Hobie Mirage Drive Cable Life Expectancy

[ComeOnFish]

FYI,

I thought Hobie Mirage Drive Cable Life Expectancy was well over 3,000 miles.

The cables on my 2009 Adevnture never broke.

One of the cables on 2011 Revo broke within 1,500 miles roughly. The replacement and two original cable still look good.

All three cables on my 2013 Outback broke two weeks apart. One broke November 21, the other two broke yesterday, Dec 02. I say roughly the cables had 2,000 miles on it.

I used to carry two extra cables. One was used on Nov 21, so I had only one extra (it was on my tackle bag). When two broke off yesterday, I had to come back to the truck by paddling because I only had one extra cable left in the tackle bag since two weeks ago. Luckily I started carrying two mirage drives (from Revo and Outback). I removed the guide pin from the 2013 Outback Mirage Drive so it can be installed on the 2011 Revo. A new cable will be arrived soon. But tomorrow, I am going to drive to the Wood Bridge Hobie in VA, to buy 5 more cables. I guess I should have replaced all 4 cables (two on Revo, two on Outback) immediately because all of the original cables passed the life expectancy according to my experience.

I visually inspect the cables all the time. I had inspected the cables yesterday before heading out. There were no signs, except normal stretches of the cables. I will be replacing all cables and keep the old ones as spare. I just don't want to paddle on an Outback for miles against 15-20 knots of wind. I tested today in Severn River. I couldn't move forward against 18-20 knot wind even though the wave was less than 2' (Sever River is small. So waves don't become 3-4 footers). I know I could move forward with a regular paddle kayak in the same situation.

Joe

[AbuMasgouf]

Wow thanks for the heads up on that. Good thing that happened in the Severn and not CBBT

[Mark]

Joe,

Have your cables actually snapped in two?

I've had the plastic coating on one fray after 2.5 years but so far, no breaks, cross my fingers.

I have not put the miles on mine that you have on yours either although I have pedaled over 1000 miles for sure.

[J.A. Veil]

As much as we love our pedal-drive kayaks and like to think they are bullet-proof, it is important to remember that they have multiple moving parts that do wear over time. Joe has been very proactive in examining his Mirage drive before each trip and carrying spare cables. Yet even he had some unexpected problems.

This is a good lesson to always carry a paddle and to not go farther away from the ramp than you are willing to paddle home to if necessary.

Regarding the wind in the Severn yesterday, I was in an 11' paddle kayak in Spa Creek (the creek that becomes Annapolis harbor) for about two hours yesterday morning. The wind was strong making movement into the wind quite challenging -- and my kayak was optimized for moving under paddle power. During some gusts, I leaned forward to reduce wind-catching profile and still barely made headway. I'm glad that Joe's day ended safely despite some extra drama.

[HokieDJ]

You must have hulk legs because I'm still on my 2010 Revo chains. Then again 1/2 of the time I was using the evolve. I do notice my drive has more wiggle room now. I'm more afraid of that breaking instead of the chains.

[silasvirus82]

great topic. I myself have not replaced anything on my Mirage drive yet, but after hearing this I think I need to start carrying a few extra parts. Out of curiosity, are you using st or turbo fins?

[Redfish12]

So far I have only broken one cable and that was on my 2010 Revo drive after 4 years of hard use. Always good to cary extra parts for repairs as all moving parts wear! Joe, I think you're more prepared than anyone else I know!

[ComeOnFish]

great topic. I myself have not replaced anything on my Mirage drive yet, but after hearing this I think I need to start carrying a few extra parts. Out of curiosity, are you using st or turbo fins?

I use Turbo Fins on all my Hobie.

Joe

[ComeOnFish]

There are two chains and a idler cable on the Mirage drive. The idler cable doesn't come with chain, just cable. A chain is $40.99, and the idler cable is $18.99 for V2 Mirage drive.
I bought 4 chains and two idler cables. I already have an extra chain.

Currently one idler cable and a chain on two Mirage Drive (V2) are new (recently installed). So I will be replacing 3 chain and 1 idler cable on two Mirage drives. So I will be carrying 2 new chains, 2 old chains, 1 idler cable, some bolts, and a 7/16 ranch in my tackle bag. And I also will carry a spare Mirage drive in the truck all the time. So yakers who fish with me often should contact me if something happens to the mirage drive while we are on the water.

