grant40

grant40

bulgie 

I thought my Hi-E rims were also epoxied at the lap joint, not just riveted. There was some kinda spooge evident there, though maybe just accumulated grime? But my guess was epoxy.




I don't have the wheels anymore, they went with my Exxon Graftek bike that I sold. It also had Hi-E pedals, and the front wheel has aluminum spokes that were threaded on both ends. The spokes went from one side of the rim, through the hub with a dog-leg bend, and on to the other side of the rim. So this 36-hole rim only needed 18 spokes. (He called those "Siamese" spokes, before that term came to be thought of as offensive when used to mean "conjoined".) Hi-E Superlight timetrial hub of course, with aluminum-shaft skewer. Man that was a light wheel. I never rode on it, too scary at my, um, ample weight.

Rear rim was 36 hole too, but with 12 spokes left and 24 spokes right. Normal steel J-bend spokes.

Anyone ever used the spot-facer for dropouts, to make the slow-release skewers safer? I have the facing tool and have used it only once. Sort of makes "lawyer lips" in any front dropout.

I also have a scan of the spot-facer instructions, which I can upload if anyone needs it, but it's all greasy-grimy, not a clean scan. I haven't read this whole thread so apologies if it's been covered already.

grant40

Is there any advantage to riveted parts or is it just because the designer wanted to be unique?

georges1

Very interesting thanks for sharing

John.W.Briggs

Hi Bob and Folks--


The problem was indeed stripped alloy threads on the stock Normandy Lux rear hub. The rear cluster didn't have a brand name that I remember. Consistent with that is how the 1973 Raleigh catalog that I see on-line doesn't specify the maker of the 14-24 rear cluster supplied stock on the Competition model. Indeed, I continued to use the same (working) cluster on the Hi-E wheel, at least as I recall, until I replaced it with a 14-18 that I bought second-hand from another kid at snotty boarding school. (It was nice and flat in Southeastern Massachusetts where I grew up!)


Those were the days! I was lucky to discover road-racing bikes and sew-up tires as early as I did. Hi-end bikes are SO much more common now -- it's quite amazing how things have changed for cycling technology and performance, at least in small-town USA since the early 1970s. I had sew-up tires when all my hometown rat-pack friends had Schwinn Varsities. My gosh almighty, what a step up was the modest Raleigh Competition -- compared to that Iron Dog beast Schwinn Varsity! I'm sure there are a few others here who can relate to this nostalgia.... ;-)


Cheers--

--JWB.


PS: I've learned that I can't post pictures here until I make eight more postings. My Hi-Lo wheel is unusual but clearly not super-rare. If anyone is especially interested to see pictures, I'll generate some blather or something, and get pictures posted. It was fun riding such an unusual wheel -- and it worked for me!!

Warrenmee

Anyone know where I can get some spare parts?

curbtender

https://www.bikeforums.net/members/hazetguy-20876.html

hazetguy bought out his old stock. He may still have some.

oneclick 

You don't have to know how to weld.

steelbikeguy

Hi-E did build the "Cosmopolitan" frame that was riveted together. Not sure if that was to avoid welding or just to be able to work with thinner material.

The rims were likely riveted to be able to use sheet stock instead of investing in an extrusion die like most rim manufacturers.

Another factor might be that Harlan Meyer came from the aerospace world, and may have been more familiar with riveting as a construction method.

It's worth checking out the Classic Rendezvous page on Hi-E to get a look at the full range of Hi-E products.

edit: wow... I forgot how old this thread is!

Steve in Peoria

hazetguy 

yes, i bought a lot of stuff from MOMBAT.
99.9% of what i bought has been moved on to other homes.
see post #50 in this thread.