Kindernay maintenance.

[Merle Nelson]

There are some new recommendations to take care of your Kindernay IGH.

As a result of "seepage" from some hubs Kindernay now recommends 30 ml of oil. Also Watt Wagons suggests that the first oil change (with flush) be done at half of the previously recommend 250 miles.

 

[Merle Nelson]

This is oil from my first change at 137 miles.

 

[Merle Nelson]

And this is "flush" oil I added and rode for a few blocks with lots of shifting before draining.

 

[Merle Nelson]

I thought I was being clever by removing the plug and tipping the whole bike over to drain. But no, I made a mess in several different ways. Removing the tire as illustrated by Barn Boy in his Hydra thread Is definitely the way to go.

Also written up by Barn Boy was the idea of grinding a flat bladed screw driver down to have a thicker blade which fits the Kindernay plug well. This can be seen a little better in my post #2 where screwdriver is laying on the cardboard.

 

[Merle Nelson]

When I ordered my Hydra I asked WW to sell me some extra oil for the first changes. The bottle on the left is a part of that purchase with 30 ml of oil in it. After seeing Barn Boys oil from his change at about 250 mi. and hearing Acme describe the color and condition of oil at his first change I knew I would want more oil.

The clear bottle second from the left is a well calibrated bottle so you know how many ml you are putting in and the two bottles on the right are enough for four oil changes. These are what WW provided when I did a second oil order.

I like the idea of getting impurities out of a mechanical device to prolong its life. I believe I'll do another oil change in 100 mi. or so and then suspect I'll change oil at about half of the 3000 miles suggested by Kindernay.

 

[scrambler]

Kindernay VII Oil change without removing the wheel.
Granted I have a small sprocket, so the plug is more accessible...

• Wiped the area clean
• Made a collecting collar with Blue tape
• Used my stand to keep the bike leaning on its pedal for a long time to fully drain. Tried all the way to the ground but the 45 deg seems to drain it all.
• Then tipped the bike the other way using the same stand and pedal on the other side
• Used a 10ml Syringe to SLOWLY fill in the Hub (two syringes)
• Went around the Block changing gears a lot
• Then repeated the process.

The oil the second time was still dark, so I hesitated doing a second wash, but given I was doing it at less than 200 miles I left it at that, and will do the next one at 400/500 miles

 

[Merle Nelson]

Ha, great thinking and technique.

 

[Deacon Blues]

When I did my last oil change I took the rim off the bike. It came off without much fuss, but try as I might I could not get the wheel back on with the chain still on the bike. On my Hydra the hydraulic lines are quite short which really makes the wheel install difficult. If the lines were 2 or 3 inches longer it would have made the task a lot easier. Having said that, after I took off the chain the wheel and hydraulic coupler went on without much grief.
One thing I don't like about the Kindernay hub is there is no way to check how much oil is in the hub without draining it.

 

[scrambler]

No this is a Boxxbike dual drive train, with a custom adaptation of the Kindernay as mentioned in an other thread below

https://forums.electricbikereview.c...hyseq-onesie-shifter.44909/page-9#post-517308

 

[scrambler]

Can't complain

 

[TPEHAK]

I refilled my Kindernay XII with Red Line D4 automatic transmission fluid at 3000 miles oil change since Kindernay is out of business and there is no velvet oil for sale. It has the same color and even the same smell so I guess this is the same stuff, and it is cheap. I will will keep you updated how it goes.