BMP Front Friction Drive - Rocky Mountain RM7

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lowracer

New Member
Oct 17, 2008
1,319
2
0
Charleston, SC
I altered my MB once again. This time I switched from front drive V-Belt to front drive BMP Kit friction drive. The kit came in 2 days via USPS Priority & was super well packed. This kit is very heavy duty & built beefier than I expected. I installed it in a few hours although I did quite a bit of custom work with hardware to allow the front suspension to operate. This change moves the engine lower but further to the side. So far so good. We'll see how tire wear is affected by friction drive after I get to put some miles on it. Originally my plan was to install my 1.5" v-belt pulley onto the 1/2" drive shaft of the BMP kit (the pulley fits perfectly) but since it came with drive rollers & I've always wanted to try out friction drive....here it is. After a few test drives using the larger of the 2 rollers in the kit (1.25") it topped out at 31.5 mph. I bought the unpainted kit for $99 + $12 shipping & sprayed it with Rustoleum clear coat for that 'Stainless Steel' look.
10/07/2010 - I just finished changing the layout of where the engine mounts to the steel channel of the BMP kit. By reversing the mount, & drilling a few more holes, I was able to bring the engine much further back & closer to the forks & axis of the axle for much improved handling.
I am putting some miles on the BMP kit & am very impressed with the quality & performance of this type of drive system for bicycles.
-Lowracer-
 

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rohmell

Active Member
Jun 2, 2010
1,531
6
38
New York
Very nice job on the install.
I also have a BMP kit, and it works great, only I wish a bigger roller was available, like a 1.5".
Maybe I will take the roller down to some machine shops and get some quotes on having a 1.5' roller made.
Hey, why don't you put another BMP kit on the rear, then you will have 'all wheel drive' !
 

lowracer

New Member
Oct 17, 2008
1,319
2
0
Charleston, SC
rohmell,
Thanks.
I too was hoping for a 1.5" option but to get a 1.5" roller, you need to go to Urethane or Rubber @ McMaster Carr McMaster-CarrI actually just switched back to v-belt drive which works out better for me. I get more top speed out of the Vbelt system & no accelerated tire wear. I topped out at ~33 mph using the Robin EH035 w/ friction drive 1.25" drive roller. I top out at ~37 mph using the VBelt drive & dont have a monthly tire expense. -Alex-