Wheel Set
Potential Problems With Chrome Alloy Wheels
If you are considering buying chromed alloy wheels for your car there are a couple things you should be aware of. If a set of alloy wheels are really cheap to buy its possible that short cuts have been taken in the manufacturing process resulting in a product of poor quality and finish. Some chrome alloy wheel manufacturers do not copper plate the alloy wheels before the chroming process takes place. If the wheels are not copper plated first the alloy underneath the chrome finish can start corroding, which results in the chrome finish peeling away from the wheel. This peeling can start with in a few months of buying the wheels and you may need to replace the whole set with in a year.
In some cases the clear coat finish over the top of the chrome plating is not sufficiently thick or of a good enough quality, again due to short cuts by the manufacturers and may start lifting off the wheel. If this does happen to your chrome wheels it means that water will be able to seep underneath and start damaging the chrome finish. As soon as this starts happens the chrome finish will start to pit and corrode where the lifting is occurring. Eventually the wheels will need replacing, or re chroming as they look so bad. Unfortunately low quality chrome wheels are prone to this happening.
Occasionally the manufacturers of Chrome alloys will not offer a refund when damage to the chrome effect has been caused rather than happened naturally; e.g damage caused by kerbing the wheels. This is because the damage has been caused by you accidently or not, however a set of good quality chrome alloys should not corrode as easily. You should always do some research on the manufacturer of the wheels you are thinking of buying to make sure they offer the high quality chrome wheels that you are after. If you do not research the Wheel properly you may have to learn the hard way and end up having to buy a second brand new set of wheels. Forums are a good way of finding info about specific wheels and how they actually work in operation.
When purchasing a set of alloys find a reputable dealer, they will offer advice on treatment and care of the alloys as well as fitment specifications for your vehicle. Then decide whether you want to make the extra effort involved with chrome wheels, remember you get chromes to make a statement so keep the clean and scratch free because you not making much of a statement with expensive brake dust coated chrome wheels. In conclusion Chrome Wheels look great but can be prone to corroding and flaking, if you want to go Chrome its worth while spending that little bit extra and go for a quality set. Remember you need to take good care of the chrome if you want it to last but it is definitely worth the extra effort involved.
About the Author
Its important to remember all alloy wheels are different, and so are vehicles. Ensure you match the stats together to ensure your alloy wheels fit your vehicle. Our alloy fitment guide should help
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26 wheel set or 26?
I'm tall i have a xl blur should I buy 26 or 29 wheel set my fork is a 36 van
You won't have the clearance with that fork, even with a small tire. You could buy a 29'er fork, of course, but first check to see if the frame will handle the 29" rear wheel. Even with an xl frame, I'm betting that it won't. A 29'er fork really is the best choice, though, because the forks available now have an offset that is adjusted for better handling characteristics. If you're able to cram a 29" wheel into your 26" fork, you may not like the way it feels (and it's possible that you may get some toe overlap, too).
I had a friend who was able to put 700c rims with smallish mtb tires on a Soma frame, so you might see if you can test out a pair of those for fit (if you don't have access to a 29'er set instead).
I'm not a big fan of the 29er craze, but if you're really tall you might appreciate them more than most people, as long as your trails aren't full of too many tight turns or technical uphills that cause you to spin out or stall. If you have those types of trails, you'll probably be happier staying with 26" wheels.
Hope this helps...