Semi-Recumbent Recycled-Parts Cargo eBike: "CrazyBike2"

[amberwolf]

Test ride, about 3 miles around the neighborhood, stops, starts, fast, slow, etc.:

The main judder problem caused by the headset is fixed, gone. YAY!

I expected the 26" wheel's change of the bike's geometry to cause me death-shimmy problmes at speed, but up to 24MPH, the fastest I got up to, it was smooth as could be. Actually was far better than it had been with 24", as the twitchiness and over-sensitivity to correction steering is gone. I can now lean back and just touch the bars to keep going.

This makes sense, as I designed the bike for same size tires front and rear, although i didn't do any calculations or anything to figure it out, I did fix it up and adjust it for two 24" wheels, originally. All frame adjustments and whatnot were done around those, right up until I put the 26" 9C motor on the front. I did try a 26" regular rear wheel at one point, but I don't remember the results of that, other than bending up the rim on potholes and taking it off, going back to a 24"--taht was back when I still had powerchair chain-drive.


So now it's two 26" wheels, and although the bike is a tad taller than I want, it rides way better than 26" rear and 24" front.

Ideally, I will get the GM/9C combo motor laced up into a 24" wheel, and then be able to go back to the 24" wheel in front, and then I'll have essentially the same geometry as I do now, so it should feel the same. Well, except for better takeoff torque from the smaller wheel, and lower top speed (which I don't care about, as I can already do 15MPH over what is allowed on the roads--for commuting, all I care about is how quickly I can get started and up to 20MPH ).


The only problem I had at all was in the last mile, when the rear tire started to slowly go flat. Might've started before that but I could feel it then. As noted above, it was probalby a tire lever gash, and took over an hour to get the wheel off to fix it. I have not yet put the wheel back on as I am testing another thicker tube at high pressures off the bike before I mount the wheel.


I had not planned to take it apart to check the axle/dropouts but since I did ahve to, I looked at them and saw no sign yet of problems, even with max throttle and max regen braking repeatedly over the test ride. We'll see how they last over time, though. It took months or more for the wrench-torque-arm to break, and the hose clamp on the other torque arm to shear thru.

Since I am using clamping droputs *and* axle nuts, hopefully I will not have problems like that again.







The patched tube, and the flat:

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[amberwolf]

Turns out the thicker tubes I wanted to use are both really really bad off. One has a leak in the valve stem rubber, essentially unfixable. If it was higher up on the rubber toward the tire, I might be able to patch it and use a zip tie or similar around it to seal it. But it's right in the middle, where the rim will be when the valve sticks thru it. I could still do it, but I'd have to enlarge the hole in the rim for the valve stem, and that probably isn't a great idea.

The other just keeps springing new leaks every time I patch another one, so I've wasted 3 patches on it. I did the underwater bubble test first, and found one pinhole. Patched that then it would not even inflate at all, and I found a big hole somewhere else. It can't have been there to start with, or it would never have inflated at all to do the bubble test, as it only had a slow leak at first. Or it was there but didnt' tear open until the first leak was plugged. A third leak started a few inches from the first, along a "seam", as soon as I patched the second. I see no cracking or other defects that could lead to holes opening up, so I dunno. Not gonna use it.


So I used one of the last unpatched leak-free tubes I have left for 26", whcih is pretty thin-walled but not as thin as some. Outside of it I used another old thickwalled tube that came from some junk bike, and had had a total blowout on it's inside circumference. I just slit it along that circumference, cut off the valve stem, and then slipped it over the tube I am using. Then I put the slime tire liner in the tire, and slipped this tube-on-tube assembly into the tire, and mounted that onto the motor rim. Inflation test to 60PSI ok, then emptied it and reinflated several times, leaving it at 55PSI.


Reinstalling the wheel...wow, what a chore! I simplified it a bit by grinding down the inside edges of the clamps on the dropouts to make them rounder in profile and easier to slip the washers/etc past, on the inboard sides. Then I turned the whole bike upside down, which I have never done before (at least, not since I was building motor mounts for the powerchair motor, over two years ago). THAT was not fun. But it was the easiest way to do this without taking the pods and everything else off and out of the bike.

