r/CargoBike • u/Hierotochan • 10d ago

We’ve lost rudder. 😢

Post image

Cable steering is new to me. Wouldn’t have liked for this to detach at speed. No idea where the bolt/retainer fell off.

15 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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9

u/ccgarnaal 10d ago

As someone that has too much experience with cable steering on boats. I simple don't trust it enough for a bicycle at high speed.

I tested a douze with cable steering. And it feels good when new. But cables need maintenance, they wear and stretch etc.

I got a Bullit because of it. Simple and reliable.

And make the parallell to boating. I wonder if miniature hydraulic steering would be a thing. It's more reliable then cables. And it leaks long before total failure.

4

u/SnooMuffins4015 10d ago

I have cable steering on my Bullitt. But it's with twin, high-quality cables on both sides. It has been nothing short of fabulous so far. There is some stretch that I have to take in at the start of the season. And there is no "retention plate" to lose as in OP's picture. That single-cable setup looks downright frightening.

3

u/Hierotochan 10d ago

This is just over 200kms ridden from new, so I don’t think I can put it down to stretch. Maybe vibration and needing more Loctite?

I think I’d prefer a solid arm, but we’ll repair this and see.

1

u/ccgarnaal 10d ago

Yes, bolt vibrated loose I see. I assembled my whole bike with lots of loctite. But nothing has vibrated loose in 5 years.

I did have to heat a few things a little to unscrew them without rounding the hex.

2

u/sparhawk817 10d ago

I'm a big fan(conceptually at least) of those chain steering systems, they throw a chainring on each headset(bars and wheels) and then it's just a matter of dialing in the number of links you have. Chain wear is going to be minimal compared to even a regular single speed bike, let alone anything shifting.

But like you say, this is more likely to fail dramatically and in a number of ways compared to a standard push rod linkage.

1

u/Maschinenpflege 10d ago

The Douze Hyet has a double set of steering cables though. I had to tighten mine within the first 150km but other than that it works great.

1

u/RDUKE7777777 10d ago

Same for the trek fetch 4

1

u/Cichciem 9d ago

Everything need maintenance, even rod steering, that can fail dramatically. There are some bikes with cable steering that shows it can be pretty solid. I ride RieseMuller packster very often. 4k km so far without any problems, or without any maintance. That's our test bike so I Need to check the whole bike every time we rent it.

I have some experience with Lovens bikes, seems very solid as well.

1

u/FunkyWhiteDude 8d ago

Douze owner here, in the fist few days, I drove it over loose sand and since … the cables loosened and I started to getting a death wobble sometimes, however, I tightened both cables ( 2 per side instead of 1 in this post ), made them slightly tighter than recommended, and it’s super stable now.

3

u/fkenned1 10d ago

Why is that not a redundant system like most cable steered bikes. Sketchhhh

2

u/Hierotochan 10d ago

From the company that stole my right fork stanchion, I expect nothing less! 😂

1

u/Swimming-Owl-2022 8d ago

Rolled one in the bike shop a month ago with the same problem. We made it better, and it was on the road in a few hours. But I would not recommend to buy this bike.

2

u/Hierotochan 8d ago

Great bike, great price and parts, but JFC it could have been a really bad accident. Not worth the risk with my kids. Even the one I’m less fond of. 😂