Hello Everyone. Just getting back to biking after several decades busy raising children and running an electrical contracting business.

[Ramble On]

My wife and I at 65 and 61 have just purchased Vitilan U7 ebikes. We were planning on starting a life of fulltime RVing, spending our summers here in Nova Scotia Canada, and wintering in the southern USA, primarily off-grid boondocking. To make that easier, we wanted folding bikes. Considering our arthritis and other pyhsical deficiencies, we wanted fat tires and whatever else would make them more comfortable for our broken bodies. We have a limited budget, so low price was important. A step through frame was necessary and a large battery would enable us to leave our campsite and go to town for supplies. I didn't want a wimpy motor, so the 750 watt was a minimum. The hydraulic brakes (yes I know the difference between brakes and breaks) sounded like a good idea. I would have liked full suspension, but had to settle for seat suspension.

Now a wrinkle has developed in the plan. We have had to take over the raising of 4 grandchildren ages 1 1/2, 3, 5, 6 years so the full time RVing is on hold for now. We just bought a used Thule bike trailer and will be keeping an eye open for another. I have ordered a back seat for my bike to hold the 6 year old, and I will pull a trailer for the 5 year old. My wife will pull a trailer for the 2 youngest children. I don't like how straight up the kids sit in these trailers if I was to use the standard hitch mounting position at the rear wheel axle nut, so I plan to add a bracket higher up the bike to lean the kids back more ( in my strange mind, saying "kids" in the plural sense seems okay to me, whereas to say "my kid" seems derogatory. Am I alone with this thinking?)

To make these bikes as comfortable as possible, I have ordered a SR SUNTOUR SP12 NCX Suspension Seat Post for each bike, and am now shopping for large soft seats to help with our back issues. I will be getting a seat with a backrest for me so that I can add a handle on each end of the backrest for my backseat passenger to hang on to. There are some passenger seats that come with a handle that mounts to the seat post, however that adds 14 ounces (400 grams) whereas the 2 plastic handles add a small fraction of that. An even better reason for my plan is the fact that the tilt up seat ( to enable battery removal ) will be gone once a better seat is installed. That necessitates the seat and post assembly being removed for battery removal. More weight and encumbrances on that assembly will only make it more difficult.

I want to add handlebar suspension however the proprietary steering tube parts don't make it real easy. The handlebar clamp on the top of the steering tube is connected with an invisible method. There is no bolt head visible from above, and looking up the tube from below I can see an iregular shaped metal plate which may have a stud mounted on the top, but their is no way to tell. Is the clamp held on with a standard right hand thread with possibly threadlocker applied? Perhaps. I have yet to try unthreading it, but since it is meant to steer the bike, I imagine it is held firmly by some method. I'm thinking I will just leave the clamp in place and use it to hold an auxilary handlebar to hold an additional light, cellphone, camera etc, then install the suspension componet below it. I can't afford a high end unit, so the Meroca unit from Asia will have to do.

I will have to extend the rear fender to keep the mud off the trailers, so that is another small project. Vitilan is sending me 2 front fenders and 2 rear fender hoop brackets, shipped to me for $67, which I thought reasonable. I will use a portion of the front fenders, bolted under the rear fenders, using the additional brackets to give the extensions some support. When the trailers exit our lives, I will unbolt the extended fenders and be back to normal.

Busy lives here at our house, but looking forward to summer trips with the grandkids. I may even pedal some to help out the motor.

I hope the length of my epistle hasn't offended anyone.

All the best to everyone here!

 

[Seventysomething]

My wife and I at 65 and 61 have just purchased Vitilan U7 ebikes. We were planning on starting a life of fulltime RVing, spending our summers here in Nova Scotia Canada, and wintering in the southern USA, primarily off-grid boondocking. To make that easier, we wanted folding bikes. Considering our arthritis and other pyhsical deficiencies, we wanted fat tires and whatever else would make them more comfortable for our broken bodies. We have a limited budget, so low price was important. A step through frame was necessary and a large battery would enable us to leave our campsite and go to town for supplies. I didn't want a wimpy motor, so the 750 watt was a minimum. The hydraulic brakes (yes I know the difference between brakes and breaks) sounded like a good idea. I would have liked full suspension, but had to settle for seat suspension.

Now a wrinkle has developed in the plan. We have had to take over the raising of 4 grandchildren ages 1 1/2, 3, 5, 6 years so the full time RVing is on hold for now. We just bought a used Thule bike trailer and will be keeping an eye open for another. I have ordered a back seat for my bike to hold the 6 year old, and I will pull a trailer for the 5 year old. My wife will pull a trailer for the 2 youngest children. I don't like how straight up the kids sit in these trailers if I was to use the standard hitch mounting position at the rear wheel axle nut, so I plan to add a bracket higher up the bike to lean the kids back more ( in my strange mind, saying "kids" in the plural sense seems okay to me, whereas to say "my kid" seems derogatory. Am I alone with this thinking?)

