Hyena's e-bike builds (now with HD video)

[Dee Jay]

there are drivers here in Japan who would try to teach you a lesson in "false sense of security" by pretending they didn't see your lights and won't give you the leeway. It happened to me when I had dual flashing bicycle lights on my Revive. I saw him coming at the intersection and I know that assh0le saw me coming as well, I saw him look at me but he looked straight ahead and kept going. He almost hit me but we came to a full stop. He was shocked to see that I had my 3 year old son in the child seat and he showed signs of guilt in face and bowed as he passed me. Penalties in Japan are stiff on vehicular man slaughter,especially if you kill a child.. and the victim's family will ride you for the rest of your life. It's why there are so many hit-and-run cases here!

 

[Hyena]

Yeah I'm sure in Australia flashing lights are quite legal, nearly every bicycle I encounter riding into the dark has one. The cops are more likely to pull you over for not having any illumination. I'd rather anger the odd driver than ride with nothing and be knocked over.
That said after last nights maiden voyage it does seem this is a little too powerful. I never thought I'd say such a thing :lol:
I'm going to try aiming it lower and see what the oncoming visibility is like (using my patented method of leaning my bike against the letterbox and then going for a walk up the street and seeing how it looks :lol: ) and if it is still too bright I'll just keep it as a fixed beam light and fit some lower powered 1-3w flashers.

He was shocked to see that I had my 3 year old son in the child seat

I'm looking at buying a trailer to drag my 2.5 yo around, for a trip up to the local park and around the oval etc. There's no way I'd ride on the road around any sort of traffic with him though. Only back streets and only slowly.

I saw him coming at the intersection and I know that assh0le saw me coming as well, I saw him look at me but he looked straight ahead and kept going

This is the issue we're faced with, lights or not, ebike or not. Fortuntely the number of assholes on the road is relatively few but it's these ones that totally disregard us that are the most dangerous. I ride with the expectation that people are going to misjudge my speed or not see me to the last minute but it's the one that do see you, when you're right on top of them and STILL pull out that grind me (if you'll pardon the pun)

I wonder how roadies get on when they get cut off and need to suddenly brake. Most of their bikes only have light weight canti brakes and I'd hate to be doing any emergency braking with them from ~50km/hr which many of them ride at.

Most people do the right thing, infact this morning I stopped at a round about to give way to traffic as per the road rules and a lady stopped mid turn to wave me across in front of her, which surprised me.

 

[Dee Jay]

Dee Jay said: I would suggest videocams front and rear so you can record the incidents to use either in court or to get the plate number so you can have your way with their cars on your own time, savvy? :wink:

I just gave myself an idea :lol:
http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&p=421919&sid=5fc8a23ba774ca27349a1703fc2d4a49#p421919

 

[full-throttle]

Nice flasher gangster!

I stopped using 1200lm after motorists started hi-beaming me Now I just have a homemade dual fixed 500lm and a small flasher as a backup.

 

[beast775]

great flasher,im usin 2 p7-d on flash mode and sometimes i feel bad for pedestrians walking towards me on the road side, they bow there heads and put there hands up.but i have had 2 many close calls to not illuminate harshly.

 

[Hyena]

I stopped using 1200lm after motorists started hi-beaming me

Wow that's really cheap for a torch with 5 Q5s!
This one cost more than that but it's pretty compact so I'm pretty happy with it.
I have 2 red crees on the back wired to my main pack with a DC/DC converter and I'll have to do the same with this one eventually.
Although I'm also thinking of making a stand alone front lighting system with 2 of these powered by a big 16ah headway.

I have a new commuter bike in the making which I'll reveal shortly.
This one will be much neater that my current 'test bench' bike that I seem to end up riding everywhere.
All good stuff, tidy wiring and most importantly no duct tape and inner tubes temporarily holding stuff on :lol:

 

[full-throttle]

This one is even cheaper. Free shipping.

I have a new commuter bike in the making which I'll reveal shortly.

Ooh

I'm thinking of another build myselfSorry for a crappy pic..

Still deciding on 26" vs 700c
Either Ananda 108 hubbie or Scorpion S55-45 or C80-100, perhaps even friction drive
Got the frame for free

 

[cachexian]

Hey Hyena,

If you're thinking of a trailer for a 2.5 year old have a look at the Wee hoo Igo. You can hire them at Bicentennial Park off Australia Ave at Homebush to try them out.

My three year-old has never had so much fun on a bike. He kept yelling "faster please daddy, faster please daddy" and when he was helping me pedal up hill he was saying "can you feel my power?". It was great!

I've not seen anything on the market quite like it - definitely thinking about getting one - bit expensive though.

Cachexian

 

[Hyena]

I'm thinking of another build myself
Got the frame for free

Nice score! What sort of reduction will you use if you go with the scorpion ?
Another project for when I get around to it is making a 2WD cruiser. I have the bike here, still new but its only a single speed so the drop outs won't fit a standard 135mm axle. I'm thinking I'll run 2 front motors, one in the rear, one in the front. Plenty of room for batts in the frame but I'll need to mod the seat to move it further back (its steel so easily welded) and also make some shorter cranks as they're too low now since lowering the rigid front forks.


