GEBE #12 Trail Gear Users?

B

BTB Wild

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I'd like to hear from those that have tried the #12 trail gear. GEBE told me to wait until after my engine break-in period but these hills are a b***h! The Tanaka 32cc seems like a great little engine. No problems with speed or modest slopes with pedal assist. Steeper hills are a problem. I'm willing to trade speed for torque but not convinced a gear will make more than a marginal difference. I walked 3 hills today.:yuck:
 
Trail Gear

Mmmmm.... I thought the trail gear was the #11...

Anyway, I got the #11 gear with my R/S 35 specifically for low end torque while climbing hills and pulling a heavy trailer. I go up 3 serious hills every day during my commute (10 miles each way) and quite a few other good sized hills when I'm running errands. 15-20% grade for the better part of a mile is what I consider a serious hill. Haven't walked up one yet... In fact I can usually do an estimated 10mph on the steepest hills I routinely encounter.

OTOH: I have to run the R/S 35 at full bore to get up these hills. People on MBc have said that's bad for a 4 stroke, so I don't know how long my engine will last. Also there are a few *monster* sized hills (20% grade+ for more than a mile) that I haven't taken on yet. I'm thinking about putting a Tanaka 40cc with the #11 gear on an industrial bike for those...

-Sam
 
For the Tanaka 32 the #12 is considered the trail gear, for the R/S 35 it is considered the street gear.
 
For the Tanaka 32 the #12 is considered the trail gear, for the R/S 35 it is considered the street gear.

Which I just found out talking to Dennis yesterday...I knew how hectic it was getting the backorders filled on the T-33, when I counted the teeth on the 2 I rec'd, there were 12, when I specified "trail gears on ALL future orders" (I have like 7 gears laying in a tray, all "13's").

NOW that I know, I understand folks using 14's as highway. When testing the first version of the T-40, that "14" was a belt eater, now I've heard the kinks are out of the "14", and I'll get one for Rocinante.

BTB: 5 tankfulls of gas, NO ETHANOL ever, and the engine will start exerting some muscle. You'll learn to get a jump on the local hills, or find gentler alternative routes. Remember, re-routing a little bit may only add 5 miles to the journey.

I've walked a few unfamiliar mountains myself (4 since 2005, most with the camping equipment aboard) and downshifted less than 5 times, but I'm a svelte 175 lbs!!!!!

Get a 12 tooth and try it, if you don't like it, you and I can swap sizes via mail/honor system.

If anybody else wants to swap gear tooth sizes, let's use this thread to do so...
 
Gear and gas

Could i put a #11 gear on the Tanaka 33cc? ( assuming I don't use the engine on level.....specific for hill climb assist) The max torque the better. I live atop a plateau and I can't ride anywhere without walking some stretches.

And what's with the ETHANOL gas? I may have already run 2+ tank fulls.....I'll have to check that out. I used Exxon's highest octane. I checked 2 gas stations on the way home and each stated 10% ETHANOL. I hope I can find the non-ethanol stuff around here.......or is it too late? ( maybe 25 miles on the engine so far)
 
Dennis was saying the other day the 11 tooth on the T-33 was TOO MUCH torque, so I dunno, use at your own risk, I guess.

On fuel, Exxon is good, but you can use mid-grade or lowest grade (89/87). My decades long friend in the farm equipment business always advised Amoco or Chevron mid grade in chainsaws and such, there was an additive that kept carbs clean.

Any discount service station is cutting the gas with subsidized alcohol, and best to avoid one drop of this mix, some might not affect anything, but there is a chance that it will vapor lock the engine at some point.
 
I pedal but did order a #11 with my R/S 35 kit. Julia(Denis' wife) wanted to know WHY, so I told her that my old legs may not be able to do some of the hills along the coast and that is why I ordered a spare belt. I have yet to use the #11 but if it kills the belt, I will have the spare. I have a #13 that Denis said would be OK for long flat runs of open highway with no headwinds. I have yet to install that gear.
 
Ordered

Well....I ordered a #11 and #12 gear along with a new belt. I'll have to do some experimenting while exercising caution. I don't know what " too much torque" means and why that's a problem. I suppose belt wear, spoke stress, drive ring stress, bracket stress are all concerns. I don't expect the motor to work alone without a strident effort of pedaling on my part.
I'll report back once I receive the gears.
 
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