Just got my 55 180. Working through the getting to know stage. One thing I thought I was happy about was the 185 gear on it. Now that I have it I'm not sure. I still have my wrecked 56 that I may pull the gear off of and sale the 185s but wanted to get some feed back first. This gear feels like I'm riding on solid metal. Granted right now it has 7's for tires but I don't know if I see the need for heavy gear. I think you would rip the gear boxes out of the plane before even the 180 gear would break regardless of circumstances. I like lightweight which is another downside. It also seems to make it more whippy so to speak, on the ground. I am going to be on 29's soon and I'm sure that'll soften it some. Of course I'd love a set of titaniums. Can you still get those?? How much are they now?? Are they that amazing? Was thinking I could sale both sets of mine and get them possibly. What do you guys think? Thanks!!

Of course we all have our opinions...
I have talked with Tailwheel Tom extensively on this, because I want Ti gear. If you do 180 size you can plan on approximately 30 pounds of weight reduction. He still can't currently produce it, but he can help you walk through the paces to to build a set up and install them as an 'owner produced part' it is legal and doable. It will cost about $12K and take you longer than it would have taken him. If you ever get serious about it, contact me and we could probably save a few bucks by going in at the same time.
A 135 operator I know up north has had them on two 185s now. I say two because when the first one got totaled on a sand bar, the Ti gear was one of the few things he salvaged from the plane...
Another little know but cool concept to having gear made for you, is that Cessna specs out a degree 'range' for the rake on the gear. I happen to like the earliest gear because the I like the light tail. It is about 3" back compared to '56 and later gear. Most guys don't like them, because it is a shorter coupled plane that way (read; a touch more squirelly) but by building your own gear, you can choose to go to the farthest fwd limits of the early gear, or the farthest rearward limits of the later gear, to really get the gear where it fits your flying the most. Obviously you'll want to be very familiar with how your current gear acts, and how changing that rake would affect it.

185 gear..... I can't for the life of me wrap my mind around the concept of putting 185 gear on an early 180 But then again, I don't make a habit of flying around at 3000 lbs.... In my way of thinking, suspension is a good thing. As you've already noticed, with stiff enough gear, the only suspension you have left is in the tires.... This is also why (load permitting) I like bigger tires...

Take care, Rob

I'm absolutely interested Rob! If you know how to go about it that would be great! I might have another buddy interested as well if the more the merrier applies. If not, as of right now I'm definitely going back to 180 legs and selling these 185's. thanks for the help and advice!

I've watched my cousin land his 180 on some rough strips before, and the gear hangs on solid. They only flex near the axles at the narrow taper of the legs, and boy do they flex! Taxiing with a load the same is observed. The gear splays out and the tops of the tires nearly point at the wing root. Something always has to give, lest the gearbox call it quits (which happened to the 185 I fly last January, luckily not with me flying it). I saw a 172 TW conversion at Willow this summer with cub-style gear on it (experimental) and thought it was about time someone tried it!