split rims...

[samfenna]

been wondering, is there any practical reason for these other than style? i.e what advantage do they have over one piece rims? or is it just for style?
been bugging me

[Robin91]

Can refurb/replace a single section with greater ease?

[samfenna]

is that it? doesnt seem like enough of a reason to design a rim that way

[Robin91]

According to a result from google..

Split rims were design for 2 reasons.

1st one is that there was once an age when sidewalls of tyres were not 'flexible' enough to be squeezed over the wheel lip without damage to the side wall or the wheel.

So you could split the rim place each half on the tyre and then rebuild the wheel without any issues of tyre fracture.

This was a problem with sports performance cars with (then) huge tyres in the 70's

Additionally the design allows for new rims should one get damaged, buckled etc.

[D--R--E--W]

Plus you can go from having a 8" wide to a 9" wide wheel so easily

[geordie_alex]

Changing the width, offset and colour style is much easier with a splitty than a mono block. Its also easier to polish individual parts and not mark the rest of the paint or the metal itself. They can be built to stronger tolerances than standard rims too if you use uprated rims, baskets, centres and bolts.

[mirrorblanks]

fake splits are for gays aswell

[samfenna]

ahh so thats the reason then! obviously they do have practical purposes :)