UPDATED* Planetary BMX Freecoaster Troubleshooting & Maintenance

[@joebyrne6211]

Thanks so much for this video Brant. I’ve got two of these hubs on wheels built by Albes and the second one that I just received has the “wobble” going on. I checked the jam nuts first, which didn’t solve the issue. So I called Zach to get his feedback. He’s such a cool dude and is sending me a fresh set of bearings and a new clutch assembly. Now that you’ve given such a solid explanation, I’ll swap the bearings first and see if that solves it. Also, really good info about the lubrication. Thanks again.

[@Brant_Moore]

Glad to hear it’s getting worked out for you man. We always wanna help people have the best experience possible

[@Tingley19]

Hey Brant, just wanted to let ya know i got her running again. I finally just took the clutch apart and wiped down all the parts and shit and put it back together. Somehow that has it back up and running strong as new. Thanks man.

[@Tingley19]

Remembered seeing how you disassembled the clutch before so just did that. Hah idk how it did anything or affected anything but here we are.

[@dopelordz]

The slipping issues in my testing is basically due to the cones not being tight enough, if you don't hear the cassette noise at all its a sign you risk slipping. I believe lube between the top hat and the axle is moot, because when the cones nuts are up tight the top hat is sandwiched tightly between the inner ring of the sealed bearing in the driver and the inner ring of the sealed bearing in the hub. This is then locked to the axle via the cone nut. So when you have the cones nuts up tight, the top hat effectively becomes part of the axle in a similar way to the spacer inside a bottom bracket. This I believe is why you get the slipping when the cones are not tight, the planetary needs a stable base to perform the differential. The flip side is people who have over torqued the cones nuts crushing the tophat which can result in the same thing. Also the O-ring does need to have some resistance for the same reasons as above, so I prefer some minimal dry lube here. One thing you don't address is the random engagements in fakie which for me was only made better by a lower torque on the cone nuts. The loudness of the cassette noise was the only indicator of the torque, for me a loud cassette noise meant more random engagements. However finding this torque point between pedal slipping and random engagements was hard and took lots of experimenting and found it best when I could just barely hear the cassette noise. Also, because the hub has only cone nuts and not locknuts, it can come undone if you are not careful when tightening your pegs on the frame. I am pleased to say that since getting the 1.5 mech all my problems have gone away, I can run cones nice and tight, tight chain, with the number of random engagements in fakie (almost) eradicated. One other tip for removing the springs from the pawls is if you slide a cocktail stick inside the spring you can pull them out without fear of them pinging off never to be seen again!

[@Brant_Moore]

Just to clarify for anyone reading..the amount of people who had issues with the hub not engaging when pedaling forward that had the problem completely fixed by cleaning the axle and inside of top hat washer is way too many to call it moot. Just did it for someone at rays this Saturday whose hub was slipping. The lubricant could be clearly seen on the axle and he didn’t have a single issue after it was cleaned off. Jam nuts were checked for tightness first as well. The o rings inside the top hat washer need friction against the axle for engagement to work and if there’s lubricant present it allows for slipping. I’ve yet to experience random engagements that were caused by anything hardware related. It’s always been dependent on the trick being done/if the back wheel is moving or stopped when it starts rotating backwards or the speed moving while the trick is happening

[@dopelordz]

@@Brant_Moore why did you put tri-flow on the top hat then if it needs friction?

[@Brant_Moore]

You referred to between top hat and axle in your comment. In the video I suggested for lubricant to be put only on the outside of top hat washer between clutch and it. The outer surface of top hat that contacts the clutch o ring needs a drop of lubricant to stay quiet and not ruin the o ring with too much friction. The inner surface that contacts the axle should have no lubricant so that the hub engages properly.

[@dopelordz]

@@Brant_Moore Yeh I just realised that tri-flow is in fact dry lube lol, I use a squirt of WD and wipe it. You've got a loose axle assembly, connect the lot up like your other video minus the planetary. See if you can rotate the top hat round the axle when its all clamped up tight? I just dont see how the top hat can rotate around the axle if its clamped between the bearings. I bet the ones you fixed with grease on the axle had bled lube / grease into the O-ring part too.

[@amenstep]

Thanks a lot Brant for this helpful tips! 🙏 I have a problem right now with damn squeaky sound that drives me crazy. Now I know how to fix it 🙌

[@owendagenais837]

I have had the BSD revolution hub for almost 2 years. And I have always had issues with it engaging when I land fakie. I tighten the cone nuts and even put lock tight to try and keep the cone nuts tight. But this only fixes the problem temporarily as I can feel the cone nut break loose when I peddle and therefore cause the hub to engage when I land fakie. I would appreciate some recommendations on what I should do.

[@odysseybmxboy]

If u have wobble even if u have everything tight could be the hub shell and definitely get some loctite 638 and put around the hub bearings this worked for me no wobble and been running smooth

[@AvedisMusix]

I got the cult astro wheel and some times when I ride super fast it literally screams but goes away during the next ride sesh

[@GerardoFlores-c7u]

hola el conjunto de embrague es el mismo que trae una free night ? por que no trea la arandela C

[@deadb0yy]

If you remove the clutch, would the hub work as a normal cassette?

