A little advice and recommendations please
- Thread starter kmccune
- Start date
tomjasz
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Minnesnowta
I think this often-repeated missive is just a repeat of what many of us read early on in our personal ebike research adventures. Kinda like the Bafang peanut buttered plastic gear. BS repeated over and over until it seems the truth. Kinda like the current politics!
AHicks
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Snow Bird - Summer S.E. Michigan, Winter Gulf Coast North Central Fl.
You are welcome to think what you like. You'll need to have it happen to you before you believe it I suppose. Hope I'm there when it does. I promise not to say a word.... but suppressing the grin will be impossible I'm afraid....
PedalUma
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Petaluma, CA
It just depends on how and where you ride. Here is part of a local bike park with miles of amazing trails and downhill runs.
kmccune
Well-Known Member
Craigslist is so corrupt in these parts I will pass on CL, had a good many bad experiences, it just seems to take a little longer on FB marketplace( not immune by any means) I am "sated" for the time being with a couple of factory bikes( the first one really sucks) The Hyper I gifted to my Lady Preacher(front wheel drive) Her Husband and Admiral son finished the wiring on it, She was really pleased, it seems to work pretty well. Dang forgot to photograph it, its pretty sharp with Lavender front basket and the long sweep handlebars.
PedalUma
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Petaluma, CA
I just spotted this example of a comfortable easygoing bike in the next town. It is in new condition and is $275. It is a three speed with a coaster brake. I make electric coaster brake bikes mostly for people with hand issues. I like them because they are fun. And you don't have a bunch of cables and wires. I would route internally on this bike and maybe paint the battery to match or do a Miami color to contrast, like terracotta peach. The clunky and heavy American forged crank set and the solid steel chainring would be tossed. I would keep the chainguard. In looking again, I like that top tube for internal routing. I needs a cup holder. It says Summer.
AHicks
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Snow Bird - Summer S.E. Michigan, Winter Gulf Coast North Central Fl.
This is the bike I dropped and fell on. Picture taken after my little lesson/learning how bad the plan to mount the battery on the rear rack really was, FIRST HAND. Pic shows the final location of battery. When the battery you see in this pic was mounted on that rack, and the bike was pulled over far enough for me to swing a leg over the battery and seat, the weight of the battery would lever through the frame of the bike, with enough weight to literally lift the front wheel off the ground.
At this point, I could care less what you (or anyone else) believe or have to say on the topic. If you can't muster the respect to accept that what I said happened really did, you can kiss my (use your imagination here). And no further BS on the topic regarding this bike necessary. Lessons learned here. 2 of them. One bike related, one not.....
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m@Robertson
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
This isn't just thinking. These are bikes I have built and - in one case at least - I still ride. The one I am thinking of has been built and on the road since 2018. So as I said... the supposed problem does not occur. And I know this from direct building and riding experience. The one I still have was, in fact, my daily driver for a year or so, and its predecessor was a daily driver for about a year before that (the 'predecessor' got rid of the rack battery when I gave it a new frame and put in a great big custom triangle battery).
So... sorry but the claim about instability is completely wrong on a street bike. If you have a problem with stability its not the battery causing it. And the bike I still have that has a rack battery is what is now my sand crawler. Sadly, its out of action right now with a bad front motor connection. But as you can see there is no shortage of weight piled onto the back and it is ridden in some highly unstable terrain, where you are one zig away from a faceplant at the best of times. On the road to the dunes, no issue. On the dunes. No issue.
In the classroom, if teacher asks me about it, yes a battery on the back is sub optimal. But as a rider and a builder... it ain't no thang although as I said already I don't do it unless I'm held down and forced.
Really if you think about it for just a minute... if there was any truth to the claim, then everyone with a back rack that they actually use would be a crash victim. Go to the store and bring home a couple of six packs and take your life into your hands?
Naaaah.
AHicks
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Snow Bird - Summer S.E. Michigan, Winter Gulf Coast North Central Fl.
