Solvent help

[Andrew R Stewart]

Goal- To remove old epoxy or Loctite from the end caps of a set of Weyless roller drums.

I am having these rollers refinished by a local powder coater (and the durability of PC in this application will be a question, but things can't look much worse then the way the OEM finish does now). In removing the bearings and through shaft one of the drum's end caps partially pulled out of the drum's end. Si in for a penny in for a pound... I tapped off all the end caps (not hard at all to do) and find the residue of a bonding material. Brown and hard with drips running down surfaces. So this material was a liquid on it'a application. I was able to scrape (with my Swiss Army knife blade) the residue inside the steel drum's outer area enough for me to feel good about this being ready for reassembly. But the end caps are Aluminum and the residue is MUCH harder to chip off. Much harder. So my thoughts were to try a solvent.

Any thoughts or suggestions? The last set of Weyless rollers that I re bearinged (but didn't refinish) didn't have this end cap coming adrift issue so I have never dealt with this aspect.

BTW the PC guy thinks the sand blasting and paint will run about $45 including any masking needed. But now that the situation is different (I showed him the complete/assembled roller) I'll revisit him for his preference to what state of disassembly he wants to work with. Andy.

[cicli polito]

Hi Andy -

Funnily enough I just rebuilt my set of Weyless Rollers a few months back, and one of the drums also separated from the caps.

I used carb cleaner (spray type), and let it soak on for about 10 minutes. Red scotchbrite wiped it right clean. Good luck!

[Rich Beaudoin]

I have a set of Weyless rollers and never thought about re-finishing the drums.
Are they that beat-up? Mine have worn the finish away in the centers, but they still work.
I'd love to see them in the refinished state when you're done

[Michael Gordon]

I have found 3M General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner to be a great solvent for lots of sticky stuff.

[Mark Kelly]

If the epoxy is properly cured nothing will dissolve it.

If it isn't properly cured, boil the end caps for a while: wet peel strength is where uncured epoxy is most vulnerable.

[Eric Estlund]

Powder is going to be pretty slick, and made slicker by the polishing of the tires on the rollers until you wear through it. Not sure I'd spray the rollers themselves- even with a textured or high grip powder. Food for thought.

[Andrew R Stewart]

IMG_1285.jpggSo here's a shot of the dissembled rollers, well at least one drum. Very simple device. I have cleaned up the through shaft. This drum is the worst, and it is worse in person (my poor photography). Some rust spots, a few gauges (chainrings?) and the paint wear off in general. (I wish I could take credit for this but I bought these used).

I have started to hand scrape off the bonding agent from the drum caps with one of my trusty Swiss Army Knives. Slow work and some bonding agent remains, although much less and no thickness to speak of. I will try some easily attained solvents just in case one works. I'll also follow up in time with my results and likely have another question or three. Andy

[Mark Walberg]

Powder is going to be pretty slick, and made slicker by the polishing of the tires on the rollers until you wear through it. Not sure I'd spray the rollers themselves- even with a textured or high grip powder. Food for thought.

If too slick, could always cover the rollers in chip seal.

[Peter Polack]

If the excess adhesive doesn't affect the fit of the drums and endcaps, I'd leave it alone as it's not visible and likely won't throw the rollers out of balance.

Use Loctite to secure the endcaps to the drums.

I'd be more concerned with powdercoating reducing the I.D. of the drums making for a difficult re-fit of the endcaps, or even powdercoating getting on the ENDS of the drums, interfering with reinstallation. Proper masking is important here.

Also, any sanding of the endcap contact points could lead to a loose fit up.

I'd be concerned about finishing the drums. Paint or powdercoat could crack or chip, leading to bumps on the rollers. And a paint finish might be more slippery against a tire.

Be careful; I can't wait to see the finished product!

[Andrew R Stewart]

IMG_1349.jpgIMG_1353.jpgIMG_1354.jpgSo the rollers are done. They look great. I had the PCer do the blasting and paint on both the end caps and the drums. Reassembled with various LockTite products and new SKF bearings. I used the kitchen oven to speed up the cure time and I can attest that 170*F doesn't effect either the bearings or the PC paint. Here's some shots. Thanks for the help. Andy.

[Peter Polack]

Congratulations on a nice restoration!

What was the total cost of your project, and how do the rollers ride now?

P.S. Here's a true "Weyless" story.

I was a teenager and budding cyclist. My friend and I rode about 10 miles on a main road to a bike shop; to buy what, I don't remember.

Just in front of us as we left, was another customer who had just purchased a pair of Weyless hubs. He got into his car and as he exited the parking lot and turned onto the main road, a gust of wind must have caught the open box in his car and both hubs and the box flew out the window and landed on the road! I don't think the driver had a clue what happened because he didn't stop. As a teenager with a teenager's 1970's income, I couldn't believe what I just saw!

With it being a main road, I thought for sure the hubs would be flattened before we reached them. Well, we retrieved the hubs in time and returned them to the shop owner. He later told me the hubs' owner came back to the shop looking for the hubs and was reunited.