Clean Custom Conversions

[PedalUma]

Not at all. It's a little harder if you're a Luddite without a smartphone.

Assuming you've already copied the photo from your camera to your desktop/laptop, just open the image directly in the Chrome browser. Then just right click to get the option to search with Lens.

Looks like you have a dummy chainring functioning as a chainguard on that bike?

That is right and thanks for the tip. I took the original 110-BCD five-bolt chainring and used it to cover the all black motor. Lens is super helpful when doing things like trying to source a controller. You just photo the label with its barcode. Controllers for bikes over six-years-old are very hard to find. You might find a used one, but who knows on that crap shoot. The planned obsolescence in the industry sucks.

 

[PedalUma]

This is another Mike's Bikes Mega Sale $450 V7 from 2020. It had small brake pads and a black freewheel cluster, with cheap grips and a brown vinyl saddle, and skinny white tries. I installed the TSDZ2 motor and the battery. The sedate original suddenly looked kind of bad-azz. A three chord rock song with red, black, silver. For the directional Super MotoX tires I had to remove the fenders and deflate the tires to get them in. It just fit the stays. Mike's owns Public. Mega Sale is in mid-August and again in March. You can pick-up an $899 IGH Nexus, R-18 disc bike for $549. I made the long MTB pads match the bike. Those e-50 tires fly over broken pavement. I have never seen this bike since. I reused the original chainguard on the ring. The bike quietly does twice the speed of a Sefaninan.

 

[PedalUma]

I finished the recumbent trike yesterday. One problem was extending the speed sensor. Because of the added length I used heavy gauge wire between the battery and the motor. I am working on the Rock Hopper now.

 

[PedalUma]

A bike just came in. It was a referral from an adult trike lady that I hooked up with other Sr. eTirke riders. I have worked on her trike a dozen times. The bike had a BBS02 installed across town by the owner's neighbor's kid. The motor was not mounted right and the narrow/wide chainring was off by one cog. On the second ride the motor housing broke. Everything was done wrong. The levers and throttle were reversed and it was all held together with red electrical tape. The display wire had a foot chopped off it and was mounted in the middle of the top tube. The wires were twisted and not soldered and again covered in red electrical tape. I removed everything, washed it and will start fresh by installing a new motor. I will need to splice in that missing foot of wire to the display. Here is the last bit of red tape.

 

[LandoftheGiants]

On the second ride the motor housing broke.

What was the cause of the housing breaking, and where did it break?

 

[PedalUma]

What was the cause of the housing breaking, and where did it break?

The bike has an odd down tube at the BB. No bushing or motor mount was used. There is a lump on the frontal top of the motor to one side, the drive side. The narrow/wide chainring was off by one tooth. The motor's right side housing broke across the place it covers the main gear. The owner is 14. I do not want to install a throttle on a BBS02 for a child. I will send the dad a link to take the Highway Patrol eBike Safety Class.

Edit: There is a bigger factor to the fail: I just inserted the new motor into the BB shell. On the right side there is a 6mm gap between the BB and motor with no spacers. The motor's housing covering the main gear hits the right chain stay. So, it was locked down pushing against the chain stay. That is why it cracked there. I will see if I have enough spacers.

 

[LandoftheGiants]

What a mess! Some people just haven't a clue.

 

[PedalUma]

What a mess! Some people just haven't a clue.

It is ready!

I installed the throttle but used marine grade heat shrink over the connector with a Schrader dust cap imbedded. Then I painted it with three odd colors and adhered a PedalUma sticker to it. It cannot be tampered with and be made to look like nothing happened. It will be up to dad to cut it off when he thinks his son is ready. The thing can be ghost pedaled anyway.

Update Edit: I just had this conversation with the kid. To him 'normal' is for a kid to do 35, 56kph, on the street without pedaling.
Zach,

It is normal and legal, yet fully programmable for when you take it to a private ranch. I am not going to walk you through on how to jailbreak to make it illegal. But that stuff is all online. I hope you understand.

