Reamed out valve stem hole rear wheel?

[AdminGuy]

Preping 640 18" wheels tonight. Photographed, Rim direction marked (engraved w/ dremel grinder), off-set measured, rims powder, hubs paint. -the thing that I'm wondering about is that the rear rim valve stem hole has been reamed out from the tube side? I guess so that tire slippage would not tear the valve stem off. It would just get ****ed inside. Was this a common thing to do? Has anyone else seen this? Should I fix it, or just dress it and leave it be? With maybe a curved SS washer inside, a cut down flat outside or something?

Yes indeed - more of my dorky questions. Well, ya know - the details.

Book says Front off-set 1 1/8" , Rear 1 1/2"
My rust speced out at Fr 1" , Rear 1.4" ...so pretty close I guess. Gudnuff.

[inrustwetrust]

If you are talking about the valve stem hole being really big, it was probably opened up to accept a tube with a larger valve stem. Sounds like it is too late to fix it. The older valve stem nuts are large and will cover it. I like to build my wheels on the frame. On the rear, be sure to have the fender, chain and chainguard on, or at least establish a reference. If you want to do a really good job, use a straight edge to reference the front and rear so they fall in the same plane. In a pinch, an 8' flourescent bulb is dead straight.

[AdminGuy]

Thanks- never to late. I'm feeling lazy and and am going to rent some bolt cutters to nip out the spokes. I gave up today -cutting it by hand. Thanks for the info. I'll work that hole back down once the rim is free - to match the front I guess.

Yes, having wheels track properly very important. A good thing to check when you do your chain. I've learned why you should NOT rely on the axel adjusters. --I'll have to russle up that rusted out 36SS rear fender. For a nice rim lace fit. Alignment difference did cross my mind. But I figure these things have tons of room. Anyone need a SS kicker arm?

Is there anything specifically unique about the larger nuts or are they just hex nuts?

[AdminGuy]

Front rim off-set ended up being just under 1".

[Kojack]

At first I thought you had already powder coated your rims, in which case it would be too late for a fix. If not, it should be no big deal to find a flat washer with the right size hole for your valve stem, grind or turn down the OD to fit the hole in your rim and mig it in place flush. If you do it carefully you can have just enough of the washer protruding above the surface of the rim to be able to grind it down flush and not need any filler.

[AdminGuy]

Thanks for feedback. I was able to stretch (reform) the rim metal back around the hole with a large chisel and finish grinder before I powder coated.

My big fear now is that I may need to replace rims after the bike is run at speed. Front has taken two good whacks on edge. Center runs true. So it may just be cosmetic.