ISO To Buy RadWagon 4 original rims

[puddle]

With all of the problems stemming from the weird Radwagon 4 tires and so many people swapping out their original wheels for 24" I'm hoping to find an original 22" front wheel to purchase. I've scoured the interwebs for days looking for a 22" fat wheel rim to purchase for a project. Anyone out there willing to offload their rim(s)???? I'm in Michigan US. Thanks.

UPDATE:
I ended up buying some MC tires for my existing rims. I might go down this rabbit hole again in the future when/if I upgrade to a front hub motor. Thanks for all the info...

 

[amberwolf]

Assuming you can't get any RW rims, do you have a specific requirement for bicycle rim? AFAICR, 18" motorcycle rims should be a match for this size (I think some RW4 owners went with 18" MC tires to replace the originals).

Alternately...how wide a rim do you need? There are some 22" prebuilt wheels out there of various widths; if you can't locate a bare rim you could buy one of those and strip off the hub and spokes to lace up the rim to yours.

 

[puddle]

Assuming you can't get any RW rims, do you have a specific requirement for bicycle rim? AFAICR, 18" motorcycle rims should be a match for this size (I think some RW4 owners went with 18" MC tires to replace the originals).

Alternately....

Thanks for the input! I have started looking into motorcycle tires but haven't considered wheels before. I have the Engwe M20 and am looking to keep the rear hub motor which is built into a 20" "mag" wheel and fit it with a stretched tire (16" scooter) for a wide/low profile look. The front wheel is the one I've been having trouble figuring out. It might look cool to have spokes on the front exclusively and I was wanting to go to a slightly bigger diameter. I may end up just sticking with a 20" and a 4.0 tire. A 24" wheel won't clear my fork with a 4.0. Switching to a spoke wheel also leaves more possibilities for a dual motor upgrade. I will look at moto rims. Thanks

 

[amberwolf]

Thanks for the input! I have started looking into motorcycle tires but haven't considered wheels before. I have the Engwe M20 and am looking to keep the rear hub motor which is built into a 20" "mag" wheel and fit it with a stretched tire (16" scooter) for a wide/low profile look. The front wheel is the one I've been having trouble figuring out.

What's the specific goal / reason for changing the wheel?


The MC rims are significantly heavier but they will also be heavier-duty if that's a requirement. And you can use thicker spokes if your load requirements would be helped by those.

On my cargo trike I'd use them if I had some; when unloaded I could probably ride on MC tires even if they were flat since the sidewalls are so thick and stiff. :lol: And one set of tires would probably last me several years at minimum.

I already use MC / moped tires on it, but with "bicycle" rims--20" BC rims fit 16" MC tires, so that gives me signfiicant flat protection just from the tread thickness...and the soft compound gives great grip for braking / etc (even though soft MC/MP wears faster they still last longer than BC tires did even discounting flats/etc).

It might look cool to have spokes on the front exclusively and I was wanting to go to a slightly bigger diameter. I may end up just sticking with a 20" and a 4.0 tire. A 24" wheel won't clear my fork with a 4.0. Switching to a spoke wheel also leaves more possibilities for a dual motor upgrade. I will look at moto rims. Thanks

If you change the tire diameter, you also change the steering geometry. Sometimes that works fine, and sometimes you end up with an unrideable bike (sometimes only at certain speed ranges, sometimes completely). Depending on the rest of the frame / structure you can even end up with a "death wobble" bike at a speed you need it to ride at.

If you have access to some "junk" bikes, or parts from a bikeshop where they take old bikes apart for spare bits, or thriftstore / yardsale bikes, you might just pick up some different sizes you're considering, then try them out and see how it rides with them at all different speeds, turns, etc.

I experimented this way a fair bit with different sizes of wheels on CrazyBIke2 (a long semi-recumbent) and some of the changes worked great, and some of them were outright dangerous. I might not have broken my ankle in the 2011 DeathRace if I'd had the wheel sizes I eventually settled on instead of the barely-tested experiment I went with at the time (but I probably would still have crashed at some point).

 

[Chalo]

There are some 22" BMX rims that are plenty wide for a 3.0" tire, and plenty strong enough for cargo bike use. Alienation Vandal is 37mm wide, which is typical of "XL" BMX rims these days.

 

[puddle]

I experimented this way a fair bit with different sizes of wheels on CrazyBIke2 (a long semi-recumbent) and some of the changes worked great, and some of them were outright dangerous. I might not have broken my ankle in the 2011 DeathRace if I'd had the wheel sizes I eventually settled on instead of the barely-tested experiment I went with at the time (but I probably would still have crashed at some point).

I'm in the process of making a lot of modifications to this bike for performance and esthetics. I'm going for a motorcycle style and so would like a flatter and wider looking tire on the rear. Do you have any input for me putting a 90/80-16 on the front and an 80/80-16 on the rear? Unsafe? I already have a new 90/90-16 and now I'm trying to decide if I should get the same for the rear or get closer to the look I want with the other size. Thanks for any input you might have in advance. (Both going on same size rim "20" x 3.5") Maybe finding a wider rear rim is my answer...

 

[amberwolf]

I'm in the process of making a lot of modifications to this bike for performance and esthetics. I'm going for a motorcycle style

Just keep in mind the more motorcycle-like it looks, the more likely you are to get attention from law enforcement that you don't appreciate. Whether or not there is any real reason for them to do so. :/

and so would like a flatter and wider looking tire on the rear. Do you have any input for me putting a 90/80-16 on the front and an 80/80-16 on the rear? Unsafe?

If the tire choices fit in the frame (no rub and no suspension interference / frame impact at full bump) and don't change the geometry of the bike vs whatever it was designed for, then it isn't likely to cause a safety issue.

If they're thicker than the original tires then it is probably safer to use them than the original types, as far as dangers from sudden flats go, but the likely much heavier weight does affect the handling; it can make some difference in how it feels to steer (won't matter after you get used to it, but could utnil you do).

If they are wider/flatter tread area than the originals, then they may have a bigger contact patch and give more braking ability and better traction in turns, braking, etc. But if they are not any flatter they may give less patch area as the thicker treads are usually less flexible.

Somewhere around here is a thread or few that specify things about the rim width to tire width ratio for best performance, but it's likely that these would both fit the rim about the same. The wider one will end up with a rounder profile and be a bit taller than the narrower one, as it's squeezed between the same width rim walls.

 

[Chalo]

I'm in the process of making a lot of modifications to this bike for performance and esthetics. I'm going for a motorcycle style and so would like a flatter and wider looking tire on the rear.

You can get the effect you're looking for by using a narrower tire on a suitably wide rim. If that rim is 100mm ish wide, try a 2.8"-3.0" tire to spread it out and look more moto. If it's an 80mm ish rim, try a 2.3”-2.5" tire.

The performance of a real bicycle tire will be worlds better than that of a moto tire or a costume "chopper" tire. And the smaller overall diameter will improve hub motor performance compared to something bigger.

 

[puddle]

You can get the effect you're looking for by using a narrower tire on a suitably wide rim. If that rim is 100mm ish wide, try a 2.8"-3.0" tire to spread it out and look more moto. If it's an 80mm ish rim, try a 2.3”-2.5" tire.

The performance of a real bicycle tire will be worlds better than that of a moto tire or a costume "chopper" tire. And the smaller overall diameter will improve hub motor performance compared to something bigger.

Thanks for input. I ordered a second tire to match the first. These tires aren't cheap so, unless they suck, I'm gonna use them. They are heavy but smaller. I definitely like the moto look and will be trying it out at some point.