Thank you,

Rick

 

[LandoftheGiants]

It is ready!

I installed the throttle but used marine grade heat shrink over the connector with a Schrader dust cap imbedded.

Well let's hope they are satisfied.
A trick we amateur radio operators use with connections in open air feedlines is to put the heat shrink over it and then shrink up just the tip of one end. Then we inject silicone into the other end until it's full and proceed with the shrinking from that end we began with. When I get to the connector I switch to the other end to ensure there is a reasonable layer of silicone surrounding the joint when it's finally sealed up. These are joints with screw connectors and there is no danger of the silicone bleeding into the electrical connections themselves, so with a push in socket it might pay not to put the silicone under too much pressure.

Disassembly is simple because after you cut away the heat shrink the hardened silicon log picks and pulls off easily.

 

[PedalUma]

@LandoftheGiants, That is cool, even though I cannot quiet picture it fully. Like a dry sponge doesn't absorb. What parts of the world do you listen to? Who is listening to you? Remember the '90's film where ham Morse code saved the world from a Mars invasion?

The rare outlier exception proves the rule. I am soon doing a 36V 350W front hub-motor conversion. I never, almost never, do that. She is young, heathy, and lives on a hill. She just wants just a little assistance and is a student on a budget. The bike is a step-through with a top tube. The motor must be small enough to fit there on the downtube. I can do everything and be ready for when the battery clears customs. ICE is the governmental organization that has been shooting residents and telling lies about it. The 'C' in ICE is customs. They have been delaying shipments to California, where Spanish was spoken two generations before English at Plymouth Rock. Almost all the street names in LA are Spanish. The first cowboys were indigenous and spoke Spanish. Now we are being punished for who we are and our culture of freedom and acceptance by ICE. One battery order was delayed for 3-months.

 

[LandoftheGiants]

I converse with people from all over the world but mostly with locals in my own state. good luck with the hub conversion parts.

 

[PedalUma]

I converse with people from all over the world but mostly with locals in my own state. good luck with the hub conversion parts.

Thank you @LandoftheGiants! She is a grad student with no money, a short commute, and lives on a hill. I don't know about you, but so many Yanks are putting ranch dressing on their crisps and even dipping their pizza in the stuff. To me that is gross. Does a shrimp cocktail come with ranch dressing? What I am saying is that this is the bike for her needs and likes, not my wants or preferences. Does a bartender tell a bikini babe at a tropical beach resort, 'No, you can't have an iced umbrella drink, because I like neat single malt"?

Oh, that kid Zach with the BBS02, made it an illegal speed, throttle bike. His mom confided that he broke his snowboard helmet in two last season. The pristine helmet I insisted he use was returned with a dent at the right temple and a large tear. He would be in a wheelchair for life drooling without it. He claims nothing happened. The bike will be impounded within ten days. He says he rides without a helmet. He is doing 60 kph with tots and dogs on multi-use-trails. Darwin will step in holding hand of Karma. Not my problem.

 

[Darth_Vado]

Thank you @LandoftheGiants! She is a grad student with no money, a short commute, and lives on a hill. I don't know about you, but so many Yanks are putting ranch dressing on their crisps and even dipping their pizza in the stuff. To me that is gross. Does a shrimp cocktail come with ranch dressing? What I am saying is that this is the bike for her needs and likes, not my wants or preferences. Does a bartender tell a bikini babe at a tropical beach resort, 'No, you can't have an iced umbrella drink, because I like neat single malt"?

Oh, that kid Zach with the BBS02, made it an illegal speed, throttle bike. His mom confided that he broke his snowboard helmet in two last season. The pristine helmet I insisted he use was returned with a dent at the right temple and a large tear. He would be in a wheelchair for life drooling without it. He claims nothing happened. The bike will be impounded within ten days. He says he rides without a helmet. He is doing 60 kph with tots and dogs on multi-use-trails. Darwin will step in holding hand of Karma. Not my problem.

