I have been posting about my mountain bike adventures on my forumla website. The rides to the Florida Keys, my daily local beach rides and lately my street terrorist trips to the gym. I use terrorist not with the intent of drawing looks from the NSA or FBI, (hey Guys) but to explain the attitude of the ride. It’s extreme sports, My bike is a Bosch Pedal assist and this system gives some real expanded ability to moving in and out.
This being a Fixit post lets get to the point. While doing hard riding equipment is stressed to the max and coupled with a battery assisted pedal system parts are under maximum stress. An of course being a heavy rider adds to it. Not heavy as in couch potato but as in large muscular frame.
Just to add a rant I’m not talking about half a fag spandex wearing street riding groupie or the other spectrum where people who couldn’t ride a bike to begin with purchase battery driven with monster wheels that are propelled without peddling at 20 MPH gonna get their asses in the hospital idiots!
So it’s a mountain bike with a larger frame and a gearing system that assists when peddling. No peddle no forward movement. If your experienced in mechanical or electro mechanical systems you know Bosch makes some high quality stuff. But the other systems are basically standard.
The chain and gears, the pedals and wheels. When your adding the power to the crank it put some extreme additional stress in the drive line. Bolts have to be tight, wheels have to be aligned, tires have to be properly inflated. Regular maintenance is a must! If something comes loose while your blasting down the road on any battery driven bike your ass in going to hit the ground with some force and if your a beginner, including lack of exercise weak bodies you will be done if not dead.
If you want an example of concern the Fla DMV sends out a flyer with registration updates that are telling people to give 3 feet and 20 feet distance. That right there should tell you people are getting hurt or dead. Add alcohol to the mix and you better up your liability insurance cause the treatment will be expensive.
Yes maintenance. I have come to the conclusion with my bike that I only need one speed. I never take it out of 8th gear, if i get into a tough spot like starting from a stop going up a hill i just select turbo on the control, that being said i am exploring a belt system, removing the chain completely. I mention this because when your on battery assist and cranking on the pedels there is a max strain being transmitted through the drive, yes the battery system has some power, breaking a chain a sure possibility.
My daily maintenance program was usually washing and lubing, this was daily because I ride on the beach for my stress relief and unbelievable scenic exposure. But it’s salt and sand. If your a keep my chain lubed owner you quickly realize sand loves lube and sand destroys chains and gears.
Getting a system for a maintenance and adjustment process is “mandatory” . My experience as a professional aviation engineer has taught me about regular time based adjustment and replacement. This is how aircraft stay safe and this can be applied to electric bikes. Unlike the old version bike in the garage that only needed tires inflated, electric bikes are motor driven and will require inspecting and replacing parts, these schedules should be established determined by your riding level
Lets finish not with an inspection sheet but with some guidance.
Maintenance Functions
You have to identify the tooling systems and get them. If your ride is metric or standard is a great place to start.
socket set, allen wrenches, cleaning bucket, compressed air source or good pump. air inflation pressure gauge, tube air valve remover, zip ties
Doing a video on daily maintenance could be an option but we are anti google and will never youtube, Rumble might be in the future, we have many beautiful videos of rides on the beach in NSB and the keys
Starting to get an idea about a belt system. 3D printing the gears might just be an option, this will take a little research