Cross-Canada by Ebike

[Doctorbass]

That's great to see you Justin in the video!.. I can see that rain is not only in Quebec..

Justin, do you plan to visit some E-S members or family from Montreal?

 

[knoxie]

Hi

Thanks for the explanation I wasnt sure if Justin had got the wheel sorted yet, it just looked from one of those shots as if it was smaller? optical illusion maybe.

Thanks for the extra pictures, there are some great looking machines in there, I like Justins idea of auctioning the bike off! I am sure that there are plenty of folks that would like a piece of e-biking history! I am sure if Justin ever contemplates doing the trip again he can put something together equally as viable as Id bet he has learned a lot about what works and what doesnt, nothing like a bit of real world testing and travelling across Canada is a pretty good one!!

Thanks again to all you guys who have contributed to this thread its by far the most interesting and addictive one that I have seen since I joined up, now we just need one of you to make the trip in the return direction! 8)

Knoxie

 

[paultrafalgar]

Surely, it would be a travesty to sell off such an iconic vehicle in bits! It should be put in the Canadian National Transport Museum (is there one?) labeled "The Spark that Catalyzed a Transport Revolution". What do you say? If Justin needs the money, let's get a coop going to buy shares in it? Justin could keep it for us till the authorities wake up to the import of what he has done.

 

[Joshua Goldberg]

"knoxie"

now we just need one of you to make the trip in the return direction!

Paul

That ride would be 6,000 KM Uphill into a Headwind. One of my cousins from England tried it on a MASI 10 speed and when he got to Vancouver he tossed his bike off the Lionsgate Bridge and swore he'd never ride again. West to East is the easiest route, East to West is a wee bit insane.

IF Justin turned around in Halifax and tried to ride back to B.C. he'd most likely be riding in sub-zero weather, slip sliding on Black ice and driving in snow.

To Justin: if you can try and ride through St. Jerome Quebec. AFAIK it is ground zero for E-Cars east of B.C., the Mayor is a big fan of E-Cars/E-Bikes and the ZENN is built somewhere near there.

 

[mikereidis]

All the years I've lived here and I've never rode by the Prime Minister's residence! It seems like I missed out on a good tour
I'm going for a run down sussex tonight with a full charged pack and when I get back my spare will be ready for a trip to Juergen's to give Justin a parting gift.

Update... Just got back, did 20 km and put a hurt on my 48 volt pack. I could barely mantain 20 km/h close to home. My voltage was almost at the 19 volt cutoff.
Sussex drive is like a different planet! Am I still in Ottawa? Well manicured lawns and perfect roads; a cyclist's paradise! On the route there beside the river I found some muddy trails and lots of rough to put my bike through. There are appartments for rent next door to the PM's residence! How cool is that! I could quite easilly put a flaming bag of dog shit on his front stoop on Halloween and ring the doorbell!
I am just amazed that I have lived in Ottawa all my life and never actually gone down Sussex Drive!
Ben....

Yes, I haven't rode on Sussex or in Rockliffe etc. in a few years now. Easy to ignore the touristy areas when you live here. Doug and I are looking to do some rides together in future, so PM or email either of us if you'd like to join.

The RCMP might charge you with terror laws for flaming poop, but if you go early on Halloween you can get candy or whatever from the PM himself. Be "cute" and bring some cute kids and you may even get your picture in papers etc. for the annual Halloween at 24 Sussex photo op. I love how there is an actual street accessible door to PMs house for such events; Don't think you'd ever see that for US president, or leaders of many other nations.

There was Justin, Doug and myself on this ride. Justin hasn't been to Ottawa before so we gave him the quick bike tour of central Ottawa and saw the must see tourist things, like Parliament, the Canal (which turns into worlds longest skating rink (and studded ebike trail ) in several months), the Ottawa River etc.

Here are some pics, some video to come later:

Justin and Doug gawking at planes inside the closed Aviation Musuem:

View attachment 5



Justin in Majors Hill Park, on East side of Rideau Canal and Parliament:



Justin and Doug in the old mill (or whatever) building on Victoria Island in middle of Ottawa River. Nice place to get out of the heavy rain we had for 40 minutes or so. We checked the outlets but no 120vac juice




Wild chopper bike with umbrella at the restaurant where we joined the weekly dinner meeting of the Human Powered Vehicle Operators of Ottawa ( http://hpv.tricolour.net/ ):

 

[Anonymous]

I am just amazed that I have lived in Ottawa all my life and never actually gone down Sussex Drive!

I discovered this in San Francisco, but it's universally applicable: follow the tourists! Hang out with the tourists! They go to all of the interesting places, they are out to have fun, they are all smiling and having a great time. Pretend you've never been to Ottawa and check out the tourist attractions. On vacation in Banff I was listening to a busker on the sidewalk and just had to jam with the guy, so I got my guitar and joined in. Tourists passing by said to me "I can see why you do this", while I was thinking "I'm a tourist, just like you". :lol:

But actually it was Mike who led us on that particular tour, excellent, thanks Mike!

