Alloy Wheels

Cal429

Novice
Alloy wheels.

When I was a youngster (oh, so MANY years ago!), I had a series of bicycles with chromed rims, chromed fenders, and various other chromed parts. My early-50's Schwinn Black Phantom comes to mind. Now, as a boy I was never one to take very good care of my things, but my recollection is of rust spots on the chromed finishes after only a few weeks, and by a year, most of the chromed surfaces were downright ugly.

So no wonder I get nervous looking at those chromed wheels (or are they stainless? Dunno, but I'd guess not). I suspect, and hope, that chrome-plating technology has come a long way since the '50's, so it's not something that keeps me awake at night, still.... And I'll never buy another car with with those ugly, prone-to-rust painted steel wheels.

So when I ordered my Camp-Inn, one thing I thought about (but didn't do) was not ordering a spare, but instead going out and buying alloy (i.e., clearcoated aluminum) wheels, and using one of the OEM wheels as the spare. Of course, I didn't do that, but the moment the original wheels start to rust, if they do, off they'll come in favor of alloys of some kind.
 
I am personally not a fan of Baby Moon style rims...I know it fits with the era of the Teardrop but I saw a 560 with aftermarket alloy wheels and it looked fantastic. When we place our order, I plan on buying my own rims/tires and sending them in to be put on.
 
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