Manic Mechanic sprocket adapter

Creative Engineering is not a giant machine shop with many employees....it might well be in a year...this is a one man opperation..with his wife also running machinery...I have been to his shop..I have been in the same trade in the samestate for 35 years..I am also waiting for parts...the stuff you get from Jim will be the best parts on whatever bike you are building...having his parts built at any other machine shop will cost you 4 times what he charges now...fast ..you may have to wait.. take a break...you will be happy
 
turtle tedd said:
Creative Engineering is not a giant machine shop with many employees....it might well be in a year...this is a one man opperation..with his wife also running machinery...I have been to his shop..I have been in the same trade in the samestate for 35 years..I am also waiting for parts...the stuff you get from Jim will be the best parts on whatever bike you are building...having his parts built at any other machine shop will cost you 4 times what he charges now...fast ..you may have to wait.. take a break...you will be happy
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Thank You T-Tedd

I advise anyone to find a machine shop and ask them how much and how long, I think they would be shocked.
 
You canceled my order? That doesn't really improve my experience.

I thought I had an idea how long it would take to fabricate these parts. There's guy near me that runs a machine shop out of his garage. He does lots of stuff for my motorcycle and it's usually done in a week and he has a lot of other work as well. So I assumed that it would be done in a week or so and shipped in 2 weeks like web site says.

I was upset by a combination of things. My order taking longer than I had expected and being told that you didn't know whether my order would be shipped this week or not.

My intention was not to publicly bash you Jim. I admit that it was to vent my frustration and I admit that writing "pretty crappy if you ask me" was rude. I apologize for that.
 
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rfriesen said:
You canceled my order? That doesn't really improve my experience.

I thought I had an idea how long it would take to fabricate these parts. There's guy near me that runs a machine shop out of his garage. He does lots of stuff for my motorcycle and it's usually done in a week and he has a lot of other work as well. So I assumed that it would be done in a week or so and shipped in 2 weeks like web site says.

I was upset by a combination of things. My order taking longer than I had expected and being told that you didn't know whether my order would be shipped this week or not.

My intention was not to publicly bash you Jim. I admit that it was to vent my frustration and I admit that writing "pretty crappy if you ask me" was rude. I apologize for that.
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Apology accepted:

You may not have realized it; but Karen asked for your name twice before you hung-up...she can not give the status of an order without a name. She got flustered and said I don't know.

If you would like to keep your order, I will cancel the refund.

Jim
 
Hand to god, I did not hear Karen ask for my name. I apologize to Karen as well then.
I suppose we both thought we were being treated rudely.

I would like to keep my order Jim. I appreciate that. In fact I had planned on placing another order for an additional sprocket adapter. I just have yet to receive the bike and measure the hub.
 
Jim I`m Proud Of You. I Understand Your Frustration At Times. You Are Doing All You Can. We Are So Fortunate To Have You Making The Great Parts At Unmatchable Prices. So Many Empty Business Buildings In These Tuff Times. Happy To See You Two Fellows Working It Out. This Happens Mostly With Newer Members, That Don`t Know The Whole Story. From One Happy Customer. Ron .cvlt1
 
I called and spoke with Jim this morning and he explained some of the difficulties with ordering metal and other constraints that are placed on him which are not under his control. I now have a better understanding of the process.

Jim sounds like a good and respectable guy and we had a nice talk. We had a misunderstanding and, as you can see from earlier posts, he just wasn't going to take any crap from me. I respect that even though it pissed me off at the moment.

Thanks Jim and Karen.
 
I just love happy endings. Makes me think of 'Little House on the Prairie'
"Good night, John Boy" Oh, wait...that was another show.
Tom
 
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2 Door, Lol.. John Boy From Walton Mountain Must Have Been Visiting Little Joe From Ponderosa!! Joe Later Moved To The Praire. Ron .cvlt1 PS , SEE YOU EDITED IT. HA HA
 
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Jims sprocket adapter is the single best improvement made to the motorized bike kits! Even if it took two months it would be worth not destroying one wheel per month. I could only imagine how many parts he has to manufacture monthly..........I cant say I could put up with the demand he has on him. Keep up the good work Jim!

.sno.
 
