Comments on: Chainless Bikes

By: Paul

Paul — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 02:19:15 +0000

I bought a Dynamic Runabout last fall and also had metallic creaking noise whenever I pedaled hard. I also had a hard time figuring out where the noise was coming from. I called the company and the first thing they asked me to try was to grease the bike (requires a grease gun which can be had for under 20 dollars at Walmart with grease). After I pumped pumped 4 or 5 shots of grease into the fitting, the problem was 100 percent solved and all has worked wonderfully since then. Although the bikes are supposed to come from the company already fully lubed internally, my guess is that sometimes one slips through without sufficient grease. I am currently riding my bike 150 plus miles per week on the local rail trail between York, PA and Hunt Valley, MD and it works like a charm.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 02:27:01 +0000

Eric,

I was a bike mechanic and service manager for years and have worked on lots of “creaking” sounds. It is often something quite simple. I have never worked on a Dynamic bike but just looked at a picture of it. I suspect that the creacking comes from the bottom bracket assembly or the crank bolts (it should have these). Start by taking out the crank bolts and regreasing them and then thread them back it. Be careful not to over torque them. If this doen’t work then go to a good independent bike store and have a mechanic ride it. They look for these sounds all the time and find them in the strangest places even when the sound seems to come from eleswhere. I have isolated the sounds from bottom brackets, handlebars, seatposts and even front quick release skewers.

SDince the bike is new the liklihood of this being structural in anyway is next to zero. You are likely to find it coming from an area where two parts meet and are not seated fully.

Good luck

By: marc

marc — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 14:41:06 +0000

@Eric,
I do not own a Dynamic bike, but have experienced the creaking noise you describe in another bike (a Bianchi). I thought I might tell you about it just in the unlikely case the same problem might be occurring in your bike.

My problem was a crack in the frame, more precisely, the fork. At the point where the fork comes together under the head tube, the two tines of the fork are welded together using a third piece that receives the two members. During this process, the metal was heated to the point where it had become brittle. For two years I heard this creaking noise, until one day I saw that the fork was actually cracked right across the brazed joint. This was definitely a manufacturing defect.

I was about 15 or 16 years old at the time, and didn’t know much about bikes, let alone metal fatigue. I took it back to the shop (with proof of purchase) and the sales person told me that he would look into having Bianchi replacing the frame for free (he understood that it was something that should not happen). Unfortunately, when I returned another person told me that it was due to my abusive riding or an accident and charged me for the repair (even though I had not authorized it). Since I had no bike I just paid and left the store.

I recommend you check your frame at the joints and elsewhere and see if you have small stress fractures. These could be the source of the creaking. The other areas to check is the bottom bracket (very common source of creaking) and the head tube bearing, as these take up quite a bit of stress when you ride over a bumpy road or climb a steep hill.

Baggio Cycles in Montreal is the store that charged me for the repair. I think they’ve since gone out of business.

By: Eric

Eric — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:26:13 +0000

I own a Dynamic Bike. I loved it,,,still do in spite of a minor annoyance: “creaking, metalic sounding grinding”

Does anyone else have this annoyance?

What I loved about this bike is the absolute smoothness and quietness of operation. It is still the smoothest bike I’ve ridden, but I am disappointed with the creaking. It creaks when mounting the bike. I can make it creak by pedaling hard anytime.

I have been unable to resolve this annoyance, nor even isolate where the creaking comes from. I suspect it comes from the mounting bolts in the rear portion of the drive unit. I was going to have someone listen closely as I pedaled hard to isolate the noise with the bike on a stationary trainer. But this style of trainer holds the back wheel up by tightening a holder cup on each side of the axle nuts; thereby compressing the entire drive unit more securely and was unable to elicit any noise with this configuration. This being said, I’ve deduced that it is probably the mounting design of the drive unit to the frame that causes this annoying sound.

I have taken the bolts off and observed visible evidence of wear under bolts on the metal of the drive unit. Pretty sure this is where the noise comes from.

But I have tightened them, retightened them,,,took the bolts out, cleaned with alcohol and then applied fresh blue LockTite and still get the creaking noise.

If I ride this bike like an old man – which I do now- I can ride with no noise. I still get a creak when mounting the bike tho.

Just wondered if anyone else has come up against this challenge and found a resolution to it?

I certainly welcome any suggestions from anyone.

Dynamic Bikes have no answer other than: “Oh, I’m sorry you are not satisfied with our product.” and “No we have heard no other complaints about such.” I don’t believe I am the only one with this challenge. And I believe there has to be a satisfactory resolution.

