Good morning! Just purchased a Priority Start 16" for my son's birthday. The front tire free spins as expected but not sure if resistance on the rear is considered normal for a belt-driven bike or just a kids presumably cheaper hub? There isn't any brake rub, it does the same if I spread the pads. Thanks for the insight!
by Brofessor_Pecs
13 Comments
If you didn’t hit the brake that’s not normal.
Don’t know belt driven but I doubt it. Move the rear tired forward slightly.
The V-Brake is not set correctly. It looks like the right brake pad is touching the tire slightly.
You can unhook the rear brake and test again. If it is the brake you have to loosen the brake shoes, align it, push it against the rim and tighten it again.
When this is done on both sides you can adjust the spring tension of each side (small screws at the bottom of the brake arms) to center the brake.
This should fix the problem.
Is this a bike with back pedal brakes? You’re not inadvertently holding pressure backward on the pedal while you do this are you?
If you’re sure it’s not the brakes rubbing, it could be the hub is too tightly adjusted. That or something with the belt. One commenter suggested moving the wheel forward slightly. I’d try that first. If not then it’s gotta be the hub adjustment.
On the lower end bikes I had same issue. I gave up eventually but not my kids are older I get better bikes with better components
It might just be a new wheel with new seals and new thick grease. Small wheels have substantially lower inertia than adult sized wheels so the effect is particularly apparent. A 29 inch wheel has 6 times the inertia for example so would rotate for 6 times longer.
Is it trying to make the cranks spin when you stop pedalling?
Is the belt way too tight?
Is the wheel crooked?
Are the bearing seals sat properly?
This is *likely* an over-tight bearing in the hub. Kids bikes are notorious for inattention to setup details— from the factory, they set them tight intending that they eventually loosen up a bit.
Sometimes it even happens, but usually not until the first kid has outgrown the bike.
I would recommend pulling the wheel off, and loose that hub by an eighth of a turn or so. You may need special tools to do it— a bike shop will have them.
Unbolt hub, screw nuts by hands then by 1/4 turn on each end until its solid. Check if wheel spins fine.
This looks like a Priority Start kids bike.
The rear hub or the belt is likely a little over tight. Unlikely to be an issue, but could be corrected fairly easily by a shop.
There’s a reason Priority and companies like them have the following phrase included in their shipping policies: “We recommend a professional bicycle mechanic safety check your bicycle before riding”
Same happened to me when I have greased freewheel too much. You can try to disassembly the freewheel, clean it and grease it again – not that much. Or just ride it, it gets better in some time. Your kid will loose some watts when going downhill, but their legs will thank you later.
Looks just like a Early Rider Belter. The one I got for my son had a draggy freewheel, and when I contacted Early Riser they sent me a new one.
Does it have the pedal bckwards to brake feature? That my be adding in friction