Electric - smooooth!
It's been terribly rainy the past few weeks, but I managed to get the electric bike out and ride it to work a few times This is especially good on Evening Shift, since they changed the hours that the East Gate was open, now closing it at 11pm instead of 1am. Evening Shift doesn't get out until after midnight, and I *really* hate driving all the way around the lab to get home - with the bike, I can ride out the bike path on the east side and not have to worry about it.
The last time I rode to work, I ended up with about 6 broken spokes on the back (motor) wheel. The motor hub is big enough that the spokes end up pretty short - 168mm - and I can only lace the wheel in a cross-1 pattern. This ends up putting a lot of stress on the spokes when I go over bumps, and if I'm forced on to the bike path, this results in broken spokes (the paving on the path is terrible).
I normally use 12 gauge spokes on the back wheel, but that size needs to be special ordered (especially at 168mm), and I have to drill out the holes on the rim to accommodate the oversize spoke nipples. I decided to rebuild the wheel using 14 gauge spokes - these are standard gauge bicycle spokes, not quite so hard to obtain, and I don't have to drill on the rim.
I got the wheel finished the other night, and put the electric bike back together today and took it for a ride. Everything seems to be working. I did have to re-tighten the spokes after the ride today, but that's not unusual for a newly built wheel. I'll carry the spoke wrench with me for the next few weeks, and retighten the spokes after each ride.
The electric is now ready for MuseCon, where Dermot and I will be giving a class on electric bikes and letting people try one out.
The last time I rode to work, I ended up with about 6 broken spokes on the back (motor) wheel. The motor hub is big enough that the spokes end up pretty short - 168mm - and I can only lace the wheel in a cross-1 pattern. This ends up putting a lot of stress on the spokes when I go over bumps, and if I'm forced on to the bike path, this results in broken spokes (the paving on the path is terrible).
I normally use 12 gauge spokes on the back wheel, but that size needs to be special ordered (especially at 168mm), and I have to drill out the holes on the rim to accommodate the oversize spoke nipples. I decided to rebuild the wheel using 14 gauge spokes - these are standard gauge bicycle spokes, not quite so hard to obtain, and I don't have to drill on the rim.
I got the wheel finished the other night, and put the electric bike back together today and took it for a ride. Everything seems to be working. I did have to re-tighten the spokes after the ride today, but that's not unusual for a newly built wheel. I'll carry the spoke wrench with me for the next few weeks, and retighten the spokes after each ride.
The electric is now ready for MuseCon, where Dermot and I will be giving a class on electric bikes and letting people try one out.