Tweet
First off, if a Mod could please move this into the DIY section (as I cannot make it there).... THANKS!
OK, so you've seen bikes going down the street with rim stripes and you think to yourself.... I wish I could have those... but don't want to pay to have them put on, or have to paint them on yourself.... well you're in luck.
First you have to get a few bits of prep work out of the way so that you make sure you get the correct fitting stripes and look for your bike:
1. Figure out the rim size you have 16in/17in/18in as you'll need to order the correct set for the wheel. (duh, look on the tire and it'll tell you).
2. Get out a mm ruler and measure the amount of the rim lip that you have to work with. On mine I had an 8mm front lip and a 12mm rear lip. Obviously you'll need to select the lower of the two when you place your order or the front will be too large. (so I chose the 8mm. Most places will offer them in 6mm-12mm widths).
3. Now go online and find a good deal on a set, I got mine on Ebay and they made it to my door in 2 days! You can select your color and style at this time, as there are a TON of choices.
4. Now for the fun, get the following items together as you'll need them for installation: Hair dryer, clean water bottle, rubbing alcohol pads, scissors, squeegie, clean microfiber towel, small pin incase you get an air bubble, and your rim stripes:
5. With all of your materials laid out you need to clean your wheels really well. Make sure to wash them and get the dirt out of the gaps between the tire and the wheel (as when you start to apply you don't want any foreign particles to get underneith the rim stripe and ruin it). Once you wash them, take 1 of your alcohol prep pads and thoughouly wipe down the rim lip where you'll be applying your stripes to make sure it is ready to be applied on.
6. Now begin by taking your water bottle and adding a drop or two of dawn dish soap (allows the vinyl to slightly move as you're applying it so it can be repositioned if its not perfect the first time you lay it)... and fill the bottle with warm water.
7. Put the bike up in the air so the tires can be turned freely, and spray your first wheel rim you want to work on with the waterbottle. At this time also take your first piece of rim stripe and begin to pull it off of the protective backing.... Spray this too as you peel it so it doesn't attract any static particles.
8. With the piece in your hand begin to apply the stripe. Keeping the stripe an even distance between the top and bottom of the lip, begin to smoothly apply the stripe as you turn the wheel slowly with your other hand. Gently press the stripe as you go along. Once the first piece is on, check the alignment, and once happy with it, press out the air bubbles with the squeegie to secure it.
EDIT: I just found out there is a tool you can purchase to apply your rim stripes.... Now I did NOT use this tool as I have the ability to do them perfectly by hand and have worked with vinyl decals a lot in the past... but for those of you out there that are a bit nervous of your abilities, or those that want a surefire way to get the perfect arch, the tool is available on many online distributors.
9. Back to the action..... Again, re-wet your rim, and pull off your second piece of rim stiping. Overlay it onto the first piece by about 3mm for a seamless gap, or butt it up directly behind the first piece with no overlay. (if you choose to butt it up, you have to make sure it is 100% perfect, otherwise you might see a slight gap between the pieces.) I chose to slightly overlay it, and it is perfect.
Continue to add the rest of the pieces to the wheel until you get all the way around. With the last piece you can trim it slightly with your scissors so it doesn't overlay as far as it'll be slightly longer than needed.
The wheel should now look like this:
10. With the stripe all in place, and the bubbles squeegied out... use your hair dryer to heat up and secure the stripe completely. Wipe the wheel clean and move on to the next wheel.
11. Do all 4 sides of the wheels, and once finished allow the vinyl stripe to fully cure overnight before riding it. Obviously we used the hair dryer to help speed up the drying time, but you want to make sure the stripe is 100% dry before riding on it. The final product should look like this (before/after):
Good luck, and happy riding! Best part of this mod is it only costs 5$ usually for the vinyl, and it can be removed if you don't like it.
Pitfalls to watch out for while doing the mod:
1. Make sure that the temperature you're working in to apply the stripes is between 50-90 degrees.... too cold and the stripe will not adhear to the wheel.... too hot and the stripe will get too sticky and make it tough to apply.
2. Make sure you do this mod in a garage or out of the wind.... foreign particles traveling in the wind can get stuck under the stripe and cause bubbles that will not come out. Also, the wind may blow the stripe around and cause it to touch things and possibly pick up dirt.
3. Make sure your hands are clean from any dirt, I made sure to wash mine after I finished each wheel (as I had to turn the wheel by hand to apply the stripes I picked up dirt particles on my fingers). I also kept a wet papertowel handy as I worked to continuously wipe my fingers off as I went along.
4. Take your time, having a rim stripe looks great, but having a stripe that was put on in a hurry and isn't even all the way around looks like poo.
