Trike Rims

[newredfx]

I want to convert this 79 Shwinn Trike into 26" tires instead of 24" - I know I wont find 79 26" rims for it, so can I gut out some 26" rims to slap them on the axle ends? I'm clueless I am use to regular bikes, here's some photos.

I rims they made for it in 79 are really thin and bend depending on various weights. I want to convert it to some 26" strong mountain bike rims.

 

[deorman]

I don't think you have enough spokes for a common 26" rim, you may have to adapt some hubs. :|

 

[Meeba]

The best I can do for you is to tell you that they are called hollow hubs. Are those 28 spokes per wheel? Maybe check out a wheelchair and see if the hubs might work on the trike too?

 

[newredfx]

thanks guys

 

[udallcustombikes]

Check with your LBS, they may be able to get 28 hole rims or 36 hole hubs. They can make sure you get the right spokes too.

 

[Rooski]

I would recommend sticking with 24", as this will keep your weight lower, and the trike will be more stable. Those model trikes are pretty squirrely as they are, and would be worse with 26's.

I was facing the same dilemma when I built a trike using the rear end from a 78 Schwinn. You won't find a 36h hub to fit those axles, and your choice of 28h rims are limited to modern style alloy road/MTB stuff, which it sounds like that's what you're looking for, anyway. If you wanted to use the modern "hollow hubs", you would have to fabricate/modify new axles.

I was looking to use rims that would fit 24x3 Fatti-O's, and keep the classic chrome look. I luckily found some inexpensive chromed steel 24x1.75, 28h rims that worked out perfectly. It was my simplest and lease expensive option. I did my own lacing and trueing, which saved me lots of dough. I had not found these rims to be available anywhere for a long time, but I just did a search, and it looks like there are a couple of Amazon sellers currently offering them.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CG9M8C/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller=

http://www.amazon.com/RIM-STEEL-ACT...e=UTF8&qid=1346600155&sr=1-1&keywords=24"+28h


I'm guessing your tire choice may be more limited with 24", over 26", but I think the lower stance is a benefit.
Here's a pic of my trike's rear using these same rims laced to those goofy hubs.

Here's a shot of the whole project, which is still a work in progress.

 

[newredfx]

Ohhh! So I keep the hub (the middle part that goes over the axel is a hub right? lol) and buy those and respoke it to those rims! Nice find man and thats the same exact back on mine. Yeah by brother is a little heavy so was trying to find a way to make the rims fatter and not so thin.

 

[Rooski]

Ohhh! So I keep the hub (the middle part that goes over the axel is a hub right? lol) and buy those and respoke it to those rims! Nice find man and thats the same exact back on mine. Yeah by brother is a little heavy so was trying to find a way to make the rims fatter and not so thin.

Yes, that's exactly what I did. This was the simplest and cheapest solution I could come up with. I'm not a big fan of the way these hubs attach to the axles, as there is a bit of slop, in there, but adapting the type of hubs used today would require machining custom axles, to work with that particular rear end. These are very cool rear ends, because they use a differential for true 2 wheel rear drive (most trikes are single wheel drive). These rear ends were built by some other company, in the late 70's, and used by Schwinn, and I think a couple other brands. To my knowledge, the way the hubs attach was proprietary to these particular rear ends. Personally, I would have rather had new axles made, so I had a broad choice of hubs to use, but I didn't have the means to do it myself, I would have had to pay someone else to do it, and I did not want to throw too much money into the project. I still may do it in the future, though.

Your biggest expense would be buying new spokes, and having to pay someone to re-lace and true the wheels.