For now the torque washers are still on the inside, as I realized I still need a spacer washer on the right side to keep freewheel from rubbing frame, and it has to be about that thick anyway. If I used the torque washer on the outboard side *and* a spacer washer inboard, there would not be enough room for the nut to grab enough threads to be useful. I don't yet trust the clamping dropouts without nuts.


Finally, time to test ride again. Only took a couple miles of ride this time, as I am just too tired to concentrate on riding safely. But no problems happened. So for now, we'll call it a conditional success.

[amberwolf]

More test rides, a few miles total. One thing I don't like about the tall but level setup like this is that if I cross a crack in the road that is parallel to the direction of travel, the whole bike WIGGLES. I am not sure why this happens, becuase the wheels and whatnot are securely mounted in teh frame, and there is no side-to-side wiggle of any of that.

But it could be the black ABS plastic pods on teh the sides, which even though they are securely mounted, do still wiggle a bit because of the mass in them and the flexibility of the plastic itself. The left one has tools and such in it, and the right has teh battery. Different masses probably makes them wiggle at different rates once shocked, and that doesn't help stability of the bike.

So I'm looking at ways to put the battery into a case in the center frame, which is open specifically for battries to go into, originally for 3-4 20Ah-size SLA. Those didn't need a casing, but the one I have now does.


Other than that, so far everything seems an improvement. The rim brakes added don't really do much, mostly because of the brake lever being the wrong kind and plastic, partly because I can't adjust the pads very close yet till I can true the rim better. Disc brakes help a lot, though until I can bend the mounting tabs straight I can't adjust them as tight as I would like. I tried to bend them earlier but can't hold them with the tools I tried so far, while applying torque to get them into position. I could cut them off and reweld them, but would rather not have to do that as it is only a tiny repositioning needed.

The clamping dropouts are still working fine, thru testing with regen from high speed and hard accelleration from a stop, over all the local streets.

[Solcar]

That trouble with the bad inner tubes brought back memories of an old moped that was in my yard when I moved in. Someone had shot holes in the wheel , but the tube was about 22 inches in diameter. I put a 24" on it and was surprised it worked so well.

It also reminded of how on some worn tubes that have been run on low air, they often end up being a lost cause because of having been abraded so much by a lot of pinching that happens when going over bumps.

[amberwolf]

Yes; I've had that happen back when I was unelectrificated.

I have found that I can usually use a too-small innertube on a bigger rim/wheel, up to at least a couple of inches (24 on a 26, for instance) but never the other way around. If you use a big one on a small wheel it will rub holes in the folds/wrinkles of the larger tube. This happened during one experiment on CrazyBike2, posted back on the ELectricle blog before I found ES.


I am about to head out to the store for a grocery run, so we'll see how the taller bike deals with cargo now, especially in turns. I also have no idea what the traction is really like on the tires I have on it now, both of which are totally different shapes and styles and rubber types from what I had before (which were softer grippy compounds).

I wish I could find that hookworm-like knockoff 24" tire I have in a 26", and maybe in a 20". Well, I *have* found them, but they're too expensive, given that it was like $5 each (maybe $7 including shipping?) for these. If I am going to spend "real money" for tires, I'd rather get moped tires, if they would fit on the bicycle rims I have.

I would *really* rather get moped rims, too, but so far no luck on that locally in scrap stuff. Eventually I will have to go ahead and build around that rear dirtbike wheel, and live with the knobby that's on it until I can replace it with a "road slick".

[Solcar]

Maybe the reason I got away with a tube a couple inches too big is that I put only a few hundred miles on it. Hopefully some moped rims will find their way to you. Good luck on your test errand.

[amberwolf]

I didnt' even get a few miles on it before it wore thru, IIRC. I guess if the tube doesn't have wrinkled spots that pinch/rub against the tire, it won't have the problem, but the one I used did.