This creaking is THE ONLY thing I am unhappy about. Otherwise I give Dynamic Bikes a superior rating on everything else. I love this bike even with its creak.

Any feed back is welcomed. Thanks

By: Sean

Sean — Thu, 21 May 2009 02:26:22 +0000

Been very happy with my Tempo I purchased last year from Dynamic Bicycles. I went with a hybrid/chainless combo for hopefully reduced maintenance, and it has exceeded my expectations.
Only one thing I would have done different at ordering time, gone with the next smaller frame. The accessories I’ve added since are Power Grips pedals,Ergon bar ends, and Mr Tuffy liners(too much cactus in southern california!).
I’ve been happy enough, that I’m considering also getting a folding Sidekick 8 from Dynamic to use at work on the days I drive in.

By: Mack

Mack — Mon, 04 May 2009 17:39:25 +0000

I own a shaft-driven bicycle and the machine works wonderfully. There is very little apparent loss of power versus a chain drive, and it is nearly silent in operation. I take it on the train and don’t have to worry about getting oil on my clothes–or anybody else’s.

By: dave

dave — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 13:56:07 +0000

vaccinefiend, what does that mean? Judge Wapner is on

By: Patrick Perugini

Patrick Perugini — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:54:00 +0000

I am offended at Vaccinefiend’s misleading posting above. So let’s set the record straight. This customer owned his Dynamic Bicycle for nearly a year. He called us and claimed that his shaft drive was broken and asked for a refund. Even though his bicycle was 9 months beyond the normal return period, we offered a refund in good faith that it was actually broken. When the bicycle was returned to us, it did not have the problem he claimed — the shaft drive was perfectly fine. His bike only need some adjustments and it was as good as new. When we called him to tell him his bike did not have the problem he thought and that it was running great, we thought he would be pleased. He wasn’t. We did the service at no charge and even offered to ship the bicycle back to him at our expense. He refused. At Dynamic Bicycles, we have a great reputation for our excellent customer service. But even we have to draw the line when we think we are being taken advantage of. This customer clearly was trying to take advantage of us. He thought he could claim to have a problem and send a bike back after riding it extensively for nearly a year and get a full refund. This is incredulous. Yet despite his attitude, we still gave him a generous refund – his entire initial purchase price less 15% plus shipping – quite a deal for using the bike for nearly an entire year. Then he goes onto blogs and posts his drama for the world to see. We regret that this customer had difficulty with his bike, but we stand behind our bikes and our efforts to serve him. He clearly had no interest in resolving the problem with his bike – all he wanted was his money back.

By: vaccinefiend

vaccinefiend — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 02:38:25 +0000

I owned a Dynamic Bicycles shaft drive bicycle. The Sussex shaft drive was not built to specifications that could handle the torque generated when pedaling uphill, or pedaling hard on level ground. The result was that the shaft drive was not maintenance free–in fact, it broke. I replaced it with a new shaft drive sent by Dynamic Bicycles. The new one began to break and I was told by their Production Manager that I was exceeding the specifications of the shaft drive. I received a verbal agreement from him to refund the purchase price of the bicycle. Dynamic Bicycles even took care of the return shipping for the bicycle.

Once they received it, however, the president of Dynamic Bicycles told me that I had owned the bicycle longer than 30 days, so the satisfaction guarantee no longer applied. I was given the option of having my bicycle returned to me with a tightened bolt and new grease, which would supposedly fix the problem, or receiving a refund minus the cost of shipping and a 15% restocking fee. Despite phone conversations, emails and then a complaint process with the Better Business Bureau In Eastern Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island and Vermont (http://boston.bbb.org/WWWRoot/SitePage.aspx?site=27&id=b9531757-8bff-425c-83ce-ef5cf233e6a5), the president of the company would not uphold a verbal agreement stated twice and acknowledged by email. Because I do not live in Massachusetts, the state where Dynamic Bicycles is located, it made no sense for me to pursue a mediation or claim in small claims court, which would have required my presence. I will never do business with Dynamic Bicycles again, nor would I recommend doing business with Dynamic Bicycles. I am also weary of bicycles sold with shaft drives built by Sussex.

By: Laurent MERCAT

Laurent MERCAT — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 22:48:14 +0000

Montpellier has launched a bike sharing system running with 600 chainless bikes. It is the worldwide largest experiment on chainless bikes ! After almost 2 years, very limited problems. More information on http://www.velomagg.com.