squeaky GT drive

I've got a 2013 Hobie Adventure (no Island). I recently upgraded my mirage drive to GT. It makes for easier pedaling, but it soon developed an annoying squeak. Grease is recommended by Hobie. I tried that, but when I crashed in the surf zone (not too unusual for me . . .), grit got in there, and I had to disassemble and clean it out. I swore I wasn't going to use grease again.

So, I tried graphite spray and it worked, sort of. The limitations are that it has to be used every time, and it's got to be bone dry inside for the spray to get in there and do its magic. Graphite spray is also messy stuff.

After dealing with the hassles of graphite for a while, I decided to try something completely different. I got ahold of some 1/8" PTFE (teflon) rods and cut my own bearings from them. I replaced all of the acetal (delrin) rollers bearings with PTFE bearings. It was quiet and no lube was needed. Unfortunately, PTFE is soft and it wore quickly, especially on the main axle, which has short bearing rods that take a lot of pressure.

Then I read this article about different plastics used for bearings:

http://info.craftechind.com/blog/bid/25 ... l-Surfaces

Among other things, it says, "nylon is quiet in operation, resists abrasion, wears at a low rate". That caught my eye, so I got some 1/8" nylon rods and cut bearings from those.

The nylon bearings have worked great without any lube, and I'm sure they'll last. The only (minor) issue is that the diameter of the nylon is slightly less than the delrin bearings (although slightly more than the PTFE). It's very, very, very slightly less, like less than 1/100". But it is enough that there is ever-so-slightly more looseness in the crank arms when using nylon as opposed to delrin. For me, it doesn't makes any difference.

If noisy GT roller bearings are driving you nuts, then you might want to give nylon bearings a try. They're cheap, it's an easy mod, and it's worked well for me. Of course, you could still get clicks and pops from other parts of the drive system, but I've found those things much easier to deal with than squeaky bearings.

We recommend a light lube such as WD-40. Only needs it in the ends of the bearings that rub on the races.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

That's interesting. I was basing my comment about grease on this post where it's stated that, "We use a marine bearing grease."

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=54078

Also, some of my fellow kayak fisherman who have recently purchased Hobies tell me that the bearings were greased.

In any case, I like the nylon bearings---no grease of lube of any kind is needed.

Yeah... in assembly they use grease... too much in my opinion, but light lube seems to work very well. Especially when in gritty conditions.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)