trolleys with exchangeable wheels [closed]

Question

Hello dear travel community! I guess this is a common question around here, as I am almost certain traveling experts are generally looking specifically for what I am seeking after.

Both my parter's and my own trolley / handbaggage / carry-on luggage broke down due to wheel failure. I perused the internet search for this, but came up almost empty. I am looking for a piece of luggage with exchangeable wheels. Specifically, any kind of wheels that can be bought anywhere in the world at the next semi-specialized shop selling some standard kind of wheels, let's say "wheels that would normally be found on inline skates".

Use case: I buy a carry-on luggage, guarantee expires, I go about my business, travelling some places, after 5 years, one of the wheels brakes in some way, I contact the company about replacing the wheels, company says

Unfortunately, we have to inform you that the desired spare parts are no longer available. As we would like to count you among our loyal customers, we will give you a discount voucher of 15% on your next purchase!

Frustration sets in!

Alternative outcome: company says

Hey look, we just use inline skate wheels on our products. Your guarantee has expired, so we won't provide free new wheels, but you can buy them pretty much anywhere and fit 'em on yourself easily. Have a nice day!

I am looking for the alternative outcome. Does anyone know how to get to it?

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Apparently the "Osprey Sojourn" features exchangeable wheels, but I didn't find the information whether the wheels can be exchanged by some standard wheels or if they would require me to buy the replacement wheels from Osprey. Here's a link to what they look like:

https://www.hecktictravels.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/osprey-wheels.jpg

The bag is pretty elaborate and wheighs 4 kg (which seems to be a normal weight for carry-ons), but i guess lighter should be possible without losing too much product-/manufacturing quality. I am looking for a piece of luggage that could be used for many years (if that wasn't clear, yet).

Answer 1

A good luggage repair shop can often work magic, including replacement wheels that may not be original, but will fit. Sometimes people will even replace the wheels with inline skate wheels in advance for more durability. (Note that this doesn't usually work with the "spinner" style bags, which usually have much more fragile wheels.) Before getting a whole new bag, it's worth seeing what a repair shop can do.

If you travel often enough for broken luggage to be a considerable problem, it likely makes sense to invest in high quality luggage with a long warranty. Good luggage manufacturers sell wheel/axle kits (see, for example, parts options for Travelpro), so you might pick some parts up in advance so you're not caught short if they're no longer available in the future. Briggs and Riley bags aren't cheap, but have parts kits for wheels available for a nominal fee in addition to the regular repair options. Red Oxx doesn't make bags with wheels, but has a very strong lifetime warranty.

Choosing a very common model, or even one of the models typically used by flight crew will help ensure the availability of repair options in the future.