eBike arrived yesterday

[daniel.weck]

Nice ride ! I like the neutral colors and discrete hub motor (hidden by brake disc) and battery (hidden by rear rack luggage).

With regards to Slime...it didn't prevent my wife's bike to get a puncture, and I've heard mostly negative feedback about it. Personally, I wouldn't bother, as it makes a mess when it comes to actually fixing the puncture.

 

[Old Timer]

Nice ride ! I like the neutral colors and discrete hub motor (hidden by brake disc) and battery (hidden by rear rack luggage).

With regards to Slime...it didn't prevent my wife's bike to get a puncture, and I've heard mostly negative feedback about it. Personally, I wouldn't bother, as it makes a mess when it comes to actually fixing the puncture.

I didn`t fit the supplied panniers, they are so big you could sleep in them
I notice you have de-badged it like mine!

When I rode away from the Cromer lifeboat station last week up the service road and even with the mid positioned extra battery and all my tools in my front panniers in bottom gear but not on the small chainring the front wheel lifted and I went across the road

Now! think about this! to get more weight onto the front, how about I turn this bike into the twin hub bike instead of my Powertrek Boy, would that climb the hills or what!

 

[weirdfish]

First thing I did after making sure it wasn't damaged out of the box was to debadge. I have a thing about that, I do it to our cars too

To be honest, I'm not sure I'll keep the panniers on all the time. I did originally think that they would be very handy on the daily commute, however, if I stop off on the way I'm not too happy about leaving a laptop in them. Therefore if I'm wearing my laptop back pack I don't really need the panniers and the resulting stuff that will inevitably get left in them.

They are dead useful for quick trips to the shops though

 

[Old Timer]

I dropped the rear rack down to the lowest hole and adjusted it as far forward as the adjustment allowed and am surprised that moving that weight a touch lower and slightly forward made a noticeable difference to the ease (or lack or it) that the front wheel wants to lift. Worth doing.

If you study the rear rack and it`s position then there is enough room behind the seat post to set the whole thing further forward to attempt to get the battery weight in front of the axle rather than behind it. Although this years Alien rear rack has a much better and larger controller housing which no doubt keeps the controller cooler and makes any work required on it easier, the fact that it is fixed on the front of the rack does tend to push the battery weight further back. It might be very handy to be able to slide the battery in the rack and it engages but to be honest I for one (having stopped the rattles) leave mine in position and charge it that way so whether it engages in the controller plate or not makes no difference.
My wifes Synergie Breeze (which is now Alien) has the rear mounted battery that has it`s controller at the inside of the rack near the top beside the wheel and she would have to disconnect a kettle type plug to remove the battery( how bad) that way the carrier is almost three inches shorter than the Aurora and sits nice and close into the seat down tube which brings the weight nice and forward.

When I get bored one day I might tackle that carrier and controller mounting plate and put it where it should be nice and tight against the seat tube and that would even prevent the slight tail wag one gets when changing direction quickly to avoid a pot hole.

In fairness to Alien, this is a new 2010 model and like neally everything in life the 2nd model year is always fitted with upgrades and knowing that Jim at Alien reads these threads I have no doubt he will pass on our findings to Bob.

Isn`t that always the way though? anything mechanical that isn`t half bad always shows up any slight design tweeks that would make it more perfect whereas a dog is usually something you just accept and live with.

Well done Alien and looking forward to next years model

Dave

 

[jbond]

Glad you liked the effect of moving the battery down and forwards. In the next couple of days I intend to get rid of the sliding plates all together on the height adjustment and make some new tie rods at the front. That will mean trimming a little off the front and back of the lower rack mount so it misses the frame and the brake mount.

I looked at moving the controller forwards (and hence the battery) but the plate it's attached to is welded to the rack. There's potential there, but it's all getting harder.

Given enough time and some fabrication, the real solution I think is to move the battery into the main triangle. But doing that while still being able to easily remove it will take some thought and effort.

 

[BLACKPANTHER]

I've ordered a Avid BB7 mechanical calliper.

The calliper can be used front or rear so I plan to fit it to the front and see how it goes. If it works well I'll get another for the rear and I wont have to faff about with the levers as to be honest, I can't seem to see how the throttle grip comes off, it seems too tight to just twist off. Otherwise I'll use this one on the rear and fit a hydraulic to the front. If that's the case then hopefully I'll have figured how to remove the throttle by then

My Aurora should arrive on Wednesday (!!!!) How are the BB7s then (just in case I have to upgrade)

Did you change the discs as well?

 

[Old Timer]

My Aurora should arrive on Wednesday (!!!!) How are the BB7s then (just in case I have to upgrade)

Did you change the discs as well?

For what it`s worth I have found the brakes superb on mine although I ride mainly around local country lanes and don`t have to contend with cars and pedestrians jumping out in front of me but never the less I have obviously tested mine in emergency stops and I can`t fault them at all.

PS I did find the rear disk securing bolts came loose also have a run around the spokes to make sure they are all pulled up tight because I had a couple of slack ones on the rear. Other than fitting a slightly wider centre stand and a rear side stand everything has worked 100% from new.

 

[jbond]

I was cleaning, oiling and tidying in the garage today. Too damn cold to ride. Only problem I discovered was that the bottom bracket lock nut had come a bit loose and was allowing the cartridge to move around a bit. It showed up as the chain ring touching the front mech when standing on the pedals. I'm sure I did this once already so maybe I didn't do it tight enough last time.

 

[BLACKPANTHER]

PS I did find the rear disk securing bolts came loose also have a run around the spokes to make sure they are all pulled up tight because I had a couple of slack ones on the rear.

I will check every nut/bolt when it arrives, then bang on the Marathon tours (2.00) and away I go!!!!! I'll give the brakes a good chance before upgrading. I'm used to the V-brakes on the Dawes and tbh, they're pretty darnn good and I've never felt I needed anything more, even in the wet. There seems to be a bit of faffing involved to get them just right on the Aurora though, so I may even go down the V-brake route.

From what I've read, I'll be moving the battery down and forward after the 1st ride . It looks like the battery may even fit on top of the top tube without getting in the way??? I was thinking of trying using an old seat post mounted rear rack facing forwards (and bent accordingly) as one thing seems for certain, this bike's a bit rear heavy. Anyway, when I get the beast I'll take it from there.

 

[Old Timer]

I`ve got two batteries on mine, the rear original and via a small front pannier rack I have a pair of small panniers and the lipo4 15Amp battery is in the outside pannier and tools are in the other side. This seems to balance the bike up nicely. The best balance I`ve found is to remove the rear battery completely. I then fitted my 13Amp Li-polymer (that is in a case similar to the wisper batteries) and slung it under the crossbar on 4 velcro straps with a section of pipe insulation rubber between the battery and the crossbar. Beautiful balance that way. I don`t use it that way very often because that battery is either on my powertrek in the normal position behind the seatpost or is slung under the crossbar of my Evans conversion.

 

[BLACKPANTHER]

For what it`s worth I have found the brakes superb on mine

I have to agree. After adjusting them so they bite immediately, I still find them very quiet. No squeaking, just a very very faint brushing noise when turning whilst on the stand. No noise at all whilst riding. I solved the battery rattle/squeak. I just tie wrapped the back of the battery so it's pulled up. I reckon I'll charge the battery on the bike 99% of the time. The more I ride this bike the more I like it. I'm almost (almost) looking forward to going back to work next week, just for the ride.