Grubee HD Axle/Brake a Mess!!

[mickey]

Cold setting

Sheldon Brown,RIP, has an excellent section on stay bending. How to do it, how to true it, etc.

 

[Mike S]

The charge for installing the hub is $45-50 and the new spokes about $30. I'm making progress with this unit but it's been rough. The directions are not too helpful, and I'm finding spacers have to be used at various points. In one sense, I'm fortunate because the back frame is 5 inches wide, and there's some flexibility in the frame. It can be pulled apart about 1/8 inch on each side. I'm struggling to get the brake drum and brake to work, and hoping I'll have it all solved by next week. It's a bear though. Mike

 

[Alaskavan]

I just tossed the strap brake aside. I was only going to use it as a parking brake anyway.

 

[Mike S]

Maybe the drum brake is too hard to install. I agree that the best option may be to
just use the drive wheel with the HD kit and install some other type of brake.

 

[reclaimer]

My brake seems to work, though I haven't tried to stop using it. It does stop the wheel when I squeeze it.

The threads or going to still be there if you leave the brake off. Using the brake cant add more than .25" maybe a bit more with an extra locknut and washer inside the drum. I don't really have a choice there are no other mounts on the rear of my bike.(edit: also the brake holds the solid sprocket on the hub)

One concern I have is the travel it takes to engage the brake. It seems to take allot more movement to engage it than the sturmey archer x-fd thats going on the front. Might force me to abandon the dual pull brake lever.

 

[Mike S]

I've made the decision to abandon the rear brake drum part of the Grubee HD axle and keep the drive sprocket, and install a different type of brake for the rear wheel. The brake drum and brake were causing all kinds of problems and interference. In the end, I could not recommend the HD Axle kit. Stay with the drive sprocket to the spokes if possible. Mike

 

[Demosthenese]

ouch

well, i will be getting mine from b-e.com soon, it's in the mail. i will let you know if i experience similar issues. perhaps there are problems with your kit. we all know these engines are inconsistant in quality, the accessories could be similar.

was it spacing issues that finally drove you to abandon the brake? that could be different depending on an individuals frame, rather then the kit itself.

Alaskavan i see you also abandoned the brake? Do you have a rear brake on your trike then? O is it like a dual front brake lol? I know v-brakes can usually be adjusted to be effective on most rims, even if the rim isn't specifically designed for v brakes. I was hoping to find this to be an effective rear brake though :*(

 

[Demosthenese]

EDIT

If these hubs prove to not be worthwhile in the long run, that doesn't mean there shouldn't be a product for this application. Someone needs to develop this. If 4 strokes hit their niche over the next couple years, and we see the laws relax, the kits need to address the power transfer issue with a specifically designed rear hub/clamshell type kit, because i think most of us here in N-A probably recognize the advantage of not hooking up an engine to the spokes. We would probably pay 30-40$ more for a well enginered hub like this that we could think of as reliable and strong, and it could just be included with the basic install kits.
Andy, make us this. Do it. Patents be d4mmed.

 

[Alaskavan]

I don't have a brake on the rear of the trike. I'm keeping my eyes/ears/mind open. I would like to have a parking brake. I can't recommend the brake that comes with the axle (it looks like it might not be very effective as a brake anyway). But, I do like the axle. I really like the idea of sealed bearings. If they ever get worn, I can just buy and install new bearings. The bearings are good enough that if I park on any incline, or there's any wind, the trike will roll away.

 

[Mike S]

The drive sprocket in good on this kit. Without the brake, it provide good spacing to clear a fat tire, and is a solid mount to the wheel. With the brake on, there are spacing problems, and the brake itself kinda floats around. I would buy the kit again only to have the drive sprocket mounted to the axle. Mike