Mirage Drive Pedal Crank Arm: Available A-La-Carte?

By virtue of my remarkable physical condition (NOT!) I just managed to crack one of the Mirage Drive's crank arms

viz: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipP ... JaRW5TYzBR

That's the Mirage Drive end, but the pedal end is cracked too - although not as badly.

Austin Kayak only offers a complete crank-plus-pedal assembly (search on "722") for fifty-two bucks..... Ouch!

Seems like there's got to be somebody somewhere that sells just the crank - but who and where?

Yes, I put it in for a warranty replacement....and maybe I'll even get one in a few weeks or months.... but if the likes of me (76 years old, can barely walk) is able to break one of these things, I'm thinking I want at least one spare on hand at all times.

I am sniffing around NowhereMan's DIY solid crank solution - as per http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index ... ic=54481.0 - but have not contacted him yet.

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2015 AI in "Dune" - "The Grey Pig"
2017 Trailex 450 Trailer
Pre-September 2015 cradles
(anybody want to buy a slightly-used AI SpinKit?)
eMail: [email protected]

Yes, you should certainly be able to get a new one under warranty. A couple of years ago, during the WaterTribe Everglades Challenge, there were several cranks broken. All were replaced fairly quickly by Hobie, who, I believe, claimed it was due to a bad production batch.

Keith

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2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon

We only sell as assemblies due to the way the pedal axle is press fit to the crank. You can't do that DIY.

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

If Hobie doesn't replace it for you, bring it to a good weld shop. They may be able to repair it, although by the looks of it it'll be tough. Still, some of those guys can work miracles. Wouldn't hurt to ask.

Hobie did warranty it via my retailer (Austin Kayaks) and it only took 3 weeks.... -)

Not wanting to be down for three weeks when the next one breaks, I bought some solid 3/4" 6061 stock for $18, an el-cheapo drill press for $145, and a couple of 9/16" bicycle pedal taps for $20: total cost so far $183.

Got the stock drilled for the Mirage Drive pivot, drilled for the length-adjustment thingie and center-punched for the pedal holes.

I figure I should be able to find a set of el-cheapo plastic MTB pedals for less than twenty bucks... so call it about two bills total....

Then we'll see if the solid stock drilled for bicycle pedals survives any better than the hollow stuff.

Tangentially, if anybody likes to fool around fixing and making stuff and has not bought a drill press yet, don't wait another minute: get one right now...... The thing I bought is junk by any machine shop's standards, but it's like gold compared to free-drilling with a hand drill.... I *really* wish I had bought one 40 years ago.

_________________
2015 AI in "Dune" - "The Grey Pig"
2017 Trailex 450 Trailer
Pre-September 2015 cradles
(anybody want to buy a slightly-used AI SpinKit?)
eMail: [email protected]

Dont know how well regular pedal bearings will hold up in marine environment. The early hobie pedals were solid cranks with bike style pedal mounts. Some folks replaced the pedals with bike cleat pedals

viz: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipP ... JaRW5TYzBR

First day out with the new warranty replacement for the first broken arm and I noticed the other pedal was getting wobbly.

Sure enough.... although I would suspect it was starting to crack when I discovered the first one... just wasn't wobbly enough to feel.

Now that I am looking at the second break, I have to wonder if that pressed fit is backing out and the resulting leverage is cracking the arms..... I'm no engineer, and I suppose there's a reason - but my kneejerk reaction would be to spend another dollar per Mirage Drive and run those pedal shafts all the way through and bolt them on the other side where the pressed fit is now.

I'm 76 years old and can barely walk.... So I am having trouble getting my head around breaking two of these things while nobody else seems to have a problem.

Or am I just such an animal.... ? -)

_________________
2015 AI in "Dune" - "The Grey Pig"
2017 Trailex 450 Trailer
Pre-September 2015 cradles
(anybody want to buy a slightly-used AI SpinKit?)
eMail: [email protected]

I've made a bunch of DIY crank arms, mostly out of solid 3/4" 6161 aluminum, some using bicycle pedals---similar to what PeteCress describes. I've also got a pair of threaded stainless spindles, so that I can use the Hobie platform pedals instead of bike pedals.

In case anybody else decides to make their own crank arms, I thought I'd mention that I've experimented with different lengths for the crank arms and found that slightly longer works better for me. So, that's something you might want to consider.

And, yes, a drill press is an essential tool for this...