How to: Radius Inner/Outer Lips

[wake]

Originally Posted by dhwa1

is there something else i can use instead of a bench grinder?

Today I radiused my pink bigzigs with very coarse sandpaper (I'm sure grip tape would work too.) going down some not very steep hills sitting on the board. It worked very well, just don't apply too much force or the wheel shavings will melt to the sandpaper and the wheel will get very hot. Make sure and adjust where you hold the sandpaper for a nice even rounded corner. For the inner lips I flipped the wheels around. Worked perfectly well. Took me a while though. Whatever you do, DO NOT TRY THIS WITH A KNIFE. I tried it on the outer lip of a wheel, not going fast and only for about 3 feet, and the wheel chunked. Only little tiny chunks but if I would have been going faster or did this longer the wheel would have been destroyed.

If you have someone to be your slave (IE a younger sibling) have them push you back up the hill while doing this. That way you can be lazy lol.

[wake]

Originally Posted by wake

Today I radiused my pink bigzigs with very coarse sandpaper (I'm sure grip tape would work too.) going down some not very steep hills sitting on the board. It worked very well, just don't apply too much force or the wheel shavings will melt to the sandpaper and the wheel will get very hot. Make sure and adjust where you hold the sandpaper for a nice even rounded corner. For the inner lips I flipped the wheels around. Worked perfectly well. Took me a while though. Whatever you do, DO NOT TRY THIS WITH A KNIFE. I tried it on the outer lip of a wheel, not going fast and only for about 3 feet, and the wheel chunked. Only little tiny chunks but if I would have been going faster or did this longer the wheel would have been destroyed.

If you have someone to be your slave (IE a younger sibling) have them push you back up the hill while doing this. That way you can be lazy lol.

Oh also, the way the lip is right now is amazing. When the wheel deforms during turns (all gripping wheels do this) the sharp part of the lip is pushed against the ground, making the wheel grip realllly good. When I slide it, the round part is on the pavement so they don't chunk.

[RastamanD]

great thinking wake!

see its stuff like this that separates us form animals. LOL

[ALEC_[XAN]_DUR]

i think my wheels are starting to chunk pretty bad i think. chunking is when chunks of your wheels start coming off on the edge right? i think i should prolly radius meh wheels.

[Dinghy]

Would it be good to do this to my Lemon Bigzigs for downhill? Sometimes it drifts out unpredictably on turns, but I don't want to lose too much traction so that I can't corner as well.

[tinnmann]

I just radiused (sp?) my lemon bigzigs. Drifts and slides are super predictable and controllable. A bit easier to slide out. I love them. By far best wheel out of my collection.

[Rayce]

Originally Posted by wake

what are the benefits of radiused wheels?

More predictable sliding, and the slides are less chattery.

[D-Man]

is it better to radius the edge before or after you break in the wheel?

[[ben]]

Originally Posted by D-Man

is it better to radius the edge before or after you break in the wheel?

I think it would be better to bevel the edges before breaking them in so they won't chunk during the break-in process.

[D-Man]

just did my lemon zigs, thanks for the how-to.

p.s. - also a great way to break in bearings

[HesThatGuy]

Hmm how long did this take you to do?

[D-Man]

only about 20 minutes in front of the bend grinder. it's not the most even job but its pretty close.

its great for the feel of the wheels. i wonder whats with everyone doing it to lemon zigs... great minds i guess

[MallyMall]

ok so im not quite understanding how we can do this with out that hardware. say i have sand paper. how would i go about completing this task??

and this is a awesome thread!!