On Aug 26, 5:08 pm, Jim <
[email protected]> wrote:
> On Sun, 26 Aug 2007 14:56:40 -0700, JeffWills <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>
>
> >On Aug 26, 7:39 am, Jim <[email protected]> wrote:
> >> We have a RANS Screamer tandem and the front 20" wheel was damaged by
> >> the local bad roads. (Both sidewalls bent outward when hitting a
> >> hole.) We are looking for a replacement. The original is made by
> >> Velocity. The original wheel held up well until this.
>
> >> The options are to get another rim (perhaps Velocity) and graft it on
> >> to the old hub.
>
> >> Or find another wheel. Many of the 20" wheels are made for BMX use.
> >> Most have 36 spokes, 32 and 40 are also available.
>
> >> Any idea if these are any good? Given the abuse a BMX bike takes the
> >> wheels may be sturdy enough for tandem use. The Sun Rhyno Lite seems
> >> popular and there are a bunch of others, too.
>
> >> Opinions? Personal experience?
>
> >> Thanks,
> >> Jim
>
> >IMO (and that's all it is) a Sun Rhyno Lite rim is a good choice. It's
> >a moderate width double-wall rim with single eyelets. Double eyelets
> >would be better, but I haven't seen those on any rims for a while.
>
> >Given that the old rim's sidewalls bent outwards, I'd guess one or
> >both of these things happened:
> >1: the rim had a fair number of miles on it and the sidewalls were
> >worn by the brake shoes
> >2: you were using a wide-ish, high pressure 20" tire
>
> >The Rhyno Lite would be well-matched with a 1.3" to 1.5" wide tire. If
> >you were going wider (say, 1.75" to 2.1"), a Sun Big City rim might be
> >a better match. I've ridden with Screamer teams that rode on 28mm wide
> >Continental front tires, which I thought was sketchy, and 2" Schwalbe
> >Big Apples, which seem to be more popular. A local couple have an
> >extensive website devoted to their Screamer :http://www.tandemride.com/
>
> >Jeff (another Jeff)
>
> Last question on BMX wheels: What about the axle widths? Do they
> match up with "normal" wheels? Many of the ads do not list the width.
>
> Same for axle diameter. Do they use the same size as regular bikes?
BMX front wheels can use either oversize 14mm axles, or 3/8", which is
cross-compatible with 9mm. The backstory is that originally all
branches of BMX used 3/8", but then 14mm axles came out for freestyle
bikes, leaving 3/8" as the domain of race bikes and low end BMX-style
bikes, but now many riders and companies are using 3/8" front hubs to
save weight, because 14mm really isn't needed up front for most
riding. Spacing in either case is the same 100mm as most bikes.
They're mostly nutted, although some higher end ones use allen bolts.
If it happened to use a standard axle you could convert it to QR, but
most BMX hubs that you'd actually want to buy won't use a standard
axle, because that implies cup 'n cone and all such hubs used in BMX
right now are pretty janky, with the exception of the high end Shimano
DXR race hubs, which don't use standard axles anyway.
The other thing about using an actual stock BMX wheel is that you'll
have to be careful about which front hub you use. Especially prevalent
are crudely designed and made no-name cartridge hubs, which you can
find on some fairly expensive "non-prefab" BMX wheels. Those aren't
gonna handle the miles very well. I've also seen some higher end
brands using hubs that are basically of this caliber and just look
pretty. Outside of the true high end, expensive stuff (Profile, Phil,
King, Crupi), the only brand I can think of whose hubs have production/
design values that should be high enough for what you're talking about
is Odyssey. And being a nicer bike and a tandem, just using a high-end
hub might be a good idea.