One heck of a headache

[dragnusa]

OK so a little history on this bike I have to go look at tomorrow, This older gentleman contacted me a couple weeks ago about this old Hiawatha cruiser he rides (Hes only form of transportation) when I picked it up it was just a mess, the front wheel bearings was pretty gone completely and the rim was bent, one pedal was cross threaded but in there tight, the rear cog was popped off with the clip ring just hanging around the axle. oh and a front fender of mystery origin just crammed in the fork held on by the strut. Well I fixed or replaced everything and test rode it and it was riding nicely so I took it back to the guy. Well he called me tonight and told me it rode fine for about a week then it started slipping when he would be pedaling and it just kept getting worse. So Im thinking somethings not catching in the rear hub. Guess I'll find out tomorrow whats wrong with it. Not sure who rigged it in the first place but it has become one heck of a headache for me.

 

[Uncle Stretch]

This new Schwinn American I just bought was doing that. I pulled the hub apart.
Has a Bendix. Anyway it had a bearing with one of the balls gone. It was also really
nasty. I cleaned it up with diesel and re greased it. Works perfect.

 

[dragnusa]

Not sure what kind of hub it is all it says on the brake arm is Hiawatha. Hoping its just the bearings and that I have some to replace them so I can get it back to him and get to the other 8 bikes I need to finish not including my build off bike.

 

[deorman]

Sounds like old grease and/or shavings/broken bearing bits in the bendix screw or between the drive cone and hub. It's possible that the clutch/hub interface is worn out. Hopefully it's more like the first, good luck.

 

[dragnusa]

Ok picked up the bike this morning and took it for a little ride and all I could feel was some play in the pedaling but couldnt make it slip like he was talking about. Im going to break down and clean the BB and the rear hub and see if that helps. Wish I had a nice girls cruiser I could give the guy so he didnt have to ride this one.

 

[dragnusa]

So I got the hub torn down and all the bands was stuck together and was just packed with sticky grease. degreased it and lubed it back up and it rode so much better. I never could make the bike slip like the guy was talking about.