I though I would share some of the pitfalls I found while fitting a set of "Knock Off" rims.
I purchased a set of 427 Halibrand knocks from the states - (Vintage Wheels) to replace my old bolt on look a likes.
I was very impressed with the communication from Vintage wheels, always prompt to answer any of my queries and keep me informed about the manufacturing progress.
He helped with shipping and the import costs by staggering the shipment.
Things fell apart when I tried fitting them.
There where two issues:
1) The adaptor plate spline did not fit through or seat neatly into the rim ( as seen in the attached photo) and required me to machine the rims up to 20thou. Not to big a deal but tedious.
2) The socket nut (I call it a socket nut because it look exactly like a 15mm socket, one end has a thread, the other has socket attachment for tightening) that fastens the adaptor plate to your disk has to fit perfectly inside a hole machined into the back face of the rim and is the exact same diameter as the socket nut.
After bolting the adaptor plate on to the disk, the socket nut is tension up but pulled itself out of vertical alignment. This meant that they did not fit into the machined hole.
It was not a simple case to resolves this as the problem was a mix of three things
-the thread was not perfectly centered in the socket nut,
-the seat for the socket nut machined into the adaptor plate was slightly off center,
- and my disk pins ( existing bolts) may not have been straight ( perpendicular to the disk)
It has taken over 200 hours to fit these rims.
Happy with the outcome, just be prepared.