The test went fine, although the wiggle is notably worse with cargo in teh pods, because they *do* wiggle around as the lower rail is not as stiff as the top, especially at it's rear end where it is unsupported. 25-ish pounds in each pod and a sack of potatoes in the center frame isn't much load for the bike, but it felt like a lot more because of the higher COG the whole bike has now. It is nice enough going straight, but compared to the smaller wheels, especially smaller in back, it is very different in turns and leans of any amount.

I am definitely wanting to finish lacing up the 24" version of the rear motor wheel with that spare magnet ring, and then try the bike out with 24" front and rear to compare. I'm pretty sure it will be just about exactly what I am looking for in handling. If not, I'll try 24" motor rear and 26" disc front, and see what happens.


All of this is not just experimentation for this bike, but also working out final geometry concept for the new bike. Since that ibke is just the main frame right now, and still has to have the rear swingarm designed and built (depending on which wheel it ends up with the swingarm could be very different), I can still easily change it's overall geometry to match whatever tire/wheel size set I end up preferring.

[Solcar]

Another factor probably was that mine was a new tube.

That balance-shifting problem of your bike when going over grooves on the pavement seems a pretty weird one. That's a good problem to solve before continuing on the new frame.

[amberwolf]

Yeah, the wiggle is an issue, which can be solved a few ways. The best is to stiffen things up, but that's what the new bike is for, so if I'm going to do that kind of work I might as well move to the new frame. But that will be a while as I need different parts than I have or need to work out how to modify what I have to work, and then do that.

I need to make a battery case that can go in the frame anyway, for the new bike, so if I am going to do work to fix the problem I might as well do this work. So I'm doing some pondering and searching of my bits and bobs to see what stuff will make the best case that can be used on either bike.

That will let me move some of the weight that's outboard to the center, and also move it forward so it is more balanced front to rear, less stress on the unsuspended rear wheel. This will help the wiggle problem at least while it is not loaded with cargo.


Moving back to 24" wheels will also help, as it will lower the wiggling mass and it'll end up like it used to be, when it wasn't a problem. So lacing up that motor wheel in 24" also needs to be done.



Regarding the inner tube, AFAICR it had been brand new, a replacement from Slime when the previous one had been punctured along with the tire liner, tire, and even denting the rim, by a roofing nail that I must've hit JUST right when I was on DayGlo Avenger. So AFAICT it was simply that it had been folded and wrinkled, causing the wear-thru on the smaller wheel, since those spots are where it wore thru.

[Solcar]

That nail got a straight shot, for sure.

I recall having read on an inner tube box, I guess, about the practice of letting most of the air out after installing and pumping it up for the first time. Then when I pulled side to side on the tire, going around the whole thing before reinflating, that might have helped. I'm not sure how many folks do all that since I think that second part is what I thought of doing for good measure.

[amberwolf]

I've done that air-letting-out after first inflation, and sometimes doing that a few times to settle the tube into place. Talcum powder inside the tire to let everything slide as needed during installation is something else I've done, but I don't always do that. Neither one would've helped in the case I had of bigger-than-would-fit tube, as there was literally inches of overlap on the circumference of the tube. I haven't pulled on the tire or anythign to settle things; I wonder if it would make a differnece to other installations (it wouldnt' have to this one).



Regarding the battery box, I spent a while sorting thru aluminum box parts from rackmount stuff, as well as a pile of old rackmount networking equipment, and I think I found the box I will use for now. It does not fit in the frame but it does fit where the other broken/wiggly plastic pod is right now, and will hold the whole mass much closer to the center of bike mass, and hold it solidly.

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It is steel rather than aluminum, and the box probably weighs twice as much as the plastic one, but is still light. It will better protect the battery in the event of a crash than the palstic one, too, although being under the seat it is unlikely to get any impact or sliding damage anyway. There may be enough room in it for the charger, too, but I am not sure that I want to build that into the bike as I rarely need to charge up on a ride.

Gotta wash it out and remove the standoffs and such inside, mark and drill bolt points for the frame, and then it'll be ready to pack the battery into and bolt on.



