E-Bikes

[olbriar]

My buddy who is smaller in size than myself and I barely got the Harley on the drop gate trailer he brought to take it to the shop.

It weights a bit over 500 lbs and when it quits rolling it is a bugger to get started up hill again !

It has been raining pretty much since I got it back home, today is looking to be a good day for a ride if I can squeeze in the time.

That was the primary reason my good buddy bought my first Juiced bike. Not that he had a huge bike but it was too heavy for him in his senior years. He said he could no longer stand it up if he had to lay it down. My e-bike is easy enough to move or stand up but to dead lift it into my truck bed or the back of my wife's jeep is asking a lot of this old fart. Heavy and awkward....

It looks like I'm in for another nice day to ride. It's seventy now with a mid eighties predicted. I've got five to mow and then I'll hit the road.

 

[olbriar]

I got in a decent ride this afternoon and a little ride after dinner. I logged 59 miles total. It was a little windier than it's been the last couple of days. It was still a good day to ride. Though school is out, I didn't see anyone riding the sidewalk today. I saw a jogger and a number of walkers.

The wheel guy left a fb message that he got a UPS price of $117 to ship or Bikeflight $75. I had never heard of bikeflight but it is a legit service for shipping bike and parts. They use UPS for transport. The guy wanted me to go online and purchase the shipping labels and then send him a link or a pic of the labels. It saved him the hassle and gave me the insurance I wasn't giving away more money. I tried to do the bikeflight thing online but it wanted a phone number for the guy. I messaged him my phone number and explained I couldn't create the label. About a half hour later he called me. My fears of a deal going bad vanished. He is a bike guy. He moved on when Juiced folded and has some parts that he's now selling. Anyway, he's a real nice guy that loves e-bikes and is very happy that I need and will use his wheel and motor. He was blown away by the miles I have on my bike. We traded bs bike stories. He's like me, very sad that Juiced didn't make it. He said he shopped and shopped and likes what he bought but it is not a RipCurrent S.

 

[olbriar]

True to the wheel seller's word, he dropped the wheel off at a UPS store yesterday morning. Tracking information says it is scheduled for delivery Friday afternoon the 29th. I have never seen shipping that quick out of UPS. It is on it's way... that I believe.

I got in a couple of rides yesterday. I didn't go crazy either ride. My yards were hard work today and I worked in one extra yard scheduled for today. I had skipped the yard twice for lack of growth but it was looking pretty lousy when I drove by. I'm glad I did after it rained most of today. I logged sixty three miles yesterday on the Aquila. The bike gloves I bought really help but when my hand gets tacky with the heat, they are nearly impossible to take off. I ordered the exact glove in extra large that arrived after I went riding today. The large are comfortable but tight.

I saw a sight yesterday that put a smile on my face. It was a young man pushing a baby carriage. The humorous part was he wasn't walking. He was riding an e board of some sort. It was the one that has one big wheel in the middle similar to this:

What a crazy world we live in. The carriage might make the thing easier to ride. In my early adult bicycle riding days, I bought a unicycle at a garage sale. I tried everything I could think of to learn to ride it. I hadn't owned it very long until I took the seat post out of the bike and cut it off and drilled a hole so the rider would be much closer to the ground. It was a bad move. It was much easier to balance the higher you were. The point of this ramble is... I might have accomplished riding the unicycle if I had a stroller or something that moved with me. As it was, I had to give up my aspirations of joining the circus. 🤣

After the rain today I went riding. I rode up one battery and called it a night. I logged 35 miles. I saw a middle aged couple riding traditional bikes and the elderly lady on her trike on the sidewalk. It was a nice evening to ride. There was no wind but there was water standing in all of the low spots.

 

[olbriar]

I mowed my Thursday lawns today. I had to mow slow so as not to tear a hole in the yards when I turned. I'm glad it rained but it sure makes mowing more difficult. I went riding when I was done and had just finished my second loop when my wife text me saying my bike wheel was delivered and she was able to sign for it. I came home and put on some work clothes and removed the old and installed the new wheel assembly. It took a bit of care to get the brake aligned on the new rotor and get the spacing to the sensor correct. We had a dinner date planned with our son and his wife tonight so I didn't get to ride but just a minute. It was easy to see that the motor is ready for action. I'm very happy. I put the bike up after two miles, grabbed a shower and out to dinner we went. I tried to ride again when we got home but it started raining on me before I was a block away from home. I rode around the block and put the bike back up. I'll ride tomorrow.

On my two loops on the Aquila I saw a couple of riders. It was very humid but there wasn't much wind which made for some good riding. I wore my new extra large gloves. I think I'll like them. They feel about the same as the large pair while wearing but they are big enough at the wrist that I can fasten the velcro catch. The best part is I can actually take them off without a struggle.

I have officially put over 2K on the Aquila since its purchase the first of November 25.
There were a few pleasure miles in there but most of the miles where logged while I was having issues with the RCS. I'm glad I had the bike to ride and it has served me well without issues. Between the two bikes, I have averaged riding over 25 miles every day since the 9/1/23.

 

[olbriar]

I might try working on my son's RCS. Though he and his wife love their bikes, they don't ride them much at all. They likely have less than a thousand miles on their two bikes combined. My son had less than two hundred miles on his RCS when the motor started cutting out. Juiced sent him a new rear wheel assembly. Just like the one I installed on my bike today. Juiced paid for the wheel to be professionally installed and the bike shop that I had my previous motor spoked into my wheel did the swap. His motor is cutting out again. I'm guessing the sensor spacing isn't correct. It has to be exactly right or it's wrong. I might not be able to fix it but I've learned a lot on how that bike works. I at least offered my time.

