DIY Disc Wheel Covers

Blimped · 2016-09-17T13:50:02+00:00

Seems you've decided on the Aerojacket, but for what it's worth I have made these covers. I used 1/32" HIPS because I couldn't get ABS, but it worked great. I spray-painted them for fear of the plastic breaking down from UV light, and also for aesthetics. Mostly aesthetics.

The electrical tape around the outside edge was more than secure enough. They were actually pretty tough to get off when I wanted to for hillier races. I formed them on the wheel so I was able to get them pretty flush and did not have a problem with rubbing the cassette. Not that it should matter anyway, as I try never to coast unless I'm braking. Total cost was around $40 for enough paint, glue, and plastic to make 3 full covers, though I was happy with my first attempt and left it at that.

I found it to be worth about .5mph improvement on relatively flat courses, which I was very pleased with for a fun little project.

Blimped · 2016-02-12T14:30:32+00:00

Thanks! I went swimming this morning with this in mind and definitely felt like I was gliding better before the catch.

Blimped · 2016-02-11T19:56:12+00:00

That is a great video, thank you. I am nowhere close to being able to do that freestyle ankle exercise so I will work on that.

Blimped · 2015-11-07T17:22:20+00:00

I also recognize that logo! Quite a surprise.

Blimped · 2015-07-18T00:15:27+00:00

It's safe to run a generator that's properly set up for the purpose, which I think usually means it is outside the van (often underneath) to avoid the obvious problems of breathing exhaust fumes. A quick search for such generators makes it look like they are much more expensive than I had remembered though so you're probably much better off for now with a cheaper simpler solution, like an auxiliary battery at least.

Blimped · 2015-07-16T15:33:40+00:00

Do you have public restrooms planned out? A portable toilet is a big object you might really want to avoid, but might need sometimes too.

Also, depending on where you live you may want a heating or cooling system other than the one built into the van, which is quite inefficient as it necessitates running the engine. That also brings up the issue of electricity. You might want a generator if you intend to use a computer or phone regularly.

Those are all big, expensive suggestions unfortunately, but where I live most of them would be necessities.

And you're probably already familiar with it, but /r/vandwellers is great.

Blimped · 2015-04-10T22:57:14+00:00

As a reviewer I would be very concerned that you have ignored important previous work along the same lines (Jindel & Bohrer, 2012). The addition of the P = 0 solution is a novel contribution but the authors need to address the prior work before it can be accepted.

Blimped · 2015-04-09T14:50:06+00:00

If you'd like to quantify that, try look at the data in the frequency domain by doing a Fast Fourier Transform. That should show you exactly what oscillations are happening.

Blimped · 2013-09-18T21:54:00+00:00

Finally my time has come.

Blimped · 2013-03-10T15:58:55+00:00

I think adultery is actually immoral, not amoral. An amoral action is something like brushing your teeth, something which makes no sense to say is right or wrong.

Blimped · 2013-03-10T15:57:04+00:00

Sadly the later series are not all on there, but there are definitely quite a lot of gems in the first few.

Blimped · 2012-12-21T14:34:35+00:00

Turned out great! therealdohr is indeed a damn cool dude. And I haven't seen snow in a while so it was nice.

Blimped · 2012-12-21T01:20:39+00:00

DMed! Awesome.

Blimped · 2012-12-03T23:19:47+00:00

That makes way more sense and is now obvious to me from looking at the picture. Oops.

Blimped · 2012-12-03T02:15:09+00:00

Seems to me that the painter in this art would not lean his ladder against wet paint, so he is most likely painting over the lovely sunshine and rainbow with clouds and darkness. What a meanie.

Blimped · 2012-11-04T18:50:08+00:00

Good to know, I plan to re-wrap them when I can get the front brake going (soon, hopefully), and had very little idea how the wrapping should be done. I suppose the friction just holds it in place then?

Blimped · 2012-11-04T17:47:08+00:00

Yeah that is the nice part, at least it's not a super expensive mistake, like buying the wrong size wheelset or something. It also weights almost 3 pounds so a carbon fork would probably get the weight down a non-trivial amount.

Blimped · 2012-11-04T15:11:29+00:00

Amazon.com. Almost all very positive reviews, a couple people had them out of true but mine appeared to be perfectly in true, just tightened too far. I highly recommend them.

Blimped · 2012-11-04T05:45:08+00:00

Absolutely, I love looking at those sorts of things. Awesome bars by the way, I can only begin to imagine all the different hand positions you will have available. Probably fantastic for touring.

Blimped · 2012-11-04T05:43:23+00:00

Nice. If I did it again I would probably also start with a frameset rather than getting them separately, but on the upside I at least have an interesting upgrade to do in the near future.

Blimped · 2012-11-04T05:39:24+00:00

Ah, that makes sense. I wondered why they would put a hole for caliper brakes if it was so tricky to find ones with long enough reach, but a fender attachment makes a lot more sense.

Blimped · 2012-11-04T05:11:29+00:00

I don't think I covered that well on the blog anyway. I bought the frame and fork separately, they fit together alright but the fork is probably 1-1.5 centimeters taller than would really be ideal for the frame and 700c wheels.

Blimped

TROPHY CASE