Another find while I was digging thru the boards in the biggest networking rackmount box (which I had hoped to cut down to one that would fit, but it is way way too heavy, with thick steel): DC-DC converters! Some are 12V at 15A, which should take care of my lighting needs, if they will run off the pack.

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There are two power supplies in one of these boxes, and one in each of the others, for a total of 9 of these PSUs.

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Each one has four DC-DC units, two 12V and two 5V.

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The PSU spec is 5VDC at 50A, 12V at 15A, and -12V at 2.5A.

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All DC-DCs are by Lorain, "Megahertz Power" Reliance Comm/Tec. Both 5V units are p/n LM260-CV, one 12V unit is LM261-CU and the other is LM261-CY. I can't find a spec sheet on the web for any of them, so I don't know which 12V unit is 15A and which is 2.5A, but I can probably determine that by experimentation. The 5V units are thus 25A each. I did find a note on an ebay sale for a similar unit that a 5VDC supply is needed to turn them on, using the Gate input as marked on the case. Haven't tested any yet.


But all of them are "300VDC" input. The actual voltage coming in can't be any higher than 200VDC, because that's what the caps are rated, and probalby not even 170VDC because it's just full-wave-rectified/filtered 115VAC running it.

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All those ratings are presumably with sufficient heatsinking and airflow only, becuase there is a MASSIVE heavy heatsink on these things, and a tray with four fans at the bottom of the main chassis.

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I separated the electronics from the chassis parts, so now I have this pile of aluminum trays that should be useful for something, possibly for smaller battery boxes I can layer together to make mini-packs I can stick in whatever spot on the bike I have available.

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There's also another case I almost decided to use, whcih is a dead 450W hot-swappable PSU for a different network rack unit (it has two; I haven't tested the other one). Might be interesting to fix it, though, as it probably has PFC, as it also has a power meter on it for AC input level. Might be useful for bench testing and such; might even work as a DC-DC from pack voltages, but it is quite large.

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I got a copule of other PSUs out of the other chassis, which if they work shoudl be useful for 12V supplies to run things like the Venom RC charger.

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This is some of the other chassis and boxes I considered using or modifying for use, but decided not to use yet, including a couple of those PSUs above:

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[Solcar]

I appreciate the thoughts you've given since you've began your struggle against the plight of unelectrification.

Those DC-DC converters remind me of one I got from a Hamfest once.

[JohnC]

AW, good instincts about the smaller front wheel. Check out this vintage long john cargo bike from the 1920s.

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Here’s a page for the modern off-spring, the Bullitt from Larry vs Harry. Note the smaller front wheel here also.
http://www.larryvsharry.com/

[amberwolf]

AW, good instincts about the smaller front wheel. Check out this vintage long john cargo bike from the 1920s.

Here’s a page for the modern off-spring, the Bullitt from Larry vs Harry. Note the smaller front wheel here also.
http://www.larryvsharry.com/

I've seen similar ones now and then in searches, and once or twice here on ES. I've considered making one similar to see how well it handles cargo vs my current system, though mine would have a 'bent seating arrangement.

I'm not quite sure which instinct about the smaller wheel you're referring to, but I am pretty much certain at this point that I do want both front and rear wheels smaller, down to 24" in front and rear, possibly smaller if I could get away with it and still have sufficient ground clearance.

I appreciate the thoughts you've given since you've began your struggle against the plight of unelectrification.

Those DC-DC converters remind me of one I got from a Hamfest once.

I had planned to test them earlier today, to see what the lowest input voltage can be, but I got distracted by a few things. I had put the bike out front on the porch to do some rearranging and stuff in the front room, and then when I went out to put it back inside I lost my grip on it as I pulled it upright, and it fell against the support post of the porch nearby. This hit the horn button and turn signal switch, and snapped the latter off.

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I need to take the whole assembly apart and find out if I can just replace the plastic pin that connects the switch with the internals, or if I have to figure out how to replace the whole thing, or some other option. For now, I put a rubber band around the control group and across the switch, and it holds well enough for the moment, still allowing it to be used, but if I have time tonight or tomorrow I still need to fix it more permanently.

