R.I.P. le Béte

beast775 said:
Bummer zoot katz.... new bearings,welded dropouts,better spoke config etc sounds like a good plan,cheapest also.was a great welding shop on the 3500 block of mcdonald but that was in 92?mark.
Click to expand...
The bullet has been bitten. Today ordered a new Crystalyte HS3540, laced to a 26" rim, for bolting into a new Xtracycle. I think it will do fine as long as it doesn't sound too tinny under the bags. Better sealing, lighter weight and closer compliance with standards are what I'm seeking. If it doesn't work out the X5 gets rebuilt and I end up with a spare motor. Oh dear.
What gets me is that everything is still working and would probably kept rolling until the rim blows up.
Damn Schrader valves.
This decision has scratched my itch for a "new" bike. The local sweeties asking where's my pretty bike convinced me I don't need a new one. Nobody scraps a babe magnet like le Béte!
Resurrection In Process
Realizing Intermittent Progress
 
nicobie said:
Good going!

I think you will be happier with the 3540 than you would have been with the 3548 on your big bike. It's easier to overheat the 3548 and they both have the same low speed torque.
Click to expand...
Remedied Inane Plan

You're right. I realised my mistake about five in the morning and changed my order ASAP.
What convinced me is the greater range possible by using the 3540 in the right size wheel.
Sometimes I probably shouldn't be allowed out unsupervised. What was I thinking?
Mainly I didn't want a stock Crystalyte built wheel. Grin Tech is lacing it into a silver rim to better match the front wheel.
Got a new pair of Big Apple 2.3" tires. Still need to get new fenders, cables, chain and misc bits.
By deciding I don't need a new bike it feels like I've already saved $3000!
 
Revealing Incipient Problems

Turd polishing is always more fun than expected!
A different fork might soon be necessary. Part of this refurbishment is getting the bike to track straight again. Took the forks in to correct the tip alignment. Noticed cracked paint on the braze. Marked it with a Sharpie and it didn't move after jacking the fork back into shape. I think the drum brake is putting more load on one leg and more stress on that joint too. One inch steerer tube, rigid, 26" tandem/cargo fork? bon chance.
My teeth already sleep in a jar, and I've ridden scarier forks. The brake torque arm should keep the front wheel from taking off too far on its own. C'est la vie

The new Free Radical dropouts look like they're stamped steel instead of forged? Where the axle nut or QR skewer seats appears depressed on the face and embossed on the insides. Overall it's a full two millimeters less material there and probably needs C-washers to seat the motor's axle washers and nuts. The new tang, where the old one failed, is still the same thickness and two mm wider.
 
Receipts in Piles

Along with cleaning and reassembling the bike this week, I've pulled out receipts dating back to Sept 2008 and totaled up some of this e-bike stuff.
It's hard to recall regular bike maintenance ever costing this much.

Justin's shop has gotten the lion's share of the local retailers.
Three motors, 3 controllers, 3 tail lights, two headlights, 2 Cycle Lumenators, 2 Cycle Analysts, two throttles, two freewheels. four batteries, five chargers, one Xtracycle Free Radical, crimpers, misc connectors and hardware ~ $5800.

Spending at other shops for the rest of the bits adds up too.
Front wheel~$170, kick stands~$245!, tires~$240, chain rings~$150, cables, chains, brake pads, inner tubes ~$160

The two neighbourhood electronics shops have also taken some money for tools , connectors, shrink tube, switches, chemicals, zip ties, etc, but I've not been counting.

In the past year I got new shoes, helmet, goggles and gloves ~$250 and replaced my rain gear a couple years ago ~$350.

Total mileage for 63 months on two bikes: 23,473 km.
Looking at it like this, that's about thirty one cents per kilometer or a round trip to the cafe costs $3.75.

Note this doesn't include the donor bikes for the conversions. They were free and the fun is priceless.
 
Yeah, I don't want to add it up anymore at all. I still say every mile I don't drive my new car saves me a fortune 10 years from now. But it's a bit shocking that it's at least 2-3 bucks per 10-15 mile trip. Or maybe more, but if so, I don't want to know it. :)

Hopefully, the current setup will not need a lot of new stuff for 10,000 miles or so. Just brakes and tires, etc. And more lico about once a year. About $250 a year to keep refreshing part of the battery annually.
 
Added up and broken down like that, it's shocking.

My batteries too seem to be getting near the end of their useful life. There's likely to be new batteries in the new year. And soon a new controller. It was assumed the halls were faulty. The quickest cure was a sensorless controller. Deeper investigation reveals it's the controller which may have been at fault. That sucks.

In the broadest sense, it's been like riding a bike everyday and flushing a hundred dollars down the toilet every month. Then looking at it another way, it's still cheaper than a bus pass and way more fun. So I guess for transportation and entertainment it's still a pretty good deal.
 
