My solar-assisted custom tricycle FOLLIES

[ddk]

I've been house-dog sitting this week, up in a mountainous area all of 2 miles from the coast.
I'm being terrorized by all the lil' and big wildlife, demanding food.
The hummingbirds (two species) are the best at this technique, hovering mere inches from my face demanding I re-fill their feeders NOW.
Deer are slightly more subtle, walking up to the large wall-sized windows and staring me down
The cute little chipmunks etc dig up the flower pots unless I meet their demands.
Even the dogs are into this act, demanding treats after any activity

I feel so cornered...

 

[Rassy]

Thats better than the wild animal I fed this week. Discovered a tick with a full belly on my chest. He was so large I could twist him with my thumb and finger. I was in the shower and he popped right out and I saw his little legs, but before I could make sure the whole thing came out I dropped him and he washed down the drain. Now I have a little lump at the site surrounded by a 2" diameter rash. The clinic here is closed on Fridays so I'll have to go in Monday to find out if I need the antiboiotic treatment for Lyme's disease.

I was 18 (1958) the last time a tick bit me. He backed out when heat was applied, but I felt crummy for a couple of days. So far no ill feelings this time.

Tomorrow morning I'm going to see my daughter in Roseburg (about 100 miles) and then to a buddies place for poker from 5 pm until midnight. I'll stay overnight at his place and drive home Sunday.

 

[ddk]

ticks trump snails ever day (double icky)

all this talk about b.b.b.b.b.bicycles continues to be interupted by hummingbird observations.
The two species that occupy the local area are Rufous and Allen's. Both are remarkably similar in appearance except the Rufous migrates to Mexico in the winter, with what is considered the bird kindoms longest migration, if measured in body lengths.
The Allen's supposedly migrate to southern California and points lower south, but they stay here locally all year long, even though bird guides say they don't.
Go figure...

The way the birds fight over the feeder makes me think at least a single Rufous has yet to migrate, as observed by it's methods of attacking other birds, bees and chipmunks.
Allen's won't fight bees and will abandon any feeder that attracts the insects.

Hopefully my new front wheel will be delivered soon.
The replacement battery charger sent from Canada took an interesting path to me, as DHL re-mailed the package via the US postal service instead of deliverying it by truck lol.

 

[Sancho's Horse]

I was once forced to stop at a nature preserve featuring wetland and prairie areas. A granola type girl got the better of my reason. We could see the wetlands just over a short bit of prairie wood chip path. We never made it. We could literally find 2 or 3 ticks on our pants every few steps. We sprinted back to the car like that was going to help. We tried to inspect for ticks before getting in the car, but it felt like night of the living dead, only we couldn't see the zombies. We both had some serious squirm inducing...I guess you would call them tactile hallucinations? Arm hairs, leg hairs, ants in my pants. I guess the only upside was taking turns freaking out, and participating in bouts of what we decided reminded us of some primitive monkey grooming on adrenaline. It was weird, because we both agreed that the grooming was so calming, like the eye of a hurricane. Way more bonding than we expected driving to Kansas. Nature is relentless.

Package delivered yet? No...

 

[amberwolf]

Ticks here in Phoenix everywhere, year round. Lots of them seem to come from the feral cats; even if I spray my yard with nasty stuff, a month or two later I'll still get them again in hordes, during hte "monsoon" season. I don't like using that stuff, nor can I really afford it, so I usually just tuck pants into socks, and wear all light-colored clothes so I can see them on me and pick them off before I come in. Even with that I still find some on me or around the house now and then.

Even during better times, I have to keep a close eye on the dogs, going thru their fur every day.

It was just as bad in Texas about 30 years ago when I lived near where Auraslip does now.

