Tandem Cycling - Rear Axle keeps bending
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Hi All,
I have an early 2000's Burley Zydeco Mixte that my spouse and I ride on rail trails and road. Bike has been great except the rear axle is prone to bending. Bike shop says they have installed heaviest axle they know of. Latest one is solid with no quick release capability. Do others have this problem and is there a solution?
Thanks for any help,
Tom
joe@vwvortex
08-12-08, 01:15 PM
Have you had the dropout alignment checked? You could have a bent dropout or the frame may be misaligned. You can put all the axles in you want - but if the alignments off - they'll keep bending.
oldacura
08-12-08, 02:38 PM
On an older (non tandem) bike - I broke a rear axle. The bike shop said that breaking an axle was very rare unless something else was wrong. Upon closer inspection sure enough - the right rear dropout was fatigue cracked. This allowed the axle to flex & then break.
After arriving home following the NWTR, I was surprised that I had broken a rear axle on our two and half year old DT Swiss Hugi hub. We ride a 2006 CoMotion Custom Roadster with a combined weight of 370 lbs. The axle was sheared off cleanly just inside the right bearing. The bike seems to be absolutely solid when we climb, has never had a crash of any kind and from what I can see is aligned and balanced perfectly. I inspected the dropouts and they seemed to be without breaks or visible flaws. Luckily I was able to get a spare axle from a supplier in Colorado. Has anyone else had this happen? Any suggestions for a second backup set of wheels with a rear disc brake?
Roger Saskatoon, SK
Got some more feedback from the bike shop. Axle is 185 mm, so longer than most single bikes. Hub has a thread on freewheel meaning the bearings are located inside the hub and thus not spaced very wide. The combination of long axle and narrow spaced bearings (relative to axle length) provides a lot of leverage for bending the axle. Their suggestion is to go to a cassette hub design which has an additional bearing at the outside edge of the cassette. This would widen the bearing support points on the axle considerably and eliminate the problem. I could also upgrade to an 8 speed cog set at that time with the addition of an 8 speed shifter up front. Sounds like a god solution to me.
Dropout alignment was checked and is OK.
merlinextraligh
08-14-08, 10:12 AM
^ our Burley Duet came with a freewheel hub. We broke an axle within the first couple of years. Replaced it with a good quality freehub and cassette, and it's still going strong 12 years later.
Retro Grouch
08-14-08, 10:16 AM
^ our Burley Duet came with a freewheel hub. We broke an axle within the first couple of years. Replaced it with a good quality freehub and cassette, and it's still going strong 12 years later.
Switching to a cassette hub was my first thought too. The drive side wheel bearing is in a more advantageous location.
Thanks for the feedback. I think I'll proceed as planned.