One year with the TerraCycle idler

About a year ago, during my annual maintenance overhaul, I put a
TerraCycle idler on my Burley Django. While it is expensive, the cost
of replacing rubber idlers adds up over the years. I'd gone through
five rubber idlers in the previous four years. This is the first year
that I haven't had to replace the idler on the Django. If the
TerraCycle idler lasts another five years it will have been well worth
what I paid for it. Aside from saving some money every year, it's one
less maintenance chore.

It seems to perform as well as a new rubber idler, but it is somewhat
noisier. Initially it produced a lot of noise, enough that I considered
removing it. I'm glad I didn't, because as time has gone on the noise
has reduced considerably. I can hear it now if I listen for it, but
otherwise it's not noticeable. Most of the initial noise seemed to have
come from the idler wheel not moving laterally when I shifted. This
resulted in the chain misaligning with the idler wheel. As time went on,
and things loosened up, the idler wheel started moving more freely, and
it's no longer an issue.

I put over 3,000 miles on it, including one two week trip from Seattle
to Portland and back. Except for the initial noise, it was out of sight
and out of mind.

---
John Knez

John Knez wrote:
About a year ago, during my annual maintenance overhaul, I put a
TerraCycle idler on my Burley Django. While it is expensive, the cost
of replacing rubber idlers adds up over the years. I'd gone through
five rubber idlers in the previous four years. This is the first year
that I haven't had to replace the idler on the Django. If the
TerraCycle idler lasts another five years it will have been well worth
what I paid for it. Aside from saving some money every year, it's one
less maintenance chore.

It seems to perform as well as a new rubber idler, but it is somewhat
noisier. Initially it produced a lot of noise, enough that I considered
removing it. I'm glad I didn't, because as time has gone on the noise
has reduced considerably. I can hear it now if I listen for it, but
otherwise it's not noticeable. Most of the initial noise seemed to have
come from the idler wheel not moving laterally when I shifted. This
resulted in the chain misaligning with the idler wheel. As time went on,
and things loosened up, the idler wheel started moving more freely, and
it's no longer an issue.

I put over 3,000 miles on it, including one two week trip from Seattle
to Portland and back. Except for the initial noise, it was out of sight
and out of mind.

---
John Knez

I also did the upgrade, and choose the dual idler for my trike, the unit
is well built and extremely quiet. Along with the Dumonde Tech
lubrication, my drive train makes little or no noise. Yes it is
expensive, but well worth the money. I can't tell you how many things I
have bought for my trike that turned out to be not worth a penny. My
idler never made a sound even in the beginning, but each bike is
different in regard to the stress put on the bearings.

On 2007-02-06 12:10:41 +0000, Joel joelw135atcomcast.net said:

John Knez wrote:
About a year ago, during my annual maintenance overhaul, I put a
TerraCycle idler on my Burley Django. While it is expensive, the cost
of replacing rubber idlers adds up over the years. I'd gone through
five rubber idlers in the previous four years. This is the first year
that I haven't had to replace the idler on the Django. If the
TerraCycle idler lasts another five years it will have been well worth
what I paid for it. Aside from saving some money every year, it's one
less maintenance chore.

It seems to perform as well as a new rubber idler, but it is somewhat
noisier. Initially it produced a lot of noise, enough that I considered
removing it. I'm glad I didn't, because as time has gone on the noise
has reduced considerably. I can hear it now if I listen for it, but
otherwise it's not noticeable. Most of the initial noise seemed to have
come from the idler wheel not moving laterally when I shifted. This
resulted in the chain misaligning with the idler wheel. As time went
on, and things loosened up, the idler wheel started moving more freely,
and it's no longer an issue.

I put over 3,000 miles on it, including one two week trip from Seattle
to Portland and back. Except for the initial noise, it was out of
sight and out of mind.