 

[olbriar]

It was rather hot and muggy today and a bit on the windy side. I went riding. And then I went riding again. I'm happy to report that my bike is officially fixed. The motor worked flawlessly over 86 miles. I saw an improvement in my mileage per charge as well. I'm thinking that the difference is the lighter factory tire vs the heavy tire I've been running. The heavy tires have worn well but I can't say they have saved me some flats. The frequency of flats seemed the same with both tires. I might as well run the lighter tires. I'll likely put the front tire that I saved back on the bike so the tires will match. It wasn't worn out like the original back tire and now it is a perfect match to the new back tire. There are still things the bike needs but nothing stopping it. The front fork has a shock which is nice but it is worn out. I'm not sure if it can be repaired or the entire front fork has to be replaced. I'm not going to worry about it. My brakes are nearing replacement stage again. It's a pain to do but very doable by anyone. The bearings on the original pedals are still good. That's amazing considering that I'm always pedaling. However, they have short spikes around the perimeter of the brake to keep the foot from sipping off. After 24,000 miles, those spikes are just shiny spots. I will likely opt for some new pedals before too many more miles. When I get my first flat on the new tire, I'll install a tire liner while I have the tire off the wheel. I have the liner and had intended to put it in the front tire when I got a flat. That flat has never happened.

I was surprised I didn't see more cyclists today. I saw my buddy Tim, the e-trike guy my first loop this morning. I saw a couple of other riders during the day. Traffic was pretty sparce for a warm Saturday. There were some joggers and a couple of walkers and a couple of cyclists and that was it.

I'm anxious to ride again tomorrow. That bike is so much fun when I'm not worried about it quitting me. It could be more responsive if I were to put the upgraded controller back on the bike. I fear I'll encounter the same problem as before... the wire from the controller to the sensor is short. The last thing I want to do is mess up another sensor. It's responsive now and damn robust. Just adding back the tail light and brake light would be sweet. I'll ride for a while before I flirt with messing up what I've got going.

 

[olbriar]

I don't hear it but I don't ride with my hearing aids. My wife said that she can't hear it. I ride up behind people walking and they can't hear it. It, is the sound of the bike or specifically the motor. I think it must be out of the human frequency range. Dogs hear it and it drives them nuts. They tug at their leashes and often to the surprise of the pet owner. I meet a guy walking his big dog now and then that he grabs the dogs collar and all but lays on the dog while it is desperately trying to get away and attack me. It's sort of scary, actually. I avoid all dogs, and when I can, I will take a different route to eliminate disturbing them. Today was a new but similar experience. I was riding the highway siding . It is a state highway so there is almost room for another four lanes in both ditches. A man was riding a horse between the highway and the owned properties. I never thought about it but it's likely a pretty good place to exercise your horse. Sadly, the horse heard my bike approaching from behind. It reared its head and made a violent turn to see what was making the noise. The rider, a middle aged man, was almost thrown from the horse. Being a skilled horseman, he was able to rein the horse in as I rode by. I hollered that I was sorry. The horse and rider were easily twenty five yards off the highway and about the same in front of me when the horse heard my bike. It must be damn disturbing and loud.

 

[olbriar]

I rode this morning before it got really hot and really windy. I saw at least a half dozen cyclists out riding. It wasn't on the sidewalk South but on my road I cut through the last neighborhood to get to the sidewalk, I saw what looked like brand new e-trikes. They were being ridden by an older couple but not ancient like myself. The trikes were identical except they were different color from one another. Both the man and the woman waved and were wearing big smiles. It was fun to see. I also saw Tim the trike guy heading South on the highway siding as I was riding North completing my first loop. I don't know his exact route but he eventually makes the same circle as I make but in the opposite direction. I saw him again as I was heading South on the sidewalk as he was finishing his loop. It's always good to see the guy.

I had an appointment at noon to deliver an antique table I worked on for my daughter in law. It was four foot long, five leg table that was used in entryways or along a parlor wall many years ago. She had bought the table at a garage sale but the legs needed some serious attention. The delivery ended up being a couple of beers worth of visiting on the patio which cut into my riding.

I came home and started my dinner smoking and went riding for an hour. After dinner I went riding again. It had gotten pretty hot, windy, and very humid. The weather eliminated all traffic on the sidewalk. There was plenty of daylight left when I ran low on battery. Instead of grabbing another battery, I grabbed a shower. I logged 70 miles today.

 

[olbriar]

I went riding after I cooled down and relaxed for a bit after my lawns were mowed. Though it was windy, I was able to get 45 miles out of my best battery. I did see a few other riders in my four loops. I found a 3/8 drive extension today. I've never seen one this short. I thought at first it was 3/8 to 1/4 or 1/2... it's that short. It might be around an inch total length. As I was riding my cool down loops in town, I saw a dead branch fall out of a tree and onto a truck parked in the street. How random is that?

I rode again after dinner. It was still hot but the wind had died down. I only saw one other bike on the sidewalk and it was in the town South. Two girls, likely younger than middle school age, were both on the same bike and not pedaling. They were having fun... that's the name of the game.

I've put 237 flawless miles on the new motor. I think I can safely say that the bike is fixed. I know I can say that I'm having fun. The weather hasn't been the greatest bike weather but it hasn't ruined my enjoyment of riding a great running bike. I rode an additional 36 miles this evening.