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Another momentary distraction was that a parcel-post package arrived from Ohzee with some RC LiPo packs with bad cells, which should be usable to make up some good packs and fix some of the others I have.
http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/vi ... 69#p559269

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[amberwolf]

Tested one of those DC-DC converters: they require at least 120.9VDC input to be able to hold regulation at 12.00V with even a slight load on them (a turnigy watt meter, though I measured the output voltage with the Fluke 77-III). Not sure if they'll hold that with full loads; needs further testing.

Doesn't matter for my purposes, though, as I won't have packs of that high a voltage for any bike anytime soon.


Maybe if someone else here needs a 12V 15A or a 5V 25A DC-DC for a pack higher than 120VDC minimum all the way up to 300VDC maximum, I could make some trades.... I do have a few of each.

[amberwolf]

Guess what?

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At least it was a "slow" leak, keeping rideable pressure for about 1/4 mile, so I only had to stop 8 or 9 times on the way to work to re-air it up. I began to feel it just as I was heading out of my side street to 29th Drive, sort of a wallowing, and I had no time to try to stop and fix the leak, only to keep adding air when it got unrideable (around 10-15PSI).

Same thing on the way home from work. Although this part wasnt' really time-critical, I didn't feel like sitting in the dark taking the bike apart to deal with it, so I just rode home with frequent stops.


It was frustrating, because not only do I have the slime tire liner, I also have a cut-open-on-it's-inner-circumference nice thick tube as a secondary liner including for the sidewalls, and then chunky slime in the tube itself. So, basically there should be very little that gets thru in the first place, and if it does get thru it ought to be plugged up quick.

But this didnt' fail in any place that could be helped by any of that--it was in the valve stem, AGAIN:

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I carefully examined the rim's valve hole and found no irregularities or sharp edges, and the crack in the stem doesn't line up with either the inner or outer rim layers anyway. So I guess it's just one more in the long line of valve stem failures from poor manufacturing that I have had over the last several years.



I am SICK and TIRED (haha) of flats. So I decided to make myself a Twinnertube, as others have done before:

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I drilled a second valve hole in the rim, 180 degrees from the original. Then I went thru my four remaining mostly-usable innertubes, and found one with no patches yet, and one with only one, and both held air fine the whole time I had them stored in the wheel closet, since the previous flat problem a couple weeks ago, I think it was. There were actually seven tubes put away then, but one of those also had a failed valve stem, and two others simply had so many little holes that I don't have any way to patch them all.

So I took two of the four remainign ones, and installed them in the tire/slimeliner/tubeliner previously on the bike, and then onto the rim. I'll tel you--if you think getting a single tube and tight bead tire onto a rim is tough, doing it with what amounts to three tubes (the tubeliners and two actual tubes) in there is danged near impossible. Took perhaps 45 minutes to get the tire on there without damaging either tube.

Then I aired each up a little, 20-30PSI, let it all out, reaired, let it out, etc., to help them seat against each other. When I could feel/hear no more shuffling or "creaking" inside, as the tubes moved during air-up, I filled each about 30PSI for a total of 60PSI, and mounted it back on the bike.

This means that assuming there isn't any rubbing between them or the tubeliner or rim, and nothing wears thru, then when eventually one of these two fails suddenly and catastrophically, the other tube still has pressure in it, so I don't lose control, etc. Even if it's just a regular failure, slow leak, etc., I still have the other tube to keep me going, and if I need to I can just air that tube up to full pressure.

This is just theory, though, siince I've never tried this before. I hope I never get to test it.


While putting the wheel back on teh bike, I noticed that the rim is pretty deeply dented at one point. Basically a big flat spot. I can't true it out, either, so I'll just have to live with it.



Thankfully, I had the electric air pump with me since the last failure, as it would've been a lot of time and energy to handpump the tire on the way to work and back home. Possibly more than I could handle. I forgot to post it previously, but I took the Anderson-connector wires off of the old 12V NiMH lighting pack, and put it on the compressor. That way I can hook it up to my 12V pack on the bike, and if necessary also keep the ligths running. This was very handy today, and saved quite a bit of time.

