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Hey its been about 10 years since I've posted but bare with me..

I have a 2018 CRF450R and was looking to add black wheels at a fair (cheapest) price. I ride mostly desert and haven't been hard on wheels in my past. Here are the options I'm thinking...

1. I bite the bullet and buy the full Tusk Impact set for $550
a. Pro: No assembly required
b. Con: its $550

2. I disassemble the stock wheels and buy Warp 9 rims for $98 a piece.
a. Pro: Only $200 total
b. Con: Lace and true stock hubs to rims (never done before)

3. I disassemble the sock wheels and have them both anodized black for $110 locally
a. Pro: Even cheaper
b. Con: Never anodized anything before; and will still need to lace and true the set

I'd love to hear what you guys think. Also, do you feel disassembling and reassembling a set of wheels is worth the savings?
(Asked the wife a 1000 times but she doesn't give AS) Thank you my dudes!

Hello, if you have never built a wheel before - be prepared. It not what i would can hard but it is very time consuming. Much easier if you lash the spokes together and pull the hub and spokes as a unit then reinstall it as a unit to the new wheel over having just a pile of spokes and a hub and wheel. But it is still a slow tedious job.
Personally, I like the look of the black wheels but they do not stay that pristine look for long. Also a real pain to change tires without scratching them.
Here is an option. I know people that took the time to do this and they turned out really good. Removed the tire, lightly sanded the rim and taped off all the spokes nipples. Used I think it was called Plasti-coat paint and sprayed them. It is a paint that is a rubber type of coating. When the time comes that you want to change color or remove and start over the paint coating peels off. I have seen tons of things done in this type of paint and pretty amazed at how it holds up.

Or- just spring the $550 and then you have two sets of wheels. Dunes & Desert or different compounds for different terrains. You could also sell the OEM wheel sets to recoup some of the $550.

Just a few options for you.

My experience is its a crapshoot .......

I lace my own (and other peoples) wheels , and as Neil mentioned , with any color other than silver , it is very easy to see the scratch on the surface , you scratch aluminum/silver rims the same , but due to the color it is not noticed as much since when you scratch a colored rim , the aluminum/silver that is underneath shows thru , with a silver rim , its already that color , so its still scratched , you just don't see it as easily till you are up closer ....

With that said , it is a time consuming job (takes me about a hour from start to finish) , but I am cheap and on a budget , and I like working on my bikes , which is why I started lacing my own ..... another downside is the color will fade over time , especially if the bike is sitting either in the sun , or in the light from a window in the shop/garage .... I have done Pro Wheels , and Tusk and DID and Excel .... They all fade , how long depends on conditions

This is my 06 450X , note that the rear rim is black and the front a bronze color ..... they are both black Pro Wheels installed/laced at the same time (around 2006).... difference being the front wheel was near a window and the sunlight did this within a few months


This is my 02 450R , again black Pro Wheels , both got equal sun exposure and I personally like the color , its a cross between black and gold rims (the same bronze that black wheels turned on my 450X)


Also note that I Anodized (you asked about Anodizing) my fork tubes on both bikes , Anodized by a shop that specializes in Anodizing ..... note that the fork tubes on my 450X still looks quite black while the tubes on my 450R look a bit faded , and are starting to look like the rims , which they eventually will ... The difference in the 2 bikes being my X sits in the shop the majority of the year while my R is ridden most every weekend so it is out in the sun more than in the shade ..... So Anodizing to save money is not going to give a different result , it will only be a cost difference ....


.... note that Red wheels will turn pink or a shade of it , gold will fade to silverish , but seem to last the longest as far as holding their original color , blue tends to go the way of Dark Gray , green turn a shade of yellow-er green.....The time it takes this to happen varies from a few months to several years

On a side note ... I want a newer CRF450 , what I will mostly end up with is the 2019/20 mainly due to the black wheels and the other improvements they made from the 17/18 .... but the black wheels are a major factor ..... even though I could lace my own , that also means I have to buy them to lace them .... which is a extra expense of around $200 give or take

Bottom line , if your budget allows and you are not confident of your lacing skills (there is a video here of doing it) then go ahead and purchase the extra set .... the plus side is , you will have a extra set of wheels that you can install either a different set of tires for different track/terrains , and/or you have a set for play and a set for racing/practice and won't be wearing out your tires as fast

EDIT: it looks like the pictures of lacing the wheel in the write up here is missing all the pictures.. https://www.crfsonly.com/forum/viewtopi ... ls#p115400 ... So I found a Rocky Mountain ATV video , that will give you the basics , if you feel like tackling it , this should get you thru it


EDIT EDIT: I forgot to mention I also have a black Tusk Impact wheel that I laced up to a black Anodized stock hub ...... it has not faded yet as it sits in the shop pretty much 80% of the time (been almost a year) ..... though it does show signs of wear at the bead of the rim from the tire compressing and rubbing the rim (this happens to all MX wheels) so it has a slight silver streak at the lip of the rim ...no biggie , but just so you know , even "normal" wear will cause the Anodizing to rub thru ..... and Powdercoating , will do the same ... bike wheels take more abuse than car/truck rims , so they just show the wear much faster

But again , I want the 19/20 just because of the wheels .... So if you go into this with the knowledge that the wheels will look not as good in a year or so , then go for it ...... I would , but I would lace my own , but if the price was right and within the budget , I would buy wheels already setup as well .... , if they get scratched up , just look from farther back and they will still look good .... , or bust out the sharpie before every ride to fool everyone that does not look closely enough to notice the scratches

Hi Jim,
I thought there was a video for wheel building / truing as well.
Not sure what has happened to it.

