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E-Bikes

The only good thing about the bike not working is the weather has been lousy for the last couple of days. I've been shopping for another bike. :( I hope not to be a consumer but I'll not be without a bike. I'm running short of things to try so I've been looking at options. I'm satisfied that I'll have to live with less bike than I have. My wife wanted me to shop local and not online so I looked to see what is offered here. There is a Scheels here and they seem to have the best inventory. The only bike they have that comes close to matching mine is over seven grand. That makes my $1,500 bike seems like one heck of a buy. In my internet search, which is far from done, I found a couple of bikes that I could live with. I quit looking when I ran across what looks to be a stripped down version of my bike. It is being sold by the same site where I first ordered the replacement sensor that promptly refunded my money when I found a much quicker supplier. The bike is called a RipCurrent-Base. It is supposed to have the same hub motor and controller that my bike has. I don't know about the display. The bike is the same 52v system and takes the same battery as my bike. That is a huge plus considering I ride more than a battery ride often and I have over two grand of batteries that could be used with the bike. I know the bike is built out of leftover stock.. that's evident. If it is leftover stock from my exact bike, the RipCurrent S, all of the parts would be interchangeable. I sent them an email and hope to hear back from them. I asked about the bike matching mine and the possibility of exchanging parts.
I asked if the display was b&w or the upgraded color display that came on the last revs of the bike.
The specifications listed an upgraded controller. I asked if that was the controller with the tail light / brake light wiring. And my last HUGE question was... is this bike in your California warehouse ready to ship or is it in China. I hope to hear back from them soon. They weren't quick to respond about the sensor so I'm not expecting anything quick.
The one difference that I noticed right off is the bike is a medium and not a large that I have. My son has a large and his wife a medium. I don't remember exactly now but it seems like the medium was up to 5'10" and the large 5'10" up to six foot plus. I'm 5'10" and have often thought that the smaller bike might have been the better fit for me. I'm not getting any younger and the large is a bit of a trick to mount.
 
I got no love from the Napune site. The Base model is sold out. It took some effort to receive that information. My email to them was returned undeliverable. It left me thinking they are all but out of business. However, Monday they responded. I next asked about a rebranded bike they have for sale which looks to mostly be a RipCurrent S. That was Monday AM and I've not heard back. I talked to the kid who had his bike ripped off and I bought his battery. He bought one of the rebranded bikes. He said it's mostly a RipCurrent S but there are a few differences. I told him I was trying to buy one and he told me he thought they were out of business. He also eluded that he was sorry he bought the rebranded but knows it's the best bike out there for the bucks. The lack of parts moving forward has him second guessing his purchase. I told him I was on the other end. I heaving invested in the Juiced bike stuff and jumping ship now was damn painful. He said... You've given me something to think about.. hadn't thought about selling the bike but I've only put 300 miles on it in a year. I told him that if he decides to sell it, contact me first. That is my only real chance of landing a juiced bike to use my juiced parts.

The weather has been cold and rainy so I couldn't ride anyway. I would love to get the bike out of the shed and put the upgraded controller back in the bike and test the only electronic component untested, the display, for a possible culprit for my problems. I'll get to it eventually and doubt it buys me anything.
I can't give up. The bike is my life.
 
I manufactured a washer to put on the hub motor to increase the space between the sensor and the first gear ring. It needed to be a bit thinner than a dime with the inside diameter correct to fit the motor shaft and the outside diameter small enough to go into the recess the three quarter orienting washer fits into. Increasing the space to the recommended thickness of a nickel between the sensor and the first gear will not likely fix anything but it will be correct. The new sensor is just a wee bit thicker than the original making it that increased thickness that much too close. I had planned to install the washer and replace the upgrade controller in the bike today. Not only was it bold, it was extremely windy. It was just too uncomfortable to work on the bike outside on the patio and I really don't have room or lighting in the shed to easily do the repair.
I spent my day doing bicycle research. There area a lot of options out there to consider. However, the bikes that draw my attention are sold out or out of my budget. I found a few that I have earmarked for future research. They are bikes that have huge batteries and some have front and back hub motors. They are bikes that are basically made for the riders that are after going crazy fast on the bikes. I'm attracted to them not for their speed but for their ability to go a long distance if you are pedaling them. One hundred plus miles on a charge calls my name. Going fifty mile per hour and not pedaling and using up that battery in thirty miles seems damn ignorant to me.
 
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