SRAM DualDrive problems

[grazie]

I've acquired a Dahon Speed TR with drive problems. When the cranks are turned there's no drive at the wheel. I've got the SRAM tech manual to refer to, but I've been having problems finding out where to get spares. I believe Fisher Outdoor Leisure are SRAMs UK distributer, but of course you can't talk to them unless you have a trade account. I read on this thread that SRAM parts are impossible to get hold of...hope not.

Any ideas?

[Brucey]

try a Dahon dealer, or German Ebay perhaps.

cheers

[Sweep]

If you are in London Fudges may be able to advise.

[grazie]

Thanks for the replies.

Fudges were very helpful. They offered to diagnose the problem and see if they could obtain replacement parts. As I don't live in London, it's a bit of a hassle and would add to the cost of repair.

Getting in contact with either SRAM or Fisher Outdoor Leisure seems pretty difficult to me, although Fudges did say they had a customer that had only recently managed to successfully make contact with SRAM regarding repairs and parts.

As far as I a can gather, only the 36 hole hub Dual Drive hub is available from old stock, which I've seen on Germany's eBay, although they can be obtained from SJS and possibly others in the UK. However, the bike has a 28 hole rim, so prefer not build a new wheel. I am considering getting an SA hub instead, but again they are 36 hole.

Does anybody have an email address for SRAM?

[Brucey]

SRAM no longer have an e-mail address with which to communicate with their customers, which is a poor old do IMHO.

If you get a replacement 36h SRAM hub you should be able to transplant the innards into your old 28h shell. However it would be wise to check the condition of the shell before obtaining the new hub; although problems with the shell are rare, they are not completely unknown.

cheers

[grazie]

Made significant progress. I was in Halfords (Canterbury) for car bits & bobs and thought I'd pop up to the cycling workshop for a giggle.

To my great surprise, the manager was both knowledgable and very helpful. He called Fisher Outdoor Leisure on my behalf and found out that the hub may be repaired under warranty, as they're not supposed to fail so soon (5-7 years I'm guessing). All I have to do is send it back to Fisher Outdoor Leisure via Halfords and they will see if it can be repaired under warranty. If not, they'll quote for the repair, which I can take or leave.

Nice one Halfords.

[Sweep]

Congratulations.

And well done halfords. They deserve good publicity for this.

They get a lot of stick from some people.

It was particularly good of halfords as i'm not aware that they sell a bike with dual drive.

Equally, it seems that sram deserve some bad publicity as they seem more than elusive for what is a pretty expensive bit of kit.

I have the (possibly [rude word removed]) cousin of your bike by the way - a dahon speed pro.

[grazie]

Unfortunately, Fisher Outdoor Leisure have declined to replace the Dual Drive under warranty. They want £120 for DD3 hub and another £50 to transfer the mechanism over to the hub on my wheel. It would appear that only 36 hole hubs are available, otherwise rebuilding the wheel would be an option. As it looks like my Dual Drive is unrepairable or at least it'll be impossible to get parts, I have the following options.

1. Wait around for a used but working DD2/DD3 hub or wheel to become available.
2. Buy a NOS DD2 and transfer the mechanism. The DD2 can be bought for £120 including clickbox (which I need but is only about £7), shifter and cables.
3. Buy a new DD3 for £120 and transfer the mechanism.
4. As either 2 or 3, but buy a new rim & spokes and build a new wheel to save having to transfer the hub mechanism. I already have a spare 28h MTB hub that I could use to rebuild the original and use without hub gearing, which will give me a spare wheel (or one to keep me going in the meantime)

I'm not sure what to do. Is the DD3 significant better? Any other suggestions?

[Tortoise]

..................... I already have a spare 28h MTB hub that I could use to rebuild the original and use without hub gearing, which will give me a spare wheel ...........

Can't advise about the DD3 hub but your option to create a spare 'normal' wheel might be flawed because it's likely the current spokes will be too short to mount your spare hub in the old rim because the DD hub flanges are of a larger diameter. You'd then need new spokes, which is perfectly doable of course but might alter the financial equation somewhat?

[squeaker]

Is the DD3 significant better? Any other suggestions?

IIRC, the DD3 is supposed to rattle less when coasting (but I've not actually witnessed this). Hopefully SRAM might have addressed some of the known failure modes too, but again I have no evidence of that.

[Brucey]

Is the DD3 significant better? Any other suggestions?

IIRC, the DD3 is supposed to rattle less when coasting (but I've not actually witnessed this). Hopefully SRAM might have addressed some of the known failure modes too, but again I have no evidence of that.

I'd suggest getting an SA hub instead. I think they are usually stronger internally, no clickbox, slightly better protected and it means you don't have to deal with Fisher (which you can only do via your dealer IIRC). I'm not saying that there are never any problems getting spares (but at least there are more people to go to) or that there is no chance that you'll get a duff hub, but if you do it should fail within warranty and you will be able to get it sorted out OK. IIRC there is a tern model that uses the SA hub, maybe you can buy a whole wheel as a spare part?

Check this to be sure, but IIRC the spoke flanges are only about 2mm different in diameter on the SA which means you can re-use the old spokes in a tangent built wheel if you decide to rebuild.

I've not had all that much to do with SRAM DD hubs but I do know that the internals come out in one lump easily so if you get new internals there is no need to worry about swapping them over into another shell, it is an easy job to do, with the only fiddly bit assembling and adjusting the LH bearing; it doesn't look that complicated but it appears that this is something that SRAM themselves don't seem to be able to do, from what I've seen...

BTW complete loss of drive in all gears is an odd failure mode. Maybe there is a lesson to be learned there?

cheers

[grazie]

I bought this bike broke, so nowt to do with me. Also, it's not going to cost much for 20" wheels spoke is it? I wouldn't have thought re-using old spokes was worth the hassle.

Yeah, I did consider SA but dismissed them as I wanted to avoid building a new wheel initially. Now I'm considering it again, I think SA is well worth some thought.

Any views on Shimano Nexave kit? I've not seen much about it myself.

[Brucey]

short spokes are notoriously difficult to get hold of in the right quality and length; cost may or may not enter into it.

cheers

[AM7]

Any views on Shimano Nexave kit? I've not seen much about it myself.

I recently bought a NOS Nexave Intego 'dual drive' for £39.99 + 3.98 postage from a seller on eBay. This included the hub, bellcrank and left hand (hub gear side) shifter/brake lever. SRAM 10.5mm anti-turn washers fit the axle, but I've had to buy a pushrod and axle nuts from a shop in Germany (for about £13 inc postage). So all in, less than £60 for the whole lot which seemed a pretty good deal. It's 36 hole but the seller has another two available - see eBay item number 181580830631.

I haven't got it all built up yet so I can't give you a view on how well it works, but it looks and feels like a quality piece of kit and I've no reason to suspect it'll be any less reliable than the SRAM or Sturmey equivalents.

[grazie]

That's interesting AM7. Where in Germany did you get the push rod and axle nuts (aren't these a standard size anyway)? The ones I've found online look standard to me. If they are none standard, how did you find/search for them?

Also, are you building a 20" wheel? If so, where are you getting your spokes?