Puch Moped Rear Hub

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atombikes

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Feb 14, 2010
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I picked up this 17" Puch moped wheel with the intent of using the hub/drum brake for my build. It has a 44t ring on the engine side, and a French made (Sachs?) freewheel on the bicycle side. I believe it is from a late 70's vintage moped. Good points- this wheel uses .105 (#12) spokes, so the holes in the flange should be a perfect match for the spokes in the BikeWorldUSA Heavy Duty rear wheel that I have. So hopefully I will not have to buy new spokes. Also, this hub already has the drum brake built in, with plenty of spares to be had. Final good point, I won't have to deal with a rag joint or hub adapter since this hub already has gearing on both sides.

Now the not so good- this hub is WIDE. I anticipate I will have to spread (cold-set) the rear dropouts around .75" on both sides.

Anyone have any experience using these moped hubs and can give me advice? Like maybe remove some shims and make the whole assy narrower?

For reference, I got this for $42 shipped on ebay.

 
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culvercityclassic

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Sep 27, 2009
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Ge that hub is wide, I used one and built a frame around it. Member Headtrama has one on his four stroke schwinn, pm him and see how he did it. I am sure he can help
 
professor

professor

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there is nothing in the hub you can remove to make it narrower. But you don't need to. Use a sissors car jack to spread out the rear frame, then carefully bend the tabs in and parallel to the axle bolt faces. You might need to tweak it one way or the other. No problem.

I used the whole Puch rear wheel (front too) on my bike #2.
Love the brakes, love the ride- origonal 1977 wheels and tires - strong stuff.
 
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atombikes

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Feb 14, 2010
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Northern VA
professor said:
there is nothing in the hub you can remove to make it narrower. But you don't need to. Use a sissors car jack to spread out the rear frame, then carefully bend the tabs in and parallel to the axle bolt faces. You might need to tweak it one way or the other. No problem.

I used the whole Puch rear wheel (front too) on my bike #2.
Love the brakes, love the ride- origonal 1977 wheels and tires - strong stuff.
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professor-
Yes, I was thinking of spreading the rear stays just as you mention. I assumed there was nothing that could be done to make the whole thing narrower, but figured I would ask. Gotta tear this wheel apart now to clean the hub assy.

Got any pics you can share of your bike with moped wheels?
 
professor

professor

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Yeah, I think the pics are in here somewhere. Kind of a weird looking thing- long (full suspension > very comfy ride). But I don't know how to post them here.
I just searched and my post on the bike is called- HF 212 powered Huffy puch.
 
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bairdco

bairdco

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Aug 18, 2009
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i have a similar hub, and had to stretch the rear end out, but i used a long 2x4 instead of a jack. i posted how to do it a long time ago but can't find it with my phone.

i also welded custom dropouts in since the axle is 3/8.
 
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atombikes

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Feb 14, 2010
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Northern VA
bairdco said:
i have a similar hub, and had to stretch the rear end out, but i used a long 2x4 instead of a jack. i posted how to do it a long time ago but can't find it with my phone.

i also welded custom dropouts in since the axle is 3/8.
Click to expand...
I'll look for the posting you referenced above. Are you running the moped wheels complete like professor, or did you build the hubs into a larger diameter rim?

As for the dropouts, I'm using a Dyno frame and I think there's enough meat on the rear drops that I can just shave some off the top edge of the dropout slots to allow the rear axle to slide in all the way. Or should I remove material off both top and bottom edges? Not the greatest pic of the rear drops:

 
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bairdco

bairdco

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Aug 18, 2009
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i'm running 16" moped wheels with pirelli ML65 tires on my race bike. the wheels are equivalent to 20" bicycle wheels, and the tires make them about 22".

search "death trap take 2"

i'd grind down whichever side has the most meat on it. looks like the top on your dropouts. just make sure you do it evenly.
 
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atombikes

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Feb 14, 2010
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Baird,
Thanks, found your thread. Pic of Death Trap Take 2 below for others.
In your original Death Trap thread, someone was asking about larger moped wheels, and someone said that there was a moped that used 22" wheels. Was there ever closure or consensus on whether that was fact, and are they rare as hens teeth? Seems like a 21-22" wheel would be right around the right size for a 26 bicycle frame.

 
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atombikes

New Member
Feb 14, 2010
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Northern VA
1937elgin said:
my bike with puch hubs small modifications
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I just realized that the bike in the background in your pic is one that I saved to my harddrive as inspiration for my build. Please provide more info/pics on that bike please. What type of tank did you use for the black bike?

This is very much what I have in mind for my build, except I am using a Harbor Freight 79cc engine.

 
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1937elgin

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Feb 15, 2011
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grand rapids mi
bike is a firmstrong chief tank chaparral mini bike 1954schwinn springer. 1959 step down rims with puch hubs za50 puch 2 speed motor 12 volt lighting 55all day long
 
moonerdizzle

moonerdizzle

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Jun 28, 2009
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i was always told by old school bmxers that when you grind open a drop out, in my case it was to fit a 14mm axle in a 3/8s slot, you always grind the bottom of the drop out, that way the wheel will still sit flat and even if you make a mistake
 
moonerdizzle

moonerdizzle

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bairdco said:
that doesn't make sense. if you grind the top and leave the bottom alone, the bottom will still be straight so the axle would sit flat, right?

i used a portable band saw and just chopped out a straight line.
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the weight of a person pulls the axle to the top of the dropout. if you grind the bottom it will only by true when the bike is up side down
 
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