How often do you maintenance your friction kit. How reliable is you rfrtiction kit?

BchCruizer

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How reliable is your friction drive kit? How often do you have to maintenance it? What is involved in your friction drive kits maintenance?

I have put thousands and thousand of miles on my kit. with my new drive wheel i dont think i will be changing it anytime soon..i have put a couple hundred miles on it and it hasn't even begun to where out. I bought the low rider tire from wally and have about 500miles on it and it hasn't really worn out much. Im guessing i will get around 1500 to 2000 miles out of it. Every 3,000miles i clean the carbon out of my exhaust. My kit has not once left me stranded! I ride atleast 30miles everyday sometimes 80miles!

I like the 1 1/4in drive wheel..is perfect it gives it good low end torque and a good top speed..i dont see the need to go over 30mph on a bicycle. thats just dangerous and asking to get hurt!
 
I've got 2 motored bikes now & both are friction drive. I've built v-belt drive, BMP friction drive, chain drive, home-made friction drive, & now have 2 DAX friction units that require no maintenance & are super reliable. I've only changed the rear tire on one once & it wasn't totally worn out yet. Alot of folks bash friction drive, but for a bicycle, its hard to beat especiqally if you dont ride in rainy climates much. I do occasionally get stuck in the rain & will stop to adjust the drive unit tighter into the tire for some added friction to prevent roller spin & then I ease the throttle on (dont gun it).
Both of my MB's do 40+ mph using the larger 1.5" rollers & larger engines (Tanaka 40cc & Tanaka 47cc). On my Downhill full suspension rigs, 40mph still feels slow (these are heavy duty bikes)...I love friction drive
-lowracer-
 
I've got 2 motored bikes now & both are friction drive. I've built v-belt drive, BMP friction drive, chain drive, home-made friction drive, & now have 2 DAX friction units that require no maintenance & are super reliable. I've only changed the rear tire on one once & it wasn't totally worn out yet. Alot of folks bash friction drive, but for a bicycle, its hard to beat especiqally if you dont ride in rainy climates much. I do occasionally get stuck in the rain & will stop to adjust the drive unit tighter into the tire for some added friction to prevent roller spin & then I ease the throttle on (dont gun it).
Both of my MB's do 40+ mph using the larger 1.5" rollers & larger engines (Tanaka 40cc & Tanaka 47cc). On my Downhill full suspension rigs, 40mph still feels slow (these are heavy duty bikes)...I love friction drive
-lowracer-
Same here! Friction Drive Can't be beat for reliability! I have thousands of miles on my bee and like you said the worst you gotta do is change a rear tire every thousand or so miles depending on the tire. Check out urethane drive wheels. They work really really good. In the rain they cant be beat.I ride on damp roads and it doesnt slip one time..If you hit a puddle or if it is raining while riding it will slip but besides that urethane is the way to go for sure..I use a 1 1/4 with my bumblebeebolton kit. If you can get one to work on your dax kit i would look into it. It will surprise you! I dont think they have 1.5 in though.
 
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How bout some closeup pics of your bumblebee with thousands of miles on it. Curious as to how well they look after such use, TIA.
 
Bchcruizer,
I definitely would need 1.5" (or larger) with the engines & gearing I require. The metal rollers I use have had no problems and no noticeable sign of wear after thousands of miles. I know hardened steel would last longer than a softer material such as urethane. For the bumble bee engine I think urethane is a good match.
-Lowracer-
 
Bchcruizer,
I definitely would need 1.5" (or larger) with the engines & gearing I require. The metal rollers I use have had no problems and no noticeable sign of wear after thousands of miles. I know hardened steel would last longer than a softer material such as urethane. For the bumble bee engine I think urethane is a good match.
-Lowracer-
I hope hardened steel wouldn't wear out! What the heck kinda tire are you using! Lol..I like the urethane personally it works good for me. The urethane will surprise you though. Its tough stuff..Its not steel though..But it does last a long time..You gotta get the harder grade of it..theres 65a-95a grades that i found..65a being soft and 95a being hard
 
The tires I got all my miles up till now are CST C241 tires. I believe I bought them on sale for $10/ea @ Niagara Cycles but now the price went up to $12-$14/ea. I just bought two new tires (installed only 1) & changed to CST C1218 tires. These were $12.81/ea & should wear the same or better than the C241 based on tread, thickness & shape. Both models are 2.125, shaped like a flat top & have more rubber meeting the roller.
-Lowracer-
 
The tires I got all my miles up till now are CST C241 tires. I believe I bought them on sale for $10/ea @ Niagara Cycles but now the price went up to $12-$14/ea. I just bought two new tires (installed only 1) & changed to CST C1218 tires. These were $12.81/ea & should wear the same or better than the C241 based on tread, thickness & shape. Both models are 2.125, shaped like a flat top & have more rubber meeting the roller.
-Lowracer-
I like the hutchinson low rider tire from wally. They work great!
 
How bout some closeup pics of your bumblebee with thousands of miles on it. Curious as to how well they look after such use, TIA.
TPhoto_00001.jpgTPhoto_00002.jpg
Heres the picture of my bumblebeebolton. This kit has over 5,000miles on it and the urethane drive wheel has been on for about 800miles and the bike tire has been on for about 100miles. Its held up pretty good for me. Hasn't ever left me stranded!
 
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