Another 180 drive warranty claim.

After 125 or so trips this year, the Mirage drive gave out. I just dropped it off at Wind Toys up in Santa Rosa for warranty. Evidently the spine needs to be replaced because the bearings are shot. With the storms coming, I’m hoping for 2 week turnaround.

Posting mostly to serve as another marker for 180 drive issues. Even though mine was well maintained, it still broke down after extensive use. Not sure if Hobie banks on less usage or prioritizing cost savings over more robust engineering. But it does seem these drives are not built for punishment, even if well maintained. I wish the drive was built tougher, especially considering the cost.

I’m somewhat disappointed that it did not last a full year. Bought a 2020 OB 12/30/20, and she almost made it.

I am quite happy that Billy up at Wind Toys knows whats up and is on top of the game.

I’ll follow up with the resolution later on.

Thanks for the info. Any rough ballpark estimate as to how many miles you pedaled in that vast number of trips? Was it mostly saltwater use?

In any case, I'm glad that I stayed with the GT drive. I've got 2 of them, and the only issue I had all year was a snapped drive cable, which was annoying, but an easy fix. I've replaced the hollow crank arms with solid (6061) aluminum, I use nylon bearings instead of delrin, I upgraded to thicker stainless split rings, and I got rid of those hokey thin plastic covers over the sprockets.

The crank arms I use are actually a bit longer than standard, and that must put some added stress on the cables. I troll almost all the time, and have had almost no trouble with the GT drive over many years of use.

It seems obvious that the 180 is not built to the same standard as the GT...

Hum, well that sounds like a bummer but glad it's covered for repairs.  How you get out peddling that often is what I really want to know 

I had my spine go too seems like a pretty common problem. I would recommend keeping a backup drive in case one goes down.

I had my spine go too seems like a pretty common problem. I would recommend keeping a backup drive in case one goes down.

I have 2 (GT) mirage drives, so I do carry a spare, and highly recommend it. Although I did have to use quick-release bike pedals on the spare drive, otherwise it would not fit in the front hatch...

I also had to replace the spine on my drive,
Luckily CCK was able to get it warrantied
But this got me thinking ....
Hobie only offers a 3 year warranty, and they must know how common this failure is .... So when it happens again ( and it will if used often) we will have to pony up big $$$ for a flawed design 
:0(

… a flawed design 

Yes, I agree that there is a design issue.

As much as I like Hobie, they can be pretty stubborn when it comes to a design issue. For example, the front hatch on the AI is flawed from several perspectives, and it has never been addressed.

Yea,….so after my drive warranty claim, I just found a large crack in the hull. Hoping they honor their warranty properly again. But dam,…for something so fucking expensive you’d figure it might last a minute. I do use it A LOT,…but I foolishly thought they were the best. Not so sure anymore.

There are definitely some questionable design decisions on Hobie’s part. You’d think for a drive so expensive, that they would use better material. Like how about some stainless steel sprockets instead of plastic?

My experience has been you just have to give it TLC To make it last.

Love my native Mariner and slayer propels  …. Sorry Hobie  :smt00.
  That suck donkey (Rocky Mountain Oysters) that a company can charge that much $$$ fir shit they KNOW ain’t going to last…… but there banking on y’all coming back once that warranty expires with your wallet open wide….. all the free warranty repairs are likely paid for with the cost of the replacement drive, just my $0.02

I also have had problems with the MD180 drive in my 2019 OB. Had bearing problems going back several years with cracked or flattened bearings and finally had the spine replaced in Oct 21. Worked OK for 5 months then started to make a lot of noise so I took it apart. Found the bearings to be in excellent shape but one of the races was worn and pitted. The other races looked great without a mark. Hobie has been working on this design and have improved the bearings. I emailed with Hobie and they are aware of the spline problems. If they were to offer a recall and replace with a GT drive with kick up fins, I wouldn't complain! Anyway, Hobie stood behind their product and replaced the spine 6 months out of warranty! I would suggest you check the tension on the cables as both times my drive went to Hobie the cables were so tight there was no flex to them. I backed them off a little to get some flex before use, even Hobie's tech support recommends doing that and has talked with their people about making the cables too tight. I don't treat my drive badly, washing with fresh water after every use, and no jack rabbit starts! I find it interesting that new Hobie's are using the GT model with kick up fins rather than the MD 180.

... I would suggest you check the tension on the cables ...

I suspect too tight of cables is a common source of problems on all Hobie mirage drive versions. On the Hobie forum, there is a guy who did a bunch of experiments and claims that the GT drive is more efficient when the cables are slightly loose (even looser than Hobie recommends), which is another reason not to over tighten them.

I find it interesting that new Hobie's are using the GT model with kick up fins rather than the MD 180.

I've notice this too...it's like Hobie knows the MD180 shouldn't be on the market.

I did see the 2022 OB does have the MD180 still. Yeah, loosen those cables a bit! Something I discovered yesterday while reassembling my new spine and just for fun I put the old spine back together and noticed the one bad bearing race was missing a bearing! I am extremely careful when taking these drives apart and put parts in order in a muffin tin. I have some Delrin Stock and cut a new piece for it. Hmm. That could have led to the drives early failure since the other bearings and races were pristine. Just sayin, Hobie.

I had a 180 drive failure while at OP today on my AI. Also forgot my paddle was another issue.
Luckily there was enough wind for me to slowly tack back and the broken drive was half working. Enough to allow me to peddle in the harbor with the one fin to the dock.
Went to cck by 4pm and we were able to process a warranty right away. Nov would  be the cutoff before my 2019 drive expire. Pheew