Friction drive roller lifespan

[samijubal]

I see a lot of talk about tire wear and friction rollers but don't see anything about roller lifespan. About many miles would a Staton 1" or 1 1/8 inch roller with the Subaru engine last? My total weight would be about 200 pounds and there are a fair amount of hills where I am. I realize there's probably a lot of varibles, just looking to get some idea of roller life.

[Happy Valley]

The Staton spindles, unlike some, are hardened and should last a looong time.

I BMed a post srdavo had about swapping spindles and he put up this pic,
said he thought the spindle had 7000 or 8000 miles on it.
http://www.motoredbikes.com/attachme...3&d=1193781517

[loquin]

alaskavan reported a relatively high wear rate on his, but, he ran it year round, and they use a lot of sand on the snowy roads in Alaska...

I've had mine (staton) for a couple of years, and you can hardly see any wear on it.

[Mountainman]

aprox 2 thousand miles -- Staton -- shows hardly any wear

ride that MB thing

[samijubal]

That's good to hear. I saw that photo but I didn't see where he said miles on it.

What size roller do you people use? Total weight will be about 200 pounds with the EH035 Subaru. There's some hills where I am, most aren't very steep and I don't mind pedaling a little up the steeper hills. I'm only looking to go about 15-20 MPH but would like to keep engine RPMs down as much as possible while still being able to go up moderate hills. Should I spend the extra $10 for the double engagement rods or does it even matter?

One more thing. How do you carry anything with you? I have the double Wald baskets on my bike now and love them but they will have to go to mount an engine. Does anyone have baskets of some kind? Do you use a backpack?

[Happy Valley]

Roller size is really subjective because many want one roller to do it all. Most want to go fast. If you are sure you only want to do 15-20 and you have any hills I would stay small, 1' or 1 1/8" tops.

I weigh 200, have that kit w/a Robin35 1" roller and it's great and a great engine. I live in a river valley and it's mostly flats but there are hills getting out of the valley and those hills eat it up.

And yes, IMO the dual supports are definately worth it.

my 2 cents

[SirJakesus]

I thought all the staton friction kits came with double engagement standard now... Check the description on his website, maybe it changed back.
I also have a staton friction RS with 1in spindle. It's great for putzing around at about 18-20mph cruise. If you have some serious hills be ready to do lots of pedaling.
I would suggest the Mitsubishi TLE43 with 1 3/8in or 1 1/4in roller. That engine has way more bawlz than the robin and I'd take it any day if mixing of gas and oil isn't an issue... which it really isn't.

[fetor56]

I'm probably gonna get yelled at BUT as well as longevity concider functionality.
BMP's standard drive roller has a one-way,self-locking bearing which i've found to be a great feature.
I've only done around 700Mls but as u would expect it still looks new.......expectation 5000+.
http://bikemotorparts.com/parts.html

[Mountainman]

Should I spend the extra $10 for the double engagement rods or does it even matter?
Do you use a backpack?

double rods ---- I think the extra rod should be a must
believe me -- if you buy the extra rod
you will never wish that you had not

yes -- the old back pack

ride that thing

[Happy Valley]

I've only done around 700Mls but as u would expect it still looks new
.......expectation 5000+.

Heh, hope no one feels like they're being yelled at, I'll scrupulously avoid the use of caps lol.

The OP asked about how the Staton spindles hold up, so I'll offer this. I have both kits. The Staton spindles are hardened steel. The BMP rollers are not, they are mild steel. How the one way bearing holds up, time will tell, but one thing certain I can definitely say is I do not share the same expectation of roller life in keeping with my actual experience.

On the right is new, on the left less than 500 miles.