It took me a few minutes to figure out that it was formerly attached to the kickstand of the bucket bike, and that it played the important role of "kickstand deployment keeper". [World Cup jargon, in the parlance of our times. -Ed.]
I purchased a 5/16" bolt and washer for each side and tapped the keeper holes in the kickstand to accept the bolts. I threaded the bolts in the holes nearly all the way, then added thread-locking compound on the last few threads before tightening the bolts in place. It seems to be holding up ok, though I'm still cautious about allowing too much weight to be placed on the kickstand while loading and unloading kids. In fact, I'm making my 50-lb passenger climb out on her own before I put the stand down.
**UPDATE: As Jared Madsen commented, their official fix was very similar except they use one long bolt to go all the way across. After they realized this was an issue, Madsen Cycles started pre-installing such a bolt on their bikes before they were shipped to customers. If you still have the keepers on your kickstand and not a long bolt, you may want to consider doing this to avoid the failure. Contact Madsen Cycles for hardware, etc.
note the hole on the right
I didn't trust the remaining keeper to hold the bike steady for child loading/unloading, so the whole bike was out of commission until I found a fix. At least the kickstand still held the bike upright and parked in the garage. However, several days later an unsuspecting houseguest used the Madsen for quick errand to pick up bags of ice and when he returned, the other keeper had also gone AWOL. The kickstand would simply continue forward until the feet faced the front wheel.
I notified Madsen Cycles of the issue, but haven't heard back from them yet.** Meanwhile, I came up with my own DIY fix.
I purchased a 5/16" bolt and washer for each side and tapped the keeper holes in the kickstand to accept the bolts. I threaded the bolts in the holes nearly all the way, then added thread-locking compound on the last few threads before tightening the bolts in place. It seems to be holding up ok, though I'm still cautious about allowing too much weight to be placed on the kickstand while loading and unloading kids. In fact, I'm making my 50-lb passenger climb out on her own before I put the stand down.
This is the first non-maintenance issue we've had on the bike after 14 months of regular use. I figure the bike has nearly 1000 miles on it. Since the bucket is meant for passengers, it's obvious that this failure is a safety issue. You may want to take a look at those keepers and make sure that they still appear welded in place.
**UPDATE: As Jared Madsen commented, their official fix was very similar except they use one long bolt to go all the way across. After they realized this was an issue, Madsen Cycles started pre-installing such a bolt on their bikes before they were shipped to customers. If you still have the keepers on your kickstand and not a long bolt, you may want to consider doing this to avoid the failure. Contact Madsen Cycles for hardware, etc.
Hah! This happened to me last year, and you came up with the same temporary fix that they suggested (it worked well for us).
ReplyDeleteMADSEN did send out a replacement stand ASAP. I believe they mentioned that some of the early welds on that goober were not so durable.
Interesting...I am having a hard time getting any reply from them. Glad to know that this is the official work-around.
ReplyDeleteThis post leaves me wondering: What *can't* Matt accomplish with 48 cents worth of parts from the hardware store?
ReplyDeleteBonus points for the "in the parlance of our times" bit.
Great post! I love the fix. I am sorry we have been hard to get hold of. call my cell direct 801-870-1122. We almost have the same fix except with one long 8" bolt going through both broken tab holes. this will distribute the force to two points. Jared Madsen
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I love the fix. I am sorry we have been hard to get hold of. call my cell direct 801-870-1122. We almost have the same fix except with one long 8" bolt going through both broken tab holes. this will distribute the force to two points. Jared Madsen
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy I finally made the TBR - I was the "unsuspecting houseguest" who rode the Madsen about a mile to the corner store for 4 bags of ice, which promptly went in to a cooler full of beer.
ReplyDeleteIt would have been way more fun to fill the bucket halfway with ice and use it as the mobile cooler. Then, when cruising around the local college campus, we would have had so much more to offer when, as is the official policy of TBR, we "ding the bell at the hotties".
Just read this, and went and looked at my wife's bike - sure enough, one of the tabs is missing.
ReplyDeleteJared - isn't this a safety issue? Don't you think you should have been proactive in letting customers know? I just emailed Zaynan at Practical, and he'd not heard about it.
Given what goes in our bucket - our 7 month old and my 4 year old - I am pretty disappointed that I've found out about it like this, and apparently so long after the factory first heard about the problem.
Obviously, our bike is out of action until we can get hold of the hardware.
Thanks. I googled kickstand and madsen and found this.
ReplyDeleteNew bolt on order asap.