Jim, an hour.... That's prettttttttty good.

It takes and hour to just ----- oh forget it. If you say so then it's true.

Bet you can change a tire in 37 seconds too.

Jim, an hour.... That's prettttttttty good.

It takes and hour to just ----- oh forget it. If you say so then it's true.

Bet you can change a tire in 37 seconds too.

I am not talking about removing the wheel from the bike and removing the tire , I am just referring to building and truing the actual wheel

Also I run Tubliss for the most part , so tire changing is a bit different than that of doing a tube wheel , but in answer to your question , (with the wheel already off the bike) about 5-10 minutes depending on if its a front or rear tire and how stiff the sidewall is (fronts take a bit longer because of the tightness with the Tubliss) , using a 15 gallon oil drum as a stand and 2 spoons ... I could probably do it a bit faster if I was in a rush ...

Hi Jim,
I thought there was a video for wheel building / truing as well.
Not sure what has happened to it.

Ray , as far as I know there was the A.S. pictured writeup , but the pictures were on Photobucket and are now no longer available , I do not recall a "video" wheel lacing post

Took me an hour and a half the last CR 80 big wheel I did.
I think the smaller wheels are more finicky to true, because normal size rims seem a lot faster and easier.

I guess you guys are just way better mechanics than I am.
Last one I did was a trials bike rear with left and right side spokes - It sure wasn't no hour to do it....

I have spent over an hour just truing an out of alignment wheel. You guys should have went pro.

LOL , at Neil ..... Me thinks you need to stop dilly dallying around and just just slap in the spokes , and snug down , then torque the spokes and move on , don't be so anal about truing it , if the wheel is straight , and you tighten it down evenly in stages , it will literally keep itself true .... and you're done ..... Don't overthink the next one , just casually assemble and let it seat itself as you go , I personally tighten by hand each nipple till it is just at the end of the threads ,,, then 1/4 to 1/2 turn in sequence till its snugging up (1/2 turn at first till it starts getting snug , then go to 1/4 turn) , then start torquing at lower torque ratings and moving up each completed sequence till I get to the required setting (usually about 45 in lbs on big bikes) .... Works for me .... then the first few times ridden , recheck , and once the wheel seats in then you are good to go for a while , I check mine each time after initial first few rides , then once a month or so , and have never had a spoke come loose or a wheel wobble ....

I guess you guys are just way better mechanics than I am.
Last one I did was a trials bike rear with left and right side spokes - It sure wasn't no hour to do it....

I have spent over an hour just truing an out of alignment wheel. You guys should have went pro.

Well Neil those wheels with different length spokes for left and right can be a bit more time consuming but should come together the same way once you have run the nipples equally down the spokes. I normally just true it up then back off the side I need to move the offset away from and tighten the side I want to move to. Trying to get an offset as you go takes forever and can send you insane.

I have seen a enduro rider change a tube out in under 5 minutes including remove and replace the wheel. He was an older guy so he must have had plenty of practice.

Appreciate all the feedback and damn you guys are quick! I just un-spoked my rear wheel on another bike and tried to relace it but just figuring out how the spokes align took me a few hours. Think I’m gunna bite the bullet and buy the tusk set. I just have a feeling I’m not going to get it right and end up paying someone to do it anyways.

Also, I didn’t realize black wheels fade to basically bronze that easily/quickly. Does everyone have the same issue???

It just depends on the conditions ...... Bright sunlight will fade any color (except silver) and depending on it's color , like mentioned , Red really fades fast ... The "Pro's" who's bikes look perfect all the time , actually get new plastics and new wheels frequently , plastics usually only get used 1 race , triple clamps and bars , just as frequently ..... Any "wear" part , never is on the bike long enough to show signs of wear or discoloration , even wheels only are on a few races , along with Frames , etc. .... not good for advertising , so they don't tell you that their bikes look like new , because basically they are new , every race .... but us mortals (financially challenged)... don't have that luxury , that is why most Craigslist bikes have pinkish hubs and triple clamps ... or black wheels like mine that are no longer black ... but again , keep everything covered and out of the elements over extended periods and they will last longer , but they all will fade over time ... The length of time is highly variable ...... and Powdercoat does last much longer than Anodizing , but the cost factor is there too ....