Accessories for Upright Bass:  Bass Wheels

Upright Bass Transport Wheel standard solid rubber

Manufactured by: none

Why lug your bass around when you can wheel it?!?! I've used a wheel to move my sweet old '41 Kay around for years, and it works great for many laminated basses that have a compatible endpin receiver. Just pull the endpin rod out and store it in your bass bag and slip in this nice little wheel.

Many domestic and imported basses are coming with 10mm shafts these days, and this wheel is available with both 10mm (slightly larger than 3/8 inch) and 8mm (approximately 5/16 inch) shafts as well as 1/2" size which is mostly unique to most Kay and Engelhardt Basses with the original all metal endpin receiver intact. (Note: In 2008, Engelhardt began using a "deluxe" endpin on their Supreme/Swingmaster basses - please check your endpin measurements if you have a "new" Engelhardt!)

We can also get the wheel in other sizes by special order, see the dropdown menu for those size options.

This attractive, all black (stealthy!) wheel is 5.75 inches high, and it's made of a special rubber that gives a bit, to help cushion the ride. It's a NO SWIVEL WHEEL!! Wheel direction can be adjusted to your preferred orientation. If it rotated you could not control the bass while rolling it! The shaft has a flat side; you adjust the position of the nuts on each side of the bracket so it is in the right position for the set screw in your endpin receiver. I like to set the wheel so my bass rolls sideways, to make it more narrow to fit through doorways (why is it that we bassists inevitably hit the wall exactly every third time passing through a tight space??). I lean the neck on my shoulder, grab the bout and lean over to steer! The shaft is secured to the wheel assembly by two nuts, to ensure that it stays put - and the wheel rides on a pair of sealed ball bearings for a smooth, effortless ride.

The tire has a little bit of give, but note that it is not an air-filled (pneumatic) tire. Laminated basses (like Kays and Engelhardts) are more robust and can take the bumps. However, if you have a carved bass or would like to give your bass the benefit of a softer ride, I highly recommend you check out the deluxe Gaines Bass Wheel (click on photo, in related items below), which is an air-filled tire with 7 different shaft sizes available.

IMPORTANT TIPS:

1. You MUST measure! It's important to have the correct size to avoid damaging your endpin receiver - that's a costly replacement!


2. Okay then, how do I measure? The best way is with a caliper (see example at right), which allows you to accurately measure the diameter of your existing shaft. If you don't have one, a set of standard and metric open-end wrenches can act as a gauge - use the wrenches in the various available shaft sizes to determine which one exactly fits the pin diameter. Don't have those, either? Get a piece of stiff cardstock or cardboard, and cut a notch in it. Continue to slightly widen that slot until the endpin fits perfectly - then measure the gap. Do the measurement with both inches and millimeters; as you can see, shafts are available in both metric and SAE (inches) sizes, and some of the sizes are very close.


3. I don't have a metric (or SAE) ruler - now what? Check out this page for some printable rulers that might help.


4. What if my endpin shaft won't come out?? Many endpins have a pin stop that prevents the shaft from being removed from the bass. In most cases you can shove the pin into the bass, retrieve it through the f-hole, and remove the crossbar or other piece that is preventing removal.
5. This wheel is designed to fit the conventional endpin collar, those with a set-screw that is screwed through the wall of the collar to the inside, where it contacts the flat part of the wheel shaft insert. This wheel shaft will not work if your endpin is a different type, such as shown in the photo at right.

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