Author Topic: ballsy nankai freecoaster mod  (Read 26635 times)

Offline jwnolte

  • Member
  • **
  • Posts: 26
ballsy nankai freecoaster mod
« on: November 03, 2008, 10:01:13 PM »
this mod will make your nankai freecoaster smoother and stronger. you will need a nankai wrench, a big adjustable wrench for lock nuts, some thick grease and some extra ball bearings. the bearings inside the driver on my 11t are bigger than the bearings inside the shell, so make sure you get the right sizes.

the bearings that come in a Nankai hub look something like this:

we are basically going to eliminate those cages to make room for more bearings to make the hub smoother and stronger. push the bearings out of the metal cages inside the hub so you have nothing but loose ball bearings.

actually, you could probably do this to any unsealed part and get better performance with it. those of you who are plagued with an unsealed bottom bracket, take note.


1. take your hub apart. "glue" all the bearings to the cones with grease, not the hub shell. i think you need 17 on each side of the shell and 10 in the driver? do the right side first- push all the balls in close around the inner part of the driver, not out along the sides of the dust cover. the driver will not fit right in the hub shell if the bearings are too far out.


2. secure the driver so it doesnt shift, causing all the bearings to fall out. I like to put the drive-side shell bearings in first, then thread the clutch in. i wrap a rubber band around a spoke and wrap that around the driver to keep it from un-threading itself and falling out.


3. arrange the left-side hub bearings. make sure the cone, lock nut and outter nut are all tight.


4. carefully slide the axle with the cone assembly in place and set the axle upright on the floor/bench so it doesnt fall back out. if the axle doesnt go in all the way, either you have too many bearings on the cone or the bearings have shifted and are not fitting into the shell correctly.

5. grease up the outer race of the driver. the driver bearings in my 11t driver are slightly larger than the hub body bearings. make sure you are using the correct size bearings! i put a little o-ring under the cone nut to keep some of the dust out. drop the bearings in around the axle with lots of grease and thread the right side cone nut on slowly.


6. now take that rubber band off. tension the cone nut and tighten the lock nut against it. a Nankai wrench is absolutely neccessary for the finishing touches.


lemme know if you have questions.
« Last Edit: November 04, 2008, 11:30:50 PM by jwnolte »

Offline jwnolte

  • Member
  • **
  • Posts: 26
Re: ballsy nankai freecoaster mod
« Reply #1 on: November 04, 2008, 05:42:06 PM »
you could buy these from flatlandfuel and you would have a few spares in case you loose some- http://flatlandfuel.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=232

i don't know the exact size, i just took my bearing into a bike shop and matched them visually and bought some for a few bucks.

timk4130!

  • Guest
Re: ballsy nankai freecoaster mod
« Reply #2 on: November 10, 2008, 07:34:34 AM »
even though alot of us have done this over the years, it is nice to have someone take the time to write it out/help out for the people that don't know. So Thanks Again....Much Apreated! =)

Offline David (Toucan)

  • Free Speech? Nahhh
  • Team
  • GF Inhabitant
  • *****
  • Posts: 1884
Re: ballsy nankai freecoaster mod
« Reply #3 on: November 18, 2008, 11:13:29 PM »
so any report on how it feels?

not that i have a nankai... just curious  ;D ;D
Bikes--> Put The Fun Between Your Legs

Offline mare

  • GF Inhabitant
  • ********
  • Posts: 1729
  • tmp®
Re: ballsy nankai freecoaster mod
« Reply #4 on: December 07, 2008, 10:53:58 AM »
hm :huh:.... i think i will try that next time i take it apart

Re: ballsy nankai freecoaster mod
« Reply #5 on: December 08, 2008, 04:15:16 AM »
The smoothest Nankai I've come across hands down was one ran without bearing cages.

Offline TOflat

  • GF Inhabitant
  • ********
  • Posts: 1704
Re: ballsy nankai freecoaster mod
« Reply #6 on: December 08, 2008, 04:32:07 AM »
You have just given me an idea of what I want to do in my spare time at work tomorrow.

Offline rawchild

  • GF Inhabitant
  • ********
  • Posts: 1021
Re: ballsy nankai freecoaster mod
« Reply #7 on: December 21, 2008, 11:50:16 PM »
   Anyone have a profile shell with a 9 tooth driver and done this....?  The balls will show on the driver side account the dust cover is off.  If someone has, do you have pics, did you cover it or let them show.  thanks.
Hey Meg...check this out.

Offline TOflat

  • GF Inhabitant
  • ********
  • Posts: 1704
Re: ballsy nankai freecoaster mod
« Reply #8 on: February 28, 2009, 08:42:35 AM »
well in case your still wondering, it doesnt work with the nankai shell. It just feels like crap. I'd rather see if I can work on a project where I machine a new shell and make it entirely sealed.

Offline nightrider

  • Hitchhiker
  • *****
  • Posts: 178
Re: ballsy nankai freecoaster mod
« Reply #9 on: February 28, 2009, 02:27:11 PM »
yea thats how i been riding my nankai ever since i got it 5th/ 6th hand...
few years back, and ya it does work...supa smooth...
never really knew any different anyways..

but thanks for the enlightenment
 :wub:
Columbus lied...the world is flat.
BIKE SPACE

Offline Gensanity

  • GF Inhabitant
  • ********
  • Posts: 1514
  • ....enjoy....
    • My Art For Free & For Sale
Re: ballsy nankai freecoaster mod
« Reply #10 on: March 19, 2009, 03:32:13 PM »
lol you don't need a rubber band

as long as you hold everything pretty level the bearings should stay in place.

Offline The Brown Sound

  • GF Inhabitant
  • ********
  • Posts: 1501
Re: ballsy nankai freecoaster mod
« Reply #11 on: April 26, 2009, 03:19:33 AM »
So wait - this does NOT work with the standard Nankai shell? Only with the profile? Before I f anything up lol let a bruva know!!! If I can get the Nankai even smoother that'd be great but if it's not worth it I'm fine w it as is....
I'm like the brown LL Cool J.

Offline Gensanity

  • GF Inhabitant
  • ********
  • Posts: 1514
  • ....enjoy....
    • My Art For Free & For Sale
Re: ballsy nankai freecoaster mod
« Reply #12 on: April 29, 2009, 11:16:26 PM »
So wait - this does NOT work with the standard Nankai shell? Only with the profile? Before I f anything up lol let a bruva know!!! If I can get the Nankai even smoother that'd be great but if it's not worth it I'm fine w it as is....

I don't have profile shell & it works fine for me but if you're fine with yours now I wouldn't worry about it.  It doesnt make a huge difference.  Just go to your local bike shop and buy a bag of extra bearings for buck or two, so when the time comes and you need to clean out your hub, you can go ahead and remove them from the casings.

Offline flatlandpercy

  • Backpacker
  • ******
  • Posts: 383
Re: ballsy nankai freecoaster mod
« Reply #13 on: July 08, 2009, 09:58:50 AM »
For the Nankai Bamboo Freecoaster (NOT the new alluminum bamboo),
and 1 piece 9 tooth driver, here are the sizes:
- 7/32 inch bearings - you'll need 17 balls per side, so 34 total.
these will replace the 9 balls per cage with 17 looseballs
- 1/8 inch bearings - for the driver, you'll need ALOT of these,
can't remember how many, three packs of a dozen should do it and
give you spares too

Offline zach

  • Backpacker
  • ******
  • Posts: 306
Re: ballsy nankai freecoaster mod
« Reply #14 on: March 01, 2010, 04:04:34 AM »
does this work on profile shell?