 

[ddk]

YAY
my house-sitting, dog watching duties be done.
As long as I was at the house the dogs were extremely well-behaved. They only barked once or twice the whole time I was there, ("woof" and "bark")
White dog is hilarious.
A born hunter-pointer, it would run up to the collection of rodents and freeze in a point stance. All the rodents save one would instantly disperse amongst the rocks.
The one, however, seemed to enjoy teasing white dog over and over.
View attachment 4
As white tog took careful, measured steps towards the tiny squirrel it would maintain it's continuous eating until dog got within a couple of feet, whence the chase would begin... resulting in one frustrated white dog and a triumphant squirrel.
Both dogs completely ignored the birds and deer and the small dog would only chase big gray squirrels (also frustrated)
Tending to avoid tall grass I've yet to provide shelter for ticks.
Living so close to the coast adds the additional benefits of mosquitoes being rare.
This is why i CAN ride into the twilight hours. Back in the midwest I would have suffered hundreds of insect bites as soon as the sun sank below the horizon.
Oh, and no chiggers and no-no-see-ums-

it's my personal pair-a-dice

 

[ddk]

donna no why I find towing trikes with trikes so hilarious
...it just is.



I also got a battery-powered heated vest/jacket I got to try out today http://cozywinters.com/shop/heated-jacket-6722.html
...worked a charm and was ever so toasty warm @20mph even though it's a chilly 50F outside.
This is part of my "all weather e-trike" master plan
- or, a cunning plan?

 

[amberwolf]

I generally find it funny when I haul a bike or two on CrazyBike2 (without a trailer), either strapping it across the back of the seat and cargo pods if it's small (BMX or kids bike) or takking the wheels off and tying the frame and wheels down into the cargo pods with the lids open.

(it will be even funnier if I ever get Loooooooongbike built, so I can haul CrazyBike2 in it's cargo bed)


I'm beginning to ponder heated pants and gloves: it was 50F when I left work at 930PM tonight, after a half week of cloudy sprinkly weather, and then suddenly clearing up completely around sunset (so what heat had been held in with the clouds could tehn escape). At 20MPH, even the harborfreight-type rainpants over my work slacks, both tucked into my socks, plus the leather flagcovered jacket, two t-shirts, and those water-resistant gloves, and my half-helmet, I was getting just a bit chilly by the time I got home 2.5 miles later. JJust enough to want hot tea when I got done with the dog greetings and feedings (which overall takes around an hour most of the time).

Can yours run off a 12V source on your bike? Or would you just have to charge it's battery back up off the 12V, and have it run from that?

 

[ddk]

Can yours run off a 12V source on your bike? Or would you just have to charge it's battery back up off the 12V, and have it run from that?

I opted for self-contained otherwise the first time I got off the trike I'd rip out the wires because I forgot to unplug :lol:
I have lots of experience driving an enclosed golf cart at night locally, which is why I chose the vest first.

The last time I tried heated clothing )70's 80's) they absolutely sucked in more ways than I'd care to discuss. Used items will likely have those heated cables or worse, nichrome wiring.
Newer products use carbon fiber heating pads and are pretty much instant on and hard to destroy.

beware of:
Some companies sell their products without the temp-regulator, which is like buying a brushless motor without a motor controller.
-also- The same companies demand exorbitant fees for their regulators.
Some companies are still selling clothes with embedded heat cables- Those suck, all of them, no exceptions

As noted above I wouldn't buy a system that plugs into the bike's 12v system. I'd always forget to unplug.
Because I lack energy to do much these days, I'm not into modifying things -but-. Those items that use external 12V are generally 40-60 dollars less expensive than the items with internal batteries and I would suppose would be darned easy to add a 3S battery pack to them.
It's likely I'll purchase the heated pants but I doubt I'll need the gloves, as cold-weather gloves work gud enough in my climate.

 

[ddk]

this post is separate because it needs to be
The LBS shorted the cranks by maybe 18mm - pretty much a waste of money and time.
I asked the maint. guy to remove the crank arms and got ignored

I had them adjust the rear brakes, which would drag at times.
They made extremely stupid LBS-type assumptions, even attempting to sell me brakes with 'bigger' pads.
I have no idea what they did but nothing activates the motor anymore.
I'm gonna have to assume they ruined the pedelec while working on the cranks.
Thus ends my relationship to the LBS

It's supposed to rain for the next week so it's time to buy a replacement crank-removal tool (can't find mine but I may have left it in the mid-west a long, long time ago.)