Cachexian, they look like an interesting little trailer but I think for now I'll go with the enclosed type one. I think my little fella is still a bit small for the pedalling thing and I'd be worried about him dropping his feet down onto ground. Plus when my 6 month old gets a bit older they can both ride in it.

 

[adrian_sm]

I bought a second hand trailer off ebay for cheap. Great for short rides with the kiddies. But since it has no suspension, you have to take it easy, or stick to smooth roads. Otherwise the little guys get bounced around too much.

 

[Hyena]

Yeah I was watching one on ebay, 2 km down the road from me which would have been perfect but I got sidetracked and forgot and it ended up selling for $40. Doh!

 

[cachexian]

The kid's feet strap into the pedals on the wee hoo and I think that a 2 year old could fit in it - but it is a problem that it can't take two kids.

I found that now that my boy is 3 and nearly 4 he's finding it a bit tiresome just sitting on the seat on the back of my bike. I did the Parra-pedal with him on it earlier this year. After 55ks he was well and truly sick of sitting in the bike seat. I suspect that an enclosed trailer might have been more comfortable but probably not more stimulating. Being able to pedal will give him something to do and should help him to build some muscles for his own pedalling but on the weehoo they don't have to pedal and they're strapped in with a safety harness and the seat has a full back rest so he can just sleep if he wants.

Anyway first ride on ours tomorrow. I'm planning to take it on the Sydney Spring Cycle later this year so I guess I'll be able to see whether it's any better than the seat for my little one.

Cachexian.

 

[Hyena]

Here's a quick rideby video comparing a normal bright flashing bicycle light (strictly by chance!) to mine. I've aimed it quite low now so I'm hoping the brightness will be OK. The bloke out for a walk turns at the end for a look :lol:

[youtube]Qwu6adFQtHw[/youtube]

 

[Red_Liner740]

^^ Yea, classic couple of seconds of brain processing for it to finally click that there is something different.

I see it all the time.

Quick look....couple of seconds pass, eyebrows frown, then u get a second look with the quizzical "waaaaait a minute....somethings not right here."

 

[Hyena]

New vid, bit of everything in this one. Mostly commuting footage but has day and night, rain and sun, humans and animals and... the ghost rider 8)

Phjear the ghost rider

[youtube]L2uZbNc6sP4[/youtube]

 

[thewmatusmoloki]

Great vid !
Cool music.
Outstanding.

 

[1000w]

Well done Jay, great vid.
I love the border collie's reaction to the Ghost Rider.
Cheers,
Matt.

 

[GCinDC]

pretty darn good, j. roadkill. check. rodents, nearly roadkill, check. skull facemask, check. ghosting, check. very consistent theme. high art.

all that's missing is the sickle. that would take it straight over the top!

 

[brisbanebikie]

best ebike video ive seen maybe ever. Best bits were the opening, where the sun fades in and the closing.. and 0:15 , blowing away the morning gridlock.. hehe

i posted this video into a motorbike forum.. see what they think..

EDIT: a mod deleted my post of your video..

 

[remf]

Great vid Hyena !!! I'll be keeping an eye out for the ghost rider 8)

 

[Hyena]

thanks guys. I was trying to think of a way to jazz up my otherwise fairly boring commute footage. Bar someone doing something spectacularly good or bad right in front of me I think it's pretty much all been seen now.

A sickle you say Greg, hmm, I'd likely impale myself trying to get that footage :lol:
I might do an ammended version later if I get some more static footage - more disappearing / ghost footage would be cool.

i posted this video into a motorbike forum.. see what they think..

EDIT: a mod deleted my post of your video..

Which forum ? And why did they delete it ?
Not motorbike enough for them ? Or too cool ?

 

[Hyena]

I'll be keeping an eye out for the ghost rider 8)

You in Sydney remf ? Where abouts ?

 

[remf]

I'll be keeping an eye out for the ghost rider 8)

You in Sydney remf ? Where abouts ?

Yeah I visit Sydney every few weeks, usually riding round Bondi as fast as possible on my Blur - I need to find myself a FS donor bike for a 60V Bafang setup for Sydney. Think I recognized some landmarks in your video, I'm guessing your near Kogarah or Hurstville. I'm not usually in the area...unless I'm visiting The Bike Shed

 

[Hyena]

Think I recognized some landmarks in your video, I'm guessing your near Kogarah or Hurstville.

Yep, I ride through there. The big sign that says that at 1.55 kinda gives that away
That's the most dangerous place for me to ride due to a certain demographic that heavily populates the area :lol:

 

[Dee Jay]

Oh I see how it is, Hyena. I was giving you the props but you wanna be like that? Alright, M8...