To make these bikes as comfortable as possible, I have ordered a SR SUNTOUR SP12 NCX Suspension Seat Post for each bike, and am now shopping for large soft seats to help with our back issues. I will be getting a seat with a backrest for me so that I can add a handle on each end of the backrest for my backseat passenger to hang on to. There are some passenger seats that come with a handle that mounts to the seat post, however that adds 14 ounces (400 grams) whereas the 2 plastic handles add a small fraction of that. An even better reason for my plan is the fact that the tilt up seat ( to enable battery removal ) will be gone once a better seat is installed. That necessitates the seat and post assembly being removed for battery removal. More weight and encumbrances on that assembly will only make it more difficult.

I want to add handlebar suspension however the proprietary steering tube parts don't make it real easy. The handlebar clamp on the top of the steering tube is connected with an invisible method. There is no bolt head visible from above, and looking up the tube from below I can see an iregular shaped metal plate which may have a stud mounted on the top, but their is no way to tell. Is the clamp held on with a standard right hand thread with possibly threadlocker applied? Perhaps. I have yet to try unthreading it, but since it is meant to steer the bike, I imagine it is held firmly by some method. I'm thinking I will just leave the clamp in place and use it to hold an auxilary handlebar to hold an additional light, cellphone, camera etc, then install the suspension componet below it. I can't afford a high end unit, so the Meroca unit from Asia will have to do.

I will have to extend the rear fender to keep the mud off the trailers, so that is another small project. Vitilan is sending me 2 front fenders and 2 rear fender hoop brackets, shipped to me for $67, which I thought reasonable. I will use a portion of the front fenders, bolted under the rear fenders, using the additional brackets to give the extensions some support. When the trailers exit our lives, I will unbolt the extended fenders and be back to normal.

Busy lives here at our house, but looking forward to summer trips with the grandkids. I may even pedal some to help out the motor.

I hope the length of my epistle hasn't offended anyone.

All the best to everyone here!

We love having our 2 grandkids with us in the summer in our Rv (14-12) my grandson and I do bike rides and kayak trips. The experience cannot be replaced and only lasts awhile, but there is a lot of difference between doing it in our 70’s than our 30’s, good luck and God bless for what you’re doing

 

[Ramble On]

We love having our 2 grandkids with us in the summer in our Rv (14-12) my grandson and I do bike rides and kayak trips. The experience cannot be replaced and only lasts awhile, but there is a lot of difference between doing it in our 70’s than our 30’s, good luck and God bless for what you’re doing

Thank you for the kind words. It has only been 4 weeks and I am exhausted already! You really have to focus on the good stuff.

 

[rayray]

My wife and I at 65 and 61 have just purchased Vitilan U7 ebikes. We were planning on starting a life of fulltime RVing, spending our summers here in Nova Scotia Canada, and wintering in the southern USA, primarily off-grid boondocking. To make that easier, we wanted folding bikes. Considering our arthritis and other pyhsical deficiencies, we wanted fat tires and whatever else would make them more comfortable for our broken bodies. We have a limited budget, so low price was important. A step through frame was necessary and a large battery would enable us to leave our campsite and go to town for supplies. I didn't want a wimpy motor, so the 750 watt was a minimum. The hydraulic brakes (yes I know the difference between brakes and breaks) sounded like a good idea. I would have liked full suspension, but had to settle for seat suspension.

Now a wrinkle has developed in the plan. We have had to take over the raising of 4 grandchildren ages 1 1/2, 3, 5, 6 years so the full time RVing is on hold for now. We just bought a used Thule bike trailer and will be keeping an eye open for another. I have ordered a back seat for my bike to hold the 6 year old, and I will pull a trailer for the 5 year old. My wife will pull a trailer for the 2 youngest children. I don't like how straight up the kids sit in these trailers if I was to use the standard hitch mounting position at the rear wheel axle nut, so I plan to add a bracket higher up the bike to lean the kids back more ( in my strange mind, saying "kids" in the plural sense seems okay to me, whereas to say "my kid" seems derogatory. Am I alone with this thinking?)

To make these bikes as comfortable as possible, I have ordered a SR SUNTOUR SP12 NCX Suspension Seat Post for each bike, and am now shopping for large soft seats to help with our back issues. I will be getting a seat with a backrest for me so that I can add a handle on each end of the backrest for my backseat passenger to hang on to. There are some passenger seats that come with a handle that mounts to the seat post, however that adds 14 ounces (400 grams) whereas the 2 plastic handles add a small fraction of that. An even better reason for my plan is the fact that the tilt up seat ( to enable battery removal ) will be gone once a better seat is installed. That necessitates the seat and post assembly being removed for battery removal. More weight and encumbrances on that assembly will only make it more difficult.

