Quote:
Originally Posted by aardvarcus
I'll share an idea I i have been kicking around (but not tested yet) for low profile rollers for front skirts in lieu of conventional rollers. Mount two lazy-susan type spinners flat against the wheel skirt, one on each side with the centers more to the inside of where you would mount your rollers. Skin them with a circular layer of HDPE or UHMW (less friction for the initial contact). If you turned the wheel, it would push the tire into the flat face of the plastic (close to the edge), which would then begin to spin the lazy-susan. The further you turned the wheel, the more it would move towards the center of the plastic lazy-susan spinner combo. It would be important that at full lock it didn't make it to the very center, as you never would not want the wheel to contact the center as that wouldn't spin. If you had enough room vertically, you might actually be able to fit just one large spinner instead of two.
Just an idea for you to consider.
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I've looked at them and these are some of the reasons I was put off by them.
*they have exposed, dry, ball bearings with a very loose pre-load.
*They'd have to go from 'zero',to a fairly large angular velocity instantly (30-mph left-hand turns through green-lighted intersections).
*If I greased them,there's no facility for dust seals.
*I live on an unimproved road with a lot of dust which eats unprotected bearings.
I've got some stuff with sealed bearings to play with which is a larger diameter than the originals which will reduce the surface feet per minute,probably an improvement.If I have to move the poles outward much I can always enclose them in streamlined blisters if they poke out.