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Alamitos Bay Parking Lot

My search for new balance wheels that fit my current Stabilizer Wheel Mounts has been unsuccessful. The hubs are narrow (standard hubs are 100mm, but the one’s supplied in the kit are 15mm thinner; with cones and lock nuts a standard is too wide and the supplied wheels are too thin and degrade in a few miles). I ordered a set of 16” wheels (one review claimed they were 3.75” from nut to nut; that would’ve fit if it was true) but they were too wide and now returning them is an expense. I brought my original destroyed 85mm 16” balance wheels to the Bicycle Tree to see if I could rebuild them there; I need the axle hardware, but they didn’t have it. They did have a digital measure tool that allowed me to discover they are 85mm hubs, and got a set of 100mm standard hub 16” wheels to bring home and try. They did not fit my stabilizer wheel mounts; 100mm will fit snug, but with cones and lock nuts, they are too wide.

The original wheels should roll smooth longer with flat washers as spacers. I bought some to use after the damage was done; they seem to take up the gap and absorb the side pressure that prematurely wore them out, but new wheels of that size have been problematic to find. I wrote the company I purchased them from, so hopefully they’ll respond with a solution. If not, the Bicycle Tree can order a stabilizer wheel set for $100. The last couple I’ve tried were $200 & $250. The first set branded as training wheels rolled >1,000 miles, but with a warp on the right mount causing an extreme right lean resulting in unlevel riding. This current set branded as stabilizer wheels has rolled 250 miles, but the last 150 miles have been hard miles with wobble and metal grind resulting in shaky noisy rides. I’d hoped the company would’ve sent wheels that work with the mounts, but I got high quality mounts with non standard wheels that only work a few miles (100 or 4 [original or first replacement] before wobble/grind).

My bicycle is so much easier to ride than my trike. It’s not the best quality bicycle, but it was what I could afford with COVID stimulus and would be wonderful to get rolling smooth again. When I removed the balance wheels to bring to the Bicycle Tree, using my trike, I sat on my bike with a swaying side to side motion. It’s been a month and a half since decades of earwax buildup was removed; my hearing improved right away, and I have sensed some changes in the ability to adapt to air pressure changes. My balance on the bike has improved, but when I last tried riding in April, I got a black eye, sprained wrist and lots of road rash. I don’t know if I’m ready to try again; not here anyway. I don’t have a safe place to practice, like when I lived on Alamitos Bay that had a large marina parking lot with little traffic.