I'd look at some unusual places for wheels. Go karts often have aluminum wheels, for example. BMI Karts and Parts looks like it might have the wheel for less than fifty dollars. Some equipment like log splitters, wood chippers can have the appropriate size hub. You're looking especially for equipment that has wheels but doesn't travel at highway speeds.
With the go kart wheels, it would be relatively simple to fabricate the hub, as it doesn't have to be quite perfect on roundness (it doesn't spin that fast). However, at $175 for a rim and tire from Florida Sailcraft, I'm not sure the money savings is going to be better than the cost savings of fabricating something taking X number of hours and which won't be as good, unless you have some serious tools.
By the way, I lost one of my bearings from my Cat-Trax. I wish I'd know about Florida Sailcraft. At $38 for a set (more than I needed), it might have been a better investment than the ten dollars I spent on the part, and the several hours it took me to find it.
Jim Clark-Dawe
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