Congratulations on n+1 (or is it e+1?).
I'm looking forward to e-assist when I get much older.
And no, that's not a crack on your e-bike, just a lame joke. I might have mentioned this before, but ever since I saw a picture of William Shatner on one, I realized the potential to keep riding well into old age - he's 88 now, I think.
I just went to find that picture and found this instead. Ever the pitchman...
There have been various types of motor-assisted bicycles for years.
Many with small motors integrated into their hubs, I believe.
Of course, modern battery technology will change things substantially. (In fact many previous bicycle assistance motores where small internal combustion engines). 25 to 50cc. Although the American "Whizzer" motor was 138cc !
Of course, some early bicycles assisted by internal combustion motors actually evolved into motorcycles.
And then there were mopeds...
Web searches for "Cyclaid" and "Cyclemaster" show what those engines were like. The Cyclemaster was a (large) hub-integrated motor.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeli...icycle_history
Last edited by SportWagon; August 19th, 2019 at 10:59 AM.
I am definitely in the camp that thinks that e-assist bikes can revolutionize biking for older people, or people with disabilities, or what have you. I'm also of the camp that found that there were times I dreaded schlepping my Long Haul Trucker and all the weight that comes with it to work, but I needed it because it was more practical than the Madone and can carry more cargo.
That basically all changes with the e-assist one - all that practicality but I can ride it about as easy as I can the Madone. The basket in the front is big enough to easily carry two large bags of groceries, and it has room for a rack in the back as well.
I definitely recognize there's an element of being lazy and surrendering to my angry legs, but I also know it's something that will make me way more likely to ride a bike than take the car for shopping trips and the like.
New bike arrived significantly less assembled than Michele's did. Got farther than I thought tonight putting it together, but now I get to learn how to sort out an internally geared hub.
How hard can that be?
Lol, thankfully it's more assembled than that, but on the drive side it's got a bunch of weird discs that are just sorta flopping around loosely that I feel like shouldn't be doing that. I think that's all I need to sort out, and I'm sure there's a video somewhere (or at least I hope there is). Other than that, all I really need to do is put on the fenders and the pedals, which is pretty easy.
The rear brake feels really weak though, and I've never messed with hydraulic disk brakes, so I'm not sure how well I'll do with that. Then again, I almost never use the rear brakes, so...
Took a little bit to figure out how to put everything together, if only because I didn't know the thing I was trying to sort out was called the "Cassette Joint Unit", but that's all sorted out. Still need to install fenders, basket, and front light, but otherwise it's put together and it's "technically" rideable at this point, I took it for a couple of laps of the garage.
Rear brake definitely has air in the line, I don't have all the necessary gear to truly bleed the brakes, but it sounds like "burping" them should be pretty easy. 'Course, I need some mineral oil.
I'm surprised that in buying this Euro-city commuter contraption that I'm running into all sorts of new parts that I have no familiarity with. I'm a little bummed that now I have to keep a 15mm wrench on me in case I get a rear flat, but at least now I know how to disconnect and reconnect the hub. Also, when researching I noticed that you can get an 11-speed Alfine Di2 internally geared hub for the low, low price of $500, it might already be upgrade time.
The traditional tool to carry for that (e.g. for fixed wheels where quick-releaseses were not considered trustworthy) was a T.A. wrench actually designed to fit their crank nuts, and also, I believe the extractor you would subsequently use if removing a crank.Originally Posted by Tom Servo
Searches actually tell me what I am actually talking about is...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peanut_butter_wrench
(Okay, so T.A. was the favourite of those I rode with, perhaps because of its simple, strong, flat design (though it did have a proper flared socket, not just a flat punch-out); the flat design made it easy to slip into your underseat bag as the last thing, or even just securely slide through the leather toe-strap you used to keep your spare tubular attached underneath your seat).
I also recently saw a similar tool combined with something else at https://www.mec.ca/en/stores/kitchener
But it looked too short to give the leverage you'd need.
My TA wrench currently sits on top of the saddle of my difficult-to-get-to fixie, attached by a rubber band. If I actually manage to go for a ride sometime, I won't want to be without it.
https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5048-3...-Speed-Spanner
is similar to what I saw, but I don't think is the exact one I recall.
And Sheldon Brown explains "peanut butter"...
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_p.html#peanutbutter
Last edited by SportWagon; August 22nd, 2019 at 10:04 AM.
Ooh, nice. I ended up picking up a couple of "stubby" 15mm wrenches with one side circular which I think are going to work, but if it turns out I can't get the leverage I want out of it I'll have to grab some of those.
I took it for its first real ride this morning. The way the shifter cable works is that a special nut gets clamped onto the shifter cable, and that gets slotted into...well...a slot...on the cassette joint thingy. It seemed like the nut was correctly attached out of the box, but apparently it was not, because it shot off about halfway to work, leaving the cable dangling freely and the internal hub stuck in first gear. Given that I was already running a little late for work, I just kept with it and have never pedaled harder to maintain a 7mph average in my life. Hoping I can get it fixed up when I head out for lunch.
Here's something on craigslist at the other end of the technology spectrum. Wonder if this would take one of those low, low-priced 11-speed Alfine Di2 internally geared hubs...
1898 High Wheeler Ordinary Penny Farthing 48 Inch - $2800
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