Power Kite Forum

Wheels, bushings, or trucks?

lewmt - 5-9-2008 at 01:13 PM

All these rolling grassland pairies around MT and some offer amazing wind. Just enough bumpy & clumpy to the ground to prevent 8" ATB wheels from getting you anywhere unless the wind is nuking & even then you're likely to endo because in pastures there's dried hardened cow turds by this time of year.

I figure there's 3 options. Find some skate trucks that have good suspension and 1/2" axles so you can use a variety of tires/wheels that are available with that size bearing. Find bigger wheels that fit the metric axles but I'm not having any luck with anything bigger than 9". Or - find some bushings that maintain a tight fit between the metric axle & the 1/2" wheel bearings.

Anyone had luck with any of the options above? I tried getting some 1/2x3/8 brass bushing stock and boring it out in my drill press but the brass just failed - crappy drill press & dull bit probably didn't help.

Anyone ever seen a properly sized machined bushing that could serve this purpose? Any 1/2" axle trucks out there?
any 12", 13", 14" wheels out there with the metric bore that would work on the mtb axles?

I know - bigger wheels is going to add major weight but it seems a whole world is right outside my door going by unridden

Jammer - 5-9-2008 at 04:05 PM

Maybe build some Doom Wheels? 12" wheels on skates.....
http://www.doomwheels.com/
Where you at in Montana, I was born and raised in Billings, I wanted to fit some skis to the buggies for winter..... never got around to it.

silvereaglekiter - 5-9-2008 at 05:04 PM

McMaster-carris a grate place to find odd size metric hardware. Plane Bronze Sleeve Bearings make good bushings.:thumbup: