Recumbent bicycles · Public discussion

Re: The 99 cent Solution

Mike Fox · 2007-11-18T11:18:30+00:00

Gotta brag. Got Jon beat by a penny. Was getting chain grease on my leg and wanted longer chain tube. A 100 cm teflon chain tube costs $19! At Lowe's, I got a polyethylene 100cm irrigation system riser for 98¢. Works perfectly. Mike I have about 9000 miles on my Tour Easy and a while back I noticed that the bearings (bushings, actually) on the return-side idler were worn out. I looked locally, without success for replacement wheels thinking that the jockey wheels for a rear derailleur might fit. No such luck. I also inquired at a bearings shop for reasonably priced replacement bearings or bushings. They had nothing in stock and thought special order would run $20 and couldn't guarantee the fit. I did find bearings at a hobby shop that specialized in parts for R/C cars, planes, and helicopters. The ones they had in stock were not an exact fit, but could have been made to work with a bit of modification to the plastic OEM idler wheels. I'm not sure how they would have performed. Replacement idler wheels are available from Easy Racers for $15-20. And Terracycle makes a single wheel replacement idler that sells for $68. But I ended up with a 99 cent solution from Home Depot that seems to be working well and holding up just fine. Available in the plumbing section are Delrin sleeves used compression fittings for 1/4 inch outside diameter tubing. 3 for 99 cents. They are not perfectly cylindrical, but close enough and a good fit in replacing the bushings on the OEM idler wheels. I may still end up getting the Terracycle replacement idler, but for now, I'm happy with my quick and cheap fix. Jon

Started by Mike Fox · 18 November 2007 · Last activity 23 November 2007 · 4 posts · 736 views

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Original section: Recumbent bicycles
Published: 18 November 2007
Last activity: 23 November 2007
Original author: Mike Fox
Posts: 4
Discussion status: Public discussion
Total views: 736
Views / 30 days: 0
Topics: Rear derailleurs

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Original post
Mike Fox
Archived post

18 November 2007, 11:18 UTC #1

Gotta brag. Got Jon beat by a penny. Was getting chain grease on my
leg and wanted longer chain tube. A 100 cm teflon chain tube costs
$19! At Lowe's, I got a polyethylene 100cm irrigation system riser
for 98¢. Works perfectly.
Mike
Jon said:
I have about 9000 miles on my Tour Easy and a while back I noticed
that the bearings (bushings, actually) on the return-side idler were worn
out. I looked locally, without success for replacement wheels thinking
that the jockey wheels for a rear derailleur might fit. No such luck. I
also inquired at a bearings shop for reasonably priced replacement
bearings or bushings. They had nothing in stock and thought special
order would run $20 and couldn't guarantee the fit.
I did find bearings at a hobby shop that specialized in parts for R/C
cars, planes, and helicopters. The ones they had in stock were not
an exact fit, but could have been made to work with a bit of modification
to the plastic OEM idler wheels. I'm not sure how they would have
performed.
Replacement idler wheels are available from Easy Racers for $15-20.
And Terracycle makes a single wheel replacement idler that sells
for $68.
But I ended up with a 99 cent solution from Home Depot that seems
to be working well and holding up just fine. Available in the plumbing
section are Delrin sleeves used compression fittings for 1/4 inch outside
diameter tubing. 3 for 99 cents. They are not perfectly cylindrical,
but close enough and a good fit in replacing the bushings on the OEM
idler wheels.
I may still end up getting the Terracycle replacement idler, but
for now, I'm happy with my quick and cheap fix.
Jon

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Jon
Archived post

19 November 2007, 12:17 UTC #2

"Mike Fox" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Gotta brag. Got Jon beat by a penny. Was getting chain grease on my
leg and wanted longer chain tube. A 100 cm teflon chain tube costs
$19! At Lowe's, I got a polyethylene 100cm irrigation system riser
for 98¢. Works perfectly.
Well, since the Delrin compression fittings come three in a package,
I have a spare one for my 99 cent outlay! %^)
I took the chain tube off my BikeE and never replaced it. Never missed
it and rarely get major chain "tattoos" from any of my recumbents. I
use Pedros Ice wax-based lube and don't ride a lot in messy weather, so
the chains don't seem to accumulate a lot of easily transfered grime.
One day a week I ride about 5 miles there and back in long dress
pants, complete with rubber band at ankle... Bicyle Nerds Unite! %^)
Jon

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DougC
Archived post

23 November 2007, 13:22 UTC #3

Mike Fox said:
Gotta brag. Got Jon beat by a penny. Was getting chain grease on my
leg and wanted longer chain tube. A 100 cm teflon chain tube costs
$19! At Lowe's, I got a polyethylene 100cm irrigation system riser
for 98¢. Works perfectly.
Mike
As has been noted on BROL, the department-store chain tubing has two
minor semi-problems:
....one is that PTFE does not have the low Cf of friction that teflon
does. PTFE is very close, but not quite. That is roughly balanced off by
the fact that teflon tubing is rather soft, and PTFE is somewhat tougher.
....the other is that most of the PTFE tubing that hardware stores sell
is delivered on rolls and cut per-foot--so it's not straight. You can
get it nearly straight by multiple tries of heating and straightening
with a heat gun, but it's not quite perfect.
----------
If I had a bike that needed a curved chain tube I would pay for
Teflon--otherwise, I wouldn't care if the tube was teflon or ptfe. The
more-important issue is if the chain enters and exits smoothly from both
ends of the tube.
Generally--I desire bikes that need no chain tubes at all to protect
critical parts, and just deal with the oil-mark problem myself.
~

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gotbent
Archived post

23 November 2007, 13:55 UTC #4

"DougC" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Mike Fox said:
Gotta brag. Got Jon beat by a penny. Was getting chain grease on my
leg and wanted longer chain tube. A 100 cm teflon chain tube costs
$19! At Lowe's, I got a polyethylene 100cm irrigation system riser
for 98¢. Works perfectly.
Mike
As has been noted on BROL, the department-store chain tubing has two minor
semi-problems:
...one is that PTFE does not have the low Cf of friction that teflon does.
PTFE is very close, but not quite. That is roughly balanced off by the
fact that teflon tubing is rather soft, and PTFE is somewhat tougher.
...the other is that most of the PTFE tubing that hardware stores sell is
delivered on rolls and cut per-foot--so it's not straight. You can get it
nearly straight by multiple tries of heating and straightening with a heat
gun, but it's not quite perfect.
----------
If I had a bike that needed a curved chain tube I would pay for
Teflon--otherwise, I wouldn't care if the tube was teflon or ptfe. The
more-important issue is if the chain enters and exits smoothly from both
ends of the tube.
Generally--I desire bikes that need no chain tubes at all to protect
critical parts, and just deal with the oil-mark problem myself.
~

Are you confusing PTFE with HDPE? PTFE is Teflon (poly tetra fluoro
ethylene). HDPE is High Density Polyethylene, which has a much higher Mu
(coefficient of friction) than teflon.
--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

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