Bending axles? possible $3 fix

My current mb project is the cylinder forward 212cc preddy(build can be seen in the DIY forum).

One of the challenges I'm facing is bending rear axles on a multispeed freewheel hub, even chromoly axles. Sure, I could buy a different hub, but this is a tight budget build. I could also raid the local bike shops, but I'd probably wouldn't find much that would fit into my budget. (aka, no free-bee's) And so, I set out to find a way to beef up that stock hub.

What I found was the hub's weak point is that its design leaves a good portion of unsupported axle on the freewheel side, which is prone for bending axles, and is where I'm bending axles. I've also discovered that the freewheel that take the fr-1 type tool are roughly 7/8 id while that 9mm axle is roughly 3/8 od.

So I spent less than $3 on a 7/8od 3/8id bearing and installed it. Build w/pics will be on their way shortly.

ok, so here's what we have to work with





the bearing



A chromoly axle I bent previously but straightened(didn't want to use a perfectly good one is this didn't work)



after removing the previous axle, the freewheel side bearing and bearing cone where left in to measure the distance between the cone and the end of the freewheel. This measurement will be used to determine the amount of spacing required between the cone and the new bearing

I found a nut and washer that would give me a good amount of spacing, bearing will be about 1/32 proud. nut was put up against the cone to serve as the cone's lock nut and the washer was put on after




Bearings were re-greased and everything assembled. Another nut was put on the freewheel side to hold the new bearing in and to clearance between the freewheel and the frame




I've ridden the bike several times now with a bunch of stand-still to full throttle starts. I haven't taken the axle back out to check for sure, but it looks like it's still straight. I hope this can help someone else with axle bending issues.