friction drive versus chain drive
- Thread starter Alanj
- Start date
The only down side to a friction drive is that you'll go through tires quicker. It probably won't be very quick but I have the impression that's not what you're going for. Good Luck!
Motorized Bicycles Detail Page
the guy says 30mph with a 1 1/8 inch roller.
that is the speed limit in ontario canada for motorized bikes.
if i get 24mph i will be happy.
the guy says 30mph with a 1 1/8 inch roller.
that is the speed limit in ontario canada for motorized bikes.
if i get 24mph i will be happy.
Having built a few friction bikes I agree. Wind can be a big problem too. I'm talking about "wind" on the internet.
Maybe should be called "fiction bikes" instead of friction.i got her assembled last night
got up to 26.25 mph on the gps mounted on bike. ended up tooling around town and put on 29 miles in a few hours first night... looks like 236 mpg so far.
it says it will get up to 27% more power after 4 tanks of gas.
I am 210 pounds.
I am happy crusing at 22 mph. for now that seems to be the sweet spot for the motor.
got up to 26.25 mph on the gps mounted on bike. ended up tooling around town and put on 29 miles in a few hours first night... looks like 236 mpg so far.
it says it will get up to 27% more power after 4 tanks of gas.
I am 210 pounds.
I am happy crusing at 22 mph. for now that seems to be the sweet spot for the motor.
That was exactly my situation with the weed wacker engines. Same everything right down to my fat but. I got about 20-22 mph level both directions via GPS. My first ever was a 43cc (Dimension Edge). Significantly faster but really crummy rack mount which is what forced me to "roll" my own. Roller pressure is critical.
Biggest drawback to friction is when it rain they are dead in the water. Literally. Unless you use a rough roller in which case you go through tires like Kleenex.
Biggest advantage is the bike has zero resistance once you lift the roller. Also, with fewer parts, they are much simpler to build and more reliable.
The difference is not huge but as far as efficiency:
Excellent=gear
Good=toothed belt
Fair=chain
Poor=friction
I ran a Bike Bug friction drive for a few hundred miles with no noticeable wear on the tire...it was a rubber roller.
My first MB (Dimension Edge) came with wooden rollers. About 30-40 miles before they turn into "hour glass". I got polycarbonate ones next which were good for 100-150 miles.
Then I started building my own weedwacker based bikes. Rubber stoppers back-to-back proved better than wood but not as good as polycarbonate. Ultimately short lengths of 1 1/8* iron pipe were the solution. The most I ever got on a friction bike was 7k and the iron roller, while showing signs of wear, still functioned perfectly.
Experiments with "textured' rollers were only slightly better in the rain but wore out tires so quickly I never tried again.
The HT chain drive proved to be the ultimate solution but I do miss the simplicty and easy pedalling of friction.
Then I started building my own weedwacker based bikes. Rubber stoppers back-to-back proved better than wood but not as good as polycarbonate. Ultimately short lengths of 1 1/8* iron pipe were the solution. The most I ever got on a friction bike was 7k and the iron roller, while showing signs of wear, still functioned perfectly.
Experiments with "textured' rollers were only slightly better in the rain but wore out tires so quickly I never tried again.
The HT chain drive proved to be the ultimate solution but I do miss the simplicty and easy pedalling of friction.
To each their own. My travels led me in the opposite direction, from the China girl engine kits which I'll never own again to the more reliable Japanese engines. I've had chain and gearbox, belt and friction drives and now only own friction drives in a couple of configurations for lightweight and reliability and simplicity. I have no issues at all with tire wear if they are set up properly.
im using both at the same time, mounting the chain to a roller, because attaching a spindle to the engine im using is very problematic, but legally i can only use friction drive
I got the Stanton kit for my Trailmate Desoto, and it works fine. The only thing is that it puts a little too much weight behind the rear wheels, and if you carry a lot of groceries in the basket the front wheel can lift off the ground until you get on the trike. Other than that it works great, and pulls the hills well. I plan to put a triple tree chopper fork with disk brake on the trike next spring.