[@Brant_Moore]

No because the pawls spring downward

[@deadb0yy]

@@Brant_Moore even if you added the spacers that make them spring upwards?

[@Brant_Moore]

You’d have to keep the spacer that’s within the clutch on the axle as well so that there’s no open space on the axle. Not sure if it’d work or not but it seems like it could.

[@deadb0yy]

@@Brant_Moore would be awesome if it works! Thank you for the advice!

[@giovannisalis4805]

hi, I have one of these hubs but it's a little bit different because I have a spring in it, it's still a planetary free coaster?

[@Brant_Moore]

Sounds like a hybrid system hub

[@giovannisalis4805]

@@Brant_Moore yeah maybe, but I can't figure out the name of this hub, if you find something about it answer to my comment please

[@timlocher4829]

Whatever happened to the spring loaded clutch upgrade instead of the oring?

[@Brant_Moore]

It’s coming soon. Was in production months ago

[@timlocher4829]

@@Brant_Moore nice that and a maybe a female axle from rnc would be cool

[@10isawsome]

Dam, I gotta disassemble my whole back wheel because the hub won't engage when I'm trying to pedal:( Can my bike just work for more than a few weeks 😭

[@ted_danger]

Man, I've tried everything you said in this video with my hub, but it still has the issue of intermittent engagement .

[@Brant_Moore]

Dang it. Can you give me a description of exactly what intermittent engagement means? Hopefully I’ll be able to help. Message me on instagram if you want as well. It’ll be faster. Missed ya at cornhuckit

[@ted_danger]

@Brant_Moore like it will engage just fine from a stop, but as soon as I stop pedaling for a sec and just coast, it disengages until I come to almost a stop again.

[@Brant_Moore]

@ted_danger sounds like there’s lubricant between the clutch and the axle

[@Tingley19]

BRANT HELP ME PLS. wish I could call you man. I have been through your older version of this video way back when I first got my planetary hub and was trying to learn more about servicing it. Finally got to where the engagement is giving me an issue and it’s only when already pedaling forward because when it’s stationary it always engages first to get the wheel turning, then won’t engage or most of the time doesn’t engage at all unless I back pedal like I’m about to fakie out of a 180 or whatever. I stripped her down, wiped out and tightened everything hard as I can. And it still is only some times engaging!? What is my problem brotha?! Fuck my life. I just got my bike put back together after a deep cleaning and shit too, haven’t been on it for a few days, of course now I get her spiffed up and back together, it’s time to get back into her guts. 😂 guess I’ll have this on repeat today.

[@Brant_Moore]

My suggestion would be to contact the company who made your hub with a reasonable calm email stating what’s happened and what you’ve tried. It sounds like you might need a new clutch for it but I can’t fully tell without seeing it right in front of ne

[@Tingley19]

@@Brant_Moore thank you brotha! I might just order the clutch and skip the back and forth. I appreciate you as always.

[@mskibo5]

Been riding for 25 plus years and have never seen such a garbage product released. The stock clutches in these will squeak so loud within 10 minutes of first riding them. If you spin the wheel towards the seat with your hand and crank as fast as you can forward you will almost get a full revolution before the clutch engages. Really hoping the 1.5 venus clutch will reduce the slack and stop the hub from sounding like a cat getting run over by a lawn mower. If not I wasted $250 on the premium planetary and will probably be forced to go back to cassette. Way too much slack in the stock clutch for someone who has been riding a cassette their entire life to enjoy. If you use a lot of pedal pressure on half cabs etc this stock hub is not for you. Will update this comment once I get a venus clutch.

[@GolfSux]

I agree. I have a bsd revolution and it engages randomly fakie. I pulled the wheel off my bike last weekend because I came in fakie on a quarter and it rolled back half a foot before the hub engaged and flipped me back. Whipped me hard enough to crack my helmet. I checked the video as I thought my feet moved, but they didn't. I have tried every trick on the internet to fix this hub, but everything seems to be a band aid. Only thing I haven't tried is the spring loaded alienation clutch, but its always sold out. I tried a new normal clutch and my problem stayed. It is frusterating because I can build race cars and solve the issues they give me, but I can't solve this simple little bmx hub. I am now riding my old freecoaster as I can no longer trust this POS.

[@mskibo5]

@@GolfSux I'm not even touching my bike until that clutch comes in. I'm not sure why they even released this product. I will update once I get the clutch in.

[@GolfSux]

@@mskibo5 It was definitely released before any major testing. Either that or maybe some guys don't mind that it doesn't work properly. I have yet to meet someone in person that doesn't have negative things to say about planetary hubs. On the plus side, it makes normal freecoasters look a little better than they did before. I have no issue dealing with slack because at least when I go fakie I don't have to pray to god that my hub doesn't engage randomly on me. I almost bought a z coaster before the planetary came out, but everyone told me to wait for this holy grail planetary shit.

[@GolfSux]

I regret not buying the z coaster