---
John Knez

I also did the upgrade, and choose the dual idler for my trike, the
unit is well built and extremely quiet. Along with the Dumonde Tech
lubrication, my drive train makes little or no noise. Yes it is
expensive, but well worth the money. I can't tell you how many things I
have bought for my trike that turned out to be not worth a penny. My
idler never made a sound even in the beginning, but each bike is
different in regard to the stress put on the bearings.

Do either of you lube the bearing on the idler? Indeed is it possible
to do this?
--
Three wheels good, two wheels ok

www.catrike.co.uk

Buck wrote:

Do either of you lube the bearing on the idler? Indeed is it possible to
do this?

I lube the bolt that the idler is mounted on, but I haven't tried to
lube the bearing. It doesn't appear that the bearing is designed to be
lubed. None of the documentation I received from TerraCycle mentioned
the need to lube the bearing. This now has me wondering about how the
bearing is sealed, and the likelihood of water and grit contaminating
it. The bearing could seize, and one might not even notice it if the
idler was rotating freely on the mounting bolt.

---
John Knez

John Knez wrote:
Buck wrote:

Do either of you lube the bearing on the idler? Indeed is it possible
to do this?

I lube the bolt that the idler is mounted on, but I haven't tried to
lube the bearing. It doesn't appear that the bearing is designed to be
lubed. None of the documentation I received from TerraCycle mentioned
the need to lube the bearing. This now has me wondering about how the
bearing is sealed, and the likelihood of water and grit contaminating
it. The bearing could seize, and one might not even notice it if the
idler was rotating freely on the mounting bolt.

---
John Knez
I also only lubricate the bolt with Dumonde Tech lubrication and it is
so quiet that you wonder if the chain is even moving.

Joel

John Knez wrote:
About a year ago, during my annual maintenance overhaul, I put a
TerraCycle idler on my Burley Django. While it is expensive, the cost
of replacing rubber idlers adds up over the years. I'd gone through
five rubber idlers in the previous four years. This is the first year
that I haven't had to replace the idler on the Django. If the
TerraCycle idler lasts another five years it will have been well worth
what I paid for it. Aside from saving some money every year, it's one
less maintenance chore.

It seems to perform as well as a new rubber idler, but it is somewhat
noisier. Initially it produced a lot of noise, enough that I considered
removing it. I'm glad I didn't, because as time has gone on the noise
has reduced considerably. I can hear it now if I listen for it, but
otherwise it's not noticeable. Most of the initial noise seemed to have
come from the idler wheel not moving laterally when I shifted. This
resulted in the chain misaligning with the idler wheel. As time went on,
and things loosened up, the idler wheel started moving more freely, and
it's no longer an issue.

I put over 3,000 miles on it, including one two week trip from Seattle
to Portland and back. Except for the initial noise, it was out of sight
and out of mind.

---
John Knez
There was one thing that I love about the TerraCycle idler kit for the
ActionBent Trike, is that since it comes with a movable bracket it has
allowed me to fine tune the drive train. By moving the bracket to
different locations I was able to get the best chain line possible.

Joel

Two years ago I put the TerraCycle idler on my WizWheelz and it was
immediately quiet. Last year I installed one on my V-Rex but it is
much noiser than the old idler. I only have 500 miles on the Rex
idler so hopefully it too will quiet down over time.

Enjoy,

Perry B


On Feb 5, 11:02 pm, John Knez wrote:
About a year ago, during my annual maintenance overhaul, I put a
TerraCycle idler on my Burley Django. While it is expensive, the cost
of replacing rubber idlers adds up over the years. I'd gone through
five rubber idlers in the previous four years. This is the first year
that I haven't had to replace the idler on the Django. If the
TerraCycle idler lasts another five years it will have been well worth
what I paid for it. Aside from saving some money every year, it's one
less maintenance chore.

It seems to perform as well as a new rubber idler, but it is somewhat
noisier. Initially it produced a lot of noise, enough that I considered
removing it. I'm glad I didn't, because as time has gone on the noise
has reduced considerably. I can hear it now if I listen for it, but
otherwise it's not noticeable. Most of the initial noise seemed to have
come from the idler wheel not moving laterally when I shifted. This
resulted in the chain misaligning with the idler wheel. As time went on,
and things loosened up, the idler wheel started moving more freely, and
it's no longer an issue.

