Double Bass Bass Wheels

[pklima]

Bumping this thread instead of starting a new one... the main wheel readily available in Europe seems to be the Dictum. I had one, which eventually broke after a few years of the local pavements. It's not expensive, around 45 euros, so... should I grab another one, or are the more expensive options really better and more durable?

 

[Jay Corwin]

I bought one of these years ago when I started gigging a lot in the city where parking anywhere near venues is usually impossible. A little pricey but it works great. Given that it looks like it will last forever it's worth the dough.

Upright Bass Buggie Bass Transporter (Bass Buggy)

The popular Bass Buggie allows you to transport your bass with the ease of wheeling a hand truck - with dual ball-bearing wheels and easy, no-tools adjustment and installation.

gollihurmusic.com

 

[SAlcott]

Bumping this thread instead of starting a new one... the main wheel readily available in Europe seems to be the Dictum. I had one, which eventually broke after a few years of the local pavements. It's not expensive, around 45 euros, so... should I grab another one, or are the more expensive options really better and more durable?

A bass wheel that breaks is a gateway to an expensive repair job. Imagine a scenario in which you're wheeling down the sidewalk. The wheel breaks. The bass comes to a sudden standstill, but you're still moving. The bass falls forward, with you on top of it, making a very expensive noise.

Gaines, Xeros, or Bass Buggie, combined with common sense. Anything else is foolish. I write from experience.

 

[Don Hergert]

... The bass comes to a sudden standstill, but you're still moving.. ... a gateway to an expensive repair job. ... combined with common sense. ...

Very good descriptions...

I had a Bass Buggie failure like that, that was bad, but could have been catastrophic. More a ground surface failure though. Trying to transition from solid ground to a patch of gravel, moving at full speed, the Bass Buggie wheels sank into the gravel and stopped.. The DB rolled forward as you described and the Bass Buggie slipped off while I kept going, and I scraped the DB's lower bout on the gravel for about a foot. Luckily I recognized what was happening soon enough and stopped before falling on the DB, and after collecting everything carried the bass over the remainder of the gravel.

I suppose this all could have turned out worse if this had been a wooden DB, but my Alcoa was left with only some scratches in the powder coat finish. One day I'll hand rub the scratches out as well as possible, in the meantime it's a reminder of things to watch out for.

I really like my Bass Buggie and I use it almost all the time, but i wish it had wider "all terrain" wheels. I've toyed with the thought of replacing the stock wheels with some wider ones someday.

Anyway, like any wheels on a double bass, the Bass Buggie can have problems too.

 

[pklima]

A bass wheel that breaks is a gateway to an expensive repair job. Imagine a scenario in which you're wheeling down the sidewalk. The wheel breaks. The bass comes to a sudden standstill, but you're still moving. The bass falls forward, with you on top of it, making a very expensive noise.

Gaines, Xeros, or Bass Buggie, combined with common sense. Anything else is foolish. I write from experience.

Yup (and I don't even have to imagine, the mount broke where the angled part connects to the shaft above the wheel carrying it), but the real question is are the Gaines and Xeros wheels sturdier and more durable, or just as likely to fail and merely more expensive?

Our sidewalks are generally much better than a decade ago, so there's that...

 

[SAlcott]

Yup (and I don't even have to imagine, the mount broke where the angled part connects to the shaft above the wheel carrying it), but the real question is are the Gaines and Xeros wheels sturdier and more durable, or just as likely to fail and merely more expensive?

Our sidewalks are generally much better than a decade ago, so there's that...

Both are much sturdier. Gaines would be my choice. I wore out two tires on mine over 30+ years of use before switching to the Buggie.

 

[SAlcott]

Wheels, Buggies, etc are not ATVs. They're meant for relatively firm, smooth surfaces. I'm always looking ahead, and when there's a curb, I don't just roll off, I support the bass on the way down.