 

[mikereidis]

I got around to posting two videos on YouTube so far for Ottawa ride. Search on "ebikes justin" or try links below.

This is 30 seconds at start of ride from Juergens'. Going a bit slow because Juergens almost 5 year old son joined us. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms-LwufLWco

This is 16 seconds when we finally got on the Aviation Parkway multi-use trail and could get a little bit of speed on (within NCC speed limits of course... ) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72Haayx5xX0

I took these videos with my Canon S1 IS in movie mode. It's 4-5 year old tech, only 3.2 megapixel for pictures, but good picture quality. Has optical image stabilization which really helps on ebike.

PM me or leave YouTube comments or whatever if you want to see more. I have some segments on the River Parkway, arriving at 24 Sussex and some night shots, but might want to edit out some accidental sky footage or a portion where I blab on about myself after someone asked me something. (Doug, I'll send directly to you if you want; someone else will ask if they are wanted and I don't want to do the editing unless they are desired.)

With only 7-10 days left on his trip, Justin was itching to get going on to Montreal leaving yesterday if he could. Perhaps he's arriving there today or tomorrow. Was chilly and foggy last night but at least it wasn't raining.

 

[philf]

Does anybody know if he got the wheel he wanted from Phat Moose?

I'm half tempted to buy back my donor wheel, if it's still in working order

 

[pwbset]

+1 for the end when you hear, "yeah, I created an embedded linux distro". :lol: Further proof that ebike enthusiasts tend to cross over into the computer geek demographic.

 

[Anonymous]

Does anybody know if he got the wheel he wanted from Phat Moose?

Yes, he has a new wheel and better clothes, and I presume is now in quebec, my guess is that he's probably in montreal right now.

 

[GGoodrum]

Well, it took me 2 days, but I finally got through all 28 pages of this most excellent travelogue. What a VERY unique experience. Anyway, I'm hooked. Can't wait to read the next installment.

Love the controller features. I truly hope you can figure out a way to get this into production.

-- Gary

 

[Doctorbass]

So the lastest news about Justin position is that he left Ottawa?

Does he will meet someone in montreal? or go directly to Quebec

Like you know, I reserved 2 days off my job to meet him and doing a part of the end of the travel with him for 170km on east of Quebec.

I'm working on my setup to protect it even if it rain and some alarm protection for all 4 battery... i'll run to 46.2Ah at 44.4V.

i'll wait for his phone call :wink:

Doc

 

[Anonymous]

So the lastest news about Justin position is that he left Ottawa?

He told me he was leaving monday after getting wheel and clothes. Seems I was wrong about his wheel earlier, just looked again at his PM from 24hrs ago, he said he's getting a wheel shipped to quebec. That's all I know.

 

[Doctorbass]

So the lastest news about Justin position is that he left Ottawa?

He told me he was leaving monday after getting wheel and clothes. Seems I was wrong about his wheel earlier, just looked again at his PM from 24hrs ago, he said he's getting a wheel shipped to quebec. That's all I know.

thanks! Do you know wich adress he shipped that to Quebec?

I have 3x 26" and 1x 24" wheel and alot of free tires here! i could give him some!

 

[Anonymous]

Do you know wich adress he shipped that to Quebec?

Sorry, no idea. He was staying with Juergen, who is too busy to be on forums most of the time.
I only saw Justin at the group gathering saturday, the group ride sunday, and he sent me one
PM saying he got what he needed, but wheel is being shipped to quebec.

 

[philf]

I don't know if anyone got a good look at the rear tire on Justin's rig (it's covered by the Xtracycle bags), but it has a really strange wear pattern on it. The tread in the center of the tire is fine, but the shoulders are worn almost as though there was some mechanical interference between the frame/fender and the rotating wheel. He HAD worn through the fender where his added weight, sitting on top of the Xtracycle, had pushed it into the spinning tire. He'd already cut out the offending section of the fender (and we removed more of it while he was here) - but that didn't explain to me how the SHOULDERS of the tire were worn, and symetrically at that!

It was after he left that the penny dropped while speaking to a fellow in one of the local bike shops... I think he grossly underinflates that tire. He doesn't use a pressure gauge, and inflates the thing with a hand pump. When we did the wheel swap, I got a look at the tube he has in that tire - the TUBE is heavier and thicker than many road bike tires! No WAY you'll get a pinch flat with that puppy. And the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires he's running are reinforced across the tread - they form an interesting cross section if completely compressed under load.

Anyways, when the tube/tire was mounted on the new wheel, I handed him my air chuck - connected to a compressor with the regulator set to 65psi. He inflated the tire, but stopped short - saying he preferred a slightly softer ride. Either way, with the air tank providing the pressure, it's likely that this is the firmest he's had that tire since Calgary! With a hand pump, and no pressure gauge, that tube/tire combo will start to feel "hard" at 30psi.

I sent him a note about the realization, and I'm hoping he'll consider this when swapping wheels in Quebec. With 48 spokes (and he's after a heavier gauge), he's less likely to kill the new wheel - but that tire could be the next thing to go!

Ooooo... So dramatic, wot?

