Blew out my Bendix manual 2 speed Klunker drive - what to replace it with?

[us56456712]

I have a 1940 DX Klunker that I have been riding with a manual Bendix 2 speed. This afternoon I ovalized the rear wheel and blew out low gear. It lasted 2 years after the rebuild but it is not a good klunker drive. It's way too finicky and has very poor brakes. I am thinking of converting it to a single speed with a coaster brake. I have 4 or 5 Morrow hub shells but no guts, but this would be overkill as I avoid long descents on this bike where the hub would overheat. I also have 4 Bendix Red bands and a Sachs. Are any of these worth going through the motions to build a klunker rear wheel? I was also thinking Shimano, which might be the easiest. Are there any recommendations out there? I put it away for the winter rather than work on it.

 

[Bicycle808]

Bendix RB's are well-thought of hubs; having 4 would give you a head start on spare parts b/c, fact is, you're gonna kill parts and need new ones regularly if you ride regularly.... not often, but it's gonna happen repeatedly. That's why I rock Shimano CB-E110 hubs offroad; they're not great hubs by any stretch. The clutch spring fails a lot, and while the brake is pretty strong, it's on the "grabby" side and, like all coasters, it fades a lot when it heats up. But, the advantage is, the guts and every part (aside from the brake-arm and brake-cone) interchange between the CB-E110 and the KT. (And even the brake cone/brake arm can interchange, but you gotta make sure those 2 parts come from a matching hub...) That means that cheap/free replacement parts are basically /EVERYwhere, all the time. That's basically the one real advantage to affordable, current-production bits. It takes a lot of the hunting out of the equation.

I keep a few fresh-n-new hubs and a few decent used hubs in the garage at all times, b/c it's only a matter of time before I kill the clutch cone and, often, i just do a 100% guts-swap. In fact, I gotta do it on my one bike ASAP b/c the spring quit and now the brake drags. I might be able to fix it, but i'll probably just swap in fresh guts to get back riding, and then examine the clutch and fix it (if i can) at my leisure...

HTH
-Rob

PS Fichtel&Sachs hubs tend to be VERY good, the later Sachs hubs (sand Fichtel) are also very well made and reliable. But, they are gonna die eventually if you klunk'm, and then you have to track down parts. Not impossible, but you'll probably spend some extra $ and some extra time.... my fave F&S hub so far is the Komet Super.

 

[deorman]

Saw this in another thread, I have a question.↑

Be careful with that Strurmey Drum hub. I have owned two and the one on my tandem stripped the axle threads very easily. I am using a 70s Gigant from an old Norwegian bike on my 40 DX. I also have an old Arai drum that I want to lace up for a rear someday. I will watch what you are doing as I have all the parts to make a hybrid and I may follow your lead. Today I blew out my Bendix manual 2 speed so I am looking for a different drive. Here it is as it is now, minus the new bear trap pedals, but I only have high gear as low is stripped out. The seatpost is made from 2 Schwinn units welded together. I should get an aircraft alloy one
View attachment 38230
Click to expand...

Out of curiousity, what gave out, the planetaries or the the driver, or do you know yet?

 

[furyus]

Saw this in another thread, I have Indestructible.
Be careful with that Strurmey Drum hub. I have owned two and the one on my tandem stripped the axle threads very easily. I am using a 70s Gigant from an old Norwegian bike on my 40 DX. I also have an old Arai drum that I want to lace up for a rear someday. I will watch what you are doing as I have all the parts to make a hybrid and I may follow your lead. Today I blew out my Bendix manual 2 speed so I am looking for a different drive. Here it is as it is now, minus the new bear trap pedals, but I only have high gear as low is stripped out. The seatpost is made from 2 Schwinn units welded together. I should get an aircraft alloy one
View attachment 38230
Click to expand...

Out of curiousity, what gave out, the planetaries or the the driver, or do you know yet?

Off topic, Deorman, but Schwinn exersiser seat posts are long and double thick. Indestructible.

furyus

 

[Wildcat]

The Bendix Redband hubs would be your best bet. They take a beating and hold up well. With 4 of them, I agree with Bicycle808, the gut swap when needed is quick and easy. Most old ones I've found are still usable, from girl's bikes, they are in new condition. I've had the later Bendix hubs, the 70 and 76 that are good too, but the Redband seems to be the toughest. I have never worn out the hub shell, so the same wheel can be used for a long time.

