Wife bike 2.0 ( Hiryuu Lady )

[neptronix]

Got the brake post extender adapters today.
Yeah, a rear wheel swap to 26" is not happening. I need another ~6mm of space; out of adjustment room.



..on the other hand, 26" to 24" totally works on my Gravity basecamp:



Sounds like the 24"/26" plan works out even with a geared motor, i'm stoked!

 

[neptronix]

I have been using this as an exercise bike ( climbing hills ) while saving my pennies for the new mtb frame.

Found some super wide / big pedals at walmart for $15. I was curious if it would solve my foot positioning problem, as they add a half inch. of length on each side.

I also found a couple last millimeters of adjustment to get the seat back further.

While i was at it, i went from a leisurely 25-30psi on the tires to 35psi rear, 40 front to see if i can counteract the 40mm tire width.



I can now just get the ball of my foot on the pedal enough to really leverage it, and the bike is actually the quickest one i've ridden!



The bike is a bit more rattly but not overly so at pedal speeds.

I gotta be honest, at either low or high PSI on the tires, the current 40mm width is unsuitable for anything other than 20mph duty; i can easily lose grip in dust/dirt and have to slow down to prevent sliding when riding this bike on pedal power. That's a problem when you live in the high desert. The only scenario i'd electrify it is if we had 27.5" wheels.

Honestly might throw out the frame and replace with a steel or titanium roadbike frame and keep rocking these parts as an acoustic bike

Anyway, time to order the lady her MTB

 

[neptronix]

Really, really good news. We found a specialized rockhopper frame from ~2000 w/a nice manitou spring fork that's got very low stiction and quite long travel. It's got nice enough swayback that it might tolerate a 26" wheel; i have to finish building it and ride it to be sure.

Parts on the way!

 

[gromike]

Spring forks have worked very well for me on road ebikes. They just seem to work.
I've now graduated to air shocks on my current donor bike. They're great, but so much more finicky. I guess when you MTB, you pump up your shocks before you ride, and take them apart every 30-40 hours. Geesh!
Now I have a hundred dollars of air shock seals sitting on my coffee table to put on my $50 eMTB.

 

[neptronix]

You know, they might be allright for the 25mph duty the bike is designed for. The bike will be more rear weight biased than a typical MTB, so the really active suspension is the suspension seat post. In the case that this bike keeps this suboptimal fork, we need a Thudbuster LT for sure. ( 90mm of elastomer travel! )

You do have a good point about keeping the lower maintenance fork. This one seems like it's in very good condition too.