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Apr 13, 2020
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Hello nonevent. I just purchased a few plans, and I'm about to begin soon. Most likely, I will be starting with plans for either the Delta or the Warrior. My question; is there any downside to using round and/or rectangular tubing vs the plan specified "square"?
Second question, does anyone have a website where I may be able to purchase 29 in rims with the proper hubs already assembled?
 
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Square tube is easier to cut and d butt welds with. If you feel confident in swapping to something similar in rectangular or round then I suspect most here would probably say "go ahead". For a tadpole I typically use 40x20x1.5mm with the 40mm in the vertical as I believe that is where the most load is. Your welder and your ability with it may limit your choices to a degree.

What hub you want will depend on where you are putting that 29 wheel. On the back of a tadpole or front of a delta pretty much any hub could be used. On the back of a delta will get another answer and on the front of a tadpole another.
 
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Thanks Popshot. That helps. I misspoke about the 29 in rim. The 29" will be on the rear of the Tad. What I'm searching for, are the rims for the front steering of the Tad. Id rather use a larger wheel here if I can engineer it that way. I'm thinking 24 inch.
 
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The larger you go you get two drawbacks:-

  1. The bigger the wheel the more space it takes when turned. You get either less turning circle or you need to make the trike wider to allow for this or a combination of both.
  2. The bigger you go the bigger the effect that lateral forces have on that wheel. Bear in mind that bike wheels are not designed to take any lateral forces at all. You can get 48 hole rims in 20" but 24" don't tend to go above 36 holes so you're weakening the wheel further. BMX 20" rims also tend to be made to take a bit of abuse. I've used 20" 36 hole rims on tadpoles and they've been fine so far. I've seen many people say they've used 26" or even 700c wheels without incident and others say they've "taccoed" the bigger wheels without trying too hard and 20" is the max to use.
20" wheels never come with 20mm hubs or even 15mm. 14mm axles are fairly common and are butch enough but getting them with disc mounts is like asking for rocking horse droppings. They do exist but are super rare. If you are to find 24" wheels with a thru disc hub I'd start the search on ebay but given 24" is a bit of an in-between size I'd not expect to find anything. Lacing your own isn't exactly a difficult task, just a little time consuming and of course often more expensive than being able to find them in the first place.

Personally I'd stick to 20", especially so if you intend to give it any speed in a bend, but if you choose to go larger keep the spoke count up, choose a double walled rim, and don't forget to alter the chassis geometry to accept the taller wheel.
 
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Apr 13, 2020
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Thanks so much. I was only looking for completed rims to avoid running my own spokes. I've never done it, but you make it sound easier than I thought it would be. So, back to the 20"ers. What is your opinion on using mag rims? This would not allow for a change in hub size, but perhaps the mag construction would hold better than spokes.
 

Radical Brad

Garage Hacker!
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Mar 13, 1999
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Just wanted to say that this is the perfect time to lean wheel lacing!
It is so relaxing and rewarding. I might just tear one down and relace it this weekend as I look out the window and forget what is going on out there!

Brad
 
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Hi Brad. Sounds like that might be my direction. And thanks for this site. Its been helpful already.
I did a lot of work on my bike, and those of my friends in the neighborhood when I was a kid, a million years ago. I never laced spokes, never welded... looks like perhaps a lot of first coming my way.
 
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you didn't mention what country? I have a pair of 20" wheels w/ 20mm axles as well as 20" with 14mm axles
 
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I have got my hubs for the front wheels from China and got the rest as a BMX shop. He also put it together for me.
But I am lucky to live in the Netherlands. In every town, we have several bike shops.

I looked ad round tubes, but it is what they say, it's way easier to make it with square tubes.
 
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I only got the hubs. I hot them from aliexpres.
Hubs

I had to remove the outer ends. They are pressed in.
There are more hubs on aliexpres.
Shipping now with coronavirus takes a lot longer.
 
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Apr 13, 2020
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Thank You. Ill check it out.
Settling on the Delta Wolf for the concept. This will be a multi-month project, as I slowly convert my woodworking shop to a trike building shop. I will be making several design modifications to fit my personal style. Such as round tube, under-seat steering etc.
 
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