The Fleet is improved and increased
May. 26th, 2019 04:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elizillaI have ordered the parts for adding electric power to the Pfiff trike, and converting it to a derailleur shift. Everything except the battery is on its way. I haven't decided what battery to get for it yet. I am going to test it with the battery I already have for the Liberty trike.
In the meantime, while I was researching, I picked a couple of upgrade items for the Razor, and they are already here so I have been working on it today. Right now it has lead acid batteries which are past useful life. It is a 36 volt system, same as the Liberty trikes so it could use the same lithium ion batteries. So I bought a battery harness for a Liberty trike, and today I modified it for use in the Razor. This was very straightforward, I just had to cut off the end that goes to the controller, and replace it with a Molex connector. I had the connector already, it's only two wires and a fuse. And the battery fits into the Razor's battery compartment like it was made to go there. Just need to drill some holes in the compartment walls to access the charging port and the battery key.
If I also end up using the same battery on the Pfiff, they'll all be interchangeable. I'll wait and order all the new batteries at once since they require extra cost hazmat shipping and signatures; no sense doing all that twice.
I am taking a break right now, though, because I had the garage door open, it started raining, and the mosquitoes came out in force. I'll go out again when the wind picks up or when it dries out, out there, and keep going. I have a wheel to install.
The new wheel is because the Razor has long had a bad hop in the rear wheel. It could be trued out, maybe, except that it's a tiny wheel with short spokes and it is very corroded so it would be a battle. Replacement wheels were unavailable and I assumed they'd never be available again. But this spring they came available again, and it was inexpensive, so I ordered one and it's here.
The original coaster brake was so bad that two years ago I added a caliper brake. The easier place to install it was on the rear. Having two rear brakes is not ideal but it's better than having only a bad coaster brake! But I am now considering whether to try moving the caliper brake onto the front. This would require a hole drilled in the fork crown, to mount it. Then since the fork is steel I'd have to paint it to stop it rusting. A bigger project but not impossible, and if I'm doing the rest I might as well do this too.
Even without a brake upgrade it is on its way to becoming much more road-worthy. So next time pi3832 comes over he will have a ride.
I have also ordered a refurb GenZe mountain bike. It has a 350W motor, with pedal assist as well as throttle. I am going to try to coax my dad out, either on the Razor or on the more conventional GenZe.
With the GenZe, the Razor, the Pfiff and the two Liberty trikes, the fleet will be up to five.
This fleet is going to be my new garage hobby. Compared to what I had in the motorcycles, this bicycle stuff is practically free, and it's super fun to mess with, so why not?
Anyone wanna come over and help me make use of these machines? We have a neighborhood to terrorize, here. :-)
In the meantime, while I was researching, I picked a couple of upgrade items for the Razor, and they are already here so I have been working on it today. Right now it has lead acid batteries which are past useful life. It is a 36 volt system, same as the Liberty trikes so it could use the same lithium ion batteries. So I bought a battery harness for a Liberty trike, and today I modified it for use in the Razor. This was very straightforward, I just had to cut off the end that goes to the controller, and replace it with a Molex connector. I had the connector already, it's only two wires and a fuse. And the battery fits into the Razor's battery compartment like it was made to go there. Just need to drill some holes in the compartment walls to access the charging port and the battery key.
If I also end up using the same battery on the Pfiff, they'll all be interchangeable. I'll wait and order all the new batteries at once since they require extra cost hazmat shipping and signatures; no sense doing all that twice.
I am taking a break right now, though, because I had the garage door open, it started raining, and the mosquitoes came out in force. I'll go out again when the wind picks up or when it dries out, out there, and keep going. I have a wheel to install.
The new wheel is because the Razor has long had a bad hop in the rear wheel. It could be trued out, maybe, except that it's a tiny wheel with short spokes and it is very corroded so it would be a battle. Replacement wheels were unavailable and I assumed they'd never be available again. But this spring they came available again, and it was inexpensive, so I ordered one and it's here.
The original coaster brake was so bad that two years ago I added a caliper brake. The easier place to install it was on the rear. Having two rear brakes is not ideal but it's better than having only a bad coaster brake! But I am now considering whether to try moving the caliper brake onto the front. This would require a hole drilled in the fork crown, to mount it. Then since the fork is steel I'd have to paint it to stop it rusting. A bigger project but not impossible, and if I'm doing the rest I might as well do this too.
Even without a brake upgrade it is on its way to becoming much more road-worthy. So next time pi3832 comes over he will have a ride.
I have also ordered a refurb GenZe mountain bike. It has a 350W motor, with pedal assist as well as throttle. I am going to try to coax my dad out, either on the Razor or on the more conventional GenZe.
With the GenZe, the Razor, the Pfiff and the two Liberty trikes, the fleet will be up to five.
This fleet is going to be my new garage hobby. Compared to what I had in the motorcycles, this bicycle stuff is practically free, and it's super fun to mess with, so why not?
Anyone wanna come over and help me make use of these machines? We have a neighborhood to terrorize, here. :-)
