[Duccout]

I've done it!

Ordered a set of silver Alpinas. I'm a little concerned though about how the paint on the rims will hold up; on a cast wheel, when the paint starts flaking it is not too much of a problem to get them blasted and recoated, but how difficult will it be to get the Alpinas recoated? Dismantling the wheel and then having someone rebuild it after may be a difficult job.

BTW, Alpina seems to have given up on silver anodising after their problems and now only offers silver painted rims.

 

[bill1960]

I've done it!

Ordered a set of silver Alpinas. I'm a little concerned though about how the paint on the rims will hold up; on a cast wheel, when the paint starts flaking it is not too much of a problem to get them blasted and recoated, but how difficult will it be to get the Alpinas recoated? Dismantling the wheel and then having someone rebuild it after may be a difficult job.

BTW, Alpina seems to have given up on silver anodising after their problems and now only offers silver painted rims.

..so you ordered the Faba wheels painted silver ?

 

[Duccout]

No, Alpinas. FaBa were a lot more expensive.

 

[bill1960]

No, Alpinas. FaBa were a lot more expensive.

Ok, I thought it was only Faba that had problems with the anodizing.

So you got Alpina with Aluminum rims (not carbon matrix) and Alpina now paint the Alu rims instead of anodise ?

 

[poolagent]

Anodising rims should never be a problem...

Every manufacturer does so and i can't see a good reason for choosing silver paint over clear anodising...

unless the rims are poor quality with surface imperfections.

If they are really painted, i would not buy them...

 

[Duccout]

I'm not over the moon.....The Alpina site lists all the other colours as anodised, but silver as painted. I know that a while ago JC documented the problems that Alpina were having with silver anodising, and it looks as though they gave up and turned to painting them instead. The original Paul Smart rims were clear anodised, and seem very durable.

 

[mikethepole]

Alpina has issues NOT only with silver, but many of their other colours too. I have 4 sets of their wheels and NOT 1 set is flawless.

however, the blemishes, aren't so bad. especially when you are moving, you can't see it. but, if you are anal, do NOT get Alpinas. although I like Alpinas, their quality is poor compared to other manufacturers of aluminum wheels

 

[Riderjeff]

To the OP: Just my 2c, but you're worrying about degradation while your wheels are literally brand new? We've all had old beaters that needed fixing, sometimes frequently, and worry is part of survival. But unless your bike lives outside, I wouldn't worry about the paint. If it DOES go bad, then you've got options: strip and repaint, have the anodizing done yourself!

 

[SPORT_CLASSIC_SPECIALTIES]

I order them in black. which is the color Alpina gets from the rim Mfg.
Disassemble them, Anodize it here correctly and reassemble them.
This adds cost but is what it should be
I do not know why they have so much trouble with anodizing in Italy.
I have been involved with Alpina for nearly 12 years. There was a very short period when the Silver Anodized rims were perfect. This lasted only for about 3 years. The Wheel department manager changed and it when back to being bad again.
They had to use three different places to accomplish the various color and finishes needed. After a while, they just gave up and opted to paint.

I know why there is a problem and shared the solution to fix it with them but it fell on deaf ears.

So, I don't like the Paint idea. I've seen the painted wheels they have for Supermoto. Looks great but after a few years its pretty bad.

If you want it Silver ano, we can do it.
It just costs more

I've done it!

Ordered a set of silver Alpinas. I'm a little concerned though about how the paint on the rims will hold up; on a cast wheel, when the paint starts flaking it is not too much of a problem to get them blasted and recoated, but how difficult will it be to get the Alpinas recoated? Dismantling the wheel and then having someone rebuild it after may be a difficult job.

BTW, Alpina seems to have given up on silver anodising after their problems and now only offers silver painted rims.

 

[Duccout]

Thanks JC. So I know that the wheels can be disassembled easily, so they could be repainted and rebuilt, as long as the spokes haven't corroded in the meantime.....so maybe not. I suppose that I could strip off the paint and polish them. The trouble here in the UK is that the climate means that paint on aluminium never lasts long.

 

[SPORT_CLASSIC_SPECIALTIES]

There should have been a user manual with your shipment. This will show how to assemble.
Usually when disassembling. The nipples get buggered up so you would need to order a new set of nipples.
Most wheel builders can do this if they follow the instructions to the letter. If not it will leak.
Stripping paint and polishing the wheel will probably render the specially drilled holes useless. Alpina does offer a Polished rim at €150 each wheel but they do not anodize them after polishing. I've asked they won't
So, the alternative to arrive at what you would like to have is:
Order in a polished version and an extra set of nipples, O-Rings and clips.
You could disassemble, prep and anodize it and you would have a silver anodized wheel. If your local/regional anodizing shop is anything like the ones they have in Italy. They may fail at a clean surface treatment.

All this is not for the faint of heart. It is no simple task. It takes able shops and able talent that is willing to learn something and takes the time to understand it. Most don't. Been there done that I can attest to that.


example
We took this

and corrected it to this

Another wheel that was corrected

Ready to mount

Thanks JC. So I know that the wheels can be disassembled easily, so they could be repainted and rebuilt, as long as the spokes haven't corroded in the meantime.....so maybe not. I suppose that I could strip off the paint and polish them. The trouble here in the UK is that the climate means that paint on aluminium never lasts long.

 

[Duccout]

All I wanted was a pair of wheels that kept the original look of the bike, but were tubeless! Achieving this looks to be harder than I thought. Maybe I'll cancel the order and keep the original Excel PS rims that I have.

