Hi,
I just received a pair of cycle wings stays from GTS for my build and wondered if anyone else has used these and if they have any tips?

Sort of thing I think I need to know is:

1. How far from the tyre inside sidewall should the bracket go.

2. How close to the tyre should the flat bar be when bent?

3. Any tips on getting the flat bar to follow the profile of the cycle wing? I was hoping to use sikaflex to bond the metal to the GRP so need a close fit.

4. Any SVA tips regarding the fitting.

Thanks in advance,
Craig.

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Oh well, I guess it's trial and error time!
Will let you know how I get on.
Cheers,
Craig.

Not preformed then i take it?

No the stays come as a "flat pack" and you need to bend them to fit your particular wheel/tyre combo. I've read the GTS Locost build manual and that's basically all it says, I was just interested in any tips that anyone might have before I started.

Well so far I've done one side and it wasn't too bad. A few observations/facts & figures for anyone considering using these stays:

1. The stays are made primarily of oval tubing, essentially formed in a triangle with one vertex at the bottom where it bolts via a plate onto the bottom BJ. There are two crush tubes welded to the sides of the oval tubes which allow long M8 bolts to be used to secure the stays to two of the three holes in the Cortina upright. The bolts need to be about 100mm long (I used threaded rod as I didn't have long enough bolts to hand). The oval tubes stop about 3 inches away from the edge of the cycle wing and 25mm x 3mm flat bar is welded inside the oval tube to provide the bit which actually bolts/sticks to the cycle wing. This is the bit which needs to be bent to shape.

2. There are basically three bends required, one simple bend just after the oval tube to bring the 3mm flat bar closer to the tyre, a second bend to bring the flat bar vertical again just before it tucks under the cycle wing and then a radius to follow the contour of the wing itself. I used my propshaft for this which is 3" diameter (Don't worry I didn't damage my propshaft, I bent it by hand in fact just using the shaft as a former). You want to keep the end of the flat bar flat to provide a nice surface to mount the cycle wings to so try not to bend it at all. Keep your bends localised to where they need to be.

3. My wing stays come to about 3/4" from the sidewall of the tyre before curving round above the tyre. They are about 40mm above the tyre and parallel to it. This is required to allow enough room to remove the wheel without having to remove the cycle wing. I might make it a little bit tighter if I can.

4. Try to keep the cycle wing as far to the outboard side as possible to minimise fouling between wing and lights/indicators on full steering lock.

5. I'm using 195/55x15" tyres and the cycle wings cover it okay. 205 wide tyres should just about fit at a push.

6. I understand that the cycle wing needs to be forward of the edge of the wheel rim which is fine, but I have also read that the trailing edge needs to be below the horizontal centreline of the wheel which might be a problem for me. This is why I said above that I might need to lower the wing at the risk of making the wheel difficult to remove. Can anyone confirm this requirement? I have an SVA manual so I'll check too.

Well that's it for now, if anyone comes across this thread in future and has any questions then please let me know. I'll try to take a photo when I have completed the other side.

Cheers,
Craig.