Sell Insight to buy E-Bike?

[Sven7]

You make me nervous saying, "full suspension" and "Wal-mart" in the same sentence. I agree with Grant that you should definitely look at dedicated folding bikes if that's what you're looking for.

Folding Bikes by Citizen Bike | About Citizen Bike and our Folding Bikes

I just came upon those in a google search. I'm not sure on the quality, but it's probably better than a Walmart bike. Several frame styles and option packs to fit your needs.

Edit: That is a really attractive price for the Tokyo ($170). I'm going to have to do some research on one for myself. Could be great for Amtrak trips.

[vskid3]

I've decided against the 20" bike idea for now. I'll just work on replacing the rim with another 26" one and figure something out for mountain biking, which is a much lower priority than commuting.

My wife's bike will hit 500 miles tomorrow. The temperature has dropped here the last week or two to about 30F in the mornings. I've been regretting selling the Insight after arriving to work nearly frozen several days, but I think I've worked out a clothing setup that will keep me warm enough without being a pain to put on/remove. I have some bar mitts coming tomorrow that should keep the wind off my hands. Goggles are the next, hopefully last, piece of gear I'm planning on getting to keep me warm.

[Grant-53]

Are you ready for the fairing now? My winter gear includes a full Bell helmet, layered clothes, and ski gloves.

[Sven7]

All you need to know:

Lobster gloves. Wool socks. Acrylic cap. Neck gaiter.



(Also I'm surprised it's 30 degrees in Texas right now. We've been in the teens and twenties lately.)

[Grant-53]

Tricky part is eyewear fogging. I can lift the visor to clear it as much as I want on the fly. When I don't want to wear two pair of pants, I have some rain chaps to cut the wind.

Fairing side panels and a locking tail box are in the works.

[vskid3]

Bar mitts arrived. Haven't had a really cold day since, but they seem like they make a big difference.
Grant, do you have any build details for your fairing? Looks like one of the best concepts I can find that doesn't involve going all out.

[Grant-53]

Get me an address and I will send plans.

[Grant-53]

This is the lay out of a simple two cut fairing. The top is to the left. Drill the holes first then cut the slits. Overlap the side cuts to the dotted lines and clamp while poking the holes for the zip ties. Do the top cuts last. The center circle should be at the height of the handlebars. Cut the opening for the head tube and brake cable. Zip tie the lower part of the fairing to the down tube. The center circle is large enough to cut an opening for a headlight.

[vskid3]

Looks good, I'll have to give it a shot. I'll let you know if I need the paper plans.

Broke 600 miles on my wife's bike/motor. 500 miles on the CST Cyclops tire on the rear, around 300 on the front. Rear tire has lost most of the pattern on the center lugs, but the tread depth is barely changed, should be able to get 2-3k miles out of it easily. Front still has some of the molding flash left on the center of the tread.

Got another watt meter and I've been tracking my wh per mile. With the top speed set at 48km/h (~28.6mph), it was using about 32-34wh/mi when I wasn't stuck behind slow vehicles. With the top speed reduced to 45km/h (~26.9mph) its looking to be about 28-30wh/mi. The reduced top speed looks like it'll give me about 4 more miles of range, provided the battery actually gives me a full 15Ah. It'll be useful to see what effect mods like a fairing have on wh/mi usage.

If I'm doing the conversion right, I'm getting over 1000MPGe.

[Grant-53]

The front fairing alone will keep you warm and drier but likely improvement in drag reduction comes from a tail box behind the rider. I have a couple on the drawing board I need to build.