WHAT A WEEK
The Strange/Lucky Turn Of Events That Led To This Post
The Strange/Lucky Turn Of Events That Led To This Post
1. First of, I fancied an electric bike but the prices of one are way out of my budget. So (as a few of you know) I decided to try my hand at a push trailer. Im always looking in skips/dumpsters for any bits that will come in handy for my trailer(s)
2. My mate Peter, who does any welding I need done, is looking for wood as he is planning to build an extension onto his shed/garage.
3. Sunday 28th March 2010.
I saw a post on a giveaway fourm, someone was giving away an electric bike! I put in for it and waited with my fingers crossed. I kept checking my emails but after a few days without a reply I didn't hold out much hope.
4. On a visit to my mate Peter's, we started discussing COGS! I told him about the faiure of the push trailer - I/we had been making. I told him i'd thought about mounting the motor on the rear rack of my bike, the problem would be driving the rear wheel with the motor. I told him i'd been researching cogs but was unsure which cog would go with what?
Tom - The cog that came with my 36V 500Watt motor is a small 11 tooth job and it doesn't match up with a bike chain?
Peter - Humm! Tommy across the road has an old minimoto I gave him a while ago, it's basicly scrapped but the cogs may do?
Tommy wasn't in, he was at work.
Peter I don't have any flat bar the right size, but if you got a piece of flat bar we could trace round the 11 tooth cog and make a new one with the teeth cut to fit a bike chain.
Lucky/Strange Thursday.
I went downtown with my trailer to do a bit of shopping.
I bumped into Tommy at the market I showed him my trailer and told him about the cog problem. He's said I could come round and see if the minimoto cogs would do. While chatting, (Me telling him im on the lookout for any old mobility scooters, any scooters) he told me he had seen an electric scooter laying abandoned at a unit near his work. After leaving Tommy I went to have a look at it. With no one around at the scooter I asked a guy fixing his car in a nearbye unit who owned it? No idea mate he said, they close up around 5pm, best come back then and see if you can catch anyone.
On my way home I passed by a garage thats across the street from my house. The garage got a makeover a while back and I got most of the metal out of a skip they had sitting outside at the time that went to make my trailer. As I passed the garage I saw they had another skip sitting outside, a guy was hauling full sheets of thick plywood and dumping them in the skip. I asked if I could have them? - (I was thinking of Peter's extension). Sure take them he said.
Five mins later (after parking up my bike/trailer) I was hauling the sheets of to my house. While moving some bits of wood around I found a long strip of flat bar, I took my 11 tooth cog from my pocket and matched it to the bar. It fit, I could now make a new cog.
After emptying the skip of what I needed I went home and had a cuppa, at 5.pm I took a trip back to the unit where the scooter was. There was still no one around so I hung about. After 30 mins had passed a guy in a recovery lorry showed up and drove into the next unit, I asked him who owned the unit with the scooter and why I wanted it. He said just take it mate, if anyone says anything tell them I told you to take it.
Well the words (take it) had hardly left his lips and I had the scoooter in my trailer and was off home
Later Peter came round and we began stripping the plastic cover off the scooter, while in the middle of doing this the phrase - Have you checked your email came from my pc upstairs. I nipped of to see what it was? Low and behold I had been selected from a list of many to recieve the giveaway electric bike.... Whooopeeee
Friday I got hold of my mate Pat, who has a 7 seater minibus and we went of to get the bike. Back at his house I put it on charge while we had a cuppa. Later I rode the bike home, a distance of around 2 to 3 mile.
The guy who gave me the bike told me that it needed a few things done to it.
1. Probably needs new batterys .
2. One of the pedals needs replacing.
3. A broken key is stuck in the battery compartment.
4. The battery charge port needs fixed/replaced.
Since friday when I got the bike...
I have fished out the broken key with a pin, which was quite easy.
Replaced both pedals with a couple I had laying around.
Peplaced the battery charge port with a power point of an old pc, there the same type of connection.
All I need do now is save up some money and have the batterys replaced. I done a bit of research and it seems Lithium batteries are the way to go...
http://www.powabyke.com/power-to-be-free/lithium-ion-battery/
POWABYKE LITHIUM BATTERIES
I dont think the bike has been serviced since it was bought? So later I may strip down the hub wheel and regrease it.
The bike looks like this one, but mine is blue...
So I am now a happy bunny
I have an electric bike to ride around on and an electric scooter to tinker with. Just goes to show you never know whats around the corner. I'll get a few pictures of bike and scooter taken and post them up later.Regards
Tom
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