I want to add handlebar suspension however the proprietary steering tube parts don't make it real easy. The handlebar clamp on the top of the steering tube is connected with an invisible method. There is no bolt head visible from above, and looking up the tube from below I can see an iregular shaped metal plate which may have a stud mounted on the top, but their is no way to tell. Is the clamp held on with a standard right hand thread with possibly threadlocker applied? Perhaps. I have yet to try unthreading it, but since it is meant to steer the bike, I imagine it is held firmly by some method. I'm thinking I will just leave the clamp in place and use it to hold an auxilary handlebar to hold an additional light, cellphone, camera etc, then install the suspension componet below it. I can't afford a high end unit, so the Meroca unit from Asia will have to do.

I will have to extend the rear fender to keep the mud off the trailers, so that is another small project. Vitilan is sending me 2 front fenders and 2 rear fender hoop brackets, shipped to me for $67, which I thought reasonable. I will use a portion of the front fenders, bolted under the rear fenders, using the additional brackets to give the extensions some support. When the trailers exit our lives, I will unbolt the extended fenders and be back to normal.

Busy lives here at our house, but looking forward to summer trips with the grandkids. I may even pedal some to help out the motor.

I hope the length of my epistle hasn't offended anyone.

All the best to everyone here!

Just make sure the trailers aren’t “tippy”. My wife bought one for our dog, and it tipped over really easily. Fortunately, I tried it out on grass, not pavement. It didn’t matter how carefully I turned, if the dog shifted her weight to the outside, it tipped. This was a highly-rated, fairly expensive trailer, which was rated for twice my dog’s weight. I gave up and donated it. Maybe someone with a much smaller dog can use it.

 

[Ramble On]

Just make sure the trailers aren’t “tippy”. My wife bought one for our dog, and it tipped over really easily. Fortunately, I tried it out on grass, not pavement. It didn’t matter how carefully I turned, if the dog shifted her weight to the outside, it tipped. This was a highly-rated, fairly expensive trailer, which was rated for twice my dog’s weight. I gave up and donated it. Maybe someone with a much smaller dog can use it.

Thank you for your thoughts of safety!

Some of the trailers definitely look too narrow for their height, and would be prone to tipping. The single child trailers especially. We will have the 5 year old riding alone in one trailer and for her we will be using a two passenger trailer with the harness re-rigged to place her in the middle rather than off to one side. I can imagine this is a bigger problem with a dog trailer than a child trailer, where the children are strapped in with a 5 point harness, whereas the dog has more freedom to move from side to side and add inertia to the forces of the turn.

An upcoming project of mine will make the trailer even more stable, and that is switching out the narrow 20" tires for 20 x 4 fat tires. I am now collecting old fat tire bikes, that will donate their tires and rims to the project. I won't be able to mount them directly to the trailers as the trailers have a proprietary quick release wheel assembly. I will have to completely disassemble the trailer rims from the spokes and install the fat tire rims on the spokes and hubs of the original trailer wheels.

I'm making this change to the wheels primarily to increase the comfort of the children as these trailers have no suspension, however the added weight of the tires and rims, and the increased track width, will make the trailers more stable.

If I still don't like the level of comfort the children experience, then I will design some form of suspension.

Sad to hear your dog now has to miss out on your outings. Ours always wanted to go where we went.

 

[Ramble On]

Just make sure the trailers aren’t “tippy”. My wife bought one for our dog, and it tipped over really easily. Fortunately, I tried it out on grass, not pavement. It didn’t matter how carefully I turned, if the dog shifted her weight to the outside, it tipped. This was a highly-rated, fairly expensive trailer, which was rated for twice my dog’s weight. I gave up and donated it. Maybe someone with a much smaller dog can use it.

Rayray, is that really your picture? It reminds me of a face I've seen in the movies, although I can't think of the actors name.

Maybe your really are a famous actor, just keeping a low profile!

 

[JGcycle]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[rayray]

Rayray, is that really your picture? It reminds me of a face I've seen in the movies, although I can't think of the actors name.

Maybe your really are a famous actor, just keeping a low profile!

Definitely not me. It’s Liev Schreiber, who played the lead in Ray Donovan. Though I AM a Ray…….just not quite as badass as his character. Don’t piss me off though.

 

[Ramble On]

Welcome to the forum.

Thank you for the welcome! I don't know if I'll be cycling through Saint John anytime soon, but who knows, we may meet on the road.

 

[lexfurther]

Welcome to the forum! I hope your business is thriving and you’re able to carve out some time for your hobbies. Did you know that with SMS coupons, you can reach a large number of customers simultaneously with minimal effort? Using SMS coupons allows you to promote special offers, discounts, and exclusive deals directly to your customers' mobile phones. This method is highly effective for driving sales and encouraging repeat business.

 

[Ramble On]

Welcome to the forum!

Thank you!