Friction Drive In The Rain

u2smile said:

Hi air up your tires, make sure to use a semi smooth tire tread is not a benifit, two check your roller if it is smooth, then replace it or resurface it jb or epoxcy with sand mixture.
I had one of the china girls....never agan. I passed on the FD at first. BUT after 4 years it is great so simple, and cheap, as for the rain use a multi speed bike, and you pedal as normal for a bike ride... but you go 27 mph. Staton makes a good kit although I loath the maker. They have a toothed roller that has held up as the burled ones wore down fast.
Treaded roller smooth tire, good tire psi, easy throttle, aid the engine and thank god when it does break down you can left it up and pedal home..

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got kicked out f/m fl behind a simple request, but the good news a lady was kind enough to go get my tire out the store before I said BUMP FREDDY MYER.bspent 21.50 on a bell roundahout tire. no more tire jump, key got blown out on the flywheel so ill be ordering a longer shaft spacer.

I may be running the round abouts permanently as just got the front and its fast as ****.

What's the longest spacer I can put on.


rules of hybrid cycling tune your bike or end up face palm head first on the ground.

u2, if you try a lifter roller to disperse water before it gets to the drive roller, let us know how well it works. Or doesn't.

I will do that I have been looking at the idea of a U shaped piece that will hang down from the QR of the FD channel attched to the - of the U would be ...? Sponge rubber, brush?
Input Por favor. The QR should hold it in place ,cant have the thing bouncing OR get sucked into the works. I like your roller idea and will look at it.
Also this will be there to remove road dirt as that is what wears down the roller to begin with. Im down here with the sand abrasive stuff..

Back when I was new to motored bikes I rebuilt a couple of old bikebug friction drive engines. Neither had much rubber left on the drive rollers so re-using the aluminum drive roller core I cast my own drive rollers in epoxy. Of course I experienced the same slipping in wet conditions as described in this thread. That led me to experiments in casting drive rollers with very fine sand mixed into the epoxy. I used sand from the nearby lake and filtered it with window screen to get the smallest grit, understanding that a roller with a lot of grit would eat tires quickly. Wet weather conditions required changing the roller, but made wet weather riding an okay proposition.
SB

I don't think you can dry a tire fast enough/completely enough with a secondary roller, brush etc. to eliminate slippage though its a cool thought, it just takes a small bit of moisture. The grit roller like SB made and the one I have with the bonded section of sanding belt will positively drive in wet conditions. Tire wear is not bad in the wet as the water lubes. Its pretty rapid in the dry. I swap the roller as conditions warrant, not running the grit roller as soon as the road dries. Still wonder about the Never Wet. Check out the commercial where the guy sticks his treated shoe in the runny mud and pulls it out clean! Wondering if the centrifugal force of the spinning tire would clear the water. A daydream Im sure.