I need metal wheels!

[Mr_Ash]

I need metal wheels 6 LGB coaches and a few bachmann car's 

The bachmann metal wheels suck, the place I get stuff from online has wheels from Aristo and LGB also but lgb is out of stock so how are Aristo wheels? are there other brands? where do I start

[newto gscale]

I have bought quite a few of the san-val metal ball bearnig wheels. I have both the black and the silver ones. I dont know why but the black ones roll much easier than the silver ones even after i tried freeing up the bearings on the silver ones they still did not roll as freeley as the black ones??? Hope this helps .

[altterrain]

I also like the SanVal wheels (you can pick them up on eBay). I have both the black and plated and haven't notice a difference but I have to say I haven't compared them. Aristo wheels are just as good. Lots of folk use the Bachmann wheels. They are a bit cheaper and lighter than the others but seem to work fine.

There are some pricier wheels made by Gary Raymond, Sierra Valley and Comstock (http://www.lsol.com/pdf/WheelSets-SALE.pdf) 

-Brian 

[Mr_Ash]

yes the bachmann wheels are cheeper but im finding that axels get bent easily or maybe they wernt staright to begin with anyway this causes the car to wobble as rolls and I like my trains running smooth. I have about a dozen or so wheels that I have replaced because of this and still have problems so thats why I want to steer clear of bachmann wheels atleast for my passenger operations. 

 I recently got a D&RGW bachmann reefer off ebay and it came with a set of silver wheels that wernt bachmann wheels and IMO are perfect but idk who they were made by I think maybe aristo but im not sure right now I have them on a MDC caboose

So are ball bearing wheels better? do they require more maintance?

[newto gscale]

Ball bearing wheels are good and need no maintance because they are sealed

[on30francisco]

I have Sierra Valley Enterprises wheels and they are excellent.

[zakowitz]

Howdy,

I recently changed all my rolling stock to San-Val (E-bay).  So far...so good.  The lower ctr of gravity is an added plus for my LGB short coaches.

                                      Regards,

 

                                         Zak

 

[enginear]

san val bearing wheels are great. I need to tell you though, I was grinding the ends off to make dummy trucks for an engine and melted the first one I did. The lesson learned; I now cut them quickly off with my dremel and don't overheat!

I also use aristo and like them as well. my stock bachman cars have some bent axles right out of the box so I never bought any separately. The new all metal usa trucks are cool too. I want to try gary ramond's wheels next. 

[piercedan]

Gary Raymond does make a single ball bearing wheel.  Runs almost as well as the LGB ball bearing sets and are heavier.

 For solid axle/wheels, I use USA and the price is good when getting sets of 10.  Tese come in black and silver (2090/2093).

  LGB ball bearings do need to be lubed, at least mine did.  Biggest advantage of these was the Electrical pickups are included.

 If you are ok with sleeve bearings, there is Jay-Bee and they have the FRR replacement sleeve bearings with electrical pickups.  I use these on my LGB FRR cars and toytrain tender.  Great for mu-ing those little engines with the tender for additional power pickup.

[Mr_Ash]

So I got 8 sets (32 axels) of black Aristo wheels, they came yesterday and I installed them on my engine tenders, MDC and LGB cabeese and one Bmann J&S coach.

 First off they dont look black its more of a dark mirror finish, I mean compared to the silver version they are quite a bit darker but they arnt "black" I dont mind though I love the finish on them. They add a bit of weight to the cars compared to the bachmann metal wheels and they roll very nice I am going to be ordering another dozen or so sets to switch all the rest of my Bmann & LGB coaches.

Im not going to switch the wheels on any of my freight rollingstock Im just going to use all of the extra wheels I get from switching the tenders, cabeese & coaches as spares for the freight cars if they need replacments

[desertrat]

The San Val  (Roll-EZ) wheels are among the best, price considered.  I have converted all my rolling stock to either these or to USA (side-by-side, difficult to tell any differences, at least in the ones I have).  They are heavier than the Aristo's and Bachmann's they replaced, which is a good thing - lower center-of-gravity and a smoother run.  The most important thing is to double-check the wheels for correct guage before running.  That had been especially true in the Bachmann wheels.  There are enough things that can rear up and cause derailures - this will eliminate a lot of those problems.  The other "biggie" that I struggled with was couplers letting loose, even on straightaway runs.  I run USA locomotives and for whatever reason, I ended up using an Aristo knuckle coupler on them, but the rear of the battery car was then Bachmann, mostly because I had access to them easier.  They have gradually created headaches for me, so now I have changed all couplers to USA knuckles.  They close securely - in fact, a couple are actually maybe a bit too "secure" - I'll work with those.  I don't rely on any auto uncoupling and find that the drop in nuisance-value of stopping the run, re-connecting and hoping it'll stay together is not worth the hassle.  So far, USA is my coupler-of-choice.  Meanwhile, when you throw in the USA wheels with the USA couplers, it would begin to look as if any new rolling stock would then be USA.   This is supposed to be a hobby and as such, a source of relaxation and fun.   Upgrading my wheels and couplers has gone a long way in that direction for me.

[concreteman14103]

As far as I'm conserned, aristo wheels are the best hands down.

 

You can get them from Train world, or better yet, Ridge Road Station.

 

John

[Mr_Ash]

Aye, I get most of my stuff from Ridge Road Station allways nice dealing with them

I just wish the black aristo wheels actually looked black, to me from a distance they look the same as the silver type unless there is a car with the silver wheels on the train then you can tell they arnt silver...

I might try and get some USA black metal wheels, I like the ones that came on my USA Woodside caboose and Im planning on ordering a couple of there wood boxcars

[altterrain]

I, too, have noticed inconsistency with the blackening of Aristo wheels. Some I have that are dark and some more silver. I just darken them up with a black Sharpie.

-Brian 

[Mr_Ash]

Ooo that works? It doesnt rub off or anything?

[altterrain]

Ooo that works? It doesnt rub off or anything?

Works fine! It probably could be removed with alcohol but stays on otherwise.

-Brian 

[g. gage]

USA wheels have been the standard on my railroad for ten years, give of take. They work great. One note, on LGB freight trucks I have to the small circle off where axle end goes into the truck frame otherwise the wheels don't roll freely. Everthing else is a simple change out.

Kadee coupler are my standard, carry over from HO days. I'm now changing over the body mounts. I am an operator.

[Mr_Ash]

update

the black aristo wheels are doing fine I have them on all my tenders, cabeese and a couple coaches.... the aristo silver wheels.... the silver finish is pealing off of the wheel where it contacts the rail on 14 out of 20 axels