Even when they are almost worn out, they hold together well enough to get you home.

 

[us56456712]

Saw this in another thread, I have a question.↑

Be careful with that Strurmey Drum hub. I have owned two and the one on my tandem stripped the axle threads very easily. I am using a 70s Gigant from an old Norwegian bike on my 40 DX. I also have an old Arai drum that I want to lace up for a rear someday. I will watch what you are doing as I have all the parts to make a hybrid and I may follow your lead. Today I blew out my Bendix manual 2 speed so I am looking for a different drive. Here it is as it is now, minus the new bear trap pedals, but I only have high gear as low is stripped out. The seatpost is made from 2 Schwinn units welded together. I should get an aircraft alloy one
View attachment 38230
Click to expand...

Out of curiousity, what gave out, the planetaries or the the driver, or do you know yet?

I won't know as I am not planing to reuse it or rebuild it. It has high gear but no low. It started jumping in low on big climbs and then just spun out. I have another set of planataries and driver but I can't imagine a bike I have that I would enjoy it on. Fun while it lasted.

 

[us56456712]

Bendix RB's are well-thought of hubs; having 4 would give you a head start on spare parts b/c, fact is, you're gonna kill parts and need new ones regularly if you ride regularly.... not often, but it's gonna happen repeatedly. That's why I rock Shimano CB-E110 hubs offroad; they're not great hubs by any stretch. The clutch spring fails a lot, and while the brake is pretty strong, it's on the "grabby" side and, like all coasters, it fades a lot when it heats up. But, the advantage is, the guts and every part (aside from the brake-arm and brake-cone) interchange between the CB-E110 and the KT. (And even the brake cone/brake arm can interchange, but you gotta make sure those 2 parts come from a matching hub...) That means that cheap/free replacement parts are basically /EVERYwhere, all the time. That's basically the one real advantage to affordable, current-production bits. It takes a lot of the hunting out of the equation.

I keep a few fresh-n-new hubs and a few decent used hubs in the garage at all times, b/c it's only a matter of time before I kill the clutch cone and, often, i just do a 100% guts-swap. In fact, I gotta do it on my one bike ASAP b/c the spring quit and now the brake drags. I might be able to fix it, but i'll probably just swap in fresh guts to get back riding, and then examine the clutch and fix it (if i can) at my leisure...

HTH
-Rob

PS Fichtel&Sachs hubs tend to be VERY good, the later Sachs hubs (sand Fichtel) are also very well made and reliable. But, they are gonna die eventually if you klunk'm, and then you have to track down parts. Not impossible, but you'll probably spend some extra $ and some extra time.... my fave F&S hub so far is the Komet Super.[/QUOTE

I have tossed out a lot of KT hubs, as you say they are everywhere. What about going with the KT instead of the Shimano ? I have heard that you can get a hardened Shimano axle for them that is more resistant to bending? I bend quite a few axles and hate to replace them. It seems like this might be the easiest solution for me. I have a least 9 off road bikes so I don't ride anyone of them that much. I have kind of backed of klunkers this year and only ridden my two about 30 miles total. I have ridden just under 1500 miles off road this year including winter fat bike riding. I am using a rigid 1992 Giant ATX or a Specialized Epic for my non-winter riding and the Giant seems to have replaced the klunkers when I want to ride rigid.

 

[Bicycle808]

Either way would work. If I were you, i'd make sure that the KT hub has the all-steel hubshell. They make a version with an aluminum shell that houses a steel sleeve, and these seem to be more prone to failure. The Shimano cb-e110 hubs are all steel-shelled. But, the KT is the same design, it has the same bore and internal dimensions. You can interchange the guts from either hub into either shell. They all are crappy hubshells with press-on flanges and all that (ugh) i think the Shimano-label hubshells are a bit nicer, but you could strip a flange in either case. I read somewhere online that KT actually makes the cb-e100 for Shimano, but i don't recall where, and when I tried to google it, all the posts about it were written by yers truly, so....

But, yeah, if you take both hubs apart, they're the same except the brake-arm/cone on the shimano is a keyed/splined deal, whereas the KT is rectangular, and the shimano brake shoes and clutch have more/better knurling, plus the steel that the bits are made of seem heavier/harder on the shimano than the KT. But, they're the same basic hub, for the most part.