OK, so you've seen bikes going down the street with rim stripes and you think to yourself.... I wish I could have those... but don't want to pay to have them put on, or have to paint them on yourself.... well you're in luck.
First you have to get a few bits of prep work out of the way so that you make sure you get the correct fitting stripes and look for your bike:
1. Figure out the rim size you have 16in/17in/18in as you'll need to order the correct set for the wheel. (duh, look on the tire and it'll tell you).
2. Get out a mm ruler and measure the amount of the rim lip that you have to work with. On mine I had an 8mm front lip and a 12mm rear lip. Obviously you'll need to select the lower of the two when you place your order or the front will be too large. (so I chose the 8mm. Most places will offer them in 6mm-12mm widths).
3. Now go online and find a good deal on a set, I got mine on Ebay and they made it to my door in 2 days! You can select your color and style at this time, as there are a TON of choices.
4. Now for the fun, get the following items together as you'll need them for installation: Hair dryer, clean water bottle, rubbing alcohol pads, scissors, squeegie, clean microfiber towel, small pin incase you get an air bubble, and your rim stripes:
5. With all of your materials laid out you need to clean your wheels really well. Make sure to wash them and get the dirt out of the gaps between the tire and the wheel (as when you start to apply you don't want any foreign particles to get underneith the rim stripe and ruin it). Once you wash them, take 1 of your alcohol prep pads and thoughouly wipe down the rim lip where you'll be applying your stripes to make sure it is ready to be applied on.
6. Now begin by taking your water bottle and adding a drop or two of dawn dish soap (allows the vinyl to slightly move as you're applying it so it can be repositioned if its not perfect the first time you lay it)... and fill the bottle with warm water.
7. Put the bike up in the air so the tires can be turned freely, and spray your first wheel rim you want to work on with the waterbottle. At this time also take your first piece of rim stripe and begin to pull it off of the protective backing.... Spray this too as you peel it so it doesn't attract any static particles.
8. With the piece in your hand begin to apply the stripe. Keeping the stripe an even distance between the top and bottom of the lip, begin to smoothly apply the stripe as you turn the wheel slowly with your other hand. Gently press the stripe as you go along. Once the first piece is on, check the alignment, and once happy with it, press out the air bubbles with the squeegie to secure it.
EDIT: I just found out there is a tool you can purchase to apply your rim stripes.... Now I did NOT use this tool as I have the ability to do them perfectly by hand and have worked with vinyl decals a lot in the past... but for those of you out there that are a bit nervous of your abilities, or those that want a surefire way to get the perfect arch, the tool is available on many online distributors.
9. Back to the action..... Again, re-wet your rim, and pull off your second piece of rim stiping. Overlay it onto the first piece by about 3mm for a seamless gap, or butt it up directly behind the first piece with no overlay. (if you choose to butt it up, you have to make sure it is 100% perfect, otherwise you might see a slight gap between the pieces.) I chose to slightly overlay it, and it is perfect.
Continue to add the rest of the pieces to the wheel until you get all the way around. With the last piece you can trim it slightly with your scissors so it doesn't overlay as far as it'll be slightly longer than needed.
The wheel should now look like this:
10. With the stripe all in place, and the bubbles squeegied out... use your hair dryer to heat up and secure the stripe completely. Wipe the wheel clean and move on to the next wheel.
11. Do all 4 sides of the wheels, and once finished allow the vinyl stripe to fully cure overnight before riding it. Obviously we used the hair dryer to help speed up the drying time, but you want to make sure the stripe is 100% dry before riding on it. The final product should look like this (before/after):
Good luck, and happy riding! Best part of this mod is it only costs 5$ usually for the vinyl, and it can be removed if you don't like it.
Pitfalls to watch out for while doing the mod:
1. Make sure that the temperature you're working in to apply the stripes is between 50-90 degrees.... too cold and the stripe will not adhear to the wheel.... too hot and the stripe will get too sticky and make it tough to apply.
2. Make sure you do this mod in a garage or out of the wind.... foreign particles traveling in the wind can get stuck under the stripe and cause bubbles that will not come out. Also, the wind may blow the stripe around and cause it to touch things and possibly pick up dirt.
3. Make sure your hands are clean from any dirt, I made sure to wash mine after I finished each wheel (as I had to turn the wheel by hand to apply the stripes I picked up dirt particles on my fingers). I also kept a wet papertowel handy as I worked to continuously wipe my fingers off as I went along.
4. Take your time, having a rim stripe looks great, but having a stripe that was put on in a hurry and isn't even all the way around looks like poo.
It was actually really dirty just before these pictures were taken.... I was riding it home from my parents house and it decided to rainstorm on me, and of course I had to ride through some areas they were doing road construction so I had mud marks all over the bike.
Comment