Drive Roller: Noob Help

physic.dude

physic.dude

New Member
I just finished my motorized bike (electric) recently, and the drive roller I used was a polyurethane skateboard wheel with the steel nut epoxied in with 2 part epoxy, the nut came with the motor (reversed threads).

Anyway the bike worked outstanding (20.2 mph tops). But sadly the epoxy started to give away and the wheel was barely hanging on.

So, I am just asking if someone can direct me to a site with well made (cheap) drive rollers, preferably metal with deep grooves so it won’t slip in wet conditions.

Here are the specks of my motor axel,
Total shaft length - 1" (back 1/2" circular, and front 1/2" reversed threaded w/ flat side)
Shaft diameter- 1/4"
Skateboard wheel diameter - 2 1/8"

***I cannot go any larger or smaller with the roller diameter… the motor is not adjustable.***(presure of the roller on the tire is just perfect)

Thanks
 

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The roller is going to slip when it is wet unless it is made of something like sandpaper with a lot of down pressure and it will eat your tire. Second thing get a smooth tread tire and it will work better.
Elmo
 
Well I guess a polyurethane wheel will work best then.

Does anyone know of a place online where I can get one on the cheap?
(2 1/8")
 
My first MB was friction and I built several DIY and I can tell you what Elmo says is true. Also note that plastic and wood rollers do not last at all if you plan on putting thousands of miles on like I did. Also note that JB weld and epoxy do not work for mechanical assemblies like we deal with here.

The best roller is made from a 2" piece of 1 1/4" OD iron pipe with wood cylinder wedged inside. $2 a foot and lasts for years.
 
I wouldn’t ride this bike for that many miles, a polyurethane wheel is fine.
Does any one know where I can get one?
 
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Go to your local hardware store and look at their caster wheels and truck wheels. These are not for a truck they are small diameter heavy duty wheels to put on something heavy so you can roll it around. They should have something close to the diameter you want. Also there is a thread one here that said there is more than one kind of skateboard and some of them are good for friction drives.
Elmo
 
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Update:

I was trying to make another roller by melting the steel nut to the skateboard wheel... didn’t work too well. Something happened when I was trying to get the nut off the motor and the threads on the motor are totally mangled. So now my only options are to epoxy a roller to the motor permanently, or try to find a purpose built roller that has little set screws in it that clamp down on the axel,
look at attached picture, (this one is 1.5")
 

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