APEX Chain Drive:
A Chain Drive for the esk8 Masses.
The Chain Drive was designed to take this high-performance drive solution and make it accessible to all.
Performance
- Light weight for those that prefer an easy to maintain drive system
- 5:1 ratio
- Raised motor position giving maximum rear clearance for serious offroad
Reliability
- Chains couldn’t care less about the kind of mud that makes belts weak at the knees
- No lock-tight, fully retained chain pinion (when using Apex motors) that’s easy to change
- Swapping punctured wheels takes seconds without needing to loosen or adjust the chains
Maintainability
- No hardware wheel adaptors allow quick switching between two different wheels (MBS Rockstar 2 and Trampa Twatlads)
- No wheel chain adjustment. Set chain tension without wheels getting in the way
- Revolutionary fractional difference mount pattern giving angle adjustment in 6° increments
- All bolts and grubs accessible externally for quick adjustments
History and design
The Apex Chain Drive started as an idea in Lee’s head. Chains have been done before but fell out of vogue due to many people moving to gear drives. Recently there has been a resurgence of riders looking for those easy to maintain drivetrains that are up to the rigors of hardcore off road riding.
Back in April 2021 Lee purchased some sprockets and designed a 3d printed Push Fit adaptor to connect his Rockstar 2 wheels. This idea had been borne out of a previous project where he made Push Fit adaptors for a 4WD Evolve Gen1. Lee also designed some basic motor mounts and thus the chain drive was born! Although the mounts were quite long, they rode so nicely!
Over the course of the next few months the design of the mounts was streamlined and made as small and light as possible. Queron was in the middle of designing what would become the Jump Drive and had made a pass over the Push Fit adapter and it was decided that we would make the parts common between both drivetrains.
Lee and Beiran spent many months Pushing the chains to the max trying to damage them in any way they could.
Later in 2021 Queron made a visual pass over the motor mount with this becoming the final design. Some minor adjustments later and this is the final production version.
Compatibility
Wheel Hubs:
The Push Fit adapters do not require any additional hardware fitted to the wheel and are compatible with:
- MBS Rockstar II
- Trampa Fatlads (are slightly narrower so require extra spacers on longer axles)
It may be possible for us to make adapters for other common wheels if there is sufficient demand – let us know what you want to see.
Tyres:
Apex Shit Slingers are the perfect companion for all our drives and have been tested on all hubs, but most 8” or 9” tyres should work. For particularly wide street tyres or wide 9” tyres we would recommend using Trampa Fatlads owing to the additional width and offset of this hub.
Trucks:
The Chain Drive has been designed with Apex Air and Trampa CNC hangers in mind. We currently offer 2 different truck adapters:
- The AIR adapter which has been extensively tested with APEX AIRS, but may also work with other trucks supporting a similar 22mmR6 profile
- The Trampa CNC adapter which fits current 19.5mm CNC trampa hangers. Trampa hangers have slightly shorter axles, which means you can only use Trampa Fatlads with these hangers
We know people will ask, but unfortunately the MBS Matrix II is not compatible with the Chain Drive. This is due to the stepped axles, which are not compatible with our bearing layout. Hopefully this changes for Matrix 3.
If there are any other adapters that people want then let us know and we will see what we can do.
Chain Drive Porn
Where/When can I get them?
The Chain Drives are available to purchase now for £270 per set.
Additionally we have a sprocket only kit available for £170. This is great if you want to convert your current belt drives (eg Trampa OBD) to chains and get the benefits of using our quick switch system.
All the Chain drives are at Apex HQ, we’re just waiting on some packaging so shipping will start on the week of the 25th.
We also know that our Chain Drives work best when paired with other Apex tech, so we are offering a whole selection of combo deals on the website. That means better prices when ordered with trucks, motors, or both.
