Ultimate Wheel Build

The jig is easy to make too. I used a piece of 1/2" thick plywood, about 16x16. Cut a strip of wood to fit in the recessed fence slot, and then a piece to act as a stop, and attached both to the underside. Then drew a center line from the leading edge of the blade teeth, and drilled a pivot hole to the desired length.

@Ulkicycling made me the now purple 36" UW. One of the holes for either the left or right pedal was slightly too big and the pedal would come loose when riding. He used some kind of wiry compound that I don’t know the name of. But I figured this sealing tape would work just as well. Also the writy stuff would slowly slide out of the pedal bolt I experienced.

Are you talking about the holes cut out in the wood that hold the threaded inserts? What kind of threaded inserts did you use?Did you use a pair of cranks and cut off the ends? Any photos of the inserts and the UW? I usually use the tips of cranks so they are “D” shaped, so when they are inserted into the holes cut out in the same shape, they will not move or shift. Then I make 1/8th inch thick aluminum plates to cover the inserts, with a center hole for the pedals threads to go through, and 4 holes in each corner of the plates, and attach with furniture connectors for a nice, flush appearance.

I built a 36" steel UW out of scrap parts for @Setonix where I created a “crank length selection bar” and didn’t have the correct pre-drill.


So I used hemp fiber, like used in water installations. It was a nice tight fit which didn’t get loose. Hemp fiber and @Setonix’ PTFE band are used in water installations, where hemp fiber is more forgiving for small corrections in screw tightness.
Later I built my own aluminium 36" UW.

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Yesterday I had another session on the UW. The last few days it had been around 35ÂșC and then yesterday after the rain it finally cooled down enough that I could ride again.
Im still making progress. I focus primarily on starting the roll from standstill, so when mounting, which I do by holding on to lampposts. Then I just need to hang forwards to get the wheel rolling.

What I really need to work on is free-mounting. Altogether this succeeded only 3 times, but mostly it is fear holding me back, because I don’t know where my second foot will end up and I need to stand upright as soon as I land on the second pedal.

Also I could ride the first figure 8. For some reason turning right is easier than turning left.

Finally I feel the first x metres, Im all in tune with the wheel, but eventually when nearing the 100 metres, my legs still get tired. Possibly because my technique isn’t quite there yet and it is difficult to keep the wheel exactly in the middle while rolling, so it still hits my right leg, which I use to keep my balance. It just annoys me that I can’t get further only because Im getting tired.

Do you think the “pedal selection bar” you created from aluminum is strong enough. I imagine there are quite some forces at play where the pedals are attached to the wheel. Isn’t aluminum too soft? I could imagine the pedal bolts damaging the threading in the long run.

I know I know, I should bundle my messages, but they are of separate subjects


So I was thinking with all of the fatties out there, which has become quite a hype in NL at least. Electrical fat bikes. With Terry’s leg holders, maybe yous can make a fatty UW (non-electrical naturally) Thinner wheels come with a wobble, making the wheel hang against the leg. Maybe a wider wheel/tire, will make it easier to do a standstill and then all that is needed is rolling. Im not looking for the reply that I could remove the frame from my hatchet and give it a try :stuck_out_tongue:

Sure, that’s my concern. But I have a lot of threads to ruin. Afterwards I might know which crank length I require and machine a new thread or selection bar maybe made of steel at the correct position. Ercusi3 filler makes ‘welding’ steel on aluminium possible. My ercusi3 alu/steel welds don’t look pretty, but they are strong. In case of problems we can also repair your UW.

I wonder if a shorter crank length acts like a factor in this equation: 100m*150mm/125mm=120m.
Well, at first you certainly end at 2m using 125mm crank length :grin:

I’ve been thinking of placing the pedals closer to the center too, but more in relation to my aching knee. But actually when riding in a straight line, my knees don’t act up. Lucky me, because Im really into riding UW right now. I don’t have time to ride any of the other 14 wheels. :smiley:

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Get rid of them! They‘re just holding you up. Anything interesting among those 14 babies?

Depends on the grade of aluminum. All of my KH cranks are 7000 series aluminum without steel inserts like old versions. In all the years riding UWs, I’ve never had any issues with aluminum thread inserts.

As long as they stay snug, with zero play, they should be fine. I use blue loctite since I do some idling from time to time, so, since there’s backward pedaling involved, the pedal threads could inadvertently become loose, which could cause thread damage to the inserts. Loctite seems to prevent that.

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I only had 6060 aluminium. Good to weld, but soft compared to 7000 series. Blue loctite is a good idea as soon as we know which hole we prefer, what will take a lot of time, because I don’t have the skill yet to objectively decide.

Made a DIY circle-cutting jig for my bandsaw in hopes of getting a more precise result, vs my jigsaw version, for cutting out a disc for a 29 inch rim. I was really happy with the results! Used a 1/4 inch 14TPI blade, made as exacting measurements as possible, and started the cut. Went through 3/4" thick poplar plywood like butter! Here is the result:

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