Hang Glider Wheels - Speed Roller's new design - Nebula 6" & 8" wheels

Introducing Speed Roller Hang Gliding Wheels - Nebula

3D print your hang glider wheels for the Wills Wing round basebar

DISCLAIMER: These wheels have NOT been lab tested. I do fly with the wheels I make. Use at your own risk.

Update Jan 25, 2024: I have redesigned the wheels to be printed as one solid piece. The tire is then stretched over the wheel and secured by friction. This new design is easier and quicker to print and assemble, as well as using fewer parts and is lighter than the original split wheels. There's no need for glue/epoxy or nuts & bolts. New design is labeled as v2_whole-wheel. I have also updated the clamps to use brass inserts instead of nuts and added a set of clamps for a tandem glider with 1-¼" base bar.

*Note: Make sure to print the correct clamps for your glider. I'll make a brass insert jig for the regular clamps when I have more time.

This is a set of wheels for a Falcon type hang glider. The hole diameter is 1-1/8" 

The wheels with red and black in the images are the original design. The current model uses 12 bolts and nuts instead of only 6. I highly recommend using thread locker on the bolts and a strong epoxy suitable for plastics between the 2 halves, unless you want to take them apart at some point. 

There are 2 sizes; 8in and 6in. The 8in wheels need the inner hub for the proper size. I'll probably resize this later to eliminate the inner hubs. I originally thought it would be nice to print those out of a nylon to help them roll better but after using the ABS realized they roll just fine. The 6in wheels don't need the hubs. 

There are a couple notches on the side to help lined up the 2 halves since the screw holes aren't symmetrical. The tire will hold in place once the 2 halves are bolted together. The lip on the wheels and the slight under-sized thickness helps smash into the tire holding it firmly. 

I printed the tires using a TPU at 50% infill. This made for a pretty solid tire. Lower the infill and/or use a TPE, something like NinjaFlex might give a softer tire but I like the tires being more dense since I launch off mountains with a lot of rocks. The wheels are printed in either ABS or ASA. ASA has the same strength as ABS but it holds up better to UV rays. 

To assemble you'll need M5x25 button head screws (x12 per wheel) I find using a M5x30 helps pull the nuts into the nut traps. 

For the wheel clamps you'll need 2 M5 nuts and 1 M5x30 button head screw per clamp. I use a little medium strength thread locker (blue thread locker) to help hold everything together more securely.