CMP Rim Disassembly Tip

[rob love]

I was taking apart a couple of C60 rims the other day, and a couple of the nuts were giving me trouble. The first socket I was using managed to climb over the edges a bit and cracked. I heated the nuts to a mellow red and the second socket still would not remove them all....it eventually cracked as well. So when I went home I got a 3/4 drive 1-1/8 socket and I also picked up a special 28mm impact socket I purchased a while ago.

First a little background. The Canadian MLVWs went away from the rims with the side rings about 12 years ago, and instead started using a bolt together rim, somewhat similar to the CMP rim, with the exception that they used a tubeless tire. When I was restoring my MLVW last summer, I found that the 1-1/8 socket would not do the job, so I got out the calipers and determined that I would be better off with a 28mm socket. That is not an off the shelf item around here, so I special ordered one in. It did the job without issue, and without the need for any heat.

So I decided to try that 28mm socket on these CMP rims. It was a very snug fit, but it took the nuts off the three remaining C60 rims with very little effort.

A 1-1/8 socket is equal to 1.125". The 28mm socket is equal to 1.10236, a full .0226 difference. It doesn't seem like much, but I found it makes a world of difference.

Long story short: try a 28mm socket on your next CMP rim takedown. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. If you have a modern MLVW, try it on those too.