Many riders have experienced the difficulty of pulling the bead off the rim when removing the tire from the wheel to repair a puncture or replace a tire. However, the combined wheel, which was often used on leisure bikes in the 1970s and 1980s, such as the Honda Monkey, has a major feature that tires can be changed without using bead breakers or tire levers.
Puncture repair and tire replacement are easy with matching wheels that use left and right rims
An 8-inch tire that was often installed on family bikes in the 1970s, such as Honda Monkey and Yamaha Chappy. 3.50-inch wide on-road and trail pattern tires are still sold by manufacturers.
Replace trail tires mounted on aluminum rims with on-road tires. Aluminum rims have noticeable scratches, so you can feel the advantage of matching wheels that do not use tire levers.
Aftermarket rims do not have manufacturer or size markings, so write directly on the rims with a marker so that you can identify the left and right. There is a mark on the bolt insertion side. If you repaint the OEM iron rim, it will be difficult to distinguish between the left and right due to the bite marks of bolts and washers, so it is a good idea to take a picture of the left and right sides of the wheel before disassembly with a smartphone.
From the 1970s to the 1980s, matching wheels were standard equipment for leisure bikes and family bikes with small diameter tires such as 8 inches and 10 inches. The wheel rim and brake hub are separate, which is similar to the spoke wheels and Honda Comstar wheels of the 1980s, but the combined wheel is characterized by the fact that the rim is divided into left and right halves, and the parts corresponding to the spokes are integrally pressed.
Spoked wheels, which are similar to those used on bicycles, were the first to be used as bike wheels, starting from the idea of attaching an auxiliary engine to a bicycle. It was a broken part. And when developing motorcycles with small diameter and wide tires for leisure use, wheels for motorcycles became popular.
When scooters appeared after leisure and family bikes, wheels with integrated hubs and spokes welded to roll-molded rims became mainstream, but the combined wheels were Honda Monkey, Dax, Chary, Yamaha Chappy, and Bobby. It continued to support leisure models such as Suzuki Hopper and Van Van.
The biggest feature of the matching wheel is that the rim fastened with bolts and nuts can be disassembled to the left and right. Due to this structure, a tube is essential for the tire, but the difficulty of removing the tire and tube from the wheel is much lower than general spoke wheels and cast wheels. The rims can be disassembled with a general-purpose socket wrench or T-shaped wrench, so you don't need to remove the bead and tire levers that are required with regular wheels.
When repairing a puncture, it is quite difficult to pull out the tube while keeping the bead of a small diameter wide tire down. It's a big deal to remove the tire and disassemble the wheel at a touring destination, but if you have the right tools, it's not much different from pulling the tube out of a spoke wheel car, but rather removing the tube from the disassembled rim. It is also possible to improve the quality of puncture repairs by carefully observing them.
When changing tires, you can press the rim from the left and right sides of the tire and tighten the bolts and nuts to set the tire without using a tire lever or rim protector, so there is no risk of damaging the edge of the rim with the lever is useless.
In addition, even when customizing the suspension, you can increase the size or widen it by simply replacing the rim with the genuine brake hub, so you can dress up at a lower cost.
POINT
Point 1 - Combined wheels with rims that can be divided into left and right parts were popular equipment for leisure and family bikes in the 1970s and 80s.
Point 2 - By disassembling the rim fastened with bolts and nuts, you can replace the tube and tire without using a tire lever.
When disassembling the rim, it is important to check the difference between the left and right parts
A new tube has a clear crease that was folded into a small size at the time of sale, and if you put it in the tire as it is and assemble the rim, there is a risk that it will be caught between the mating surfaces.
Once inflated with air, the crease is stretched and the tube spreads evenly inside the tire. It is better to do this not only for matching wheels but also for general spoke wheel tubes.
Place the slightly inflated tube into the tire and set the rim. Apply bead wax to the inner surface of the rim at this time to prevent the tube from slipping and getting caught. Also, when passing the air valve on the tube through the hole in the rim, spread the tube evenly so that it does not wrinkle around the hole.
If you record the direction of rotation of the tire when disassembling the rim, it will be helpful when reassembling the tire. Even if you are using a tire that does not have a specified rotation direction, if you mark the rotation direction on the rim, you can judge whether it is correct or not when assembling the brake hub or sprocket carrier.
After assembling the assembled wheel to the vehicle body, if it is a front wheel, check the clearance between the tire and the left and right front forks.
Matching wheels have advantages in terms of work such as maintenance and customization, but there are also points that need attention in exchange for being easy to disassemble and assemble.
The first is tube pinching. When installing a new tube at the same time as changing the tire, if you set the rim inside the tire while it is bent, there is a risk that the tube will get caught in the mating part.
It would be great if you could notice some discomfort when tightening the rim bolts, but if you put the rims together and inflate them, the tubes may tear. There is also an example of a tire that accidentally ran without noticing a puncture, and when the rim was disassembled at the next opportunity, part of the tube was clearly crushed.
To avoid these problems, when using a new tube, it is a good idea to inflate it once to remove any creases, then insert it into the tire and assemble the rim. Applying bead wax to the inner surface of the rim also prevents the tube from slipping and getting caught.
Another problem is that the left and right rims are mixed up. The press-molded rims appear to be the same for both left and right, but depending on the shape of the brake hub for the front wheel and the shape of the sprocket carrier for the rear wheel, the fastening part with the rim may not be in the center of the vehicle body.
In this case, the center of the vehicle body and the center of the tire is aligned by changing the depth from the left and right rim end faces to the mating surfaces. Therefore, if you make a mistake in how to combine the rim and brake hub that are fastened with bolts and nuts, there is a possibility that the tire will be offset from the center of the vehicle.
By temporarily assembling the wheel with the rim and hub assembled to the vehicle body and checking the clearance between the left and right front tires and the front fork, and between the left and right rear tires and the swing arm, you may notice an incorrect assembly. You can prevent incorrect assembly by recording the features such as which side of the rim is located before disassembly.
The matching wheel is designed for small-displacement vehicles and is easy to tweak.
POINT
Point 1 - When assembling split rims when changing tires, be careful not to pinch the tube between the mating surfaces.
Point 2 - If the press-molded rim is not a common part for the left and right, mark it before disassembling so that the left and right can be distinguished.
