Unusual Overkill Wheel Assembly

[dpeterson]

Slideshow link for this is:
http://w624.photobucket.com/albums/tt327/danrpeterson/?action=view&current=a6ecc283.pbw

Here is an unusual way to assemble a wheel for the Overkill project. First, thanks to Brad and many other regular contributors. I've incorporated recent ideas from Moteurhead (back brake and jackshaft/freewheel) and others into this project as you will see. I followed Brad's basic Overkill plans with some changes. I obtained a used 15" wide racing slick last fall but no wheel. After coming up empty handed on finding a wheel, I thought maybe I could make a composite glued up wheel using (2) steel wheels as flanges and an epoxy/fiberglass reinforced paper core as a shell. Epoxy, fiberglass and the core were all items I had available to me. By making a glued wheel, I wasn't sure it could take the side pressure from an inflated inner tube, so I glued (5) 1x1x1 wooden blocks on each side of the shell before sealing up, then drove wood screws through the tire sidewall to help take the stress. So far, so good. I've added a triple crank (26/34/42) and a 5 speed freewheel (14/28) for the back to give it enough range to go up and down mild hills. It's proven road worthy so far making a recent 17 mile round trip commute to work. The Overkill certainly attracts attention and it was a great project. Now I'm hooked!

[graucho]

Very very cool looking build. Very nice lines and proportionate. Your tire turned out SWEET. You have a ride to be proud of. You will have to double your ride time because you'll have to stop and talk to curious people. My maiden voyage took 1.5 hrs for a half hour ride. Anyways, great job and enjoy the ride.

[savarin]

Love the wheel idea. I've always wondered how to get the tyre on without damaging the paint job on the rim.
Did I understand correctly that the rims are glued to the tyre?
And that this is sufficient to withstand the spoke forces trying to pull the rims off the tyre??
A most excellent project.

[greenevegiebeast]

that reminds me of aplit rim truck tire, kool. nice one

[dpeterson]

Building a composite wheel wasn't my first choice. One option was to weld (2) steel wheels together to get the right width. Each steel wheel weighed 25# and the tire itself weighed 29#, so I was concerned about weight. I've used marine grade epoxies (West System, System 3, others) to build small boats (canoe, kayak) so I had the supplies. The core came from where I work. Two part epoxies have tremendous strength. Not necessarily recommended for metal to metal structural building but in this case it works. The tire fit a 16" rim and the paper tube had a 16" ID. I put the spoke nipples in the flanges first, applied thickened epoxy to the inside flanges and slid the two pieces into the tire with the shell/tube already in the tire. A nice tight fit. When the glued cured then added the spokes. Had to essentially lace the wheel backwards. I better not have a flat as the wheel/tire is completely and permanently sealed up. The large stresses in this project are on the jackshaft (wants to twist under torque) and the triple tree fork (wants to splay out). The rear wheel doesn't have as much stress as one would think. Or at least I hope!

[Radical Brad]

very cool, thanks!

Brad

[moteurhead]

FANTASTIC! Funny I twisted a couple jack shafts too. The hard part was welding so close to the bearings and small dia. tube. If you could find a socket that fits the hub you could weld it to the shaft and make your free wheel interchangeable as well as serviceable. That was an after thought I'll incorporate when I twist my 3rd jack shaft. That brake work okay without tread on the tire? LOL mine makes a real loud grinding noise when applied.

Over all that is a sick chop dude, nice work:punk: