GoldenMotor.com Forum
General Category => General Discussions => Topic started by: GM Canada on December 30, 2012, 04:15:32 AM
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Well once again Canada is buried under a blanket of snow. Some say its beautiful. It's ok I guess but definitely puts a damper on Ebike riding.
Time to plan a new build I Guess. I have been thinking whats next? Anyone that has seen my builds, I have pretty much covered the spectrum of bikes. If you haven't seen my Ebikes have a look here.
http://www.goldenmotor.ca/pages/My-Ebikes.html
The pictures shown include a Low ride Cannibal chopper, a Dual drive Townie, A Tandem rear wheel drive, A Three wheel drive CCM Mountain Bike (one in the trailer), A Dual drive Scwinn 700c hybrid with mini motors, a rear wheel drive Joy Ebike that was converted to dual drive MP2 and a few others not shown.
Now I have a customer doing a recumbent. He sent me a picture of the bike he will be doing. I have to admit I can't stop looking at it. Its now the backdrop on my PC. A scorpion FS like this one.
(https://arhservices.co.uk/GoldenMotorCanada/Scorpion_fs_zps9c02d427.jpg)
Nice looking bike. Why is it 4300 USD though? Wow. that's pricey! Full suspension, disk brakes, a nice ride for sure. But there must be something a little less expensive out there with the same features. Anyway for now I will just keep dreaming.
Gary
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Hi Gary,
You have to remember there are people who do not equate price with value, and if you can sell all you can build at a high price, why sell them cheap?
I see the rear swing arm off almost any rear-suspender, with the chassis from 1/12-2" steel tube. The front suspension is made from a couple of front suspended forks. Nice custom seat, tho. And the rear shock bracket is a very pleasant shape. I built one very similar to it a couple of years ago for my grandson. I bought some used bikes for parts, and had less than $100 bucks into it. But my seat was nowhere near as gorgeous as this photo.
So what do you think of a couple of SP's driving the front wheels? A pair of the cylindrical batteries under the front axle, maybe?
TTFN,
Dennis
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Yes I agree with you prices for these bikes are way overkill!
I want one, but I have to pay 3000 euro for a almost naked bike.
I want to use this trike bike in winter , but for 3000 euro.
I can buy a lot of gas and using a car...so.....
So no value of money for me.
I like normal bike better....
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Hi Folks,
Well, this is embarrassing.
After rereading my earlier comment, I have to disagree with myself.... Yes, an old retired fart can build a cheap trike for his grandkids, but an old ex manufacturing engineer should know better. It is hard to cover the costs of small volume manufacturing. When you build 10,000 "things", the cost of components is much lower than when you only build 100. Heim joint costs for one item were over $5.00 when you order 10, but drop to just over $3 when you buy 1,000. The jigs used for fabricating the chassis accurately cost several thousand dollars whether for building 1 or many, but the cost must be recovered in the sale price. The list goes on and on. I'm sure that if I had kept track of the man-hours I devoted to building that trike there would have been several thousand dollars to add to the $100 I paid for the bikes I used for parts.
On a separate note, Gary, I must warn you that I found no good way to mitigate the toe-in change caused by varying rider weights. The front track changes with rider weight due to the angle of the spindle bearings set for zero scrub radius. With the tie rods being of fixed length, the toe in changed a lot when I rode it compared to when my grandson rode it. I wound up setting toe-in with him sitting on the trike, and I settled for having to work harder to overcome the effects of increased tow-in.
I'm sure there is a way to overcome the effect, but I just wanted to hear the kids laugh as they played with the new toy..
TTFN,
Dennis
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I have always considered myself a person that can do anything I set my mind too. I have rebuilt many cars and motorcycles from the ground up and built the house my family and I live in. Well not completely. It was a one story bungalow with a basement. I gutted both floors to the block walls ripped off the roof. I added a second floor and wired, plumbed and everything else to have what we have today. The only contractors I hired was one to dig around the foundation and waterproof it and another to concrete my unusually large driveway. All of this I did over a ten year period while working full time and the last 3.5 years running this business as well. The only thing left is to carpet the stairs between floors. My kids ask often "when are you going to carpet the stairs?" I say "when you move out!"
But I have never welded. I have toyed with the idea but never indulged. I fear building a bike frame as a first welding project could end up in disaster when something gives and I end up under a passing car.
So I feel the need to go with a pre-built frame. I have been re-thinking the trike Idea as I do ride many trials though the woods everyday on my return trip from work. Also one part is basically riding through the woods on the side of a step hill for several hundred yards. With three wheels I would lean over quite a bit and getting though the trees may not even be possible. So maybe I should reconsider and look for a two wheeled recumbent.
So the search continues. I do find however none of the two wheeled recumbents I have seen so far look as nice as that Scorpion FS.
Gary
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Hi Gary,
If you can add a story to a house by yourself and start a business, you can learn to weld. It will take you practice, patience, some knowledge you don't have now, and some more practice. Just like how you became able to build a house, or rebuild a motor.
If we ever chance to meet, I'd like to buy you a beer and shoot the breeze for a while. You sound like my kind of guy.
TTFN,
Dennis
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Its good to see I m not the only one tinkering around the garage at every opportunity. That chopper bike is amazing, so much style 8)
As for frame building, imagine having one of those big pipe bending machines..... Awesome!
I did a bit of oxy-acetylene welding some years ago when in college, it was really enjoyable, though I did get engulfed by a ball of fire. I felt a warm rush up my body and stopped welding, I looked around and other people in the room were all looking at me. My tutor asked me if I was ok, I didn't realise anything had happened. My sweat shirt was all scorched! ::). It was fun while it lasted.
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Thanks for the comments guys. I do like to keep busy. A little off topic but just to show you the changes we have gone though I am uploading before and after pics of my house. Its nothing you cant see on google maps anyway. Changes to the inside are even more dramatic.
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This one looks interesting. A grasshopper! Not sure about the green though. But I guess it goes with the name.
(https://arhservices.co.uk/GoldenMotorCanada/546BD3EC-3DE3-46F2-8E00-F5B78B821DBB-3608-00000669E518D303.jpg)
Still 2900 USD! Ouch! Gotta keep looking...
Gary
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I have now been touring around in the recumbent threads in various forums. Seems there two distinct types of two wheel recumbents. Short wheel base (SWB) and Long wheel base (LWB). The basic difference is the SWB the front wheel is under your knees with your feet out in front and the LWB the front wheel is out I front of your feet. Because the LWB is longer it has a smoother ride, you sit more upright and the seat is very low ro the ground. All of this sounds pretty good to me. It would seem to me the laid back position of the SWB would not be as comfortable, be harder to control and be a rougher ride.
Gary
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If we ever chance to meet, I'd like to buy you a beer and shoot the breeze for a while. You sound like my kind of guy.
Thanks for the offer. I have been offered many beers in and out of this forum from all over the place. Someday, I'll have to go on that world drinking tour. Maybe even have to stop off with Andrew and try that honey wine. Oh right Andrew is married now, scratch that ;) Maybe I get some over at Ginge's place.
Gary
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I did a bit of oxy-acetylene welding some years ago when in college, it was really enjoyable, though I did get engulfed by a ball of fire. I felt a warm rush up my body and stopped welding, I looked around and other people in the room were all looking at me. My tutor asked me if I was ok, I didn't realise anything had happened. My sweat shirt was all scorched! ::). It was fun while it lasted.
Sounds like something I would do! At my age I can see the finish line. Old dog, new tricks, too much effort!
Gary
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Yes I agree with you prices for these bikes are way overkill!
I want one, but I have to pay 3000 euro for a almost naked bike.
I want to use this trike bike in winter , but for 3000 euro.
I can buy a lot of gas and using a car...so.....
So no value of money for me.
I like normal bike better....
The expensive bikes drive me crazy too. I built several with whatever was on sale at Canadian Tire. For the most part a cheap full suspension mountain bike usually does the trick. Once I started to buy a few bikes in the 800-900 dollar range from the local bike shops I really noticed the difference in quality. Hmm moutain Bike. Maybe I should build a full suspension dual drive Smart Pie torque driven pedelec 29er. Hmmm......Me thinking again.... Sheesh these are expencive too!
Gary
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Wauuwww you are really handy, nice house!
Well done!!! 8)
O yeah but two wheels? is that suitable for winter?
Trike bike is better I think....
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I think I have found a good possibility for my next Project.
(https://arhservices.co.uk/GoldenMotorCanada/tour-easy-recumbentjpg_zps1c645268.jpg)
Looks real comfy!
Gary
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Yes I think it's: comfy...
What is the brand or model?
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The brand is 'Easy Racer' and the model 'Tour Easy' recumbent. They also make one called the "Gold Rush" that looks pretty cool.
(https://arhservices.co.uk/GoldenMotorCanada/EasyRacersGoldRush_zps9e37f509.jpg)
It would be interesting to ride a bike that you don't feel like you have to pull the seat out of your azz after a long ride.
Oh and in answer to you other question. I don't ride in the winter. Maybe a few quick bursts around the neighborhood or something a little longer during a warm winter day, but no 5am ten mile rides to work.
Gary
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There is also a titanium version which looks pretty snazzy!
(https://arhservices.co.uk/GoldenMotorCanada/653c628f6462810c3e13f1943014c641.jpg)
Gary
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Found this is a local buy and sell add....
2500, Still a little pricy but a fairing and disk brakes. It does seem interesting. I offered to trade him one of my Ebikes. Maybe he will bite :)
Gary