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The wiring barely fits in it's little case opening.

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[texaspyro]

I hope I never get to test it.

Oh, you will. Yep, you certainly will. Something tells me it will fail. Sir Edsel Murphy seems to have the hots for you.

[amberwolf]

Well, it hasn't failed per-se yet, but it was low on my way home today. Maybe 40PSI? Aired it up and it was ok still when I got home, 2.5 miles of ride.

One problem I did have is that I didn't mount the wheel perfectly straight, so it rubs a teensy bit on the tire knobbies on the left chainstay, at that part of the rim that's bent / flatted inward in that video above, as the rim is also bent slightly leftward there, too--just enough that I can't fix it with spoke tension. So tomorrow before work, or tonight if I don't fall asleep first, I have to loosen the dropouts and axle nuts, then straighten the wheel. I was in a hurry when i put the wheel back on after fixing the flat above, and didn't check for rubbing, just basic alignment, and I also didn't test ride it, which I should have.


Anyway, we'll see if the tire is low again tomorrow before work, and if it is, I'll know there is a problem in one or both tubes, which will suck if true--they were perfectly fine before going into the wheel.


Oh, also, I thought I had fixed the turn signal switch, but the glue apparently doesn't work properly on whatever type of plastic that is. Normally it works on everythign except polyethylene (PE or HDPE), and actively dissolves it, so that the bond is plastic intermixed, and very strong. But the switch came off again today on the way to work, fortunately I had not yet taken the rubber band off (kept forgetting to), so I didn't lose the switch. I guess I'll have to drill it and put a pin in both peices.

[JohnC]

AW, Have you thought about going “ghetto” tubeless?
Home brew tire sealant: 50/50 Green nonpremix glycol (antifreeze) + Alumaseal radiator sealant (liquid version)

[amberwolf]

Now that could be useful...as long as I can still re-air it up on-road using the little portable no-tank compressor I've got, but it doesn't put out air very fast so it may not work for that. I do also have two little CO2 canisters with the adapter for Schrader in the kit that came in the seatbag on the Nishiki, but I don't know if they're sufficient for the tire on CB2. I could probably rig something up with one of the various CO2 bottles I have around for paintball, to make an adapter to Schrader for those.

At home I can just use my regular big compressor, but I would need a definite way to reair it while on-road, especially while loaded up with cargo.

I suppose my biggest potential issue is the stupid valve stems: It doesn't seem to matter what kind of tubes I use, I still have issues with them just splitting open, someitmes actually ejecting the whole brass stem!

One possibility is using a valve stem off a car tire rim, and forcing it to seal into the inner rim hole of the doublewall rim on my motor wheel. I would need to work out a different inner liner method than his, but I could simply cut out a regular bike tube's valve stem, and glue it to the car tire's stem, then force the stem down into the valve hole, and let the pressure of that keep the two together, with lots of rubber cement around the inside of the valve stem/tube connection to guarantee seal.

I already have some 50/50 antifreeze in the shed from back when I still had to maintain my mom's car. No alumaseal, but I think a friend has some I can use.

Either way, it would certainly make the wheel a bit lighter. Then I just need some moped tires to make them tougher. (rims, too, if I can ever find someone tossing an old moped out).

More stuff to ponder....

[amberwolf]

Well, Murphy is tagging along closely: I just did a grocery run, and just before I left, I checked the tire, down to about 20PSI by the compressor gauge. So one or both tubes is leaking a lot.

I reaired them to a total of 50PSI, went for the groceries, and came home, and it's at 45PSI.

I'm going to test by deairing one tube completely, then airing just the other, and seeing if I lose air, and how much. Then do the other tube. That'll at least tell me which tube is losing air faster.

Either way, it sucks.


I would like to take the wheel off, and take the tire off to examine the tubes for folds, wear marks, etc., and test them with soapy water for leaks, but I don't have another day off till Friday, and not nearly enough time today before going in for my half-day of work today. So I guess Friday I'm going to do that, unless somethign dramatically fails before then and forces me to do it earlier.


