Search results

I hadn't thought about connectors. Both aftermarket controllers were KT. I assumed the connectors would handle the current and that the matching motor connectors on the bikes had the same rating. I was concerned about overheating magnets. After climbing a hill, I'd stop and put a finger on the...

On a 60 pound bike, his gross weight would be 1273 N. 20 mph is 8.9 m/s. So it would take 11.38 kW to ride straight up a wall at 20 mph. Suppose his bike puts 750 mechanical watts on the wheel. 750 / 11.38k = 0.066. So 750 watts on the wheel would take him up a 6.6% grade at 20 mph. (Actually...

When it happened to me, I twisted the axle with Knipex 86 03 180 pliers. One size replaces several spanners. By clamping flats tightly, they are less damaging than spanners. That wasn't the problem. After several incidents in which I needed a 3-pound hammer and a block of wood to get the axle...

In 2021 I wanted to measure a grade to calculate how much power my hub motor was providing. I used a level stick to sight a spot on the road uphill, measured the height of the stick from the pavement where I stood, and measured the distance to the spot I'd sighted. (Actually, grade is rise over...

Fifty years ago I acquired a copy of the BCI manual on maintaining lead acid batteries, with all kinds of stuff about design, specific gravity, state-of-charge voltages, and charge rates. I had a 6-amp and a 1-amp charger. Often, an alternator wouldn't keep a battery charged, especially in...

I used to do something like that coming home from the public swimming pool. There was a steep hill with a stop sign at the bottom. Rather than wear out my brakes, I'd spread my towel like a sail or drag parachute behind my head. It was effective. If the seat tube had been too steep, the jolt...

Countersteering. It may be subtle on a bicycle. Supposedly you steer a bicycle by leaning. How do you establish a lean if the head tube angle (rake on a motorcycle) is going to steer the front wheel to bring you upright (as demonstrated when I would swing out of the saddle of a moving bicycle)...

It seems to me that the wind would blow the bike around primarily through the rider, being higher and having a bigger cross section. My fattest tires were the 3.3 inch ones on my Radrunner. Wind or no wind, it steered itself fine at the recommended 30 psi. If I found the pressure down to 25 or...

It can't be as bad as my Radrunner, from a big company with lots of dealers. Still, after three years of investment and work, it was much more satisfactory.... except those darned 20 x 3.3 tires. They wouldn't work well below 30 psi. At that pressure they slid badly on snow or mud, and they were...

On a bicycle, that offset is called rake. It reduces trail. Trail is like the caster on a grocery cart. It lines the wheel up with the direction it's being pushed. Head tube angle is what can make a bicycle self-steering. On a bicycle it's measured from horizontal. Yours seems to have 73...

So you think the song says little boys soon lose interest in marijuana? The song is based on Ogden Nash's 1936 "The Tale of Custard Dragon." A little girl had a dog, a kitten, a mouse, and a dragon. The dog, the kitten, and the mouse boasted that they were brave and ridiculed the dragon, who...

(Sonoma Farms ad) In Alaska in 1975, I'd read in the paper when somebody would complain of missing pot, and the State Police would say they would investigate and attempt to recover his property for him. Why? The original owner was going to burn it anyway. When Gunsmoke was being filmed, James...

I wanted a stool to work on bikes without squatting or kneeling. This collapsible stool is rated for 400 pounds, is much more comfortable than a bucket, and can be adjusted up to 17 inches in increments of about 2 inches. When I'm standing, it can serve as a table for tools and parts.

I rode one-handed once, one morning in January, 1973. It was 17 F ( -8 C) and I was riding my motorcycle 200 miles from Baltimore to Manhattan. I was so comfortable in leather over wool that when i reached the New Jersey Turnpike, I stopped for a can of coke to drink as I rode, if it didn't...

I was thinking you could use your hands to hold the visor wherever needed. Better yet, opera glasses.... no lens necessary. In fact, you could make your own opera glasses with toilet paper tubes. Best: an umbrella!

If you could learn to ride with no hands, you wouldn't need any visor bolts. :D

It weighs 2.8 pounds and covers 12 square inches, so it's 0.23 psi plus a little hand weight. I don't press. It's a polypropylene cutting board that I sand occasionally so cuts won't harbor pathogens. I tried 240 and 60 grit. In both cases, powder quickly accumulated. Maybe I could have cleaned...

I used to sharpen mower blades with an angle grinder. Then I discovered that a 1/2" belt sander does it better. I believe the speed of an angle grinder is about 150 mph. The heat is bound to soften the edge, I think. My belt sander is adjustable, 10 to 20 mph. I can choose the coarseness of the...

I believe I'll buy a pair! Shears excel at lots of things. I often use shears instead of a string trimmer. When I had to cut sheet metal, cheap EMT style scissors worked. Your shears look better. The last time I cut a polypropylene mat, I used kitchen shears advertised for cutting chicken bones.