How do you Improve the Grip of a Drive Roller?

[jjstanza]

The idea of mixing my own grit and epoxy, trying to spread it evenly and spinning it to try to evenly cure it sounds like a lot of wasted effort. Why go through all that when you can buy a sanding belt with its grit evenly distributed and just epoxy that to your drive wheel? I went that route first and since I have started using sanding belts I wonder what took me so long to figure this out. Just my 2¢

 

[cpuaid]

yes, the Island Hopper Viper kit has rack support brackets on both sides. the kit where the drive roller broke was a livefastmotors kit with only (1) support bar. it makes sense now why it broke since the weight wasn't being evenly distributed. funny thing is that my early model Staton kit only came with (1) rack support bar as well and that thing has got over 1300 miles on it with no issues. i guess that's why the new Staton kits come with (2) support brackets now. i will try the sanding belt method first since it doesn't require any removal of the drive roller. my initial concern with that method was the durability of the sanding belt backing material. since jjstanza is getting 500 miles so far with no wear on that thing, it sounds like an easier method for me.

 

[loquin]

The only issue I would have with a sanding belt is the adhesive and backing - they aren't designed to be used in wet conditions, or the nearly continuous use needed for the highway.

That being said, give the sanding belt approach a try. If it works, and it lasts long enough for your needs, Great! If not, you can always fall back on the epoxy/sand approach.

 

[jjstanza]

The only issue I would have with a sanding belt is the adhesive and backing - they aren't designed to be used in wet conditions, or the nearly continuous use needed for the highway.

And Weed Whackers wern't intended to push my fat butt all aver town but it works just fine for that.

 

[cpuaid]

went to harbor freight and bought a couple of sheets of #40 grit sanding belts with polyester backing material. lifetime warranty on the abrasive and supposed to prevent heat build ups. cut up a template and made sure the seams didn't overlap. cut belt to template and scuffed up the back and edges with a file. applied high strength epoxy to it since jb weld wasn't rated for plastics. centered on roller and zip tied it down . application was nearly perfect! no cracks on the abrasive part of the belt and it followed the contour of the roller smoothly and perfectly. after curing for 24 hours, took her out for a spin on some wet roads after a recent rain. the difference is like night and day! will document the miles put on the sanding belt and tire. not sure how long belt will stay attached to the roller since epoxy was used on polyester backing but will keep everyone posted. would rather have used linen backing but they did not carry any for the grit that i wanted. many thanks to jjstanza for his idea!

 

[Slackbiker]

After my first summer of touring, my Staton roller went smooth. The good news is it hardly wears tires at all. The bad news is it doesn't work much at all in rain, but i mainly travel in the Southwest, so far i'm just going with it.

 

[Fred Fry]

Reading this thread has got me thinking.

I have a worn 1" staton drive roller.
I am currently using a 1 1/4" and would like to go slightly larger.
I notice the staton bearings are 1 3/8" in diameter.
If I can locate a tube or pipe of some kind that is 1 3/8" inner dia I can put the bearing on the roller and drop into the tube.
Then I mix something like JB weld or epoxy with sand or grinding grit and pour into tube.
This way will get the roller concentric with the bearings so it will run true.

Doing this will get me a 1 3/8" drive roller with maybe better traction in wet weather.

Fred

 

[Elmo]

My steel roller slipped so I used a dremel tool with the large cutoff wheels and cut grooves about 1/16" apart on the part that meets the tire. No more slipping. I ron 80 psi in my tire.
Elmo

 

[cycledude]

My steel roller slipped so I used a dremel tool with the large cutoff wheels and cut grooves about 1/16" apart on the part that meets the tire. No more slipping. I ron 80 psi in my tire.
Elmo

Yeah, good thoughts, I had a piece of 1 1/4 cut and tap screws machined, I was going to do the Natchez thing but I went with the BMP roller instead.

 

[velosolex]

If your engine can pull the diameter, find yourself a Solex friction roller. You'll have to build a mandrel to press it onto, but once done, you'll never look back!
The Solex roller has large aggregate particles bonded to it's OD and works in all weather conditions. On dry weather days, you can have good luck with medium durometer urethane rod drilled and pressed onto knurled steel roller, that you will have to build.

Cris