Wheel Issue, not strong enough

Maskot

Maskot

New Member
I have normal bicycle wheels, but they aren't cutting it, the chain keeps slipping off because the sprocket on the back wheel comes uneven, my real question is:
Is there a place I can buy 26" wheels that have the sprocket pre installed and are guarunteed not to break/warp or a wheel hub, and it's for a single speed with no handbrakes. .bf.
 
first, you need to make sure that your sprocket bolts are properly secured. loctite is your friend. secondly, you need to make sure that your. wheel is properly centered. there is nothing wrong with your wheels. your chain alignment is off for one reason or another. It can be fixed if you have the patience to figure it out. getting a new wheel wont help if you arent able to align your chain properly.
 
The chain is aligned within 1/2cm, the spokes on the wheel are bent in all directions from the engine jerking the wheel forward when I first start it up each ride. The sprocket is on there as tight as I could make it, but the spokes are to blame, I even got a new chain and had the chain fitted to the sprocket.
 
Maskot said:
I have normal bicycle wheels, but they aren't cutting it, the chain keeps slipping off because the sprocket on the back wheel comes uneven, my real question is:
Is there a place I can buy 26" wheels that have the sprocket pre installed and are guarunteed not to break/warp or a wheel hub, and it's for a single speed with no handbrakes. .bf.
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Check with Pirate Cycles and some of the other vendors listed on either side of the page here. I'm sure that you can buy ready to go wheels or just the hub that you're asking about.
 
Your spokes may have been loose before the rag joint was installed. Rag joints work pretty good if properly installed on a good tight wheel. I've done 6 so far, one has 2000 miles. Never had any trouble with them, except installing them LOL
 
I think your sprocket bolts werent properly secured. you can blame it on the spokes all you want, but if you didnt loctite or superglue the sprocket bolts, thats what came loose. properly secured bolts will not twist into the spokes. I did the same thing with my first bike. I learned from it and moved on.
 
motor_bike_fanatic said:
I think your sprocket bolts werent properly secured. you can blame it on the spokes all you want, but if you didnt loctite or superglue the sprocket bolts, thats what came loose. properly secured bolts will not twist into the spokes. I did the same thing with my first bike. I learned from it and moved on.
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I never used locktite or superglue on any of the 6 that I built, anywhere . Most of the kits come with the self locking nuts for the rag joints. Never had any self locking nylock nuts come loose in my whole life.

Locktite, superglue, JB Weld ect. are not a good alternative to good mechanical craftmanship.

Maybe the OP didn't torque the joint enough. Gotta tighten the sheet outta the joint so there's no "give" in the rubber at all.
 
wayne z said:
I never used locktite or superglue on any of the 6 that I built, anywhere . Most of the kits come with the self locking nuts for the rag joints. Never had any self locking nylock nuts come loose in my whole life.

Locktite, superglue, JB Weld ect. are not a good alternative to good mechanical craftmanship.

Maybe the OP didn't torque the joint enough. Gotta tighten the sheet outta the joint so there's no "give" in the rubber at all.
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Ditto...
Proper installation of the rag joint will assure you of many many trouble free miles. The keyword here is 'proper' installation. Like Wayne I've accrued well into the 1000s of miles on rag joints; never loosened, bent or broken the first spoke. No heavy duty wheels, no oversized spokes and engines just a little hotter and higher compression than stock.

The trick is to tighten the 9 bolts evenly and securely. I like to run them in with a cordless screw gun, alternating from side to side until all are evenly snug then use a torque wrench and take them down to about 70 to 80 inch pounds. Never had to realign or retighten them either. And that's not using thread locker or glue.

Tom
 
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my first kit didnt come with nylocks and I was a total mechanical noob, but i know the reason my spokes twisted was because I didnt properly secure my sprocket bolts. either way, if he properly installed his rag joint, he would not be having this problem.
 
The sprocket is supposed to be hub-centric, meaning it centers on the hub. If your hub is too small, you'll need to fabricate a hub-centric ring. The rag joint is not sturdy enough to prevent the sprocket from shifting.


m_b_f, we've established that it's got nothing to do with loctite so please, stop recommending it. Like you said, you are a mechanical newbie; building one bicycle didn't magically make you an expert.
 
The kit supplied sprockets are not designed to be "hub centric" or self centering Cavi, there's far too many different hub sizes for that to be feasible, let alone the different sprocket manufacturers & their questionable quality control.

While it would be nice if they were and the idea of making an adapter ring isn't a bad one - the fact is the vast majority of the rag joint sprockets installed by our members have no adapter ring and as the sprocket's center hole is too large in most cases they're adjusted and centered by hand, with a gap between the sprocket's center hole and the hub.

Every one I've installed has at least 1/16" gap or more and yet when properly adjusted and toqued they have remained in place without shifting - while I'm not a huge fan of the rag joint method of adding a sprocket, they are more than strong enough to prevent the sprocket from shifting.



Simply put, your advice isn't always accurate either. Like you, folks are simply trying to offer whatever experience they've managed to acquire - I suspect there's no such thing as an "expert" in that there's always something more to learn, someone else that's done something differently and there will always be someone that knows more.

I would ask that you remember that when replying.
 
I use the spin it and see if it woobles test if it woobles then you have more work to do.
If I feel like being real picky I will use a magnetic base dial indicator.
Check for both roundness and side to side. Makes it real easy if you number 4 evenly spaced spots around the sprocket that way you never loose track of the spots your trying to measure
 
Cavi Mike said:
The sprocket is supposed to be hub-centric, meaning it centers on the hub. If your hub is too small, you'll need to fabricate a hub-centric ring. The rag joint is not sturdy enough to prevent the sprocket from shifting.


m_b_f, we've established that it's got nothing to do with loctite so please, stop recommending it. Like you said, you are a mechanical newbie; building one bicycle didn't magically make you an expert.
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We haven't established that loctite wouldnt help, in either case it wouldnt hurt anything, I have built more than one bike, never said I was an expert, I didnt say I am a mechanical newbie, I said I was a noob when I built my first bike. I have learned a lot since I first started, What I offered was an educated suggestion based on my own experience. If you cant respect when other members offer their help and experience, then you dont need to be here. And I only recommended loctite once.
 
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