hobie mirage drive durability

Broken teeth on the sprocket a few times by trying to start out too hard.  Better to start slow and work up the speed and then cruise.  Had a pedal come off once too, but my 2009 OB and 2014 AI's drives have been pretty sturdy. 

I'm definitely going to be ordering a spare cable and chain as it seems this can happen at a bad time.

Your speeds are much higher than mine.  I rarely troll above 3mph, usually around 2-2.5mph.  And that is my cruising speed as well heading back in or out depending on current.

I don't see 4 or above really ever.  Maybe I'm just slow or my FF isn't accurate.

This is all ocean/bay so not flat lake conditions.

just had my write up reply not post itself... ah

Drive is from a 010 revo, so relatively old. When purchased the drive looked in good condition, minimal rust if any, so likely not used too many times in the salt. Drive is stored laying on its side when not in use. I don't pedal all the way to the end either. Both cables had give back and forth, I occasionally would have to tighten them when they would loosen and begin to make noise.

I think a lot of the breakage issues can stem from the age of the drive, I haven't changed my pedaling style this year. Big issue was the assembly cable breaking not even a year after being replaced. I think either the cable itself was a lemon from the manufacturer or I pedal too hard. I think accelerating too fast is also a good idea, will make an effort to start slow. I doubt it is sustained power since I am not a big guy (135lb) and I don't really hit very fast speeds.

1st pic is pedal distance adjustment hole cracked, which is why I cant even pedal to the end even if I wanted to
2nd pic is the chain part of the cable snapped, first time this has happened to me.

I'm definitely going to be ordering a spare cable and chain as it seems this can happen at a bad time.

Your speeds are much higher than mine.  I rarely troll above 3mph, usually around 2-2.5mph.  And that is my cruising speed as well heading back in or out depending on current.

I don't see 4 or above really ever.  Maybe I'm just slow or my FF isn't accurate.

This is all ocean/bay so not flat lake conditions.

really travelling speed sustained over 4 for me is a no wind no current kind of thing. Pedalling in enclosed water it surprised me how much faster I went without the influence of current. Usually I am around 2-3 depending on wind and current. this day was deliberately covering lots of water, but cables don't get broken in a day and I don't think my usual numbers are really that extraordinary.

I've watched you pedal on Tbay and your speeds and pedal push are not excessive. Maybe high average when heading out. Seems like smooth travel to me without hammering on the drive. Quality control for some Hobie parts may have been lacking when your drive was manufactured. The cables you replaced that broke again is another question hard to answer.

I’ve had really good luck with my Mirage drives so far (2012 & 2015). I replaced a frayed idler cable and bent the fins mast once.
One thing I was thinking is when you’re not pedaling…and just cruising, do you keep your feet on the pedals? I used to do that a lot, but now I take my feet off the pedals when I’m just cruising/drifting. Because it felt like I was putting too much pressure on the pedals as I drifted along, adjusting myself or leaning into waves, etc.

pedal position can cause a lot of strain on the drive if it's too close to you, even if you're not hammering on the pedals.  my friend is a bit taller than me, and when we didn't adjust the pedals we was really mashing on them, his legs got tired faster, once we pushed them out a bit he was moving smoother.

I used to experience a lot of breakage on my mirage drive. Cables, chains, idler pulley, masts, and so on.
Last year I loosened the chains and cables to where they just stay on and haven't had anything go wrong since.
I might give everything a look today.

It's a 11 year drive. Consider yourself lucky for going this far with a broken drum and chain. I would say over tighening the chain is the cause for that problem. I had my idler cable snap on me once because I think I over tightened it. This was also on a v2 drive.

My GT drives haven't had this problem but I've been maintaining/breaking them down every year and spraying corrosion x on all the exposed metal parts every time I remember.

It's a 11 year drive. Consider yourself lucky for going this far with a broken drum and chain. I would say over tighening the chain is the cause for that problem. I had my idler cable snap on me once because I think I over tightened it. This was also on a v2 drive.

My GT drives haven't had this problem but I've been maintaining/breaking them down every year and spraying corrosion x on all the exposed metal parts every time I remember.

I'd have to agree...looking at your pics of the cracked hole, the plastic looks very brittle and faded.  It may be a safer bet to look for a spare backup drive.  Good luck and be safe out there.

There's a NWKA member - workhard - who was blowing up his Mirage drive nearly as often as you.  I haven't heard him say anything about breaking his drive in most of a year.  You might try to contact him to see what he's doing differently.  Perhaps he's figured it out.