What have you been riding lately?
- Thread starter GuitarlCarl
- Start date
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GT/Harley Davidson rat built E-bike
State U-Haul Skinny Tire bike
Funny story-three weeks after I purchased my insanely under-priced Sun EZ at a storage auction...a pin holding the U-bolt to the transmission shaft on my Chevy S-10 gave way and the entire drive shaft went 'CLANG!' on the highway...
(Okay, maybe not so funny per se...)
Most of the local so-called mechanics in this area prefer 'skimming the cream' from the Tourists with easy work...so the few really good ones are constantly booked, so...two weeks without a car.
Good news though-my newly-christened Easy Rider was up to the challenge! I laughed at having 21 gears before-but all that variety let me optimize the heck out of the terrain without turning my legs into shredded rags and even let me build them up a bit! Twelve miles to the Post Office and back every day (with package deliveries in-between)...eight miles to and back from the nearest shopping center...a mere three miles to a local station with the best cheap meals from 6AM to 2PM, and a local Grocery on the opposite side of the road...Easy Rider and I did some pretty serious miles in 90-97 Degree humid weather, put on a Tennis Brim for the refreshing rain (I wear glasses, need them rain-free) and kept plenty of water on hand...
I missed my Chevy S-10-but it was good to know what I could do without it-and after a relatively inexpensive repair (one pin replacement, all other parts still good!) I made a few changes to the bike:
1) Why in God's Green Earth did Sun make the trike out of square steel rail-and then try to save a few ounces with a non-suspended soft aluminum front rim? After a sharp rock left a deep gouge in the soft rim (resulting in a slow leak once I was home) I replaced the entire thing with a donor wheel off a $5 Spidey Bike-Real Steel Me Googies! The rim was a quarter-inch wider than the original, so I found some smaller brake blocks and adjusted accordingly. The wider rim/tire combo also gave my a much-needed extra half-inch clearance on my derailleur! Thinking about giving my (beefier but still aluminum) rear wheels the same Steely treatment if I can find a decent set I like...
2) Having two baskets makes for awesome cargo capacity-but not when it gets in the way of my Bike Light (which I needed at 5AM pretty badly) Also, the massive Tool Bag I tied to my back seat took room in my back basket that I could have used elsewhere...so now I have two exterior bags mounted to the outside of my rear basket, a small Tool bag between the handlebars, cup holder at the bottom of same, plenty of clearance for my light mount and a coated brass bell loud enough that CARS can hear it!
3) I rapidly found out that standard mirrors were useless in traffic with these handlebars(I already know where my left shoulder is, thank you), so on my first Day Off I pedaled 25 miles to my nearest Bike Shop for better. The three hour round trip was worth it though-my new High-rise mirror sees you clear as day over 400feet away...
4) Now that I have my Chevy back i'm mostly carrying Easy Rider to Atlantic Beach-with those awesome Multi-use Pathways for miles-but it's good to know I can brave the Hwy 24 and Hwy 70 Death Corridors if need be!
(Okay, maybe not so funny per se...)
Most of the local so-called mechanics in this area prefer 'skimming the cream' from the Tourists with easy work...so the few really good ones are constantly booked, so...two weeks without a car.
Good news though-my newly-christened Easy Rider was up to the challenge! I laughed at having 21 gears before-but all that variety let me optimize the heck out of the terrain without turning my legs into shredded rags and even let me build them up a bit! Twelve miles to the Post Office and back every day (with package deliveries in-between)...eight miles to and back from the nearest shopping center...a mere three miles to a local station with the best cheap meals from 6AM to 2PM, and a local Grocery on the opposite side of the road...Easy Rider and I did some pretty serious miles in 90-97 Degree humid weather, put on a Tennis Brim for the refreshing rain (I wear glasses, need them rain-free) and kept plenty of water on hand...
I missed my Chevy S-10-but it was good to know what I could do without it-and after a relatively inexpensive repair (one pin replacement, all other parts still good!) I made a few changes to the bike:
1) Why in God's Green Earth did Sun make the trike out of square steel rail-and then try to save a few ounces with a non-suspended soft aluminum front rim? After a sharp rock left a deep gouge in the soft rim (resulting in a slow leak once I was home) I replaced the entire thing with a donor wheel off a $5 Spidey Bike-Real Steel Me Googies! The rim was a quarter-inch wider than the original, so I found some smaller brake blocks and adjusted accordingly. The wider rim/tire combo also gave my a much-needed extra half-inch clearance on my derailleur! Thinking about giving my (beefier but still aluminum) rear wheels the same Steely treatment if I can find a decent set I like...
2) Having two baskets makes for awesome cargo capacity-but not when it gets in the way of my Bike Light (which I needed at 5AM pretty badly) Also, the massive Tool Bag I tied to my back seat took room in my back basket that I could have used elsewhere...so now I have two exterior bags mounted to the outside of my rear basket, a small Tool bag between the handlebars, cup holder at the bottom of same, plenty of clearance for my light mount and a coated brass bell loud enough that CARS can hear it!
3) I rapidly found out that standard mirrors were useless in traffic with these handlebars(I already know where my left shoulder is, thank you), so on my first Day Off I pedaled 25 miles to my nearest Bike Shop for better. The three hour round trip was worth it though-my new High-rise mirror sees you clear as day over 400feet away...
4) Now that I have my Chevy back i'm mostly carrying Easy Rider to Atlantic Beach-with those awesome Multi-use Pathways for miles-but it's good to know I can brave the Hwy 24 and Hwy 70 Death Corridors if need be!
