Hello All!
- Thread starter Hella Doodle
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I ended up swapping out my carb with another and it works great. Kinda cheating, I know. I noticed the gasket on the exhaust was blown and replaced it with a Mac and cheese cardboard box cutout. And idea how long that’ll last me? Have 4 days before a new one arrives in the mail.
Hey all! I recently had my spokes blow and rim bend on my back tire. My tire size is 40-622, 700x38C. My tire got pretty scratched up as well. Can anyone recommend a stronger rim for me to replace my broken one with? Or if anyone knows what type of rim material I should be looking for? My tire is an (18) fixie and I would rather get a new rim with the cog already installed and matching to save me trouble. Any help would be much appreciated. Happy New Years!
Look into outfitting your new wheel with a hub adapter & sprocket...the rag joint is a poor choice for attaching a drive sprocket and often bends the spokes, though the rag joint may not have been the cause of your wheel failure, it's quite likely to.
The problem with a changeover to the hub adapter is that they require a hub that isn't contoured, the cruiser style bike style (coaster hub) with 1.5" hub diameter most common but 1.25" and 1.75" are available. 36 spoke wheels are also required...26" diameter is the most common in use.
Aluminum or steel wheels with stainless spokes both work fine. If you want to stay on the same diameter wheels the rag joint may be your only option. I hope this isn't the case however.
Rick C.
The problem with a changeover to the hub adapter is that they require a hub that isn't contoured, the cruiser style bike style (coaster hub) with 1.5" hub diameter most common but 1.25" and 1.75" are available. 36 spoke wheels are also required...26" diameter is the most common in use.
Aluminum or steel wheels with stainless spokes both work fine. If you want to stay on the same diameter wheels the rag joint may be your only option. I hope this isn't the case however.
Rick C.
When I installed my 36 tooth sprocket onto my wheel I attached it to the fixed part of my fixie wheel so it didn’t touch my spikes at all. Is this frowned upon? I did this because I do not have the tools to remove the sprocket that was fixed onto the wheel. I just pulled a 27.5x1.75 tire out of my garage and it fits just fine. I’m not particularly concerned about keeping the same size wheel now that I look at it. I know this might sound outlandish but for now would it work if I installed two rag joints onto both sides of this other wheel and extended my bicycle chain to fit the now much larger cog wheel? This is the opposite of what you’re recommending I understand, but I need to wait a week or two before I can finance a new wheel. Would this be a surefire way to ruin my other tire?
H.D. rag joints work ok when installed correctly & driven with care while powered by stock kit motors. They are just far from ideal.I don't see any advantage to using two rag joints however. I'm having a bit of difficulty understanding what you did on the first wheel and what you are proposing to do on the second. You won't destroy a tire but you might damage the wheel & spokes. Posting photos helps us help you better. Show damaged wheel and new wheel on the bike and we can go from there.
Rick C.
Rick C.
The first and second picture shows how I would have attached the rag joint to the fixie cog. It was very sturdy and did not touch the spokes at all. After purchasing the bike I noticed that the stock tire had a max weight of 170lb. I myself am about 170lb. When the rim’s spokes broke the rim itself became bent. This caused the tire to rub on the frame of the bike, damaging it. The third picture shows how I am proposing to temporarily use the two rag joints for both the motor as well as the bicycle’s pedal drive. (Temporarily until I can afford a way to do it correctly.) Would having a rag joint on both sides of the bicycle tire be a surefire way to damage the rim? Or would it likely be fine assuming I took her slow?
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I don’t have a smaller sprocket. Or at least I don’t know how to install one. I’m using a front tire. I don’t see why it wouldn’t pedal? The biggest complication I can already foresee is that my feet would likely always be moving.
H.D. Greg is giving good advice. Even if your skinny pedal chain would fit the big sprocket you would need to push start, spin start or bump start the motor 'cause you won't like trying to pedal start this setup. In the meantime I'd advise saving up for a decent set up and reading lots of how to do this and YouTube videos. Guessing how & experimenting will end up costing you a lot of $$ and much frustration I'm afraid.
Bad idea even going slow I'm afraid H.D.
We want our members to enjoy the hobby and breaking stuff isn't fun or cheap. Best luck with your build!
Rick C.
Bad idea even going slow I'm afraid H.D.
We want our members to enjoy the hobby and breaking stuff isn't fun or cheap. Best luck with your build!
Rick C.
Hi all. I purchased a rear hub sprocket adapter. The sprocket fits perfectly onto my tire’s hub. Unfortunately my coaster brake is in the way. It seems like it has red loctite and I’m having trouble removing the coaster arm. I need to be able to remove it so that a I can bend it to make room for the new sprocket. Does anyone have any advice? Is red loctite common for coaster brakes? I know heating it is supposed to help melt it off but I’d rather keep a torch off of my new tire.
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Two things:
1) Coaster brakes and rag joints are a bad idea on motorbikes, period. They work, but the speeds you'll be going, you will boil or burn the grease inside your hub, and that will greatly increase the wear rate of the hub wall. In addition, the power you're puttin into that wheel via the rag joint is what caused your first failure by pulling on the hub unevenly. Does your bike have V-type or side pull brake bosses? A side pull will usually mount where you would place a fender mount, while V-type or cantilever require dedicated bosses on the seat stays. If you can, I highly recommend switching to one of those brake types on both wheels. You will have more brake power, and it is less work replacing a worn rim than a hub.
However, if you are determined to use the coaster, just very carefully use your torch to slowly heat up the threadlock, applying torsion in the process. You want that heat to transfer through the axle nut as evenly as possible so you don't warp or otherwise compromise anything. Once the brake arm is removed, clamp it in a bench vice between two pieces of HARDWOOD. This is to ensure that the arm doesn't move while you bend it. When you do bend it, do so slowly, and carefully. If your grip slips, you will go stumbling backwards into anything behind you. Don't need to be a genie to know how that could end.
2) If you need a wheel that won't fail you as quickly, and is the right size, I can build one and mail it to you. Just pay for the parts and shipping. You do need to be careful with freshly built wheels however, because they settle as you ride them. Have that wheel checked twice weekly by a bike shop for the first three weeks of use.
Yes, red loctite often requires the use of a heat source to break the bond between the threads. It is recommended to use a heat gun rather than a torch because the gun will provide even heating, and the temperature of the heated item is more easily controlled. It's unfortunate that you got one with red though. Blue is the most commonly used threadlock compound for bicycles. This should go without saying, but do NOT grab hold of the brake arm while using any kind of open flame to heat the area. Grab hold of the opposite end of the axle instead, with a vice grip and threaded vice blocks.
Guys, if I'm missin anything, please let me know.
Thanks for the quick replies. I just finished going through tightening and aligning everything on the new bike. I have a spare brake I’ll throw onto my bike (Cheapo Huffy Cranbrook). The brake will fit fine on the front assuming I either cut or remove the front fender. I was planning on having a single (front) lever brake to do most of my stopping with. This clear the bike of a cord and help keep with the cleaner look that I am aiming for. I’m going to run to the hardware store momentarily to see if I can get shorter spacers than what came with my adapter set. It seems that a spacer or washers equal to half the length as the kit’s included spacer should allow me to mount it the sprocket without needing to remove the coaster brake. The only thing I’ll need to make sure is that the chain can clear the tire. I’m assuming it will but won’t know until the engine kit comes. If a short washer works that’ll be an easy fix and I’ll be able to leave the coaster alone, right?