wheel size question

[LindaL]

I have a Jerald 49" shaft show cart, which had 24" wheels on it before. Is it Ok to upsize the wheels to a 26"? If so, what is the "difference" (meaning how the cart travels, etc) ? Will it make a difference if I want to use the cart for roadster class? What about the size of horse using cart?

Thanks!

 

[RhineStone]

I doubt it will make much difference in how the cart travels. It will make it easier for the horse to pull, but bigger wheels are also heavier, so it can be a tradeoff. As far as the size of the horse, the cart shafts should be level or uphill, but never downhill.

I will defer the Roadster question to those that show Roadster. Don't the wheels have to be "closed"?

If they are not "open" wheels now, you may have an issue with the frame around the wheels fitting the 26" wheels.

Myrna

 

[LindaL]

Thanks for your reply! This cart is our "temporary cart" really...for this show season only, so we probably won't be using this cart for roadster classes this year.

 

[Carriage]

I doubt it will make much difference in how the cart travels. It will make it easier for the horse to pull, but bigger wheels are also heavier, so it can be a tradeoff. As far as the size of the horse, the cart shafts should be level or uphill, but never downhill.

Miss Myrna's point are all good.

In the end the perceived benefits of changing wheel size by two inches are at best negligible.

When we were first playing around with one cart, we had both a "race" wheel and a practice wheel.

The race wheel was hand built and laced and was a featherweight compared to the practice wheel. We really saw no difference between the two as far as ease of pull for the horse. It seemed that when the added weight was in the wheel itself it did not present the same weight "drag" as when the added weight was in the rig.

Imo, of greater benefit to the horse would be to try and use a tire that has better flotation. In other words, rides on top of the ground vs. carving its way through the ground. This is the easiest way to reduce drag for the animal. This is a good cheater way for a 24" wheel to pretend it's a mighty 26" wheel.....

Bb

 

[MiLo Minis]

With 49" shafts you are not going to be able to put much more than a small B in that cart and even a long strided small B is going to be a tighter fit no matter how large the wheels are. You want to keep the shafts somewhat level so need to keep the wheels at a size that will "fit" the size of horse you are using it for and 26" is fairly large for a small B or A size horse.

 

[Coventry Lane Farm]

You need the 20 inched wheels for driving Jet with 49 inch shaft length to fit him correctly.