Tadpole front hub options

G

Gmhowell

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I spent a half hour or more trying to figure out a good online source for hubs. The nearby shops don’t have much in the way of parts. ‘Hub’ is too short for the search feature to accept it.

I’m building a two seater for some heavy people. Total weight about 500 pounds or a little more. Looking at various AZ plans it looks like options are a pair of steel discs drilled for spokes or trike hubs, only some of which have disc mounts.

I see ones branded ICE for about $70 each. Sun Seeker for $35-$55 (and awful vendor photos)
Then there’s kmotion for under $30 in some cases.
And various vendors in the triple digits that I am too cheap to consider.

Are these the hubs people are using? Is there some magical search term I should use to find more options? What’s the difference between a $28 hub and a $75 hub? Should I care?

Cruising purposes. No insanely high speed, high-G stuff for us. Roads, 95% paved, maybe some dirt or gravel but not likely.
 
Ali-Express are likely to be the cheapest option for you. You will need 20mm axles. The only issue is I've yet to see 20mm hubs come in 48H versions so you are likely to be restricted to 36H. In your case I'd suggest that 20mm is far more important than 48H - ie better to compromise on the number of spokes than the axle size.

About $25 for these.


If you wish to search further I'd suggest adding the terms front, 20mm and disc to the search. The only differences that the higher cost hubs are likely to have are better build quality and slightly lighter weight. The cheap ones will work just fine and the marginal extra weight will make almost no difference to your build. Occasionally you may come across one feature on the higher priced hubs that is worth having if funds allow and that will be extra bearings though those are likely to be right at the top of any price range.
 
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You don't say where you are ?

On UK Ebay it is still possible to pick up complete BMX wheels with 14mm axles , plenty strong enough although they are very rare with disc brake mounts , that does not mean with a bit of ingenuity they can't be used ?

Which plan were you looking at ?

Paul
 
stormbird said:
You don't say where you are ?

On UK Ebay it is still possible to pick up complete BMX wheels with 14mm axles , plenty strong enough although they are very rare with disc brake mounts , that does not mean with a bit of ingenuity they can't be used ?

Which plan were you looking at ?

Paul
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oops. Located in the US.

a mix of a few things is what I’m looking at building. Mostly Viking but with some other elements from some others. I need a day or so without parents down to grandkids needing my time so that I can sit down at Autocad and start drawing things up. There’s a chance I’ll toss the tadpole and go Kyoto, but I have to see some things ‘on paper’ first.
 
I recently bought a boatload of 20mm 36H hubs. Several sources. Aliexpress is one.
But the big surprise was the local bike shop. I bought 4 15mm shaft hubs (unfortunatly for Shimano centerlock) and 4 20mm downhill hubs with 6bolt disk mountings. And not even idiotic expensive.
Unfortunatly, I'm in Belgium.
 
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I've used centrelock a few times just because they were cheap. Getting a centrelock to 6 bolt adapter added to the cost but they still came out cheaper where I didn't need a 20mm. Those were 12mm axle versions and 12mm will probably not do for Gmhowell. A tandem is going to need something stronger.
 
maddox said:
I recently bought a boatload of 20mm 36H hubs. Several sources. Aliexpress is one.
But the big surprise was the local bike shop. I bought 4 15mm shaft hubs (unfortunatly for Shimano centerlock) and 4 20mm downhill hubs with 6bolt disk mountings. And not even idiotic expensive.
Unfortunatly, I'm in Belgium.
Click to expand...

I wound up ordering the ones linked above and a few other odds and ends. It’s grossly premature, but I was feeling flush. Also, with the Chinese holiday, who knows when it may show up.
 
Popshot said:
I've used centrelock a few times just because they were cheap. Getting a centrelock to 6 bolt adapter added to the cost but they still came out cheaper where I didn't need a 20mm. Those were 12mm axle versions and 12mm will probably not do for Gmhowell. A tandem is going to need something stronger.
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yep. Saw a bunch of 12’s. Not only am I doing a tandem, the riders are at the beginning of a weight loss journey, not the end. Now that I have hubs on the way I’ve switched research to rims and spokes. About all I can figure so far for sure is that double wall are mandatory. I think triples would be good if I could find some in 20”.

One tricky aspect is that tads have more side load than bicycles so I’m not sure how much of the opinions about rim/spoke choice is relevant.

And I also need to figure out width. This won’t be a racer. Road cruiser, occasional dirt/gravel roads depending on campground. my feeling (distinct from thought) is that a 2-2.5 inch tire is probably about right with a 1.5 inch or so rim width. But again, that’s feeling and guesswork.

Same with spokes. If it were a two wheeler, double or triple butted stainless and done. But with a trike, does that analysis change?
 
Gmhowell said:
oops. Located in the US.

a mix of a few things is what I’m looking at building. Mostly Viking but with some other elements from some others. I need a day or so without parents down to grandkids needing my time so that I can sit down at Autocad and start drawing things up. There’s a chance I’ll toss the tadpole and go Kyoto, but I have to see some things ‘on paper’ first.
Click to expand...

Where do you plan on riding ?
Viking will have a poorer turning circle than the Kyoto due to it's length
The Kyoto can be unsociable for people you share a path with due to it's width.
Those hubs will be ok on Viking and little use on Kyoto
Which ever you build put brakes on the axle with 2 wheels , never put a brake you intend to ride on on the single wheel.
The single wheel can have a parking brake.

Paul
 
Mostly road use rather than trail use. I’ll use single track for trails/paths.

Unless one of really likes recumbents and trikes in which case the single track bikes get chopped for parts.

But this project, road use.
 
The strongest rims will have 3 box sections built in and will be primarily marketed as BMX rims. Sun black label are what I turned to when I buckled a less robust 1 box section set. In fairness to the cheaper rims I was travelling sideways when they taccoed. The three box section profile is clearly visible here.

2004-11-16-2-57-04Sun_Blacklabel.jpg
 
When I bought the hidiously expensive Rolhoff speedhub 36H, it came with the Andra 40 26" and heavy duty spokes. It seems an investment for life. (it did cost an arm and leg tough)
 
maddox said:
When I bought the hidiously expensive Rolhoff speedhub 36H, it came with the Andra 40 26" and heavy duty spokes. It seems an investment for life. (it did cost an arm and leg tough)
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180 kg weight limit seems impressive. Maybe on a second iteration or upgrade.

I’ve got some Sun Rhyno XL saved in an Amazon list. Triple wall, 20”, welded, brass eyelets for $60 shipped.
 
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