Worksman Wheels

KilroyCD · #1 (**permalink**) 08-27-2009, 08:46 PM

After having them in hand for several months, I was finally able to make the time today to mount my Worksman wheels on my Whizzer. These wheels are incredibly overbuilt, so they're perfect for overweight riders like myself. It was a fairly straightforward conversion, but I'm lacking the rear brake switch as the original Whizzer "pork chop" (coaster brake arm) will not fit the Shimano coaster brake without major modification. I still have my brake light activated by my front brake, and I'm kicking a few ideas around for the rear brake switch.
The chain sprocket is larger on the Shimano hub, so that necessitated fitting a half-link to the pedal chain.
The front wheel was an easy retrofit, as Debbie at Whizzer provided me with a WC-1 front brake anchor arm to mate up with the shorter anchor plate that the Worksman drum brake comes with. Worked like a charm!
I did a short test hop to check everything out and discovered that I need to readjust a belt or two. Otherwise, everything is great so far. I highly recommend converting to the heavier Worksman wheels if you're a heavier rider.

silverbear · #2 (**permalink**) 08-28-2009, 08:27 PM

Hey Chris,
I got outbid a few months ago on eBay... a set of NOS Worksman wheels and the front had the drum brake. I should have bid a little more, I guess, but no doubt those are my wheels, Chris!
Kidding, you know. They are great wheels. I had one of their folding bikes at one time and couldn't believe how well that thing was made and the wheels were so sturdy for a little bike. If I could afford it a Worksman cruiser would make a really sturdy ride. How do wheels look on your Whizzer? Do you notice any difference in the way it rides? That's a really fat tire, isn't it? What 2 1/2 inches? What did the Whizzer come with? Any pictures to share? I've seen a picture of that Whizzer of yours and it is something else.
Silverbear

jbcruisin · #3 (**permalink**) 08-28-2009, 10:16 PM

I have a Shimano coaster brake on my 99 & the Whizzer sprocket fit on my Shimano hub. Also I got my Whizzer coaster brake arm to fit my Shimano hub. Here's the link to what I did:
99 Whizzer Brake light fix
Jay

KilroyCD · #4 (**permalink**) 08-28-2009, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silverbear

Hey Chris,
I got outbid a few months ago on eBay... a set of NOS Worksman wheels and the front had the drum brake. I should have bid a little more, I guess, but no doubt those are my wheels, Chris!
Kidding, you know. They are great wheels. I had one of their folding bikes at one time and couldn't believe how well that thing was made and the wheels were so sturdy for a little bike. If I could afford it a Worksman cruiser would make a really sturdy ride. How do wheels look on your Whizzer? Do you notice any difference in the way it rides? That's a really fat tire, isn't it? What 2 1/2 inches? What did the Whizzer come with? Any pictures to share? I've seen a picture of that Whizzer of yours and it is something else.
Silverbear

Silverbear, the (chrome) Worksman wheels look great on the Whizzer, even with the whitewalls. I haven't taken any shots yet with the new wheels, but I'll try to take some this weekend (weather permitting). These wheels use the standard balloon tire, 24x2.125 (in my case) or 26x2.125 for the 26" Whizzers. The Whizzer NE-5 (and earlier WC-1) both came with the 2.125" wide tires, but the rims were optimized for 1.75" (middleweight) tires. I really wasn't paying attention to how they felt, as I was much more concerned about my slipping drive belt. I'll take the bike out tomorrow after work (provided it's not raining) to assess ride quality. However, the weather forecast isn't looking all that good.
I ordered my Worksman rims though Debbie at Whizzer, but they are also available by going onto Worksman's website or through Grainger. The Worksman wheels Grainger has are 26" only, and the front wheel is without a brake (and costs around $65.). The rear wheel has the Shimano EB-110 coaster brake, the same as on mine (and costs around $115.). Both are for the 26x2.125 tire and have the 11ga spokes.

Fossil · #5 (**permalink**) 08-29-2009, 08:22 PM

Here are a couple pictures of my Worksman Wheels installed on my Whizzer.

Jim

PS The drum brakes will throw you over the handlebars if your not careful.

KilroyCD · #6 (**permalink**) 08-29-2009, 08:48 PM

Here's a photo I shot this evening of the Whizzer wearing it's new shoes. I should have taken closer detail shots like Fossil did of his, but I wasn't thinking of that.
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z...s/100_2674.jpg

KilroyCD · #7 (**permalink**) 08-30-2009, 10:08 PM

i took a ride on the bike with the new wheels. I haven't solved the belt slipping issue yet, but I did notice something else. Although I thought I had the bead seated correctly, the rear tire was in fact, not seated correctly. As a result, it was a bit out of round. The ride was about as smooth as Egyptian Whiskey.

silverbear · #8 (**permalink**) 08-30-2009, 10:42 PM

Chris & Jim,
Those bikes look so sharp! If I were a rich kid I'd get one, too. Chris, I had the same experience with the bead on the heavy duty rims I got from bikeworldusa. Pretty disappointed I was, until I realized what was wrong... let out the air, got the bead set right and what a difference that made.
Silverbear

whizzbang · #9 (**permalink**) 10-03-2009, 02:17 PM

Nobody mentioned how well the worksman wheel brake stops. I put a rear one with a shoe brake on my Whizzer and it dosen't stop as well as the original Whizzer coaster brake but it sure looks better.

KilroyCD · #10 (**permalink**) 10-03-2009, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whizzbang

Nobody mentioned how well the worksman wheel brake stops. I put a rear one with a shoe brake on my Whizzer and it dosen't stop as well as the original Whizzer coaster brake but it sure looks better.

I have the Worksman front drum (which isn't quite fully broken in yet) and the Shimano EB-110 rear coaster brake on my Worksman wheels. The Shimano has enough stopping power to darned near throw me over the handlebars. I quickly learned not to put as much foot into it as I did the Whizzer coaster brake. That combination of Worksman front and Shimano rear hauled me to a quick stop when a deer jumped out in front of me last weekend.