Hobie finally got some decent wheels for the Trax cart! The old wheels were hard to pull, heavy and subject to failure at the most inopportune times. Whereas the old wheels were a necessary evil for soft sand and a pain on all other surfaces the new version is truly an all surface wheel.
Comparing the two wheels, notice the new smaller hub for less weight and a reduced chance of pinching the rim. A pair of these wheels reduce cart weight by about 2 lb.
The new wheels are polyurethane rather than PVC. As such they are more rugged and their shape is more stable. Thankfully they lack those fake traction bar treads for a smoother pull with less rolling resistance. Note the rolling surface is a little flatter for an easier haul on soft sand.
Load capacity is up to 88 lb. per wheel. I'm not recommending the following procedure, but the local dealer's demo boat was loaded with concrete here for a combined weight of 190 lb sitting on the wheels shown here. This was rolled this over the wood hurdles to see if the wheels would pinch the rims. Not even close.
Down at the lake, the wheels carried the boat over all surfaces available. Here's some examples. The only thing we don't have is the really soft sand, but that shouldn't be any problem for these flotation tires.
These wheels are very easy to pull. They just seem to float over everything I could find. The factory supplies these at 2.5 psi and I didn't change the pressure at all. Max is 4 psi and it would probably be a good idea to have a low pressure gauge available for proper airing.
The new wheels are directly interchangeable on current Trax frames. Like the old wheels, these snap on and twist off for fast and easy disassembly. The only disadvantage for some is that these wheels will not quite fit in the 8" hatches for stowing.
Hobie's new wheels significantly improve the ride, pull and durability of the Trax cart and will make a great upgrade to the old style!