I plan on ordering one for my winter tear down and re-build so as long as it doesn't take longer then 5 months to get I really don't care. :D
 
Buddy said:
That's what I've been using. I keep getting a different reading every time though. It doesn't help that the battery is about dead I think and the display is dim and flashing constantly. They aren't mine, mine aren't accurate enough.
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Replace the battery. Practice taking readings on something more accessible and that you know is a uniform thickness. The caliper has to be perpendicular to the surface you are measuring and the amount of force you use to close the jaw has to be about the same for each reading to get repeatability from one reading to the next. Use the flat part of the measuring jaw, not the part of the jaw near the end that has been sharpened to a knife-like edge (it's too easy to tilt the caliper from perpendicular and get a different reading). Keep the flat part of the jaws tight against the surface of the hub.

Assuming the electronic caliper is working (it likely is), and you have a cylindrical hub, take 10 readings in different places, add them, then divide by 10 to get an average. Each of the 10 readings shouldn't vary by more than a few 0.001's if the hub is cylindrical, you are consistent in how you take the readings and are doing it right.

It's likely that the hub adapter will be machined slightly larger than the dimension you provide. Maybe by 0.01" or so. Consequently, it may not matter much if your readings are off by +/-0.005". Ask the manufacturer about the allowable tolerance.

I should tell you that I've never measured a hub, but I've measured lots of other things. Good luck.
 
Earthman,

Excellent description!

I actually machine the sprocket adapters to fit slightly on the tight side of nominal. This ensures a thou or two tight clamp to the hub. It isn't necessary, it's just part of the design intent.

There is nothing consistent, (form one hub to the next), to postively register the sprocket other than the sprocket mounting bolts. The 3/8-16 button head bolts typically measure .370". I use a letter "V" drill, (.377"), to drill the holes in the sprocket. Once the three bolts are installed, the run-out is .005" or less.

Jim
 
Local bike shops are usualy helpfull. It can be a bit trickey measuring the hub when its laced with spokes. Jim has been grat to work with to, He's making me an adapter for a 3" wide tire right now.
 
Sprocket and adapter was in the mail box today! It took just over a month total from order date (I have no problem with that at all BTW) If you order one, I'm sure there are times they get done quicker, depends on the current order volume I'm sure. I ordered mid Summer, I imagine that would be a busy time for MM. It fit like it was made for the hub! (oh yea, it was) Top quality work, zero eliptical runout, slight...very slight wobble. All my noises and vibrations went away. I am using a KMC chain (415HD) which I highly recommend anyone get before your MM adapter arrives. For that matter, get a better chain even if you don't get the MM adapter. Unless your going to do a shift kit, the MM adapter is a "must have" item.

As for ratio, I ordered a 40 tooth. I was using the stock 44t and wanted to lower my cruise RPM a tad. I usually ride at about 25mph and the 40 tooth on a mtn bike 26" wheel is about perfect IMO. Feels about the same at startup and low speed when idling and pedaling. I gained about 3 or 4 MPH at full throttle. On my short test ride I went 32 MPH and that is truely about as fast as I would ever want to go on a mountain bike. Others will argue that but to each his own.
 
Gassit,

Thank you for the review! And thank you for being so patient!

Be sure to use a cheater bar of some sort, (A small pipe, the box end of a wrench...something), on the allen wrench that is used to tighten the 3 sprocket mounting bolts...get them tight! The threads will not strip. You don't have to twist the allen :D, but the sprocket mounting bolts should be tight.

I've had a few customers tighten those bolts lightly...if they aren't tight they will back out.

I've installed many of these here at the shop and have never had a problem, but I do have a small diameter piece of thick wall aluminum tubing that I use as an extension, or cheater bar. I've never used locktite on any of the builds I've done here, but it couldn't hurt.

Again...thank you for the review.

Jim



On a side note:

Justin at Pirate cycles, (Sponsor on the left), has a nice inventory of our Shimano CB-110/CB110E sprocket adapters, with 40T sprockets, available for immediate shipment...The hub measurement is 1.524-1.528. If you need this size adapter, please order from Justin...It will help out the Manic Mechanic shop if you guys buy from my vendors.

Jim
 
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Could you please post something here when you send the next batch of adapters?

I need to do some work on the bike before the adapter comes.
 
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