A few years ago i picked up a nice 20" wheel that had "aero spokes but seemed a tad twisty for a cl 5 front.
after a few near misses at kingston due to air getting under my solid wheel i thought id have a go at a bigger wheel that ahd holes to stop the frisbee effect.
this wheel has lots of gaps in the spokes so the first step has been to fill the gaps with polyeurathane foam

then file back lightly witha rasp and 150 grit paper. this took about 4 goes as you have to very gently squirt it out rather than a big rush

then the spokes were cut out from the roll of carbon i bought recently with the money saved on reall low fuel prices in Sa an across the Nullabor. most expensive fuel was kalgoorlie!

first side has been laid on , just need to cureand sand , lay up second side. and then some thin strips on the seams.

the idea on this wheel is to stiffen the spokes which felt just too light for the front of a 5. It has gor me thinking of how to mould an entire wheel tho
the finished wheel will be heavier than one of my 20x2" flat series wheels, but hopefully will help with the flying front end issue on walyungup

That wheel looks like a mongoose 20 inch bmx wheel that a lot of class 5s have been using here for many years

brand on the rim was satelite. I have seen a NZ 5 with a similar wheel , this just felt a touch too flimsy. should stiffen up nicely.
the hub is rathjer solid and i pulled out the bearing cups ,trimmed off a sniff in the lathe so that it fits a sealed bearing with a 12mm centre. will need a new fork set up and some suspension like yours,with the inner tube wrap

I think the mongoose wheels were made by satellite I did the same as you and skimmed the hubs out for sealed bearings
A lot of the ones here though are running the original bike bearing setup and they seem to be ok
My class 5 has a new owner now who has painted it up and it looks very smart and shiny

with the dust and saly here i couldnt see unsealed bearings lasting long. this set up will allow me to simply use a 12mm bolt for the axle,although i will now have to build a 2 sided fork, hence the new welder in the shed . got me a little inverter as i need a set up that could run on the end of an extension lead when i build my new gates. should also work when we pay off the solar panels and our supply contract runs out. that is when we will get some batteries and go commando.
wheel has been covered both sides and an overlap on the rim added. just need to sand and clearcoat ,then start building the front end to go with it

Oooooh all done. quite pleased with how it came out.iys actually heavier than my flat series 20x2" rims. will need a 2 sided fork.
this rim has a 30mm wide rim so Ive got a range of tyres that have come out of the vault. a 20x1.6 for clay and dry salt up to a 20 x2.35 that can ne run soft for walyungup.
started the fork set up today but it was sooo hot down the back. had to cool the bits off in water buckets in between cuts and welds.

the plan is a complete intrchngeable front end including steering rod. including the rubberized suspensoin type thathiko?showed us a few years ago

front fork looking beefy,but will look sexier when cleaned up. starting to really like my inverter welder, but its a bugger to start the arc

Some clever person may be able to advise how you can fit high frequency start to your welder
The rubber suspension idea was Clems I think

I think the welder thing is just getting used to a modern unit after my 40kg of copper coil,running at a low setting. Im getting better at it. . we'll call it clems front end then

heres the progress. all a bit slow due to having to run around for customers, but its all coming out close to the actual plan. just the new steering rod to build then a shopping trip for some bolts. that little mushromm will be the anchor for the rubber inner tube wrap

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landyacht said..
I think the welder thing is just getting used to a modern unit after my 40kg of copper coil,running at a low setting. Im getting better at it. .

Your not using a magnet to hold your work pieces in place while you weld Paul?

Inverter welders go ballistic, as the magnetic field throws them into panic mode. They are trying to sort out and compensate for different arc length and amps to initiate the arc and the magnets stuff all this up.

When my students do a great bead of weld, I get them to demonstrate it again to prove it isn't a fluke. If they are too cocky I sneak a magnet under the steel work bench and that brings them back to earth really quickly.

Inverter welders like to have the amps increased from where you would normally run from a copper core welder. They adjust automatically to suit the arc length your throwing at them. Pull your rod slowly back away from the bead while welding on a bit of scrap and listen to the sound. You will see what I mean.

the problem is stemming from getting a really tough slag cap on the rod each time you stop. then having to crack it off. my old beast would leave bare metal exposed,so it instantly get an arc. the old girl had no actual graduations on the dial you had to have a sense of what the job needed.and know where to set the mark.
all done now. the inverter is a great gap filler. If i just had the eyesight to weld with i would be a legend . bits are getting painted now. using all the old cans up so its coming out slightly different colourscheme to my usual. more like a tribute to the great aussie budgie

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landyacht said..
the problem is stemming from getting a really tough slag cap on the rod each time you stop. then having to crack it off. my old beast would leave bare metal exposed,so it instantly get an arc.

So low hydrogen rods?............this is pretty typical, it helps protect the rod apparently????
But is very frustrating.
Some welding rods are so hard to restart! Particularly if they have cooled completely.
Also if you peck and tap when you restart you have to peck so hard that a lot of flux cracks off the tip of the rod and you get a little porosity on your restart.
I use a paintbrush style start,,,, wiping the rod across the work to establish the arc.

The easy answer Paul, is "a bastard"

To fix this hassle just have an old bastard file laying beside where your working ..... Just scratch the rough file with the tip of the rod, a few swipes until you can see shiny bright metal and away you go. Make sure it's not in contact with your work though. A brick or the concrete floor works a treat as well.


Inverter welders need a perfectly clean area for the earth clamp and positive conduction to where your welding. It's no good laying your component on a steel bench that the clamp is attached to. It doesn't like it. Always attach the clamp directly to your work if possible. Makes a HUGE DIFFERENCE!!!!Even with a MIG welder.

nothing fancy in the rods ,satincraft 13. i leave the low hydrogen to george..
have had to grind all the poop off my welding bench,and the bits Im welding too. the old girl would crack a weld through rust