I wouldn't normally start a thread like this, but I've found some wheels on a FB group that I really like. I was ready to pull the trigger until a poster on FB was worried about potential corrosion as well as the axle locating pins being ovalized. What do you guys think? Normally I wouldn't be worried but it's a fair bit of money (about 1200 quid) and I have no way to inspect them beforehand.
my personal experience with Marvic Mag wheels was not good. the above wheels are a mix of Penta 2 rear and Penta 1 front, i had a set of Penta 2's and after a track day ( back in 2003) I found that all the rear wheel spokes had cracked and was close to catastrophic failure. I would therefore never purchase second hand magnesium wheels without having an inspection completed to check for any degradation of the structure.
Here is a good read: https://www.magnesiumwheels.com https://www.magnesiumwheels.com/for-engineers.html
The holes don’t look oval. They’re just the other 4 you’d use in between. As far as Mag Wheels go, they don’t look bad but for piece of mind, you’d need to get them crack tested first.
I personally wouldn't go near period (old) mag wheels, unless they'd been recently refurbished and tested.
The oval holes are just coring out to reduce thick sections and uneven shrinkage in the casting process, but as the other guys have said, they need to be tested thoroughly for cracking and any other damage
Second hand wheels? Not sure about them? Unless you know the previous owner, I'd either walk or bite the bullet and buy new. They may be fine but 1200 isn't loose change.
I wouldn’t touch any old lightweight wheel generally but especially not unless it had been X-ray tested. They can and do crack, just like carbon wheels and when they let go…. Doesn’t bear thinking about
can’t remember what the process is for checking through a structure for cracks both visible and beneath the surface We used to do it on various items in the off season but I’ve been out of the game for a while and deleted it from the memory archives. I’m sure it was X-ray though. And there’s one with a dye and magnetic thing as well. Various ways to Skin a cat.
Yeah i get that, but I’d be surprised if you with the background you have would recommend mag or carbon stressed items of extreme importance with no history full stop without a full test. Even back in my karting days the mag rims used to shit themselves. I’ve seen countless issues with carbon, scary ones that would (personally) put me off for life. Mag doesn’t really age very well imo either. You are right though, getting that degree of testing to Joe public isn’t easy. You’ll only get an opinion online and mine would be to avoid such things unless you can get them properly tested. I do see your angle though and you’re not wrong. This is the problem with text as it can be easily misinterpreted.
@number9 - I assume that those wheels are local or at least in the USA? It looks like all the advice above about inspection is great, but all UK based.
Thanks guys, I did read all the posts and honestly I'm even more confused than when I started! I am in the U.S. but these are a couple of thousand miles away, and I don't have anyone who can go and give them a butcher's. @Sev can you Google U.S. facilities and see if any are affiliates of U.K. shops that you'd trust? If it makes a difference, this bike will be lucky to do 500 miles a year.
Personally I would try to push this onto the seller to sort out, so you have something in the hand before you purchase. and as mentioned in an earlier post, modern forged alloy wheels seem to have overtaken the need to go cast magnesium now
This was the conclusion I came to when I was looking for something lighter for my Pani track bike. I do appreciate however the apatite for something in keeping/period.
totally understand from the time period perspective, but i also went with Alloy for my Panigale, as i cant be doing with the hassle and the cost to weight benefit I can pull back by missing lunch..
When I decided to get my carbon/mag Dymag wheels, I had read all about how some may age badly, the need for testing, etc. There are two issues with this: 1/ As mentioned above, it is not always easy to find a place where they can test these. And it’s a costly process, as you may very well be doing it at loss, if the rims are damaged and you end up not buying them… 2/ By the time you start discussing this with the seller and ask whether they can provide recent testing results (at their own cost), rims will have been sold to someone else… I was #1 in a line of six potential buyers after a couple hours of listing, for the Dymags.