Wait until you try dipping french fries in a milkshake

 

[PedalUma]

Patrice is going off-road across the country with her tent. She had a checkup at Goldfinch Cyclery in Des Moines yesterday. Andy said that her chain was the cleanest he ever replaced. He was floored that she never had a flat. I boiled that chain in wax. My goal was that she could go from Seattle to Maine without a flat. Her frame was handmade in Stafford upon Avon. I wrote her a song:

Going to Chicago (Bike Cross Country Blues)
[Verse 1]
I’m going to Chicago, sorry but I can’t take you
I’m going to Chicago, sorry but I can’t take you
There’s nothing in this town a seasoned woman can do
[Verse 2]
Look up at the horizon, see that smoke up in the sky
Look up at the horizon, see that smoke up in the sky
The world is burning down, and this girl's too tired to cry
[Verse 3]
Smooth spin, silent glide, heavy air is rolling in
Smooth spin, silent glide, heavy air is rolling in
Sweat is dripping down, burning up my sticky skin
[Verse 4]
The heat is like a blanket, the humidity is high
The heat is like a blanket, the humidity is high
Breathing feels like choking underneath that smoky sky
[Verse 5]
She’s riding on a wizard, straight from Shakespeare's old town
Riding on a wizard, straight from Shakespeare's old town
An electrical magic motor, spinning all the wheels around
[Verse 6]
Built up by PedalUma, made real out of the spark
Built up by PedalUma, made real out of the spark
Prospero’s got the lightning to push us through the dawn
[Verse 7]
Quieter than any motor you could ever buy in a store
Quieter than any motor you could ever buy in a store
Just a silent phantom rolling, you won't hear a rumble or roar
[Verse 8]
A pack of mean old hound dogs tried to hunt her down today
A pack of mean old hound dogs tried to hunt her down today
But she outran them o'er the Rockies, left them howling far away
[Verse 9]
Smooth glide, effortless turn, floating through the heat
Smooth glide, effortless turn, floating through the heat
Electrical magic rolling down this melting asphalt street
[Verse 10]
Chicago’s right before her, but she doesn't want to stop
Chicago’s right before her, but she doesn't want to stop
She wants to bypass the city, keep climbing to the top
[Verse 11]
Let the miles roll forever, don't let this journey end
Let the miles roll forever, don't let this journey end
Just Patrice and her magic wizard, flying round the bend
[Verse 12]
The whistle is blowing, the tracks are covered in gray
The whistle is blowing, the tracks are covered in gray
Chicago’s up ahead, but they’re gonna ride right away

---

 

[LandoftheGiants]

Well with the quality of processed supermarket and fast food taking a nose dive over the past few decades I'm not surprised with the "Ranch dressing" phenomena. The chemicals and non-foods they slip into stuff now to cut costs yet make them sort of palatable is a crime against humanity. Soy is a widespread additive now and it includes the slop from the bottom of the vats, full of pesticide residue etc.

I've given up on basically all fast foods, and all chicken meat, processed or otherwise. The chicken farms buy huge 1000L containers of liquid "feed" from China, God only knows what's in it but the chickens mature in half the time and taste like crap. They also inject them, after death I presume, with a bloating agent, saline water and more chemicals.

Injecting chickens with saltwater—known as plumping or enhancing—is a common industry process where raw poultry meat is pumped with a solution of water, salt, and binders like phosphates to increase product weight, retain moisture, and boost juiciness

I remember what a nice roast chicken tasted like from my youth and want nothing to do with this muck. It tastes like fly spray. A cooked chicken from the supermarket costs $12 down here, don't know what a frozen one is but they are the same chickens. But you can buy an actual real natural chicken from boutique farms, Specialty Pasture-Raised Slow-grown heritage or premium organic whole chickens can cost up to $48.00 to $68.00 from specialized farms. That's more expensive than the eye fillet steak I enjoy. No thanks. Steak meat and lamb for me.

Organic chicken whole

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