I am really confused where to post this. There is even a building-a-36-ultimate-wheel thread, but there are only a few ultimate wheel builds over all sizes, everyone is using his own thread.
After I unecpectedly built a 36" steel UW: ultimate-wheel-questions-please I wanted to have one myself and the only option is aluminium.
The rim was self-made of two 28" rims here: Build your own rim
Crossing out a 36" DT swiss 533D rim, what creates a UW=Useless Wheel. I have to destroy a perfect and new rim…:
Drilling out some eyelets which would interfear with the profiles:
Preparing the aluminium rim for welding hopefully without removing too much material:
Fitting the profiles to the rim:
Test weld:
Cross section:
I didn’t have problems, but welding 1mm is on the thin side:
First welds were by far not as easy as the test welds. Later I noticed that the larger piece required 10% higher current, ofcourse:
Closing eyelet holes didn’t create major problems.
Side project fixing gloves:
Definitely not a 42mm stealth II rim:
The Useless Wheel:
Upgrading the Useless Wheel UW to an Ultimate Wheel UW.
Create the crank selection bar. Mill a d= 30mm round aluminium rod to get the square pedal bar:
The chips are hot on my uncovered arms.
Shiny 20mm x 20mm bar:
Right and left handed pedal threads for the 2 bars. I use the black lever and turn manually:
Completed bars with chamfered edges also for larger welding surface.
Just weld and you’re finished.
STOP you’re doing it wrong:
I learned in the
Max Q thread about myself that I do not like/need Q factor. On the UW I noticed that when the feet are just a centimeter more apart, it cuts my max driving distance nearly in half. The old 36" UW had 2cm square profiles between the pedals. It was perfectly rideable and the tire didn’t touch my legs even though my feet were only 2cm apart.
So I will build a Q=0 UW and move the feet 2cm closer together.
That hurts, it was finished and now I am cutting 2 square tubes apart:
The mill creates a smooth surface again:
Luckily the upper traverse of the mill can be tilted and shifted to access everything.
I lifted the pedal bar by 10mm. Therefore the below mounted pedal starts directly on the center of the ultimate wheel UW. So this UW has a Q factor of zero, what was the reason for this major change.
I had to close the end with a small piece of aluminium:
Everything clamped. Ready to weld:
Evolution of soft 6060 aluminium: round → square → zero Q pedal bar:
One foot UW:
Lifting the other bar to the opposite side:
Hey, I didnt know of my abilities as a tattoo specialist. I really like this triangle! Everyone who wants to have such an UW from me will get such a triangle to prove the ownership.
Milling a flat surface for the pedal and recutting threads:
Cutting rim tape for 1 layer:
I bought the tire right after the first light Nightriders were produced. Dismounting the tire easily damages the edge, anyhow it should work:
The extra lightweight Schwalbe SV 19A tube will be installed. The valve directly fits into the rim.
Easy mounting: Last time I inflated the 29" tire until it was 36":
This tire creates a bubble, so I had to decrease the pressure and pull it in place. No problem, just takes some minutes longer.
The raw 0QUW:
A closer look at zero Q.
Stainless steel pedal washers:
Cutting off is always a nightmare for machinists. The machine was running in reverse and the cutting iron was upside down. That way it didn’t crash, because in case something goes slightly wrong, it can lift the tool including the whole table and release forces. Play in the machine, like every machine has, can be positive.
20mm x 1.5mm washers:
The washers fit on the milled surface:
It’s my second 36" with a self made DT swiss rim:
The weight is 3.9Kg, the steel version was about 8.1Kg. Carrying is much better. Concerning the weight difference, riding is about the same. It could be even lighter. The square tubes were 2mm thick and could be reduced to 1mm as the rim has 1mm.
The first ride started right at zero, holding on to a wall. I immediately noticed that the real drawback is the Nightrider tire which is not forgiving when the tire rubbs against the legs. So it requires practice and more skill. The TA tire was much better. There was no problem with 0Q, It should be easier to ride. I noticed that my feet didn’t have to touch the square tubes. So the mount onto the pedal doesn’t have to be that precise.