Are you talking about the rims without the spokes.
I am about to build a couple more wheels using similar rims 26"x 32mm wide. wish I had seen the 38mm, actually our wheels that we are currently building have all come from the local tips(aus230 landyacht and friend it Adelaide) the only cost uncured has been the resin and glass.
They are very easy to make. The details are all on seabrease. I think Paul was surprised how easy they where to make, and I think the result has been excellent in making a cheap strong 26"wheel.
Cheers
Vic

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Land-Yacht-Sailing/Construction/I-will-NOT-build-another-landyachtI-will-not/

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Land-Yacht-Sailing/Construction/Class-Five-Design/?page=5

Great, post some pics of your build, every bit helps. I am going to try shwarlbe kojaks x2" tires on the new wheels as the rim will be narrower than my other rims that take the hookworms.
www.amazon.com/Schwalbe-Kojak-Tire-Wire-Black/dp/B001IB3DSQ

Cheers
Vic

I thought most of it was done, Paul's wheels use a different hub than mine, I am now using Aluminum tube 50mmx6mm wall thickness. The center is lathed out to bearing size.(42mm or 40mm depending on the bearing,s used, it is only cut in 12mm to accept the bearing.

The hub is 112mm long with several shallow groves cut on the outside to key in the resin/fiberglass.

I made a mold to go around the hub on my last wheel but this time I am going to wrap it in a couple layers of chopped strand. I think the spoke,s are self explanatory as per the posts.

I use 8 spokes and Paul uses 5

I use epoxy resin. I think Paul uses polyester resin which is about a third of the price of resin (Paul can you confirm this as I need to save a buck or two)

The whole think is quite easy as long as the gig is all square to line everything up.

One thing that is really needed when using these wheels is a strong spacer between the bearings so that the axle bolt can be tightened right up, other wise the wheels will vibrate and in my case bend or break axles.

For my next wheels I am going to use 26"x39mm wide rims.(found a couple)

Maybe Paul and his mate in Adelaide can add more to this.

Cheers
Vic

This is what Paul has done for his spokes, I think it is better than the way I have done mine.(we are all still improving things as we make new wheels)

after the next disk has been layed up the rim has been glued and also the 5 ribs(72degrees ,in case you were wondering. the ribs were cut from some sheets of 2layers of chopped strand that i layed up earlier in the week,on a sheet of galv house flashing. as it had a folded edge I was able to incorporate that into a face that can be glued to

Thanks Vic, that is agreat insight into the construction. Any upgrades/improvements should be photograpfed and posted into these pages..

I would imagine that one would have to be pedantic about measurements and weights to ensure the Balance isn't to far out??

Great Stuff,
Ron

I am rather careful about the wieghing out of the resin. 600gms for each disk,200gms to glass in the spokes,150gms to make a 4' length of spoke sheet.
I precut all the glasspeices and lay them out in order ,no ripping off sticky lumps from the roll as you go. this is a job where order and cleanliness make the finish better.
i have templates for every bit of the process.
Ive made 5 rear wheels now and number 5 only needed .5 gm of lead to balance the rim. one of teh 20" I made didnt need any.
history yet to be written may likely show my wheels to not be tough enough, but i'll only find that out by giving them a flogging.
40mm rims should be brilliant.
make sure you use a good quality epoxy glue when glueing ythose joints, and you just cant have enough clamps

yankeesailor said...

One thing Vic that has bugging me since your first post awhile back on your wheel construction. the ridge in the middle of the two rims where the two are welded together does not interfere with the inner tube when inflated, and the hole for the valve stem is not centered anymore using two rims. Do you drill a new hole for the stem or just force it through a offset existing hole.

the middle ridge is lower than the outer ones as it has been tig welded.after sanding off any sharp bits,glueing in balancing weights,I cover with plumbers tape. I just use one of the valvestem holes, and pump up as usual.
the great thing about recycling the rimsis that you retain that little bead on the rim which catches the wire rim of the tyre and allows much bettertyre seating,and higher pressures

Hi Bill.
Couple of pics of the wheel built on 39mm wide rims, also tire that I am going to try. I think they will only be suitable for hard surfaces
Cheers

It is a MTX39 rim, I got mine second hand . The outside of the rim has to have the paint sanded of so that the resin has a good key to bond to.


• Width - 39mm
• Bead Width - 39mm
• Inner Bead Width - 30mm
• Section Height - 27.5mm
• Weight - 850g

Here is a hypothetical question, as we know larger Dia wheels work better and roll easier than a smaller BUT larger wheels also act as flywheels at speed which takes additional force to get up and rolling.
Is there a better balance between large v small wheels.
Maybe 20", 24"?
Would the tyres be strong or suitable enough?
I know it might be a gut feeling but is the acceleration with the 26" wheels better / worse than fallshaws?
The top straight line speed is obviously better.
Would they work better / worse on a short course?

I know most of those questions could be answered with extensive testing, but I'm just after a gut feeling.

Maybe Bill and Paul will be able to say what they found the difference to be going from wheel barrow to 26". I can not comment on that as the first class5 I built had big wheels. I was helped by the Kiwi,s at Pacrim in designing my first 5.

What I have found is that I am left at the line by the wheel barrow yachts.(they can reach the ground to push in the standing starts that we have in Aus.)Probably not a wheel thing but a starting method.(I am happy with the standing starts all though it makes for a hard race seeing everyone leaving me standing on the start line)Look at what I mean it the last post of the link below (vid)

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Land-Yacht-Sailing/Events-Competitions/Sandgropers-Lake-Walyungup-events-20112012/

In strong winds the top club88 are hard to beat(wheel barrow wheels) at the sandgropers venue.(lots of change of direction. So I guess what I am saying it is horses for courses

I thought the pacrim standard wheel was 24 inch ?
Why were the americans using 20 inch ?
My original sulky wheels were 24 inch and were supposed to meet that standard

aus230 said...

One wheel finished. Complete with tire and bearings it comes to 3.2kg.

quote]

You are getting them light The ones I made with f/glass rims came out at 4kg all up

OK! Vic,
It all looks straight forward enough but when you fit the top disc you don't have access to the spokes.. How do you go about applying the Resin to spoke and upper disc?? I.E. Do you use a little chopped Glass in the mix etc?
Ron

Bill that makes it a lot cheaper and easier for anyone who has not got access to a lathe(I have one) Maybe you could show a pic of the plug. I should imagine its the only part that would have to be turned and would only require one as it would be reused for all wheels

Ron
Before I fix the top disc I mark the outside of the disc to know where he spokes are then turn it over and pencil line on the other side(you can see the outside lines through the glass. I use a mix of resin and micro fill balls to butter along these lines and around any contact areas, Place the disc on top of the spokes and clamp(Need to have an identification mark on both rims so that the resin and spokes contact)