Death & Transfiguration. R.I.P. my little pony.

[melodious]

Earth day 2015. Took a route I've done many many times so I know every nook and cranny that would cause loss of control. Well, it finally happened :lol: . My aluminum 20" folder snapped at the main tube causing me to eat dirt :lol: . So glad this fail happened off road vs. my small bike hitting a pothole @30mph & car traffic :? . The bike is dead to me now. Rules have changed now allowing regular bikes on the local commuter trains which was one of the reasons I bought it. So I did what any normal person would do to a dead object sitting on the side of the road, I stripped it down to the bone . R.I.P. my little pony you were fun while you lasted.

Did a bit of google-fu the other night using the keywords "mini velo" and learned some things. First, this style of bike never took off in America. A few noteworthy companies (Bike direct, SOMA, Dahon) manufactured a few mini velo bikes & frames, but sadly never took off. It's only available in countries like Japan & Europe. Cannondale makes the Hooligan, but fitting the original bottle style battery in the frame was part of my choice, otherwise it's a really nice bike for conversion (just make a 10-12Ah 18650 battery pack in the small triangle of the frame). Anyways, I finally did find a bike to convert. Here it is...

http://respectcycles.com
(My browser said this site was on their "do you trust?" list, but I went ahead and proceeded in((probably too much bike porn)))*
*notice the double & triple parenthesis. That shouts out cool!

Pluses & minuses: Cromo frame & fork! Dont really know the rear dropout width (130mm?) but I can bend and stretch to fit. The v2 frame allows for wider (BMX) tires. Looks like ballpark 68mm bottom bracket but don't know for sure. No disc brakes (sorry Chalo) but I could try my part in welding adapters to the bike if need be.

Guess in a week or two, I'll have a nimble bike again.

 

[Ykick]

That's a good looking, compact bike. Seemingly good price too.

Out of curiosity, did you ever look into a Xootr Swift Folder? Although you no longer need the folding requirement, I love my eSwift to the point that if I could only have one eBike, that would have to be the one.

 

[melodious]

That's a good looking, compact bike. Seemingly good price too.

Out of curiosity, did you ever look into a Xootr Swift Folder? Although you no longer need the folding requirement, I love my eSwift to the point that if I could only have one eBike, that would have to be the one.

I started locally at LBS to get an idea of what's on the market. My area has numerous boat owners so folding bikes were available for purchase. I got a deal on a "last year's" model Tern. Bought it and started from there. A year later, ES member Jeremy Harris, had made a build based off the Xcooter Swift. He found the frame material & geometry to be worthy. 'Nuff said :wink:

Roughly 2000+ miles w/BBS-2, probably a sub 2000 miles w/250w q85, 1000 miles @stock, equates to 5000 miles of experience before I drove her into the ground. :lol: In the scheme of things, that's rather short. But I jumped it off 2 foot embankments, drove through 6"+ snow drifts, bombed down grassy slopes, climbed fairly steep hills, a bit of single track, only because it was there to do. :lol:

I just did a test ride on an Electra Townie and it forces you to not ride aggressive (cruiser bike). I found it to be an interesting option to convert. You'd have all that available power, but the bike itself makes you play it safe. A TON of frame space too. I may have to make one...

 

[melodious]

Craptastic? 120mm dropout widths?

Do IGH come in those sizes? Or does it look like that bike's rear could be fattened to 130-135mm via vise grips & car jack?

 

[melodious]

Well, I took the path of least resistance. Put the BBS-2 on an Electra Townie 7 speed, and lovin' it

1. The style of ride (flat foot/cruiser) literally forces the rider into a non aggressive stance vs. BMX/MTN bike. It's a 180 from my Surly Ogre. Considering the volitile state of America these few years, it's a blessing in disguise.
2. They have a surf rack accessory that I may plan on fitting my soon to be E-longboard that my lazy ass hasn't finished.

Guess I'll take some pics of what it looks like presently.

 

[neptronix]

For 20" wheeled bikes, mwkeefer swears by the downtube brand. They make a cheap full suspension bike that is pretty awesome.

I've not seen one in person to determine how beefy it is... but if i can stand up to 40mph use for very long periods of time.. i'd have to call it good

 

[chvidgov.bc.ca]

I wouldn't be so quick to write off the Hooligan. Mine (the Hooligan 8) is an awesome ride, even though the small Cellman 48V 10Ahr Panasonic pack has to go on the rear rack, close to the seatpost as possible. It really doensn't affect the handling materially in my opinion. The Hoolie is super stiff, strong and light weight, and extremely nimble. I changed out the fork on mine for a Surly Chromo disk fork with BB7 brakes which is drop dead easy to implant an Ezee (that's what I'm running) or Mac front hub motor, which is well balanced with the rear pack. I absolutely love mine for urban combat, with the fatter Big Apple tires on it. Some perma-attached Dutch shopper bags under the pack which can handle full paper grocery bags and you're ready for a lot of fun, doing daily adult stuff fast. I've never not had a big smile on my face with that bike after arrival.