ES2 front wheel

I'm afraid Central think they Know it all. They don't.

I also have been caught out by stipulating what machine I want the spokes for. Now I only state the length and gauge of spoke I require(as per their web site), that way I get what I want.

Hello Vitor, had a look to the 1955 ES2 I'm working on at the moment.

Oily rag cond, maybe original.

2 cross lacing at the drum brake side, 3 cross lacing at he other.

Hope this help .BenoÃ?t

Previously Paul Knapp wrote:

I also have been caught out by stipulating what machine I want the spokes for. Now I only state the length and gauge of spoke I require(as per their web site), that way I get what I want.

Previously vitor_brito wrote:

Hello,

I need some help please.

I ordered to the central wheels2 wheels rims and 2 sets of black spokes for my 1950 ES2.

I received the order but the spokes of the brake drum side ofthe front wheel are shorter of those who were in the old rims.

I questioned the central wheels and they say the front wheel is x2 lacing the brake drum side and x3 lacing the other side.

I think originally supposed to be x 3 lacing, I've seen many wheels, some in unrestored bikes, books and old sales brochures as you can see in the pictures attached, and I always see x3 lacing on the drum side.

I saw x2 lacing only in some rebuilt wheels as in the last photo attached.

Can anyone confirm this and if possible what the length of the spokes please?

Vitor

Vitor.....your wheel has been laced up, on the drum side, using the same pattern as the later drum braked Commando. I have been informed that it is safe........ but for whatever reasoning was not used on any earlier full-width drum Nortons.

Your pictures of early ES2 wheels are correct.On the early ES2 and Model 7 bikes spoke 1 is opposite to spoke 2 with no spokes in between. See attachment for ES2 & Model 7 Wheels.

Your wheel has the later spoking where.....if you pick any 4 spokes going round the hub, you will notice that spoke 1 is almost exactly opposite spoke 4 in direction and there are 2 other spokes in between. See the second attachment showing the top of a Full Width Hub.

Rims supplied by Central are drilled to suit the pattern they have decided upon. Will not always match what Norton did, Would be helpfull if they told you this.I think they do this to reduce the range they have to stock,Means you can not always follow the pattern or be orriginal.

Vitor.........your English is far better than my Portugese. Thank you. The spoke lacing on your ES2 front wheel is correct for the year of manufacture. So your picture is correct and if your new spokes were long enough then that is how your new wheel should look. If you can change your spokes, for longer ones, then I suggest you that you do this. But you must use your old rim, or one very similar because the spoke holes have probably been drilled to suit the pattern your picture shows. As Robert says, a different rim may have been drilled differently.

Coincidentally, I was assembing a 21" wheel with rim and spokes from Central just this weekend, was having some difficulties as I didn't have an example to refer to, and so was checking out the neighborhood here for advice when I ran across this discussion. After one false start, I got it together with x2, brake side, and x3 on the other. Looks ok to me. I looked all over the web and saw both variants over all years.

Previously Michael Rettie wrote:

Coincidentally, I was assembing a 21" wheel with rim and spokes from Central just this weekend, was having some difficulties as I didn't have an example to refer to, and so was checking out the neighborhood here for advice when I ran across this discussion. After one false start, I got it together with x2, brake side, and x3 on the other. Looks ok to me. I looked all over the web and saw both variants over all years.

This is a good spoking. It shows pairs of spokes at a near tangent on each edge of the hub rim opposed by another pair on the opposite side. So the pulling forces are balanced. You will notice that the pattern on both flanges has spoke 1 close to 180* opposite that of spoke 4. This is the pattern used on the later full-width hubs but should be ok for this earlier wheel as well.

There is the odd occasion when I'm right ! But anyone who thinks they know it all ----does not.

Hi

I am restoring a 1951 ES2 plunger. In the light of whats been said above, can anyone give me offset and spoke length measurements, for both front and rear wheels? Would be a great help, my bike was heavily damaged in a fire the origanal wheels were ruined. Graham

Rear wheel offset 2" from right edge of hub to wm2x19 rim. Not gospel but what I measure on mine.

Hi Guys

Thank you all for the information, will get some pics up as soon as I have the wheel together.

Graham