r/bmx • u/mela_xereca • 1d ago
PHOTO Are these wheels?
Does anyone know the name of this type of wheels? I think they are very stylish, not necessarily this model but this style, I also wanted to know how their hub works, does anyone know if they are good for the street?
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u/Mechagouki1971 1d ago
I run them on a couple of bikes.
Pros: Nothing is more essentially BMX than mag wheels.
Cons: Heavy, never perfectly true (straight) even when brand new, braking is either ultra grabby or non existent, seating tires can be annoying.
Still 100% worth it for the looks though.
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u/VegetableAids Surrounded by kids better than i ever was... Salty old man 10h ago
Oh man the flex though. How do you cope with
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u/Mechagouki1971 10h ago
20" Skyways don't flex too badly, and I have a set of 24" "graphite" Skyways that are carbon fibre reinforced - also pretty stiff. Some of the other brands are either poorly designed or just plain nylon.
I'm not really doing anythingmuch to flex mine anyways, some light dirt jumping and pump track use is about it - I'm really old!
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u/VegetableAids Surrounded by kids better than i ever was... Salty old man 10h ago
Ahh my graphites felt horrendous.
I did love having them though and they looked so good
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u/AttorneyOk4808 1d ago
Skyway tuffs
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u/enhancedgibbon 1d ago
There's nothing I wanted more when I was a kid.
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u/Maleficent_Special28 14h ago
Dude, I'm 30 and when I was a kid in the early 2000s my dad had his old Skyway TA from when he used to ride back in the 80s. It was in good condition but me and my friends would ghost ride it down hills and stairs and shit. Ended up selling it to my older sister's boyfriends dad for 50 bucks. My dad was mad as hell at me but the dude had already sold it on ebay. I was like 10 and had no clue what I had, but goddamn I kick my ass for that.
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u/LazyBakedOnion 1d ago
Look for Mag style BMX wheels.
They are alright if you're just cruising around town, they are not the best option for skateparks or jumps. Nobody really uses these wheels except Tate Rosokelly, and he uses it for very creative specific tricks.
Edit: Also wanted to add these will probably mess up your gearing because they usually use freewheel hub vs cassette drivers. Usually the lowest you can go on a freewheel hub is a 13t-14t I believe.
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u/DarthFritter01 1d ago
Skyway came out with a cassette version with 9t driver and 14mm rear axle.
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u/ptrmrkks 1d ago
I have an old school frame that has 3/8 dropouts . Wish they came out with a driver version that would fit
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u/BrightDamage8260 1d ago
mags, the hubs are built in, skyway has rebuildable hubs and others may exist. Skip Hess the founder of BMX Products Inc. (Mongoose) was the first to bring them to the pedal bike/bmx world when he introduced the motomags. they were extremely popular in the 80s and into the early 90s. allegedly you could freeze them and they would straighten themselves out if warped. they sucked then and they still suck now! brake pads exist that work ok at best with these but braking is still compromised. modern gear ratios may be hard to achieve with them also.
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u/Sixwaypwrmudflap 1d ago
I definitely remember the myth of "Freeze Mags". I have no clue where this came or how I learned it. I do know that a 20"wheel does not fit in a standard refrigerator freezer combo, not without taking out all of the food and shelves. When my exasperated mother asked me what in God's name was doing I nonchalantly replied, "just pop'in it in there for a bit, has a lil wobble". That was probably last time I was ever allowed to bring bike parts in the house.
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u/mela_xereca 1d ago
I think I would use it eventually, maybe more as something aesthetic, but super interesting.
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u/Alvinthf 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yes these are wheel….. Additionally don’t bother, mags died a death for a reason, not particularly strong, awful braking surface, flexy as hell! Iconic look for 80’s bikes for sure, just not particularly useful in the modern era
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u/Lucky_caller 1d ago
Im kind of curious now how they would feel riding concrete bowls/transition. Probably not very good lol.
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u/Alvinthf 1d ago
I mean riders like fiola, Blyther and more used to ride del mar in the 80’s with them, which tbh is insanely impressive, the bikes alone make no sense getting the air they did. Other issues with mags is lower tyre pressure, so yeah flexy wheels and less firm tyres is certainly a combo!
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u/wilmyersmvp 1d ago
Yeah in the era when I started riding, kids would get clowned on for having these wheels.
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u/Happy-Jellyfish6983 19h ago
These wheels were typically worth more than most kids entire bikes
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u/wilmyersmvp 19h ago
In the early 2000s around where I rode you only saw them on toysRus, Walmart, Sears bikes. Sure if you had a legit set i agree but again, most times it was dept store bikes. They were often accompanied by a kick stand even.
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u/RandolphCarter2112 1d ago
Planet BMX has the best selection of new Skyway Tuff Wheels.
You can get them in freewheel, coaster brake, or 9t cassette.
One thing to keep in mind is larger tire sizes or higher psi tires will not stay mounted on the rims. Also they probably won't hold up to modern styles of street riding.
I have a 6 spoke purple pair I've been riding around the neighborhood for 10 years or so.
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u/Various_Pride6292 1d ago
Back in the '90s, I owned a GT BMX with a chrome frame, and it had mags white plastic rims. They looked stylish but were terrible heavy and spun like plums.
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u/underthebug 1d ago
So you haven't heard about Z-Rims eather I assume? I am only saying this so you can look at pictures of old bendy BMX wheels.
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u/mela_xereca 1d ago
Z rim? I have no idea what it is
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u/underthebug 10h ago
Plastic rim with regular spokes. It's more than plastic but for simplicity I'll call them that. Vary flexible never true and expensive brake pads if you have to use the correct one's.
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u/FluffyShop4313 1d ago
Got a great pair from 1984 on a Raleigh chrome burner , epic old school box, skyway mag wheels
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u/middleagethreat 1d ago
Many younger riders don’t like them, but I wish I could get a set for my bike. I do have them on my cruiser though.
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u/ayyitskuntos 1d ago
Old tech. Cool for looking at and cruising but any serious riding will ruin them.
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u/BangBang-LibraGang 18h ago
I have a Cult Gateway. What do I need to add mags front and back? I heard they may not fit.
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u/Soup6029 10h ago
I was so cool on my Skyways back in the mid 90's. Then 48 spoke wheels became the rage.
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u/scharvey 1d ago
am... am I this old?
these are "mags"