Hub Polishers

[petehouk]

Hey everyone. I am making up some hub polishers to give away after my annual bike ride. (Complete the ride on a classic Schwinn and you get a prize. This year it's a hub polisher.)

I have purchased a few bikes over the years with hub polishers but I haven't logged many miles with them. I think they are kind of silly but also kind of cool and a fun thing to give away at an event like this.

Now to my question: is there any chance of a hub polisher getting tangled/jammed between the wheel and the fork or frame? Could it ever get out of the spokes enough to cause a problem? Has anyone ever had trouble like this with a hub polisher? I would like to hear from people who have experience with them. Thanks

 

[Freqman1]

Where's the ride and what do you consider a classic?

 

[Demzie]

Hey everyone. I am making up some hub polishers to give away after my annual bike ride. (Complete the ride on a classic Schwinn and you get a prize. This year it's a hub polisher.)

I have purchased a few bikes over the years with hub polishers but I haven't logged many miles with them. I think they are kind of silly but also kind of cool and a fun thing to give away at an event like this.

Now to my question: is there any chance of a hub polisher getting tangled/jammed between the wheel and the fork or frame? Could it ever get out of the spokes enough to cause a problem? Has anyone ever had trouble like this with a hub polisher? I would like to hear from people who have experience with them. Thanks

I've had nothing but fun with them. I know longer ones are split at the fold over so the oil fill cap can pass without just flipping the reflector all over.
I've never had any issues, front or back. They shouldn't extend anywhere near the length enough to escape the wheel and secured with a button jewel reflector, won't be falling off either.

I'm big on a full dresser, and I love the personal touches.

 

[petehouk]

Where's the ride and what do you consider a classic?

For me, classic=pre-bankruptcy.

 

[vincev]

Hub polishers are a nice touch.I have never seen them jam up on anything.They do make a cool sound when they hit spokes.

 

[SirMike1983]

A properly made one should not get into the spokes. It would if it was too long or allowed to twist sideways a lot, but a properly made one would not do that. They can rub off the plating on the hub shell from continual friction and lots of riding. I've got several old hubs with shiner "tracks" of lost plating. They might make an interesting door prize novelty item. I suppose you could make them out of leather and use a wood burning iron to burn the name of the event and date into the surface.

 

[Caj Remtiw]

I believe that they are good at keeping Voodoo away! Especially when fitted with a REAL glass eye!

 

[the tinker]

Great post. A couple years back, I made a Paladin holster. I hung it on a bike.

I had to cast some chess knight emblems out of pewter for the holster. A great source for pewter for casting is the kitchen or dining room. I grabbed a teapot off the wife's buffet..... [ I think that's what she calls it]

Who cares about her junk??? With one of the extra emblems I made a hub shiner . Added an old glass reflector.

The leather for the strap was 9oz. veg tan, which is kind of heavy for a hub shiner. Here's a photo of a scrap of leather that I hacked off an old leather couch that someone tossed on top of the burn pile at the Memory Lane Swap a few years back. Upholstery leather works fine for everything.

I covered a couple saddles with this leather. If one wants a source for free leather for your straps or other projects, always keep a razor knife in the glovebox. Anything on the curb that's covered in leather is fair game. On most of the older furniture, the backs and sides are leather too. Usually it's in great shape, and yields the largest scraps. Little add-ons like these can really personalize your bike. Mudflaps, saddle bags, hanging tool boxes....????

 

[Caj Remtiw]

Little add-ons like these can really personalize your bike.

WOW! Brilliant! I hadn't a clue!

 

[kreika]

I believe that they are good at keeping Voodoo away! Especially when fitted with a REAL glass eye!

View attachment 2056542

Wow, cool! How many spokes are you running per side?