Tom, for the second time, where did I say long wheelbase bike like you claim I did? Then you have the putz to claim I'm twisting words? Do you really have that tough a time admitting when you're wrong?
So your "building and riding experience" cancels out mine? Who the heck do you think you are?
Never said/mentioned the word "unstable" or "instability"(go back and look so you know what you're talking about). I talked about balance, and then went in to great detail regarding exactly what happened Unstable and instability are not in play standing in your driveway. Bike BALANCE is/can be a factor.
Rack mounting batteries is easy for anyone to do. Totally brain dead and admittedly sturdy method/place to mount one. That in mind, if they're such a great plan, anyone with any common sense would have to wonder why more bike manf's aren't using that position, and instead are going to much greater expense - to AVOID mounting them there. Do you believe THEY are that stupid, that the time/trouble/expense of mounting them in a more conventional position is a waste?
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m@Robertson
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
I think I am someone who is countering bad information, delivered with smug certainty, that is demonstrably false.
m@Robertson
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
Never said it was a good idea. In fact I made a point of saying it was my second least favorite place to put the battery.
However I also said that the contention that it caused any real world consequences in real world riding was malarkey.
So from a textbook standpoint, its to be avoided. But if you have to do it, there's no reason to expect real world riding will have any ill effects. Because it won't. if you want to run zigzags across a muddy field, then yeah thats probably not such a great idea.
And I said that.
AHicks
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Snow Bird - Summer S.E. Michigan, Winter Gulf Coast North Central Fl.
You may be right, from the standpoint of what happens while underway. My point is regarding what happens when the bike is pulled over to swing your leg over and climb on. If you weren't so "smug" and certain you are right, you might see that.....
PedalUma
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Petaluma, CA
@m@Robertson, How is the shift housing on the long tail? I like O-ring lube on cables. The Trek premium, tandem cables are nice, slick. As are Jagwire housings. Why would REI tighten down shift housing with six thin zip ties at 45 pounds each with a needle nose? Collectively that is 270 pounds of pressure. @kmccune, What direction are you going from your OP?
kmccune
Well-Known Member
Well I had a nice "Bay Pointe" located( cheap GC) it was sold before I could get there,I think the next time I want to build I will just look at the discount priced bikes,I am sticking an "Aostirmotor" together right now, it was heavily discounted,it has some really nice features I was not expecting( the "Touteg" is a horror, plenty of power about all I can say I want to test it off the beaten path)
PedalUma
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Petaluma, CA
On another thread 'Coaly Rollers' we were just joking that the Overstock.com's marketing team is from 1958 or is Russian because the cheaper the bike the less clothing on the models! Anyone who did that around here would be fired in three seconds. Anyway they have a ton of cheep bikes. The BB and crank will go anyway. Then you can upgrade the shifter to a $12 microshift and get a $22 nicer cluster and $15 better brakes. After the first set of tires you can upgrade those. Components can be gradually swapped out so, each month the bike will be a better bike. They have a bunch in the $200-$300 range. Step throughs too.
mikeschn
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- SE Michigan
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m@Robertson
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
Well.... it sucks. See, Mongoose does not sell frame kits. So I had to buy the whole bike and then effectively discard everything but the frame, headset and fork (at the time it was a $700 complete bike so not the end of the world; and I kept the wheels for emergencies, which came in handy recently).
Fast forward to my changing out the drivetrain (the first time). Since the cabling goes inside the frame, I opted to leave the existing factory cable housing in place and just sub in my own shift cable. When I went to a Microshift drivetrain here recently, I did the same again. So I still have whatever kaka housing Mongoose used, and then I also have compounded the wonderfulness of this with a BBSHD putting a bit of a bend in the cable at its exit point just ahead of the bottom bracket. I should pull that shift cable back out and put a needler oiler into that housing and give it a good squirt or three. I've got some really good synthetic (teflon) stuff I can use. If I can find an oiler in my garage here I'll do it this weekend.
Thing is, since I use these bikes for daily activities I'm very averse to doing anything to disable them. I need to go shopping tomorrow and buy some canned goods. Thats a job only the longtail can do.
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