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fultondp
11-06-2009, 11:58 PM
New Gladiator started, wanted to post some progress pics:

One rim laced, one to go. To the right is the wheel centers punched out. What a PITA getting the centers out, I actually broke my sledge hammer handle whacking these! My wife said that from the house, the shop sounded like some kind of demented bell ringer took over. :rolleyes4: I've also attached a flange template with 28 spoke points (12.857deg) for future delta wolf or gladiator builders. You may have to size the image up a bit, but the angles should stay true.

I'm using 3/4in 14 gauge gas pipe for the axles. I've used these before for trikes and gokarts, but I've never mounted wheels this heavy, so I may yet regret trying to save a few pounds. But if they bend I've got some solid 3/4 rod in the shop, so I can always redo them if I have to. The bearings I ordered from the bigbearingstore.com (not shown). They are actually a few thousandths under 3/4in, and the pipe is a few thousandths over, so I had a buddy of mine turn them down a bit on his lathe to get them to fit. I tried the rod I have, it measures right at 3/4 with my digital calipers, but it won't fit either.

Darren

fultondp
11-07-2009, 12:06 AM
I scored some prebent tubing for the Gladiator frame at the local thrift store. The catch? Well, it doesn't yet know it is a trike, right now it thinks it is a bar stool. You can see this is really a trike trying to get out, right? The clerk didn't get it, when I told her I wanted to buy these bike parts, she just gave me the "Another wacko loose in the store!" look :wacky: Some people have no imagination.

Darren

Danner
11-07-2009, 07:19 AM
Darren, I've seen stranger things turn into bikes here. That stool is still in denial and it will come around in time.

I don't think the weight of the wheels will have much impact on your 3/4 pipe bending. its more about the weight of the loaded vehicle (and passenger) across the span of the axle length. Seems like a good idea to me to save overall weight. The Gladiator is a cool design, looking forward to seeing your build come together.