full staton or homebuilt

[appye]

I am weighing the pros and cons of either spending the extra money on a full staton kit, or going with a staton 3:11 compact gearbox, mounting it with my existing GEBE straps and using a disc brake mount courtesy of andyinchville1...

Homebuilt:
If I decide to go with the 3.11 and the disc brake sprocket setup, I don't mind having to spin a chain while pedaling with the engine off, but I don't want to have to spin the gearbox as well. I also like the idea of the engine spinning down to an idle while I coast downhill. Are there freewheels available for the drive shaft sprocket itself? If these are available, does Staton sell them? If not, who? This would probably be the cheaper route for me...

Full Staton:
I did not know until just a few minutes ago that the regular staton kit comes with a hub setup for DUAL freewheels. This is all well and good, but I currently have a 9 speed CASSETTE on my bike, not a freewheel. Are there 9 speed freewheels available? Adapters for cassettes? If not, would I also have to purchase a new shifter to accommodate whatever multispeed freewheel I can find that will work with my setup? I need multispeed on the back, but perhaps 9 speeds are not necessary, all I really need is the range, not so much the finer step-through (or whatever it is called) ... Suggestions?

 

[DetonatorTuning]

appye,

the 3.11 drive has a 5/8 outshaft the same as the big unit, so, the shaft adapter to freewheel that Staton sells would work just the same i'd think.

since the gearbox is bewteen the wheel and the clutch without freewheeling you would be turning it while pedaling.

being able to coast without engine breaking is a great advantage and is worth strong consideration.

Statons hub is freewheel only, no adapters that i'm aware of. the simple and easy way is to buy a complete wheel from Staton and outfit it with an 8 speed freewheel, then sell your current wheel. oyu won't need to get diff. shifting parts, you just won't have that last gear anymore, you can choose if you want to give the top or bottom gear back there.

don't forget that there are several freewheel gears that can be mixed and matched on the 18.75 drive output shaft and left side freewheel to "tune" the final overall ratio.

do your due dilligence, even if it takes you a couple extra weeks you'll be happier in the end.

some wheels are not worth re-inventing.

steve

 

[duivendyk]

Can you get the required extra 6-7 to 1 reduction in the chain drive to the rear sprocket?

 

[appye]

duivendyk: I would get the further reduction by running a 72 tooth gear on the wheel with a 9-14 tooth on the drive gear ...

Steve: This is good news! It seems that now I must choose between a proven kit with a freewheel at the hub (more expensive, plus I would have to find a freewheel gearset for the pedal side) or my own design. The latter would be cheaper, except that I would have to find a decent disc brake hub, since my current hub does not have the mount. Also, it might not have enough room on the drive shaft to adapt TWO freewheels... I plan on having two different drive gears and a tensioner, similar to (but cruder for a while, I don't mind stopping and backing up the bike to change gears) to kerf's setup.

By saying that some wheels are not worth reinventing, are you recommending I spend the extra money on the full setup? Admittedly, I am probably only saving a couple hundred bucks at the most. Plus, I would then still have the rest of the GEBE setup sitting around for me to put on ANOTHER bike!

But then, I wouldn't be able to say "yes" when people ask me if I designed the thing myself! AAAAArrrrg! Lose bragging rights??? I got me a decision to make!

 

[duivendyk]

Are you sure such large sprockets,around 11" diameter ! are available and that they will fit the bike ?

 

[Warner]

My bike had the cassette type gearstack on the back, too. No biggie...when I ordered the rear wheel from Staton, I also had them install the correct type freewheel onto their hub (for an extra $15) It works fine with my rear derailer.....no problems. I need to adjust both of my derailers, but all the derailer does is guide the chain so how can that work with the cassette style and NOT work with the freewheel style?


Warner



PS - I can't tell you how nice it is to be able to roll down a hill at 30mph with the engine at idle and the freewheel not providing ANY drag on the system. I'll even sometimes accelerate to 27 or so and then coast up to a stop sign while the engine idles.....pretty good setup.


PPS - My cassette type gearstack was only a 7 speed unit, which is what the freewheel from Staton is. the teeth counts are a bit different, but it works fine.

 

[appye]

duivendyk: I was thinking about using #35 chain if going with the 3.11, which would give me more like an 8" diameter gear ... I am seriously considering the regular staton drive, however.

Warner: It is my understanding that different speed bicycles use different chains. When I bought a new chain a couple months ago, the guy at the bike shop explained this to me after asking if I had a 9 or a 7 speed on the back. As long as I get a freewheel that is compatible with my existing front sprockets and chain, I am happy. BTW, how many teeth are there on the smallest gear on your freewheel? I guess I can just go to the site and count probably.

 

[DetonatorTuning]

my only intention is to encourage you to spend the time to really THINK thru all the aspects of each path.

there just might be MORE advantages to one over the other in practice and utility.

it's all on you,
steve

 

[Warner]

duivendyk:
Warner: It is my understanding that different speed bicycles use different chains. When I bought a new chain a couple months ago, the guy at the bike shop explained this to me after asking if I had a 9 or a 7 speed on the back. As long as I get a freewheel that is compatible with my existing front sprockets and chain, I am happy. BTW, how many teeth are there on the smallest gear on your freewheel? I guess I can just go to the site and count probably.

Ah...that may be true! I was going from a 7 to a 7 so maybe that's why I didn't have a problem? Not sure on that, really. The smallest cog on the freewheel from Staton is 13 teeth, while my stock (cassette type) one was 11 teeth.

Warner

 

[duivendyk]

All is fair in electronics,war and MB persuits,think things through though (including the pesky details).I have found out that mechanical gotchas are usually of the nasty sort,that is, of the "up the creek minus a paddle variety".Good luck