New Tires for the Jet and we went BIG

[mamerc]

Like others looking for tires, I also was looking for new meats for my wife's Jet, I decided to go to the source and ask Easy Motion Facebook for advise. I told them that we often single trailed and much of the time when we hit soft sand , Mary would have troubles with the 700x38c that came with the bike. Easy Motion recommended BigBen 28x2 but I could not find these local or online, either OOS or euro. Here is what I found...700x50
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005UGBCI8?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00

I think they look GREAT! Although the order says "Black" the tires are really cream.
Here is one problem I came across that I need to get in touch with EM... When I loosened the axel nut, small black plastic like slivers fell to the ground..see pic..and when I took off the hex bolt that keeps the motor from spinning the axel, the threads came off with it. (the bolt just slides tight for now)

 

[mamerc]

 

[Nirmala]

I like the look of the cream tires on that bike. I have always wondered why I can't get different color tires for my car.

 

[Joergen8]

I didn't quite get which threads did you strip?

The plastic slivers are just paint chips from the torque arm, which is normal, and the arm itself is merely a more precisely machined and hardened slot/dropout for the flat sided axle to sit in, so it doesn't remove/gall material from the softer alu alloy frame dropouts when torque or vibration is transferred through the axle, and the danger exists that the dropouts would just snap clean off without any warning without steel torque arms to protect them.

 

[mamerc]

False alarm, do you see what I see? After looking at the pic, I checked it again

 

[Joergen8]

I don't quite see what's going on there. Looks like the bolt that holds the torque arm, goes through the threaded frame eyelet and into the brake caliper bracket is not in the threaded hole? Is the caliper bracket loose on the right side? That's dangerous!

http://electricbikereview.com/wp-content/uploads/easy-motion-neo-jet-350-watt-geared-hub-motor.jpg

You don't need to remove the torque arm when removing the rear wheel, as it is a slotted dropout. If you did that, careful reassembly is needed so the hex bolt meets the brake caliper bracket tightly, and use some loctite too (the blue goop).

Also, another redundant bolt is sticking out of one of the fender/rack mount eyelets in the other picture? Always be careful not to overtighten threaded holes directly on the frame, as they will strip easily.

 

[Joergen8]

If anyone is wondering why a tiny wrench-like bit of steel (torque arm) is important: the rotational torque (and hundreds of lbs of splitting force) of the axle is caught by the steel torque arm and the load is transferred to the end of the arm where it is secured by a bolt. The leverage provided by this distance massively reduces the force being transmitted into the delicate alloy frame dropout. So the same as turning a bolt with a wrench, leverage, but also a quality wrench that can hold the spreading force applied by the bolt, and not snap in half. Without the arm, the rear most half of the dropout would snap off like glass, and the rear wheel might lock up or fall off, ruining you and the bike.

 

[mamerc]

Thanks and understood. easy 10 second fix, as I was reinstalling wheel, brake caliper must have moved. Did discover, wheel change is a little more difficult than expected, glad I did it now in case I need to learn it in the field. The Jumper was much more easier. That outer bolt sticking out is just a spare that came with the rack.

 

[Joergen8]

And as always, be extra careful with the wiring poking out of the axle. Here is an example of what is needed if a Neo rear hub is dropped so the axle cuts the motor wires.

I noticed these guys had also detached the torque arm, but all you need to do is wiggle or whack the wheel a little to get the axle out of the arm on one side and torque sensor on the other. Have the bike upside down of course. Another tip is to use a wrench or spanner to gently rotate the axle into the dropouts when lowering the wheel back in place, as it tends to roll too far sideways to slot in, and resists too much in reverse to be manipulated without a wrench.