Nankai freecoaster maintenance

If your looking for a how-to maintenance guide on the new generation of Nankai freecoasters then look no further. Akihiko wrote a complete how-to on his blog and you can check out this Third-Kind flipbook with detailed photos and text in english.


Se estás a procura de um how-to de manutenção da nova geração de cubos freecoaster Nankai então não procures mais. O nosso amigo Akihiko escreveu um how-to completo no seu blog e podes ver fotos e explicações detalhadas neste flipbook da Third-Kind.


http://third-kind.com/top/how_to/nankai/nankai.html

Review: Nankai freecoaster Hub

The japanese company Techno Nankai (or just Nankai as known by the bmx community) released about 6 months ago there newest version of there famous freecoaster hub.
Being the standard bmx flatland hub since 1995 they have been losing alot of terrain to the lighter-weight and less maintenance KHE freecoaster in the last couple of years.

The biggest improvement was to replace the heavy steel shell (750g) with a modern looking, light weight aluminum one. A replacement aluminum shell by Profile Racing was already available on the market but its high price isn't for all pockets.
The other upgrade some people were hoping for was sealed bearings but Nankai decided to keep the looseball bearings. This is probably the feature that causes the most disagreements between riders. On one side, you have sealed bearings that are simple to work with, smooth, virtually maintance free and fool-proof and on the other side, you have looseball bearings that need regular maintenance and proper adjustment. Now what we have seen in the past is that if the bearings are greased regularly and properly adjusted they will last forever... while sealed bearings on KHE freecoasters (Reverse/Alienation/Federal) will blow up constantly specially on street riding. This makes me conclued that the looseball option is actually the better solution more so for flatland, as looseballs can roll smoothly under lateral loads (in flatland riding the bike is most of the times rolling in a circle).

As far as testing goes, this hub was created with the help of Magicfruits and Dirty450, two other Japanese companies (flatland and street) and was intensely tested and approved by there team riders.

There are two versions of this freecoaster, the Bamboo with a hollow 14mm axle (510g) and the Lite (K-Type) with a solid 10mm axle (535g). Yes, the 14mm version is actually 25g lighter than the 10mm one because of the hollow axle.
Another feature that separates the Bamboo from the Lite is the "Gap". The Bamboo with its 14mm axle is meant for street riding so the factory gap is small and the Lite with the standard 10mm axle comes with more flatland-friendly gap. These gaps of course can be modified but they are just about right for most riders.

Both versions come with a stock RSD 9 tooth 1-piece driver (thats pretty much standard these days in bmx) and the bearings on the driver are completely "loose" as they don't have a cage.

They both come in 32 holes only, another weight saving option, as more and more bmx wheels are being available with 32 spokes (36 will be available in 2009).
You may wonder about the strength of a 32 spoke wheel but with today's modern rims they are just as strong as any 36 spoke wheel. Check out Akira Okamura and Toshigon testing them on the streets: www.vimeo.com/1349720
The first batches came in Black or Silver and now Gold or Polished is available (new colors will probably be available in the future).

As far as working on this freecoaster and maintenance comes, its the same as the older nankai's and as long as you keep it properly adjusted you shouldn't have any problems for years to come.
I will be posting a "how-to" video in the near future so look out for that.

Magicfruits also created a new version of there famous Deco Cap for the new nankai's.
The Deco Cap V3 is made in Japan from super light weight 2017-T4 aluminum (26g - 10mm / 24g -14mm) and comes in 12 different colors!
As you can see in the picture it is now a 2-piece design and replaces not only the cover but the lock bolt as well.