Friction Drives - Staton, Inc.

Dimension Edge

I have a DE set up I got off e-bay. I am supprosed at how well the wooden rollers work. Mine has the TC300 direct drive so I dont know how a centrifugal clutch will operate. So far I am quite happy withe the scrubber drive. I am upgrading to a Maxxis Hookworm for the larger surface area.
 
Broken Staton engaging support

I broke an Engaging Support yesterday. Right off, I want to say I DO NOT blame the materials or workmanship of the Staton kit.
1) I should have bought the extra support when I purchased the kit. It still might have broken because,
2) I ride like a maniac. Things break. So be it.:)

Here's what I hit that was the proximate cause of the break. That rock has been there at least 6 years. I know it. I should have avoided it. My bad.:rolleyes:
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Here's the damage. I snapped the engaging support rod right where the pin keeps it from rotating (weakest point).

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I decidded I wanted to beef up the whole support system. I looked around out in the junkyard and settled on some electrical conduit for the repair.

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I cut it to length and flattened the ends in a vise.

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I drilled one and test fitted it before trimming off extra material, rounding corners, etc.
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I had to remove the motor because I needed to attach the new support at this point, and Staton uses a bolt there. I should have, and next time will, replace the bolt with thread stock so I won't have to do this the next time I break stuff.
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I removed the retaining pin from the engaging support, extracted the end of the rod, cleaned the threads up, reassembled and reinstalled the rod.
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The whole thing is a lot more solid. I can really feel the difference. Tomorrow, I'll go ride the gravel roads up in Porcupine, and see if I can break it again.:cool: I'm betting it'll last a while.
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excellent fix!!

looks like your turnbuckle held just fine. I still dig that idea.

that rock is part of the road? I've seen that on gravel backroads, but never on a paved road. glad you stayed upright!!!

nice work on the repair.
 
Thanks. A couple of thoughts:
1) I would recomend some kind of reinforcement like what I made for anyone planning on getting a little rambunctious with their rack mount.
2) I'd like to find a way to "lock" the turnbuckle.
 
The main thing is you survived! That rock could be the tip of a rock the size of the moon!!
 
I'll stop by the shop on the way out to Porcupine today and get a nut for the turnbuckle. One end of it must be threaded clockwise.
Thanks for the suggestion.
 
Put a nut on one end ot the turnbuckle and it held fine. I put 75 miles on it this afternoon. About 50 Highway, and 25 on gravel roads and river beds. I'm lovin life. I was doing 20 on the riverbed (soft sand, hard sand, pea gravel, 3"-5" river rock). Felt like a kid with an ultralight dirt bike. Not one nut vibrated loose. This thing is solid. I did notice one thing today that I hadn't anticipated, I've worn the friction roller pretty smooth where it contacts the tire. I've got the 1.5" roller. I think I'll order a small one next time. This bike will be used almost exclusively off road/back road when I get my new bike next month.
 
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Hi Bama,
Sounds like a good idea. BTW, on my way home last night, my engine started bogging at top end. I remembered a post you made about the screen in the muffler clogging at about 700 miles. That's where I'm at on the odometer. I'll pull the screen this morning. It was nice to be able to diagnose the problem imediately due to your post. Thanks.
 
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