It's strange though, because my other hobby is cycling and I have many beautiful Italian cycle components that are anodised aluminium; why do Alpina struggle? Why not get the anodising done elsewhere if it is not the forte of Italians? If you claim to make a quality product then it should be that.

 

[SPORT_CLASSIC_SPECIALTIES]

Check this out
spoked wheels tubeless system bartubeless

They are based in Italy so shipping to them from the UK a set of wheels would not be too expensive.
They can take your Aluminum wheel and seal it
Adds only Front. 140g. rear 195g.
To make it more iinteresting
I sell the Stainless spoke and nipples kit. The Cost is $250 plus shipping
You use your Hub and OEM Alloy rim. If the rims are in bad shape aesthetically. This can be stripped polished and re-anodized.
R&R SC wheels with SS Spokes
Before

After

or get the Takasago Excel rim.
I like the non-dimpled excel rims for this purpose and they look real nice.

Around $250 for the front and $425 for the rear
Strip, Polish, and ReAno a Used alloy rim will cost about $375 for the set

So for about $1000 you can get the wheel parts and have it built using your hub.
Then get it sealed by Bartubeless. Cost I think is around €100 Euro
Tell him JC sent you

All I wanted was a pair of wheels that kept the original look of the bike, but were tubeless! Achieving this looks to be harder than I thought. Maybe I'll cancel the order and keep the original Excel PS rims that I have.

It's strange though, because my other hobby is cycling and I have many beautiful Italian cycle components that are anodised aluminium; why do Alpina struggle? Why not get the anodising done elsewhere if it is not the forte of Italians? If you claim to make a quality product then it should be that.

 

[Sagittaria]

I actually have the painted silver Alpinas in question. They're just about perfect and I was pretty impressed. I've had them about two months with no issues whatsoever. IMO I actually prefer the paint to the anodizing. Easier to clean and looks like OEM like I was going for.

I ordered from the same UK distributor and they were extremely excellent and helpful. Make sure you tell them to tell the factory you want exactly what's in the pictures. Apparently these huge supermoto alpina billboard logos are standard on all their rims... and they aren't removable at least with paint. Took them 2 months to build the rolling billboard wheels. Took them another 2 to build them vanilla.

Anyways I'm pretty happy with the wheels and Alpina themselves. If there's any moral of the story is to prepare to deal with Italian work times.

 

[Duccout]

Thanks JC, I'd come across the Bartubeless system in my searches, but could not see too much detail from their web site; food for thought.

Thank you, Saggitaria! I feel a bit better now and your wheels are exactly what I'm looking for, so it's good to hear from someone who is happy with them. It looks like the hubs are anodised, but the rims painted?

As for Italian work practices, I've been told to expect the wheels at the end of September, just in time for the winter, if they turn up then!

 

[Sagittaria]

Thank you, Saggitaria! I feel a bit better now and your wheels are exactly what I'm looking for, so it's good to hear from someone who is happy with them. It looks like the hubs are anodised, but the rims painted?

As for Italian work practices, I've been told to expect the wheels at the end of September, just in time for the winter, if they turn up then!

Correct, the hubs are anodized and they look flawless. It seems that they've only had problem with the rims for some reason. Good luck!

 

[bill1960]

Thanks JC, I'd come across the Bartubeless system in my searches, but could not see too much detail from their web site; food for thought.

Thank you, Saggitaria! I feel a bit better now and your wheels are exactly what I'm looking for, so it's good to hear from someone who is happy with them. It looks like the hubs are anodised, but the rims painted?

As for Italian work practices, I've been told to expect the wheels at the end of September, just in time for the winter, if they turn up then!

Alpina Italy are closed for summer vacation and re-open August 28. I'm waiting on some spokes and nipples....

I dont see much bang for buck in going from Alu OEM rims to Alu Alpinas, considering the Orings can leak , the spokes are not stainless, and the silver color rims are not anodised.

When I was researching options in 2014, I got quotes from Buchanans, Woodys wheels, and Central-Wheel in the UK to lace Alu rims and stainless spokes to my GT hubs. They could all do it using various Alu rim and SS spoke combinations.
The main reason I went for Alpinas was I wanted a quick plugnplay tubeless solution ahead of a tour I had planned.

As you already have Alu rimmed wheels(not GT steel rims), and being in the UK, I would suggest having Central-wheel or similar lace them with SS spokes, then send them off for the bartubeless system.
Option to polish/anodise rims while you're at it.

 

[poolagent]

I dont see much bang for buck in going from Alu OEM rims to Alu Alpinas, considering the Orings can leak , the spokes are not stainless, and the silver color rims are not anodised.

My local wheel builder sells a complete set of stainless spokes & nickel coated brass nipples for 150€...

Some here have simply got their spokes swapped and are very happy with it...

Sealing the wheels afterwards is not so much of risk if properly done... Bartubeless is an example and i know quite a few italian riders using it or having it done themselves with automotive sealant/glue

 

[Satansfist]

...nickel coated nipples for 150€...

Tee hee...

 

[Sagittaria]

I dont see much bang for buck in going from Alu OEM rims to Alu Alpinas, considering the Orings can leak , the spokes are not stainless, and the silver color rims are not anodised.

Agreed, I wasn't wild about them either especially for the cost. Only tipping point for me was so I can plug 4P4P calipers straight in.