Muddy Fox Prestige 1988 the £5k one.
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steel rims!
I thought th op said they were chromed rm20s? Has that not been confirmed from the spec......or is there really not one 
If they are steel that would make much more sence as to get chrome on alluminium that bad you would have to be riding it in the sea pretty regularly!
If they are steel that would make much more sence as to get chrome on alluminium that bad you would have to be riding it in the sea pretty regularly!
Synthiaks
Senior Retro Guru
I'm away for a week.....so will have to go by pics I already have.
Wheels...actually the trickiest and worst part of the bike as the frame and other parts will all clean up pretty well I think.
They are Araya RM20s (according to the sticker and they are the correct profile) so unless they made a steeel RM20s then these are aluminium which has been chromed, thats also bourne out by the lack of rust...this is more like a corrosive reaction/with piting flaking....if steeel I'd have expected rust spots, also under the chrome you can see what looks like dull aluminium.
The Inside of the rims when I changed the tubes were box fresh which was a surprise, no corrosion and original (well looked original) rim tape present....annoyingly I didn't take pics...just of the weird innertube
I think the spokes may have also been chromed originally, they are rusty....but some glimpses of shine.
So I see a couple of options:
1, Clean rims as best as possible, rebuild with pretty spokes stainless or something with some bling, even pitted they still have a kick ...so retain the history/patinausually my go-to thing as to my mind re-doing to perfection looses something....know thats not everyones opionion.
2. Strip these rims and polish back to a mirror finish...not sure with all the pitting how good a rresult that would be.
3. Same as above but also get re-chromed
4. keep these as is for historical purposes but re-build the wheels with a better pair of RM20s that can be polished or chromed.
Money is a factor in all this....
The gold plated Sansin hubs will clean up a bit but have the same rough pitted/flakey surface in areas....re-plating these would be a nightmare and also the Muddy Fox logo is a screen print so just a massive can of worms that I personally am not going to get into.
Wheels...actually the trickiest and worst part of the bike as the frame and other parts will all clean up pretty well I think.
They are Araya RM20s (according to the sticker and they are the correct profile) so unless they made a steeel RM20s then these are aluminium which has been chromed, thats also bourne out by the lack of rust...this is more like a corrosive reaction/with piting flaking....if steeel I'd have expected rust spots, also under the chrome you can see what looks like dull aluminium.
The Inside of the rims when I changed the tubes were box fresh which was a surprise, no corrosion and original (well looked original) rim tape present....annoyingly I didn't take pics...just of the weird innertube
I think the spokes may have also been chromed originally, they are rusty....but some glimpses of shine.
So I see a couple of options:
1, Clean rims as best as possible, rebuild with pretty spokes stainless or something with some bling, even pitted they still have a kick ...so retain the history/patinausually my go-to thing as to my mind re-doing to perfection looses something....know thats not everyones opionion.
2. Strip these rims and polish back to a mirror finish...not sure with all the pitting how good a rresult that would be.
3. Same as above but also get re-chromed
4. keep these as is for historical purposes but re-build the wheels with a better pair of RM20s that can be polished or chromed.
Money is a factor in all this....
The gold plated Sansin hubs will clean up a bit but have the same rough pitted/flakey surface in areas....re-plating these would be a nightmare and also the Muddy Fox logo is a screen print so just a massive can of worms that I personally am not going to get into.
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Synthiaks
Senior Retro Guru
I thought th op said they were chromed rm20s? Has that not been confirmed from the spec......or is there really not one
If they are steel that would make much more sence as to get chrome on alluminium that bad you would have to be riding it in the sea pretty regularly!
I've not seen a spec sheet for this particular one anywhere.......pretty much the same hardware (minus brakes) as the 89/90 the Hatfield LTD editon, so maybe theres a sheet for that, not searched as yet.
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Synthiaks
Senior Retro Guru
maybe I'll call Hatfield and ask......!
Thats the reason i was interested to see the inside....if chromed the inside is probably chromed to, especially if done as an after market job.
I agree that if they were steel, with that amount of corrosion on the chome i would expect to see a lot of rust marking coming through.
They have obviously had a hard life and been stored / looked after none to well! As chrome over alluminium is normally less likely to corrode as the base (being zinc coated to get it to stick) is pretty robust.
Its either re-chrome ....try Vehicle and General in Bedford....they are superb or you could try cleaning them.
Coke, salt, flour paste and alluminium foil........
I agree that if they were steel, with that amount of corrosion on the chome i would expect to see a lot of rust marking coming through.
They have obviously had a hard life and been stored / looked after none to well! As chrome over alluminium is normally less likely to corrode as the base (being zinc coated to get it to stick) is pretty robust.
Its either re-chrome ....try Vehicle and General in Bedford....they are superb or you could try cleaning them.
Coke, salt, flour paste and alluminium foil........
Synthiaks
Senior Retro Guru
They are chromed inside & clean as a whistle...nice to see what they must have looked like originally....so seems no moisture got in there by some magic.
I've cleaned with foil/WD40 and 0000 wire wool, they have come up much nicer but some areas are so pitted theres not much to be done, not tried coke, alst, flour combo!
Spokes are trashed....i can get them back to silver with effort but they are scabby.
I like the idea of removing the spokes, getting the rims rechromed in Bedford and rebuilt with shiny spokes, not cheap but over time it could be manageable and would be the only way to get the wheels back to their best. Be careful with the gold plating, don't polish it away.`
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