I put over 3,000 miles on it, including one two week trip from Seattle
to Portland and back. Except for the initial noise, it was out of sight
and out of mind.

---
John Knez

wrote:
Two years ago I put the TerraCycle idler on my WizWheelz and it was
immediately quiet. Last year I installed one on my V-Rex but it is
much noiser than the old idler. I only have 500 miles on the Rex
idler so hopefully it too will quiet down over time.

Enjoy,

Perry B


On Feb 5, 11:02 pm, John Knez wrote:
About a year ago, during my annual maintenance overhaul, I put a
TerraCycle idler on my Burley Django. While it is expensive, the cost
of replacing rubber idlers adds up over the years. I'd gone through
five rubber idlers in the previous four years. This is the first year
that I haven't had to replace the idler on the Django. If the
TerraCycle idler lasts another five years it will have been well worth
what I paid for it. Aside from saving some money every year, it's one
less maintenance chore.

It seems to perform as well as a new rubber idler, but it is somewhat
noisier. Initially it produced a lot of noise, enough that I considered
removing it. I'm glad I didn't, because as time has gone on the noise
has reduced considerably. I can hear it now if I listen for it, but
otherwise it's not noticeable. Most of the initial noise seemed to have
come from the idler wheel not moving laterally when I shifted. This
resulted in the chain misaligning with the idler wheel. As time went on,
and things loosened up, the idler wheel started moving more freely, and
it's no longer an issue.

I put over 3,000 miles on it, including one two week trip from Seattle
to Portland and back. Except for the initial noise, it was out of sight
and out of mind.

---
John Knez


You can look and see if the place where the idler is screwed into is
straight! Sometimes the hole is threaded wrong in production which would
make the idler noisy, as the idler is not straight.

On 2007-02-10 16:36:37 +0000, Joel joelw135atcomcast.net said:

wrote:
Two years ago I put the TerraCycle idler on my WizWheelz and it was
immediately quiet. Last year I installed one on my V-Rex but it is
much noiser than the old idler. I only have 500 miles on the Rex
idler so hopefully it too will quiet down over time.

Enjoy,

Perry B


On Feb 5, 11:02 pm, John Knez wrote:
About a year ago, during my annual maintenance overhaul, I put a
TerraCycle idler on my Burley Django. While it is expensive, the cost
of replacing rubber idlers adds up over the years. I'd gone through
five rubber idlers in the previous four years. This is the first year
that I haven't had to replace the idler on the Django. If the
TerraCycle idler lasts another five years it will have been well worth
what I paid for it. Aside from saving some money every year, it's one
less maintenance chore.

It seems to perform as well as a new rubber idler, but it is somewhat
noisier. Initially it produced a lot of noise, enough that I considered
removing it. I'm glad I didn't, because as time has gone on the noise
has reduced considerably. I can hear it now if I listen for it, but
otherwise it's not noticeable. Most of the initial noise seemed to have
come from the idler wheel not moving laterally when I shifted. This
resulted in the chain misaligning with the idler wheel. As time went on,
and things loosened up, the idler wheel started moving more freely, and
it's no longer an issue.

I put over 3,000 miles on it, including one two week trip from Seattle
to Portland and back. Except for the initial noise, it was out of sight
and out of mind.

---
John Knez


You can look and see if the place where the idler is screwed into is
straight! Sometimes the hole is threaded wrong in production which
would make the idler noisy, as the idler is not straight.

Also if the chain keeper is on there it needs to be set so the nut is
flat side to the idler, if not the nut can catch the idler.
--
Three wheels good, two wheels ok

www.catrike.co.uk

I found the toothed idler lasted far longer on my hepcat then the
rubber lined one did. I wore out a couple of the rubber inner rings in
a year.