Initially I had one of the original Staton drive rollers with the diamond
checked pattern. this wore fairly quickly to rounded nubs that slipped even
dry. Using a diamond disc in my dremel,(actually the Black & Decker version
which is better & cheaper), I cut grooves criss-crossing in the original checks
an 1/8" deep creating a biting edge the worked like the jaws of a pipe wrench.
This worked well dry but still slipped wet. Frustrated, since the NW clime is
wet much of the year, I built several belt drives & found one that worked, but labor
intensive & needing to be very precise. Finally I came up with an easy, simple
solution.
After cleaning up the grooved roller, I burned some #60 grit emery paper &
panned the the corundum grit from the ashes & mixed it into a paste with J&B
weld which I applied to the roller. This hardened into the grooves leaving a
rough but uniform surface the really grips rubber and so far doesn't wear in
use. If it does, it's a simple matter to clean it & apply more paste. This can
be done without even removing the roller.
The downside is that it will absolutely shred a tire unless you pedal off to
8 or 10 mph before gently opening the throttle. Tire pressure 55/60 pds.,
roller pressed hard into tire. Finished roller dia. 1 1/8", I don't think it would
work as well with anything smaller.
