Kirby Rebuild Trim Kit - Wide Front Wheels

[electrolux~137]

What's y'alls opinion on the wider front "Classic-style" wheels that were (are?) provided with Kirby's rebuild trim kits?

Did people really have a big problem with their Kirbys tipping to and fro or being unstable because of the narrow wheels? Granted, they are set in kinda far from the nozzle, but I've never had a problem with that. I could see the point in the wider wheels when the Classic, with its huge nozzle, came out. But I've never seen them to make any significant difference with older machines.

The way the wider wheels attached was that they came with a special screw with an extension the length of a standard wheel. That way, you could screw the wide wheel into the standard axle.

Something I've done that I like better than using the wide wheels is to put two standard front wheels on each front axle, using the extender-screws. That looks more "original" than the new wheels and accomplishes the same thing, although I do still like the more streamlined appearance of the narrow wheels.

 

[eurekastar]

I'm not especially fond of the wider wheels, but I am thinking about using them. However, I discovered that the front axle from a Classic (1-CR) will work on a 500 series machine. But the rear wheels from a 1-CR won't work. The center is too wide and won't fit flush on the rear axle. I did find some brown 500 style wheels on Ebay, so I may give those a shot for my Tricked Out 500!

 

[djtaylor]

Kirby trim kits

If anyone is interested I have four Dark Blue trim kits for 500/Sanitronic Kirbys.
Let me know if you want any of them.
Justin
[email protected]

 

[kirbysthebest]

I always thought the wider wheels were not so much because the machine tipped, but they aided in pushing. The wider wheels prevented the machine from sinking into the carpeting as far as the more narrow wheels.