scottfsmith

They are not like a skateboard. They can do very broad turns (as in, following a curvy road) just by side pressure, but if you want the turn radius less than about 30' you will need to pick up the front wheels. Cross country skiers do this, it works better than it might sound. It would be nice if there was a way they could turn more like bike wheels do; one idea I had was a spring on the back which would allow the back wheel to "rudder" like a boat rudder if there was side force on the skate. The spring would be strong enough to hold the wheels straight normally, and side force could allow them to rudder. It would require some skill as you don't want to apply side forces if you don't want to turn... not sure at all if it would work.

Re: the fork bending issue, I might just try it out with the aluminum plates and see how it works and add extra support if needed. But it still needs some thought. I have plenty of time as the wheels are being shipped by boat from China and I have a month before they are here. I don't want to finalize any design until I actually have the wheels with tires mounted and inflated, to see the clearances. They are 12" carbon wheels so will be the same weight as my existing 8" wheels more or less.