Gauge

Hi all! I wasn't sure which forum to post this in; I didn't see anything for trikes or adult three wheel bikes. Anyway, I have quite an assortment of bikes that I have built and/or re-purposed. For some time now, my wife had been bugging me about getting a 3 wheeler. After looking around for some time (I can't fathom the idea of spending a few hundred on something that will hardly be ridden), I finally found an old one for a very good price. Resorting back to having quite an assortment of bikes, I have set way to rebuild this bike, to a newer standard of sort. I would like to replace the wheels w/ something of the aluminum flavor and was curious to know if that would be possible? I have not found very much on this manufacturer; other than the fact they were located in the very city that I currently reside in, a few decades ago.

So far, I have disassembled the bike, with the intentions of respraying the frame/fork... removed rust from the stem... swapped the brake out for something that grabs better. The rust is pretty gnarly on the handlebar and seat support, so those will get replaced. But, back to the wheels. The bike is already heavy enough and my wife is very petite, if I could lighten it up some, that would be great. The currently steel wheels look to have been painted and are pretty rusty. The spokes... forget it. LOL! I checked the spacing on the front hub and it measured 88.8mm and so did the fork spacing. That is a very strange size to try and come up with.

Thanks for any input.

Oh yeah, last time I was on here, I had rebuilt an old Columbia TwoSome from a 3 speed to a single speed. And, successfully rode a century for the Tour de Cure, with my father

wahoonc

Got any pictures? And what sized were the original wheels? Sun-Ringle CR-18 rims are the go to for a lot of us. They are reasonably priced and come a pretty decent range of sizes.

Aaron

Gauge

File is too large . It has 26" wheels.

rhm

I know that sounds like an answer, but it isn't enough. There are actually five different 26" rim sizes, though two of them can be excluded right off. What exactly is written on your tires?

Gauge

The tires are 26x1.75... two of them are. The other (drivetrain wheel) is a 26x2

rhm

Good, those are all the same, the standard size for both mountain bikes and 'cruisers', easy to find at all quality levels. No worries there.

Gauge

Tires won't be an issue. It's whether or not I can find wheels (rims) in aluminum to replace with. The front hub spacing came to 88.8mm; so did the fork spacing. I am not familiar with any hub that thin. Smallest I know of are 100mm.

wahoonc

Can you rebuild the wheels using new rims and the old hubs? From what I recall tricycle hubs are usually pretty specialized and specific to the bike. Again look at the Sun-Ringle rims, wheel building isn't too hard if you have any mechanical ability.

Aaron