Mirage improvement - over stroking the pedals cure

The Mirage drives on my 2013 Oasis allow the pedals to "over stroke" which causes the fins to go above the horizontal when the pedals reach their full extent apart. That in turn cause the fins to bump up against the hull which causes an annoying "bump". I can't see any adjustment on the chain assembly that would prevent this condition. To me the root cause is the over stroking of the pedals as there is no stop built in to prevent the fins from going above horizontal. Apparently, this has not gone unnoticed as the Mirage GTs on my 2016 TI has a redesigned idler pulley (81123001) that has a different profile that does provide the stop to the pedals and as a result the pedals stop right at horizontal - every time. Beautiful. My question is will this new idler arm be a direct replacement in my 2013 Mirage drives? It appears the pulley shaft can be removed after the set screw is removed and the new idler arm inserted. I await your reply Hobie Engineers.

I know you are not a new Hobie owner, but can I assume you have adjusted the "pedal arms stroke" per page 3, of the Oasis owners manual?

Hobie MirageDrive
Drive Installation
The Hobie MirageDrive
Pedal Adjustment
The pedals of the Hobie MirageDrive are adjustable to accommodate different leg lengths of kayakers.
To adjust the pedals:
1. Squeeze the adjuster handles located on the pedal cranks.

2. While squeezing the adjuster handle, move the pedal crank to the most comfortable position. Similar to a bicycle, it is best to adjust the pedals so your legs do
not fully extend causing your knees to lock. Make sure that the metal pin on the crank fully engages the adjustment hole.

3. Hobie Cat® recommends new users have the pedal length adjustment set in the middle (number 4) to help while installing it into the hull correctly.
Once installed you can select your preferred length setting.

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Dr.SteelheadCatcher
Warrenton, OR

We do that first thing but that adjustment only compensates for the leg length of the kayaker. Even on position 2, a person can still move the pedals far enough apart to bring them above the horizontal. It's particularly troublesome for my 6'5" neighbor who comes with us and he has the adjustment on 7. On the newest mirage GT drives there's a stop on the idler puller that prevents the arms from spreading too far and that feature is not on my 2013 mirage drive idler pulley, hence the problem. The new idler pulley is only $7 so if it's possible to replace the old pulley, it's an easy fix. Hopefully a Hobie guy can tell me if this pulley is compatible with my old drive. Matt Miller, are you there........

On my 2013 PA-14, I converted/upgraded my Mirage Drive to the "GT" version back in January 2015 and the new idler pulley fits as the old one.

My GT idler pulley does not have the stop you describe below. Maybe this is a newer change Hobie implemented??

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Dr.SteelheadCatcher
Warrenton, OR

I'm not familiar with any "stop" on the new idler pulleys either. There are some minor differences in the idler hub area to accommodate the new roller bearings, but operationally it functions like the earlier ones. In some applications it is possible for the GT drums to contact the GT idler pulley near the full forward drum rotation, but it is not intended to be a limiting device. If you order a new idler for your older drive it is doubtful that you would get the same result.

For $7 you can always try it -- worse case, you would have upgraded your idler to roller bearings.

BTW, the front cockpit on your 2013 Oasis is slightly longer than the rear cockpit (unlike previous versions). Your tall neighbor will find more leg extension space there before hitting the limits of the Drive. As you know, your TI had even longer cockpits, rendering the issue moot for most users. Having both tandems, you can always accommodate your neighbor more comfortably in the TI (kayak mode).

hi.. My idler pulley V2 broke. At European dealers it seems that the piece is no longer available .. Can I mount the new GT idler pulley on a mirage drive V2? Thanks Luca (italy)

GT is the direct replacement for the older V2 idler. No problem.

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