 

[Chalo]

Thus ends my relationship to the LBS

Y'all are probably both better off that way.

As your technical solutions go further out on a limb, you'll benefit more and more by doing your own work on the machine. A pedal trike like yours would be accepted for service at my shop. An e-bike, well... if I am there, anyway. An ungainly, heavy e-trike? Maybe, maybe not. Throw in sub-child-sized cranks and other micro-specialty items and concerns, and even an obliging shop like mine may not meet your expectations.

If you know better than anybody else about what you need in a trike, then that sort of obligates you to do the work. You do know best, after all. What do we bike mechanics know? We only work on everybody else's bikes. We only know what has been demonstrated to work for everybody else.

Chalo

P.S. - If the cranks you had shortened were those on the trike that's humping the other trike in the pictures above, then the mechanic did you a favor by not shortening them more than about 3/4". The grooves in the crank arms would prevent full length pedal threads from being cut into them.

 

[ddk]

@chalo-Your disparaging little digs about disabled or otherwise unhealthy people having to adjust to their 'new' conditions are, as usual, full of evil, discriminating, assumption-laden shit.
You wouldn't happen to be republican too would you?
or worse yet, a libertarian with the mindset of a 3 year old... self-centered and all about 'mememememe'.

After getting enough energy to look over the Justwin, I now realize I was charged an amazing amount of money to have my brakes re-adjusted, as nothing was done to the cranks.
Considering the time it takes to adjust brakes and the charge, their labor rates must be over $500 per hour.
-less than some lawyers, for sure...

 

[Chalo]

As a point of comparison, I usually charge $6 per brake to install or adjust. A funky split-cable system like yours would probably get charged more, but not a lot more. I would love to charge $60 per hour of working time, but that would be a very rare and lucky occasion at my shop.

Brake adjustments are usually pretty easy. You could do them yourself-- but don't let me hurt your feelings again by saying so. I'm just making an informed observation.

 

[winkinatcha]

In support of DDK, Chalo, your post really was laden with a lot of passive aggressive shite, as many of your posts are...

Whether you like it or not, not all LBSs are gods n angels, and whether you like it or not, at least here in Aus, there are a number who seem to be all about ripping off the uninformed customer...

I have had customers charged $300 for an e-bike service... because it was an e-bike and all they did was bicycle stuff, like adjusting brakes and resetting gears.

I have gone to LBSs looking for parts, to end up walking out in disgust due to the little bitches in the store's having some holier than thou attitude (in the last case, I wanted a 170mm square taper crankset) the "proprieter" told me to bring my bike in so his mechanics could have a look, I told him It was irrelevant as to which bike it was on as I wanted the cranks for a road oriented build... bring the bike in so my mechanics can look at says the proprieter... I am a mechanic, I said, do you know what a square taper crankset is? .. Yes says the proprieter... Do you have any I ask... No says the proprieter... so you just arsed about and wasted my time then... another LBS crossed off the list... money gouging creep.

And while I am at it.. justify your prices you big lump... I can personally import the SAME shite the LBS does, yet they sell it with a 500% markup???? oh you have overheads? So I have to pay for your frickin shop and tools huh... piss off.

Now I have found TWO LBSs in my city that are absolutely wonderful... they are helpful, they order stuff, and guess what... they have been around for over 40 years...

Just cos yer an LBS don't mean you have a licence to diss the crap out of people who know better, yet somehow want to beleive that an LBS is actually run by people who give a shit.

No comebacks Chalo, no right of reply... you have just crapped on DDK and you are dirt in my eyes.
Joe

 

[Chalo]

Are you aware that there are three incompatible kinds of square tapers for cranks? The only way to know which one you have is for an informed person to have a look, or for you to specify a known brand and model. So I don't think that's a good example of a bike shop guy giving you the runaround. (But he might have been.)

