Sorry if I've upset you, or is it frustration that you didn't phone Ian at VOCSC !?
H: Hubs, Wheels and Tyres brakes
- Thread starter erik
- Start date
I was merely expressing frustration at the whole thing..Clearly part of the process of fitting these brakes should involve sending some specifics of the machine so that the correct bearing/hollow axle combination can be sent..Being in the colonies means a fortnight wait for anything, with a short riding season this is frustrating..
It would seem that I've been sent an axle which is too narrow across the shoulders where the bearings seat. Robert suggested that I try my old axle...
I have tried my old axle..the distance across the shoulders is too great, but only by about .75mm. I think a visit to a friend with a lathe is in order..
I have tried my old axle..the distance across the shoulders is too great, but only by about .75mm. I think a visit to a friend with a lathe is in order..
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As Bob and I concluded from a couple of telephone conversations, a standard front hub with wide bearings, which he has, and has had from new, has a hollow axle that is + or - 3 19/32 across the shoulder (or flats as Bob has called them). On putting just the bearings and the hollow axle in the hub, with the bearings held tight there is axial movement of the axle that can be measured on a scale with 1/8" increments! The one he has been sent is just under 3 3/8...... so not a matter of an axle too long for wide bearings but too short for either wide or narrow bearings. He has gone to retrieve his original hollow axle to give it a try.
We talked again, it seems we have gone from movement in the axle to now the axle holding the bearing off the cup by just a bit. I have suggested he gets a feeler in behind the cups to make sure they are fully home, before applying rotational forces to his old axle.
Like I said, It is all in the instructions, although it can be confusing...........It took me a while to sort out the first one I did, although the front hub had metric bearings just to throw extra spanners in the works.
Especially confusing to those of us who lack the expertise & knowledge of a Watson, Smith, Brillus, Mahood, Bewley etc., etc.,etc..
The rest of us rely heavily on detailed instructions, clearly identified parts lists and vendors who ascertain the skill level of the prospective purchaser ...
The rest of us rely heavily on detailed instructions, clearly identified parts lists and vendors who ascertain the skill level of the prospective purchaser ...
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If you can make up some shims then that will get you out of trouble. The first one I did with metric bearings, I had to get a new hollow axle made to get the job sorted out. I'm not sure if the VSM kits come with new bearings, and I guess the problem arises that when carrying this mod out, one naturally assumes that the original bearings will work, but I have found this is not the case. To add to the problem, the old bearings can be very difficult to remove from the hub unless you run a weld inside the race and then the outer bearing race will normally drop out. Perhaps not all the hubs are the same, but I have found on some, it is near impossible to get a punch/drift behind the race to knock it out. As great as these brakes are, they can cause grief to install. Keep us posted on your progress, it will be worth it in the end. Cheers.............Greg.
The front metric hollow axle is 99 mm flat to flat. I sent a pair of metric hollow axles to Bob Larmour so he could duplicate them. There are at least four different bearings that were used in the hubs.
I always use a TIG welder to remove the races.
David
I always use a TIG welder to remove the races.
David