My girlfriends Quest had two non-standard frontwheels with a 25mm wide rim, that I put on especially to match the wider tires that give a comfy ride. Go figure that the wide tire of choice, a Vredestein Perfect Moiree 47-406, does not fit this particular rim. The tire kept on having a low spot even after putting in 7,5bar/110psi, which is 3bar/45psi more pressure than the advised maximum pressure of 4,5bar/65psi. When I measured the circumference of the rim, it turned out that it measured some 3 mm more than the standard rim and that one is already a tight fit with these tires. No wonder the tire kept bubbing up an down as it did when I gave the wheel a spin. In order not to make my girlfriend seasick, I'd better put on a boring standard 19mm rim.
On the photo the 25mm rim on the left and the 19mm on the right. I measured with two wires, simple but good enough for a quick comparison.
First I laid the Quest on it's side on a blanket in our living room. Too cold to do this outside.
The allen key loosens the bolt that keeps the wheel on the drumbrakes' axle.
I'm forgetting something here, because you can only get a standard allen key in the confined space of a Quests' wheelbox when you loosen the balljoints on the strut. It takes some puzzling how to loosen the balljoints, but I'm confident you find out when you really have to. You could also use a shortened allen key, but since you have to loosen the balljoints anyway etcetera, etcetera.
Okay, so we loosened several items and now with some jiggling, it's possible to lift the drum from the brake. You have to get the damned thing over the terribly long axle, which at first sight seems impossible, but it is! It's such a tight fit that even the width of the 5 mm thick brakecable has to be manouvred out of the way to push the strut competely against the inside of the wheelbox.
The wide-rimmed wheel is off and in the opposite manner, a new rim (or old when, like me, you have some parts lying around) can be placed. Don't forget to put the magnet of the speedometer on the new wheel.....