 

[mikereidis]

So the lastest news about Justin position is that he left Ottawa?

Does he will meet someone in montreal? or go directly to Quebec

Like you know, I reserved 2 days off my job to meet him and doing a part of the end of the travel with him for 170km on east of Quebec.

Doc

Don't worry; Justin seems itching to complete his trip and may be getting overwhelmed with attention and email now.

I received an email from him last night, Tuesday the 16th at 8:20 PM and he said:

"I finally left this morning...... and I'm just a few km shy
of Montreal right now, weather is fine and wind is at my back."

 

[tartosuc]

So the lastest news about Justin position is that he left Ottawa?

Does he will meet someone in montreal? or go directly to Quebec

Like you know, I reserved 2 days off my job to meet him and doing a part of the end of the travel with him for 170km on east of Quebec.

I'm working on my setup to protect it even if it rain and some alarm protection for all 4 battery... i'll run to 46.2Ah at 44.4V.

i'll wait for his phone call :wink:

Doc

Justin was at my place yesterday, i'm in Pincourt just west of montreal, he stopped for about an hour and then had to meet some firends from vancouver that were in montreal. My guess is that he will probably leave Montreal today (sednesday) or thursday.

 

[Doctorbass]

So the lastest news about Justin position is that he left Ottawa?

Does he will meet someone in montreal? or go directly to Quebec

Like you know, I reserved 2 days off my job to meet him and doing a part of the end of the travel with him for 170km on east of Quebec.

I'm working on my setup to protect it even if it rain and some alarm protection for all 4 battery... i'll run to 46.2Ah at 44.4V.

i'll wait for his phone call :wink:

Doc

Justin was at my place yesterday, i'm in Pincourt just west of montreal, he stopped for about an hour and then had to meet some firends from vancouver that were in montreal. My guess is that he will probably leave Montreal today (sednesday) or thursday.

Thanks for th3se info guys!

So i expect ti meet him on friday probably assuming he do 130km a day.
that will be perfect.. the weather seems favorable with sunny days up to monday..

Doc

 

[KoolKat]

Yesterday, I took apart the rear wheel that Justin had left in my garage. The hub and rim were of decent quality with the heaviest gage spokes one might find at a bike shop. Of the 6 or more broken spokes, most of them had sheared right after the bend. I took all of the spokes out to examine the hub and noticed a few things. The bearing cones were very loose, and the races were worn like one would expect on a 10 year old bike! The spoke holes also had been strained so hard that they were no longer round, but oval - pointing in the direction of spoke tension.

Could be that the spokes were all too tight, causing the failure?

Oh well, I now have a piece of Canadian history stored safely in one of the 200 or more 20 gallon pails I use to organize my bike parts!

Brad

I don't know if anyone got a good look at the rear tire on Justin's rig (it's covered by the Xtracycle bags), but it has a really strange wear pattern on it. The tread in the center of the tire is fine, but the shoulders are worn almost as though there was some mechanical interference between the frame/fender and the rotating wheel. He HAD worn through the fender where his added weight, sitting on top of the Xtracycle, had pushed it into the spinning tire. He'd already cut out the offending section of the fender (and we removed more of it while he was here) - but that didn't explain to me how the SHOULDERS of the tire were worn, and symetrically at that!

 

[liksmuzic]

I am absolutly mesmarized by the trip that Justin has undertaken. I am new to ebikes as of last May, and now, every day I check on his progress. He is on an adventure, that I am sure a lot of the older crowd would like to be there doing.

Ah to be young again!!

May the wind be always at your back Justin, and keep the pictures and updates of how all the equipment is standing
up to the trek!.

 

[dirtdad]

As if we were not impressed enough with Justin's exploit, let me add this to the picture. I send an email to ebikes with a question about a Cycle Analyst. And I got a reply from...Justin himself, during the ride. So in addition to everything you are reading here the guy is helping at the shop.

Hats off to you Justin!

 

[Anonymous]

In Ottawa at Juergen's he was sitting there answering email questions too. He has been answering questions on this forum while traveling too. And he took the time to help me with my CA when he was here. Truly grateful and amazed, the future looks bright for renaissance bicycles.

 

[Cackalacka]

Justin, I gotta say, you are the man.

Following your trek the past couple weeks; I think stumbling on this thread put a little fire under my rear, and went ahead and got myself my first hub when the thread was on page 3. Took a month for all the components to get here, and the last package just arrived on my door this afternoon.

It is awesome to know that folks are thinking big. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some things to put together.

Godspeed!

 

[philf]

Uh Oh... The forum reports that "KoolKat" is online...

Brad... If you only KNEW what you had started Get your own ID - hiding behind Kathy isn't fair

Everyone else who may be thinking, "wha?"... I bought two of Brad's books and three sets of plans through his website. A whole new creative spark (arc?) has been ignited, here, and indirectly attributable to Justin's raising my awareness of what Brad does. I was only peripherally aware of "Atomic Zombie" prior - so, this is another example of how Justin's odyssey has connected people.

Of course, I'm told that what Brad can do to a core sample (think mining and minerals, here) is a whole other story...