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While doing a bit of research about a mine track related question, I noticed that part 24869 "Wheel Roller Coaster" is meant to be used only with part 26021 to form a form a specific assembly:

Roller coaster car assembly

I personally don't like the aesthetics of the car base, so I'm wondering about how to use the wheels without the car base. The axle has the same dimensions of a bar, so it can be used with clip plates or minifig hands:

Attaching wheels to clips

...but that will obviously have a lot of friction.

What building techniques and parts can be used to attach the roller coaster wheels (or, for that matter, any other bar part) to other parts with low enough friction?

I'm looking for techniques for play (i.e. the vehicle should move along tracks and hold together when shaken), not for display (which can be achieved by high-friction clips).

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  • Without the rollercoaster parts to check, I reckon some of the smaller wheel assemblies might be compatible, but not the one I was thinking of as the bar has smaller sections where itc lips in
    – Chris H
    Sep 17, 2021 at 13:01
  • @Chris that part clips onto the narrower parts of the wheel piece, not the middle, where it is the usual bar diameter.
    – zovits
    Sep 18, 2021 at 7:22
  • @zovits, exactly. That's why I said not that one. I still think there's another but couldn't find anything
    – Chris H
    Sep 18, 2021 at 9:17
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    @ChrisH Right, sorry, I misread your comment and made the same point as you did.
    – zovits
    Sep 18, 2021 at 10:05

3 Answers 3

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Just like the other answer by @matthew jensen, I do not have the roller coaster wheels in my possession, so my answer is entirely based on what seems to work in Stud.io.

It looks like you can construct a basic wheelholder using part 3176 - Plate 2x3 with Hole. Here is how I would do this:

enter image description here

I am using 2 small 1x2 - 1x2 inverted brackets and a 2x3 plate in the above.

Here is how you would use the same (replacing the 2x3 plate with a 3x3 plate) to create a small minecart that (hopefully) rolls along the track. If a 5 stud wheelbase is too long to make it through LEGO rollercoaster track curves, you can shorten the build by 1 or 2 studs.

enter image description here

enter image description here

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    I've checked this assembly in LDCad. Roller coaster wheels indeed fit into the space. Based on the results I can see in LDCad small pins protruding from each side may be a little too short and barely have any plastic to hold on to plates. I'm not even sure if wheels would stay in place in case of a tiny bump or misalignment. However, it feels like this could work if which ever assembly will be put on top of these wheels will be static.
    – Alex
    Sep 18, 2021 at 6:40
  • I've been fiddling a bit with LeoCAD about using other pieces for this technique. It seems that the outer rim of the wheel has the right dimensions to accept a round 1x1 brick (on either end), so trying to use any piece to fit tighter might actually provide a solid connection (instead of allowing the wheel to spin).
    – IvanSanchez
    Sep 18, 2021 at 10:24
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Disclaimer: I don't have the roller coaster wheels or body, and have not tried this.

The Skateboard with mag wheels comes to mind, as an example of a bar connection with little friction.
enter image description here

If I remember correctly, the wheel bars are of normal diameter (regular clips have normal friction), so it is the board clips which are slightly larger than a regular clip.

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  • This is a good approach, but not without drawbacks. The rollercoaster wheels might slide sideways and hit the sides of the top part of the skateboard. It also forces a fixed axle distance that might cause trouble with narrow curves.
    – IvanSanchez
    Sep 17, 2021 at 4:41
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The diameter of a bar (i.e. the axle) is the same as the distance between two studs. This can be leveraged in a variety of ways using hollow studs and bars.

This uses upside-down 85861 1x1 round plates and short bar parts (48729):

LeoCAD diagram LeoCAD diagram

The hollow studs can be moved up and down in order to adjust the friction.

Same technique, using 3959 Minifig Utensil, Torch and 11203 2x2 inverted tile:

LeoCAD diagram LeoCAD diagram

The friction on the axle will depend on how deep the torch is pushed into the inverted tile.

A few 2555 1x1 tile with clip and an upside-down 4238 trunk lid (from the silver mine set), and we've got ourselves a minecart:

LeoCAD diagram

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