I reinspected the broken chains and idler cable. There wasn't any cracks on the plastic cover. BTW, The mirage drive works without the idler cable as long as the drive is inserted and locked on a Hobie. But one of the chains break, mirage drive doesn't work.

I think I put a lot of stress to the drives. I also broke the Idler once.

Joe

[tufnik]

My idler cable broke after about 1,000-1,300 miles on my 2011 Outback. I used turbos on that drive. It's the number of cycles that cause fatigue fracture in the strands. Smaller fins means more cycles. Once a crack starts on one or more strands, the fracture accelerates until failure. Strands will break strand by strand.

The cable broke 2 miles out at CBBT, and fortunately, the drive still worked. You don't get firm syncing of the pedals to produce max thrust, but you can still get fair thrust. I continued fishing throughout the day, but I tried not to push the drive too hard.

I'm going to have to heed Joe's advice, and that's to carry spares. In fact, might be a good idea to be prepared to do an on-water repair. Otherwise, it's paddle-time on the barge.

[tufnik]

Joe,

Which cable broke on your 2011 Revo within 1,500 miles? Idler or chain?

Which cable broke on your 2013 Outback that had 2,000 miles?

Where did the break occur? Should be the spot were the cable bends or flexes repeatedly. I'd inspect that spot every now and then. Once you see a single broken strand, it's time to replace the cable. Of course it'll be hard to see if the bending strand spot is covered by vinyl.

It looks like the idler cable is put through more cyclic flexing than the chain. So, my guess is the idler would fail before the chain.

[ComeOnFish]

Which cable broke on your 2011 Revo within 1,500 miles? Idler or chain?
Answer: Idler. The break occurred in the middle of the cable where the cable rubs/contact the ideler. on my old Adventure Idler cable, I saw cracks on vinyl. But it didn't break. On the Revo Idler cable, I didn't see any cracks on vinyl. It wasn't a clean cut on one spot (like a cut by a wire cutter). The strands broke within a 3-4 " area in the middle of the cable.

Which cable broke on your 2013 Outback that had 2,000 miles?
Answer: The first one (11/14/2015) was a chain. It was an almost a clean cut where the bolt ends (between the bolt and the vinyl cover. I think it is because the area is always bent, not a curved bent, but an angled bent.
On 11/28/2015, the idler cable and the old chain. The break areas and the shapes of the breaks are identical to the previous breaks.

Where did the break occur? answer: Explained above.

Should be the spot were the cable bends or flexes repeatedly.
Response: Yes.

I'd inspect that spot every now and then. Once you see a single broken strand, it's time to replace the cable. Of course it'll be hard to see if the bending strand spot is covered by vinyl.
Response: I did not see a single broken strand even on the chains. I think some of the strands were very stressed and were ready to give up. When I pushed the pedal for a sudden acceleration, all strands gave up together.

It looks like the idler cable is put through more cyclic flexing than the chain. So, my guess is the idler would fail before the chain.
Response: I agree.

For yakers like us who fish miles off the shore, should carry at least one chain and the Allen ranch or a long nose pliers to replace the cable while sitting on a kayak. Few nuts are recommended because it is hard to find them once dropped while sitting on a kayak.

I will replace all chains and cable immediately if one of them breaks.

Joe

[tufnik]

I think the failure spot on the chain cable of your 2013 Outback may have been accelerated by corrosion. About three years ago I noticed a little rust at the juncture of the cable and sleeve/bolt on my drive (2011 Outback). Oxidation weakens the connection. At the connection, I cleaned that spot well, then I covered it periodically with grease. I had no chain cable failure during the three years I used the yak (yak was sold last year). I'm surprised your chain lasted 2000 miles, but maybe chains really last that long because it doesn't flex as much as the idler. I'm also surprised your idler lasted 2000 miles.

[mweber02]

The idler cable on that 2009 Adventure broke a couple of months ago. Fortunately it broke while sitting in my basement for a few months and not on the water.