Yeah, it's still worth every penny for love of the biking. The real reason I ebike, I get to bike like when I was young and strong again. It's really all just about love of the bike. I wish I had the strength to ride across the continent. Now too weak to work, I do have the time. :cry: I got out for some longer rides this summer, but never much more than 40 miles in a day.

I can't go completely without a car because many trips are too long for me to bike now that I'm sick, but It sure is cheaper to bike as much as possible. Putting off another car purchase an extra 10 years will be priceless. Driving 5000 miles a year instead of 15,000 saves a fortune. I hope to drive the Subaru till it's 20 years old at least. Hope to have less than 150,000 on it then. That will be 2030. That won't happen if I drive every time I need a gallon of milk from the dollar store. The cargo bike to the grocery store 5 miles away is the key to the plan.

Bus is out of the question for me. Before I got sick, my 15 mile bike commute was 30 min faster than the bus, which still left me with another 20 min of walk to the house. It comes only once an hour, so if 5 min late, add another full hour to your travel time. Unacceptable. Pedal a bike to the bus worked ok, but still stuck with that one chance per hour schedule, so lots of time wasted to be sure to be early.
 
nicobie said:
Also the added exercise should make you live longer too.
Click to expand...
Repeat, it's Popular

I think that's our favourite canard. For a devout automobilist an ebike may provide some additional exercise but for a cyclist it's a step toward the dark side. Personally, it has led to deterioration of my former fitness levels.
And then there was the heart attack. Because it is an electric bike, I was back on it three days out of hospital. It's more like my motorized mobility device now. I scared myself last time pushing home le Béte. Walking would be better exercise at this point.
 
dogman said:
Yeah, it's still worth every penny for love of the biking. The real reason I ebike, I get to bike like when I was young and strong again. It's really all just about love of the bike. . . .
Click to expand...
Rejoice in Pedal

There's something about riding a bike that connects us to our environment, in real time, the way a cager doesn't enjoy. I'm lucky iving in a bike friendly city that makes it entirely possible to live without a car. The idea of someday not being able to ride a bike terrifys me. It seems wrong having to possibly jeapordise anothers well being for my need to get somewhere.

When everybody talks about how economical it is to ebike it's generally in comparison to car ownership/driving. My friend put things into perspective for me today. His new Jeep costs him $200 for insurance and $750 car payments every month, plus fuel. What he lost driving it off the lot would buy a nice ebike.

BIKES RULE!
 
Amen to that. I had some buyers remorse after getting my 2010 Subaru. A quick calculation showed that changing my mind would only cost me $5000. Enough to buy two really good ebikes. But with my health shot, I simply could not have a car I needed to fix every weekend anymore, and could not stretch the old Subaru any further without spending just as much money per mile on a complete restoration.

More calculations showed that I can sell the new car and break even only when I get it half paid for. Next year, if money gets too tight. But I'd rather keep it, since the wifes car is a piece of shit ford focus. Good cars to about 90,000 miles, but a nightmare past that. Her focus is at 75k now, so in about a year we will need to sell it off to some sucker. At that point, I will be down to just the ebike while she is working.

My Subaru is costing 450 per month including insurance, so I'm looking at paying that but not driving it more than about 400 miles per month as a sort of savings account I'll cash in on when the loan is paid for. But the only way to look at that first five thou, is to say I took a fat stack and set fire to it. But a very low miles car can be hard to find, and new was going to screw me even worse to drive off the lot.

My city is bike friendly, even though the drivers are not. :roll: Lots of good routes, either bike trails or back roads. Bike paths are part of all newer developments. But I have to have more strength to do 30 mile round trips. I live in the low price outskirts of the city. More importantly, I cannot keep my body warm anymore, so that's it for winter riding. It's mild here, so an afternoon ride to groceries in 50f weather is still ok, but a morning trip in January just has to be in a warm car now.
 
Zoot Katz said:
dogman said:
Yeah, it's still worth every penny for love of the biking. The real reason I ebike, I get to bike like when I was young and strong again. It's really all just about love of the bike. . . .
Click to expand...
Rejoice in Pedal

There's something about riding a bike that connects us to our environment, in real time, the way a cager doesn't enjoy. I'm lucky iving in a bike friendly city that makes it entirely possible to live without a car. The idea of someday not being able to ride a bike terrifys me. It seems wrong having to possibly jeapordise anothers well being for my need to get somewhere.

When everybody talks about how economical it is to ebike it's generally in comparison to car ownership/driving. My friend put things into perspective for me today. His new Jeep costs him $200 for insurance and $750 car payments every month, plus fuel. What he lost driving it off the lot would buy a nice ebike.

BIKES RULE!
Click to expand...

Trikes work for us folks who can't ride 2 wheels due to oldness. :(
otherDoc
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top