REFLECTOR: Front fixed gear question

[Dennis Martin]

Definitely install washers. I called factory to make sure. I installed two
fairly thick washers on my fixed gear Elite, and it works great.

Here's a true story. A friend from Salt Lake City flew down to Provo area
where I'm located (40 miles). His front tire went flat and asked if he
could borrow my front gear fork, wheel and all. As we installed it on his
retractable and resisted the urge to retract. I noticed the slop in the
wheel and suggested we fix it. He laughed it off, but almost wet his pants
when he landed in SLC. Horrible shimmy he'll never forget.

BALANCING FRONT GEAR: I took advice of one of our builders and used
adhesive lead weights to balance the front wheel. I bought the weights from
the local auto repair shop for $1.50 a sleeve. Very easy task - just leave
the wheel on the fork and jack up the front of the plane a few inches. I
spun the wheel to find the "bottoming" spot - then marked it with a magic
marker. Each time I spun the wheel, the mark ended up at the bottom with
100% consistency. I added weights to the bottoming spot until the wheel
behaved. My wheel was way out of balance and required about two full
sleeves of weights, so buy two or three sleeves. Also, apply weights in the
center of the aluminum wheel and move outward both left and right. Cut
weights in half to make them fit the outside part of the rim where spokes
get in the way.

All the best,
Dennis



On Tue, May 22, 2012 at 8:00 AM, Chris Barber <cbarber at texasattorney.net>wrote:

>  My hangar mate noticed a concern regarding my front gear on my fixed
> gear SE.  Since I am doing some cooling mods before continuing high speed
> taxi, it gave him the opportunity to mention it to me before I careen off
> the runway....
>
>
>
> Anyway, I have had the front gear installed for years.  I included the two
> spacer that go on each side of the axel that help hold in the bearings
> inside the rim.  What was noted was that there is about a quarter inch
> space on the axel that allows the bearing to move out of the wheel even
> with the spacers in place.  It still rolls ok but it does allow the wheel
> to shift a bit back and forth on the axel as it moves.  I hope I am
> explaining this ok.
>
>
>
> Is this ok, or should I install a couple of shims/washers to keep the
> wheel from shifting back and forth?
>
>
>
> Thanks.
>
>
>
> Chris
>
>
>
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-- 
All the best,
Dennis
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