After about 6 hours of sleep on Sunday and Monday, i'm collecting my thoughts after a marathon build of my new cyclone bike (still not completely done).
some things i learned along the way:
1) a bottom bracket is a BITCH to get off the bike
2) a local bike shop mechanic can be a real hero-- all hail Chuck! the new king of england!
3) you shouldn't change chain lengths too much
4) I was probably better off getting the more expensive chain tool
5) I probably should get a new chain
6) I need to know what terminal goes with what connector BEFORE cutting and splicing wires
7) I can't do everything. I still need help from Chuck.
The build actually began friday evening. I picked up the new rear wheel, some clamps, a crank removal tool, a bottom bracket removal tool, a cheap chain tool and headed back home to begin. After about an hour, i figure out how to use the crank removal tool. After another hour of beating the bike and crank removal tool with a rubber mallet, i managed to get both cranks off. Try as I could, I could not get the bottom bracket screws to come out. I gave up and went to bed.
On Saturday, I dropped the bike off with Chuck who, with advantage of being a big guy with the right tools with the right bike stand and help from another mechanic, finally managed to wrestle the bottom bracket off.
I guess the bottom brackets on these newer bikes are the totally sealed cartridge style now. I had to buy new screws and bearings from Chuck who installed them for free-- long live the king! Long live Chuck!
Saturday night is when most of the work began. First the new Nexus hub rear wheel went on. Then the brackets. Then went on the free wheeling crank-- which, by the way, is a very cool thing since it lets me apply motor power without having to peddle along with the motor. I finally put on the motor.
I was up till 4am sunday morning. Most of that time was spent screwing with different chain lengths. The problem was that the chain was too loose. When I peddled, it would slip on the rear wheel. I tried shortening it but then it became too short and I couldn't fit the rear wheel back into the dropouts. It finally dawned on me that the tension could also be adjusted by moving the motor in relation to its mounting brackets. Problem is that I had to lower the motor to tighten the chain. The smaller rear wheel already lowered the bike. Lowering the motors puts it a little too close to the ground for my tastes. It seems to be ok so far but I have to be very careful not to bash the motor when lifting the bike over tall curbs.
Wiring the bike was actually the easy part. I had already made the battery cables but there was a little surprise when i tried to fire it up for the first time... nothing happened. The power led came on but that was it. Turned the throttle and nothing. It turns out that I hadn't installed the rear brake cable (so no back brakes yet). The brake lever is smart enough to sense that without brake cables installed, the brakes wont work so the motor was not allowed to start. I quickly disabled this safety feature by unplugging the brake lever connection to the controller and voila! problem solved. I turn the throttle and the motor turns-- whew!
The test ride was interesting. I wasn't able to install the cable for the shifter. The nexus hub defalts to 1st gear without any tension on the cable. So a fun time was had sunday, riding in the rain at a whopping 14.1 mph.
Monday, I dropped the bike back to Chuck who will be installing the rear brake cable and shifter... and maybe a chain tensioner so i can raise the motor a little.
So far, I like the bike. It's very light. The motor has good torque. The RPMs don't spin quite as high as you might think they should. It gets up to speed very quickly so it kind of makes you think it has a narrow torque band. I pulled a wheelie while flooring it in first gear and peddling at the same time. It's louder than the hub motor but not by much. Most pedestrians don't notice the sound when cruising. The wires are way too long and so I had to loop them around and tie them to the frame. I'm going to have to hold off on a final verdict until i test the bike some more-- especially in gears higher than 1st. I'm looking forward to nearly 30 mph on the flats and higher than 13.5 miles range at above 20 mph. This coupled with the lighter overall curb weight and I think we have a winner. The go-hub is still stealthier but the casual onlooker will have to do a double take to notice a smallish motor below the bottom bracket on this cyclone kit.
some things i learned along the way:
1) a bottom bracket is a BITCH to get off the bike
2) a local bike shop mechanic can be a real hero-- all hail Chuck! the new king of england!
3) you shouldn't change chain lengths too much
4) I was probably better off getting the more expensive chain tool
5) I probably should get a new chain
6) I need to know what terminal goes with what connector BEFORE cutting and splicing wires
7) I can't do everything. I still need help from Chuck.
The build actually began friday evening. I picked up the new rear wheel, some clamps, a crank removal tool, a bottom bracket removal tool, a cheap chain tool and headed back home to begin. After about an hour, i figure out how to use the crank removal tool. After another hour of beating the bike and crank removal tool with a rubber mallet, i managed to get both cranks off. Try as I could, I could not get the bottom bracket screws to come out. I gave up and went to bed.
On Saturday, I dropped the bike off with Chuck who, with advantage of being a big guy with the right tools with the right bike stand and help from another mechanic, finally managed to wrestle the bottom bracket off.
I guess the bottom brackets on these newer bikes are the totally sealed cartridge style now. I had to buy new screws and bearings from Chuck who installed them for free-- long live the king! Long live Chuck!
Saturday night is when most of the work began. First the new Nexus hub rear wheel went on. Then the brackets. Then went on the free wheeling crank-- which, by the way, is a very cool thing since it lets me apply motor power without having to peddle along with the motor. I finally put on the motor.
I was up till 4am sunday morning. Most of that time was spent screwing with different chain lengths. The problem was that the chain was too loose. When I peddled, it would slip on the rear wheel. I tried shortening it but then it became too short and I couldn't fit the rear wheel back into the dropouts. It finally dawned on me that the tension could also be adjusted by moving the motor in relation to its mounting brackets. Problem is that I had to lower the motor to tighten the chain. The smaller rear wheel already lowered the bike. Lowering the motors puts it a little too close to the ground for my tastes. It seems to be ok so far but I have to be very careful not to bash the motor when lifting the bike over tall curbs.
Wiring the bike was actually the easy part. I had already made the battery cables but there was a little surprise when i tried to fire it up for the first time... nothing happened. The power led came on but that was it. Turned the throttle and nothing. It turns out that I hadn't installed the rear brake cable (so no back brakes yet). The brake lever is smart enough to sense that without brake cables installed, the brakes wont work so the motor was not allowed to start. I quickly disabled this safety feature by unplugging the brake lever connection to the controller and voila! problem solved. I turn the throttle and the motor turns-- whew!
The test ride was interesting. I wasn't able to install the cable for the shifter. The nexus hub defalts to 1st gear without any tension on the cable. So a fun time was had sunday, riding in the rain at a whopping 14.1 mph.
Monday, I dropped the bike back to Chuck who will be installing the rear brake cable and shifter... and maybe a chain tensioner so i can raise the motor a little.
So far, I like the bike. It's very light. The motor has good torque. The RPMs don't spin quite as high as you might think they should. It gets up to speed very quickly so it kind of makes you think it has a narrow torque band. I pulled a wheelie while flooring it in first gear and peddling at the same time. It's louder than the hub motor but not by much. Most pedestrians don't notice the sound when cruising. The wires are way too long and so I had to loop them around and tie them to the frame. I'm going to have to hold off on a final verdict until i test the bike some more-- especially in gears higher than 1st. I'm looking forward to nearly 30 mph on the flats and higher than 13.5 miles range at above 20 mph. This coupled with the lighter overall curb weight and I think we have a winner. The go-hub is still stealthier but the casual onlooker will have to do a double take to notice a smallish motor below the bottom bracket on this cyclone kit.
.. " feeling huh ! lol.. been there.. done that !.
The Nexus is a nice hub.
