Originally Posted by
loganc10
The other is to custom machine a hub very similar to normal bike hubs that can be bolted directly to the motor, then take this hub to a local bike shop and have them lace and true it on a rim.
That's a better approach.
Bicycle wheels have thin axles which work because they're supported on both sides which you won't be doing.
The downside to this one is the fact that lacing and truing a tire is very far above my head.
Building bicycle wheels is so simple that children can do it. Jobst Brandt beta-tested his book _The Bicycle Wheel_ by having each of his grade school sons build a pair of wheels using only the book for instructions and no additional help.
I do a little recreational machining with both Bridgeport and CNC vertical mills and build my own bicycle wheels.
Where you have enough mechanical aptitude to be useful in a machine shop you should have no problem with the wheels.
I went in and asked him how much it would be and he said it would be a $45 charge per wheel, plus the cost of spokes,rim, and tire/tube. Is this reasonable?
Yes. In places with higher costs of living a wheel build can run $70-$90.