Ugh. Oh, well, that's the thing about experiments: they don't always work!

[ddk]

never had much luck with the slime tubes
I'm currently using the Bell version of the slime tubes but I haven't put on enough miles to tell.
After using (expensive) tire liners that failed I went for the "make the tire easy to change the tube" route.

On a delta trike, this seems the most sensible as one can easily change rear tubes without dismounting the wheel from the axle.
I always carry a spare tube, tube patches and a stand-up manual pump (because I can LOL)
like this one, only mine's lighter and a few bucks cheaper (plastic tube -good up to 125 psi)

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[amberwolf]

never had much luck with the slime tubes
I'm currently using the Bell version of the slime tubes but I haven't put on enough miles to tell.
After using (expensive) tire liners that failed I went for the "make the tire easy to change the tube" route.

So far almost all the actual system failures I have had have been something that the slime and liners couldn't stop, because they're on the inner circumference of the tube, or on the valve stem.

All the normal failures were prevented by the liners for tread punctures, and the slime for sidewall stuff if it's not too high up.

The only out-of-bounds failure I had was when my tire completely ripped open in two places on the tread, alllowing the tube to fully push out of the tire and shred. Nothing would have stopped that one, besides changing the tire before that could happen, which I knew needed doing but just couldn't / didnt' get done.

On a delta trike, this seems the most sensible as one can easily change rear tubes without dismounting the wheel from the axle.

That's something I like about the trike wheels, at whcihever end has the pair. But the problem still remains on the other wheel, and that's most likely where I would be encountering the problem, just because of Murphy.

A single-sided swingarm or fork would fix that part, but present other challenges that would likely cause worse failures in my case, as I don't really have the right engineering or materials to do something like that safely without so severely overbuilding it that I think the weight would be too much.

I always carry a spare tube, tube patches and a stand-up manual pump (because I can LOL)
like this one, only mine's lighter and a few bucks cheaper (plastic tube -good up to 125 psi)

air pump.jpg

Yeah, I have all that stuff, (except the spare tube, right now) except mine's now an electric compressor, but the failures have been unpatchable last two times, on the valve stem, and a new tube wouldn't have done anything but shred on the one before that, with the destroyed tire.

I haven't carried a spare tube since moving the motor wheel to the rear and having the tire disintegrate, simply becuase it is such a job to get it off. But I have now got it down to only maybe 10 minutes to get off, and another 10-15 to get back on. Plus another 15-30 to get the tube changed, it's only an hour or so on roadside fixing it. Still, I do now have a spare tube in the toolbox, too, if I have to do it.

Having two tubes already in the tire hopefully will mitigate having to do this, but so far it's not working out so well.


Ideally, what I will have is a heavy enough duty wheel/tire to not have to worrya bout it. Short of that, moving the motor to the frame and using regular easy-to-swap-out bicycle wheels, I can actually carry a full spare wheel on the bike, kind of a "continental kit" sort of thing if I made it fancy.

But with the motor in the wheel, and the failures tending to concentrate there, it's not really practical to carry a whole spare wheel, even if I had one.

[ddk]

In Lincoln, NE there were these thorns I don't remember the name of, shaped like jumping jacks that could pierce about any bicycle tire/liner/tube or combination thereof.
I was always chiding my kids about riding off-road because of those (sometimes found 'on-road' also)
One can only puncture a slimed tire so many times before it cry's "uncle".

My last set of tubes in my 'new' location experienced the same type failures you've been experiencing (around the stems)
-any wheel, any time-
Judicious filing, making the holes slightly larger and smoother seems to have cured that, as it's been a few weeks since my last flatted tire.
Previous to the reshaping exercise I was getting a flat a week (caused mainly by road debris catching the stems)

needless to say I now have lots of tubes for those instances where an otherwise useless bike tube can be re-purposed.

[kevo]

Davis CA has those thorns in the fall. Makes for great business for the local bike shops.