Recent content by wturber

It is now 2024 and I've worn out my DNP freewheel. I put something upwards of 12,000 - 15,000 miles on it. I stopped paying attention after 10,000 miles. At first I thought it was a worn chain. But It is pretty clearly not that. The chain is jumping unexpectedly when on the middle cogs. And as...

Human beans are generally poor at risk assessment. The typical motorcyclist is no exception. The motorcycle fatality rate is about 25 times higher than that for cars when compared by miles travelled and 6 times when compared by registered vehicles. But given the very low rate for cars, it is a...

It does look beefier. I hope it works out.

Seems dangerous to me. If that tread slips off, bad things are likely to happen. I suppose you could stitch or rivet the sidewalls to hold it in place. But still, I'd be leery of having that outer belt slip.

I ran mine only for the back tire and given the weight of my bike, I can't say any change in handling was a big deal. I think of my ebike as something like the station wagon of ebikes. Not elegant. No great handling. And I don't care about the rolling resistance. But generally functional for a...

Shortly after retirement, I started doing volunteer work for an organization, "Bobs' Free Bikes" for similar reasons. We fix up donated bikes and give them to kids who need bikes. I'm not an orphan, but I figure every kid needs a bike and they too often don't have a parent or parents who can...

You are basing your rebuttal on the idea that the bicycle is ridden responsibly. But the OP expressed that the 50 kph top speed he has/had "isn't enough" and that he'd be happy he would be if the 72v system would let himi ride at around 65 kph. He wants to ride his ebike at motorcycle speeds...

Nothing so experimental. Mine is just a some variations on the standard DIY formula that uses liquid latex, ammonia, anti-freeze and corn starch. I happened to have had a flat on a ride and noticed how the bead on my tubed tire was stuck surprisingly firmly into the bead of the rim. That got...

My most successful solution was to cut the bead off of an older tire and put that inside of the regular tire. I think someone here suggested doing this. I think I also had a rim strip in there as well. I only did that on the back because the back gets flats more often and is a bigger pain to...

Yep. That's the one I use. It's been going strong for three years now. I broke anything else made of aluminum. My bike is quite heavy in the back with a direct drive motor, 1200wh of batteries and a MeanWell "charger" on board. I also frequently carry a lot of "cargo" on this bike as well. I...

You need to make sure you read all the pertinent laws. There may have been something where any vehicle with more than X horsepower/watts, or Y engine displacement made it a motor vehicle and subject to further regulation. Most states have some kind of moped legislation since mopeds were a kinda...

Right. Google maps for bikes tends to assume something around a 14MPH average speed. If your ebike can do 25MPH or more, you can probably count on a real world trip speed of 18-20MPH depending on lights etc. My 16 mile trip was about 50 minutes in and about 55 minutes going home - downhill vs...

Well, I've enjoyed following this thread and reading your accounts of long rides these many years. I've also really liked your bike design and how your repurposed both the bike and the battery. I'm not going to pretend to have good advice on whether you should continue or stop riding. That's...

Depends on what you mean by "regulate." There are at least three cities in my state that have passed laws that "regulate" ebike usage. The "People for Bikes" system of three e-bike classes - their so-called model legislation has been largely adopted in most (37?) states...

How far it can go depends on how fast I go. If I travel at a moderate pace of around 20 mph which equates to level 2 on the KT controller most of the time, I can go about 55 miles on a kWH (based on a 56 mile trip that I measured fairly carefully) or 17.87 Wh/m. Assuming I have 100% of the...