Just a heads up if anyone is looking to buy the Popoca wheels and plans to use or buy the DIYElectric Kegel pulley. The Popocas have a deeper core than Kegels and with the DIYElectric Kegel pulley, the 12mm belts rub against the wheel. I am planning on a spacer disk to extend the pulley out, even though the screws may be slightly short.
Should check to see if just adding some washers to the axel pushed the wheel out far enough to stop the rubbing (has worked for me, not exact same wheels though and all, similar problem). Need to be sure the thread on the axel is sticking out enough still to get a nut to hold onto there.
That works to stop the rub though the belt doesn’t sit completely on the pulley then
Gotcha, yeah I’ve been working on my own pulleys too from 3d prints and then mold making and then pouring in resin… haven’t gotten to test with this clear resin yet but looks pretty cool:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/HUOVVVXtyQYjQy9T2
Unfortunately no “vacuum degasser” setup so pretty bubbly in there but luckily no big ones on the surface.
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This is good to know, be sure to update how you’re fix goes. I wonder if @jlabs wheel pulley has any fit issues with the Popocoas 
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Just got some BKB kegel pulleys in and some popocas, the fittment is not good at all. Would not reccomend
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Good to know cause I have popoca
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I don’t see how. I have well over 500 miles on BKB pullieys and popocas, they are perfect. Did you install the beating inside or outside?
I tried installing the bearing inside and outside. The studs that press into the kegel core have no resistance at all. They cant be press fit in. @mmaner do your pulleys have a tight fit? Maybe my popocoa cores are faulty or the pulleys are faulty?
@mmaner is the bearing also supposed to be tightly fit into the pulley? The bearing definitely has some play in it as well
There shouldn’t be much resistance between the wheel and the pulleys, the axle nut holds everything together. The bearing should sit half in the wheel and half in the pulley, the bug beating that came with the pulley.
I’m having trouble with BKB modular pulley and popocas too. Am I missing something? There’s nothing holding the pulley onto the wheel.
The order I have things, from inside to outside, is:
- speed ring
- pulley (sits 1/2 on the big bearing)
- wide bearing
- wheel core (sits 1/2 on the big bearing)
- 10mm spacer
- normal bearing
- axle nut
The only thing that can affect how the pulley stays on is friction against the kegel spokes, or friction against the wide bearing, of which neither is sufficient. There’s nothing compressing the pulley onto the wheel?
I crank the axle nut down, and I can easily pull the pulley off the wheel by hand.
The enertion style pulleys, was there a lip for the bearing to be pushed against, which kept everything tight? No lip on this pulley.
I read this a few times too https://buildkitboards.com/apps/help-center#!hc-modular-pulley-installation
What am I missing?
PS my set of popoca are a loose fit on this pulley.
IIRC Popocas have flipped cores, so they are wider than they should be. Place heatshrink on the spikes to make it a little tighter, and then if you need add a very small amount of loctite to the outer race of the bearing ensuring that you don’t get any on the inside. Wipe away any excess and let cure for 24 hours.
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Thanks for the quick reply. Does this actually hold? The forces are a bit cantilevered, and I ride pretty hard!
Yes it does, if your really worried about it use green loctite retaining compound
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I feel like the nut and the hanger would keep it stabilized and with the tension the belt creates I think it would be fine once it is all together.
So the reason I brought it up is because without the friction on the core spokes holding it on, the pulley was coming away from the wheel when spinning on the bench, from lever forces from the belt.
The 10 x 2:1 shrink wasn’t tight enough, but 5 x 3:1 shrink is super tight, had to jump up and down to get it to seat, and with retaining compound on the pulley-bearing interface, it seems to be holding now. Thanks @JLabs!
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