Mirage Drive Repairs

I've had a lot of idler pulleys break on me, as well as worn out sprocket teeth.
Do others find these parts to be particularly susceptible to breaking and wearing out? Or should I look into replacing some core components such as the idler shaft, drum shaft, and sprocket shaft? I wonder if something could be out of alignment due to a bent shaft or something.

Any thoughts?
Thanks!
Andrew

I’m sure somebody will provide a much more thoughtful and comprehensive reply. As I am no engineer and am only barely competent with anything mechanical, my input is minimal.

That said, in the 6 years I’ve used my current mirage drive, I’ve replaced the idler cables 4 times, and a sprocket once. No other broken parts thus far. FWIW I think I put higher than average wear on my drive as well. Lots of high mileage high torque pedaling over the years.

Yea for sure, for some reason Hobie decides to make the sprockets (the part that arguably receives the most stress) out of plastic . If a little bit of sand gets in there, it's easy for it to wear out. And why did they not make it out of stainless steel??

On the old GT drives, the sprockets were pretty cheap to replace and fix. But with the new 180 drives, the entire spine assembly needs to be replaced ($300 fix) 

As for the idler cable, it's important to keep them oiled/greased to protect from rusting, which is normally what causes it to break.

Yeah, I’ve also gone through a few idler pulleys, cables/chains, etc... It’s a bummer how much they cost but at least they’re relatively easy to replace.


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Thanks guys.
Has anyone ever had to replace the core components like the shafts? I wonder if something could be out of alignment with mine.

I guess my big question is: Does it make more sense to rebuild or replace a mirage drive?

Andrew

a bigger question is does it make more sense to replace your Hobie instead of spending money on one that tends to breakdown?  Sell it and upgrade to a new model.

a bigger question is does it make more sense to replace your Hobie instead of spending money on one that tends to breakdown?  Sell it and upgrade to a new model.

Maybe you didn't read the post. We're talking about the mirage drive, not the boat. Thanks for the super useful suggestion though.

Thanks guys.
Has anyone ever had to replace the core components like the shafts? I wonder if something could be out of alignment with mine.

I guess my big question is: Does it make more sense to rebuild or replace a mirage drive?

Andrew

I've read somewhere that it's actually good to do a rebuild/service on your drive every year if using the salt...and it'll save you $ in the long run. If you get another drive, just stay away from the MD180...too many weak points.

If you've got a 180 drive, I have no idea. Otherwise, here's my advice.


TL;DR version:

If it's not a GT drive, I'd recommend upgrading to GT. Once you have GT, replace the delrin bearings with nylon. And then do not use any lubrication, ever!


Long version:

I've got 2 mirage drives, but use one of them (bought in 2013 and later upgraded to GT) about 98% of the time. I might have replaced a rusty cable once, and I think I had 1 idler pulley crack. The masts have gotten bent several times, but I've been able to simply bend them back so that they are (nearly) straight. I've also damaged a turbo fin to the point where I thought I'd have to replace it, but it still survives. I do try to take the drive apart once each year to inspect, and replace the nylock nuts. Anyways, the bottom line is that I've found the mirage drive to be extremely low maintenance.

I almost exclusively troll, and probably average about 10 miles per outing. In recent years, much of that is sail-assisted on my AI, but even on the AI, my guess is that I typically pedal at least 80% of the time. With at least 40 outings per year, that's a lot of miles on a mirage drive, even if, say, half of it is not high intensity.

My guess (and it is only a guess...) is that many of the problems that people report are due to grease/lube in the mirage drive that traps grit, which in turn places stress on key components.

On my GT drives, I've replaced the delrin bearing with nylon bearings, which completely eliminates the need for any grit-trapping lubricant. Nylon bearings are considered self-lubricating, and they last forever. The only issue is that nylon expands slightly when wet. But, if you simply use 1 less nylon bearing per set (as compared to the standard delrin bearing set), you'll have no problem with the expansion, and as a bonus, you'll never have any annoying squeaks.

Without any grease/lube to worry about, you can hose down your mirage drive using as much water pressure as you can muster. I'm fairly anal about washing everything down ASAP after each outing, and on my mirage drive, I always use as much water pressure as I can get from the hose. Although I've never pressure washed my mirage drive, I wouldn't hesitate to do so.

I've been preaching the benefits of GT + nylon for quite a while. Although it hasn't caught on, I'm not about to give up...

If you've got a 180 drive, I have no idea. Otherwise, here's my advice.


TL;DR version:

If it's not a GT drive, I'd recommend upgrading to GT. Once you have GT, replace the delrin bearings with nylon. And then do not use any lubrication, ever!


Long version:

I've got 2 mirage drives, but use one of them (bought in 2013 and later upgraded to GT) about 98% of the time. I might have replaced a rusty cable once, and I think I had 1 idler pulley crack. The masts have gotten bent several times, but I've been able to simply bend them back so that they are (nearly) straight. I've also damaged a turbo fin to the point where I thought I'd have to replace it, but it still survives. I do try to take the drive apart once each year to inspect, and replace the nylock nuts. Anyways, the bottom line is that I've found the mirage drive to be extremely low maintenance.

I almost exclusively troll, and probably average about 10 miles per outing. In recent years, much of that is sail-assisted on my AI, but even on the AI, my guess is that I typically pedal at least 80% of the time. With at least 40 outings per year, that's a lot of miles on a mirage drive, even if, say, half of it is not high intensity.

My guess (and it is only a guess...) is that many of the problems that people report are due to grease/lube in the mirage drive that traps grit, which in turn places stress on key components.

On my GT drives, I've replaced the delrin bearing with nylon bearings, which completely eliminates the need for any grit-trapping lubricant. Nylon bearings are considered self-lubricating, and they last forever. The only issue is that nylon expands slightly when wet. But, if you simply use 1 less nylon bearing per set (as compared to the standard delrin bearing set), you'll have no problem with the expansion, and as a bonus, you'll never have any annoying squeaks.

Without any grease/lube to worry about, you can hose down your mirage drive using as much water pressure as you can muster. I'm fairly anal about washing everything down ASAP after each outing, and on my mirage drive, I always use as much water pressure as I can get from the hose. Although I've never pressure washed my mirage drive, I wouldn't hesitate to do so.

I've been preaching the benefits of GT + nylon for quite a while. Although it hasn't caught on, I'm not about to give up...

Did you cut your own nylon bearings from rod stock? Or is there a ready to install version that can be purchased? This sounds like an upgrade I want to add to my to-do list

Did you cut your own nylon bearings from rod stock?

Yes. Very easy mod...

I did the nylon bearing upgrade that NowhereMan suggests and never had issues with squeaks. Wish I could tell you how well it is holding up, but it is now owned by Sledge .... forgot to tell him about the upgrade. Judging by Sledges posts, I’m willing to bet it’s doing fine.
;0)

I've had a lot of idler pulleys break on me, as well as worn out sprocket teeth.
Do others find these parts to be particularly susceptible to breaking and wearing out? Or should I look into replacing some core components such as the idler shaft, drum shaft, and sprocket shaft? I wonder if something could be out of alignment due to a bent shaft or something.

Any thoughts?
Thanks!
Andrew

Make sure the cable tension is not too tight. Too tight puts undue stress on cables and pulleys and they will wear faster than "normal".

Too tight tension on the cables will also cause the Delrin bearings to flatten on their sides and make a horrible noise.