRuler · « **Reply #17 on:** November 12, 2005, 11:48 AM »

yeh if you really want to run z's, get heavy duty spokes.

dirtyvans · « **Reply #18 on:** November 12, 2005, 03:04 PM »

i used to run white mike buffs, as in the pic on my avatar and had no problem, but i only weighed about 6 stone, no double that i bought some a few years back for my pk ripper and was shocked how much they flexed even going round tight corners!

such a weird concept, how did they take off??, must have been a nightmare for peeps like glyn lewis doing huge airs using them