 

[us56456712]

Either way would work. If I were you, i'd make sure that the KT hub has the all-steel hubshell. They make a version with an aluminum shell that houses a steel sleeve, and these seem to be more prone to failure. The Shimano cb-e110 hubs are all steel-shelled. But, the KT is the same design, it has the same bore and internal dimensions. You can interchange the guts from either hub into either shell. They all are crappy hubshells with press-on flanges and all that (ugh) i think the Shimano-label hubshells are a bit nicer, but you could strip a flange in either case. I read somewhere online that KT actually makes the cb-e100 for Shimano, but i don't recall where, and when I tried to google it, all the posts about it were written by yers truly, so....

But, yeah, if you take both hubs apart, they're the same except the brake-arm/cone on the shimano is a keyed/splined deal, whereas the KT is rectangular, and the shimano brake shoes and clutch have more/better knurling, plus the steel that the bits are made of seem heavier/harder on the shimano than the KT. But, they're the same basic hub, for the most part.

Thanks, Shimano sounds like the one with my KT parts for backup. No backup parts for the Sachs and the Red Bands are worn already.

 

[Bicycle808]

easiest move is to just unscrew the driveside jam nut/cone on the donor hub and the original hub, and just swap the entire guts. Lube it up and adjust the bearings, and you're riding again, allowing you to inspect the guts of the first hub at your leisure and fix/replace whatever you need in time for the next swap. Also, don't play around; get the Wheels Manufacturing 3/8" x 24tpi chromoly axle (and maybe another for backup---they're much tougher, but they will bend eventually, too!) which of course fits the Shimano, KT, and Bendix hubs. I know you're a frugal guy, but a few extra bucks for nice axle bolts with captured washers is a worthy upgrade, too... just remember, the hubs you're talking about (except the F&S) are 24tpi, so don't go ordering any 26tpi stuff....

http://www.niagaracycle.com/categories/wheels-manufacturing-axle-34-9-5x180x24tpi-solid (Yeah, they describe it as 9.5mm, but it's true 3/8" and 24tpi, plenty of room to add spacers and you can cut down if need-be...)

http://porkchopbmx.com/swivel-washer-bmx-bicycle-track-axle-nut-3-8-x-24t-set-of-4/

I know you like to tinker, so do some or all of the mods from this video... most are free and just require a bit of easy work with simple tools.


All of these mods work on KT and Bendix (RB-2, 70, and 76) hubs....

hth
-rob

 

[us56456712]

easiest move is to just unscrew the driveside jam nut/cone on the donor hub and the original hub, and just swap the entire guts. Lube it up and adjust the bearings, and you're riding again, allowing you to inspect the guts of the first hub at your leisure and fix/replace whatever you need in time for the next swap. Also, don't play around; get the Wheels Manufacturing 3/8" x 24tpi chromoly axle (and maybe another for backup---they're much tougher, but they will bend eventually, too!) which of course fits the Shimano, KT, and Bendix hubs. I know you're a frugal guy, but a few extra bucks for nice axle bolts with captured washers is a worthy upgrade, too... just remember, the hubs you're talking about (except the F&S) are 24tpi, so don't go ordering any 26tpi stuff....

http://www.niagaracycle.com/categories/wheels-manufacturing-axle-34-9-5x180x24tpi-solid (Yeah, they describe it as 9.5mm, but it's true 3/8" and 24tpi, plenty of room to add spacers and you can cut down if need-be...)

http://porkchopbmx.com/swivel-washer-bmx-bicycle-track-axle-nut-3-8-x-24t-set-of-4/

I know you like to tinker, so do some or all of the mods from this video... most are free and just require a bit of easy work with simple tools.


All of these mods work on KT and Bendix (RB-2, 70, and 76) hubs....

hth
-rob

Thanks a lot. Frugal is a nice way to put it, but the amount I would spend on the upgrades is basically chump change or no big deal. A good buy for a few dollars.

 

[Bicycle808]

Yep, you're on the right track. You don't gotta get'm from Porkchop; those are a Problem Solvers item that your LBS should be able to get for you if you'd rather. Same is true for the axle.