PattersonBike.Com
MAINTENANCE TIPS:
Maintenance tips:
The crankset uses simple bushings for the planet gear / axle bolts
and for the spindle / torque tube.
These bushings need greasing. Grease can be easily pushed into the planet gear pivot while turning them. Grease can be added at the spindle by removing a circlip and sliding the ring gear assembly off the spindle. Note that the brass bushing has grease grooves to store grease and dispense it when needed. Make sure the grooves are full when you are ready to slide the gears back on the spindle.
The planet axles need fresh grease at every opportunity. Severe wear can occur especially in sandy conditions. Do not remove any planet gear axle bolts until you are ready to replace with new parts. The bolts are left hand thread.
Wear is no problem as long as the planets turn freely. The wear pattern on each bolt has no effect until the clocking is changed by rotating an axle bolt. They cancel as long as they remain bedded in by wear. Grease can be applied to the gear teeth but keep it minimal as excess grease just adds drag.
The other bearings are sealed, greased bearings therefore solvents and WD-40 should be avoided as they can dilute the sealed grease. Just use Q-tips, paper towel or paste brush for general cleaning. Brushing off and lightly regreasing of all moving parts and gears is good occasionally. Too much grease adds friction on gears. Too much grease can cause high gear to slip or skip due to the ratchet wheel teeth being gummed up. A brass points brush is adequate to scrub off any material which though invisible, can cause a ratchet tooth to slip or skip.
If a skip or slip (when in high gear) occurs under heavy pedal load, damage to a ratchet wheel tooth or to the control pawl can occur. If this develops, it can be cured with a brass brush on the mating surfaces. If the skipping is not cured by brushing and cleaning, then they can be easily removed and replaced. Control pawl and ratchet wheel.
We have new BB bearing sets available.
Everything else is pretty much maintenance free. If you have a clean unit you could go years with no maintenance at all. If you ride in wet, sand or salt, you might look at it once or twice per year.
Cheers!