Just as with any service business, lots of LBSs are entirely awful, and some that are satisfactory bike dealers are terrible service shops. I would never suggest otherwise. But I know just from watching this thread unfold that these are not straightforward machines to service, nor are ddk's expectations anything like typical. It's a situation ripe for misunderstandings and huge pains in the ass for the service professional and the customer alike.

 

[winkinatcha]

'Kay Chalo, I hear you, and you being in the industry and all I understand you may feel as though you were being tarred with a wide brush by ddk. I beleive in this case tho you certainly could have phrased your posts to DDK a lot better, maybe you were being humorous, but it certainly came across purty darn bad, and maybe you could have a think before you let off your scatter gun, particularly on this epic thread from DDK... Wish you'd just said to him what you said to me.

Joe

 

[The Apprentice]

DDK,
Any updates on the trikes?

Having been a regular lurker on your thread I'm missing your postings of ingenious alternative transport (and lifestyle).
I hope no further blind drivers have been testing the strength of your rides and that all's well with you. I look forward to
the next installment.

Cheers
Giles.

 

[docnjoj]

DDK,
Any updates on the trikes?

Having been a regular lurker on your thread I'm missing your postings of ingenious alternative transport (and lifestyle).
I hope no further blind drivers have been testing the strength of your rides and that all's well with you. I look forward to
the next installment.

Cheers
Giles.

Me too! I miss those "tales from the dark side"! I hope all is well.
otherDoc

 

[Sancho's Horse]

[youtube]EjmapdBbOYI[/youtube]
Dude? And that rug really tied the room together.

 

[ddk]

yup someone pissed on my carpet again (me)
I get depressed, ofttimes during the holidays, so I take out my wrath on anyone handy then go hide in my corner...
but as always:



The weather here is far more 'normal' than last year, meaning days on end of rain and wind.
I took stock of my environment and decided I needed a workshop as compensation for my depression.
So I bought one, as I'm no longer able to tackle projects of that scale.
160 sq ft of shed (10x16)


I immediately added a ramp with the help of a local guy. (8X4)


for trike lifting, I added a winch


During the process of specifying out the shed, I initially ordered 'fixed' skylights @$700 for 4, but during the meantime I discovered high-lumen LED light tumbled in price to 1bucky ball per 100 lumen using 1 watt of power -or- 10w per 1000 lumen so I bought LED lights instead, saving $650

1st project was another 1kW battery pack.
I realized belatedly that a banana plug fits perfectly in a euro block connector, so I bought some epbuddy parallel charge harnesses instead of soldering up the damned 4mm plugs and sockets.View attachment 1
Only problem with using the epbuddy charge harnesses is I don't have room for the jxt parallel plugs. This means I have to check balance more often.

 

[winkinatcha]

YaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaY! DDk Is Back!!

Awesome shed!

Go You Good Thing!

Joe

 

[docnjoj]

Really cool shed. I use a hand pulled hoist (5 bucks at HF) to raise the rear or front of our trikes to work on them. Much easier than trying to lift the ends onto a box or some other device for elevation. I do like the electric winch though! Good to have you back again! More tales from the trike side!
otherDoc

 

[Rassy]

Hey, shed looks good. But...it's full already. You had two tent sheds so maybe two wood sheds?

Anyway, should really help, particularly in the winter. We're getting 50 MPH winds tonight with plenty of rain.

 

[amberwolf]

Hey, shed looks good. But...it's full already.

Full? I dunno about that. :lol: (then again, if you wanna work in it, I guess it is pretty close)

 

[Sancho's Horse]

Somebody had (or built) a couple of pegs somewhere above the rear wheels so that they could just roll the trike up on its back two wheels, and stand it upright on the wheels and these pegs. I am going to go that way. In case I need room for squaredancing.