Alien Gents Special II

[rustic]

Many thanks Rustic. Would like to take you up on your kind offer. Have sent you a private message to see what arrangements suit you. Regards. Vernon

No probs Vernon, you are very welcome. I have sent you a PM.

All the best, Rus.

 

[Old Timer]

Thanks for views on charging the battery. I have taken delivery of the bike. I connected the battery out of the box and it showed fully charged after 30 minutes. I used the bike to cover about 6 miles today and it took around two hours to charge up.

On a different note, I am pleased with the bike, the seat is very comfy, and the bike generally feels solid. The motor on the front wheel has a fair bit of power, runs smoothly and doesn`t get hot. The brakes work well. The bike feels nice and stable on fast bends.

The one part Im not keen on is the handlebars. I clamped them on, and tightened the bolts but after running over a few of the bumps around here they revolved in the clamp. This pulled the gear cables really taught as there is not much play in these anyway.
Ive filed deeper grooves in the clamp and also added a good dollop of Araldite before tightening the bolts so I`m hoping the bars will now stay put.

I have also noticed that because of this lack of play in the gear cables the bars cannot be raised much. This seems a bit of a design flaw, so if anyone wants a more sit up and beg position they are out of luck.

In the near future I may upgrade the bars and if necessary the cables too.

The bike looks nice and Im relatively pleased with it, considering the price.

I`ve used the company a few times and they are great. these are Jagwire cables and well worth the money Full Bike Brake Cable Set Front+Rear 3m Outer 2x Inner on eBay (end time 14-Apr-10 14:52:50 BST)

Dave

 

[tiggerthetiger]

Short cables

Hi Rus,
I will post more as I use the bike. I need to buy a speedo/mileometer to check on its speed etc.
Thats interesting about your fix with the stem. Did you use the original handlebar again.? How far could the original stem be raised. ? I think I need to raise mine eventually. I`m 6 foot so need a bit more reach.
What was the cost in the end. Hope all these questions are ok with you.

Old timer thanks. It`s the gear cables I may change. Would I need much tech know how to do it.? Such as tensioning the cables so the gears change ok and do not jump off the cogs etc.
ps..the price for those cables sounds right up my street !

best Geoff

 

[Old Timer]

Hi Rus,
I will post more as I use the bike. I need to buy a speedo/mileometer to check on its speed etc.
Thats interesting about your fix with the stem. Did you use the original handlebar again.? How far could the original stem be raised. ? I think I need to raise mine eventually. I`m 6 foot so need a bit more reach.
What was the cost in the end. Hope all these questions are ok with you.

Old timer thanks. It`s the gear cables I may change. Would I need much tech know how to do it.? Such as tensioning the cables so the gears change ok and do not jump off the cogs etc.
ps..the price for those cables sounds right up my street !

best Geoff

That site sells gear cables, if they are not listed then send Denise a question and she will sort you.

Changing gear cable is no problem, disconnect and remove all old cables. make sure at this stage that the mech is on the smallest cog and the gears run ok with the back wheel lifted. there is a cable adjustment at the rear mech, turn the adjustment in. run your new cable into the mech and pull as tight as you can(make sure the changer is in top gear) tighten the cable clamp at the mech. Now you will probably find that you will have to tension the cable using the adjuster at the mech( the one you wound in) adjust it out to take up the play and watch the mech, you should be able to see when it starts to move the chain towards the next larger gear cog. at this point just back off a touch and all should work fine. Don`t touch any of the other adjusting screws on the mechanism becasue you haven`t moved them so shouldn`t need to(they are limiting screws that creat a limit of the movement of the mech and stop it in the right place for top gear and bottom gear)
E mail me if you need more help from my profile)

Dave

 

[rustic]

Hi Rus,
I will post more as I use the bike. I need to buy a speedo/mileometer to check on its speed etc.
Thats interesting about your fix with the stem. Did you use the original handlebar again.? How far could the original stem be raised. ? I think I need to raise mine eventually. I`m 6 foot so need a bit more reach.
What was the cost in the end. Hope all these questions are ok with you.

Old timer thanks. It`s the gear cables I may change. Would I need much tech know how to do it.? Such as tensioning the cables so the gears change ok and do not jump off the cogs etc.
ps..the price for those cables sounds right up my street !

best Geoff

Hi Geoff,

Check out this thread (I hope the attached link works). It has before & after pictures of the work I had done on the handlebars. As you will see the stem was raised by about 4 inches and the existing handlebar set was fitted on top of the stem raise.

The cost of the stem raise & having all the new cables fitted was £45. At 6' 5" tall this was an absolutely essential modification as although the frame is a reasonable size it was an extremely uncomfortable riding position with the sadlle so much higher than the handlebars.

Anyhow, check out the link for morepictures & info:

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bicycles/5058-handlebar-height.html

 

[NRG]

Yes, this is a bit of a weakspot on the Alien, there is just enough spare gear cable to raise the bars with the standard fitting but you need to slacken off the front and rear derailleur and readjust.

If you need to raise using spacers then new cable sets are needed.

 

[Old Timer]

Hi Geoff,

Check out this thread (I hope the attached link works). It has before & after pictures of the work I had done on the handlebars. As you will see the stem was raised by about 4 inches and the existing handlebar set was fitted on top of the stem raise.

The cost of the stem raise & having all the new cables fitted was £45. At 6' 5" tall this was an absolutely essential modification as although the frame is a reasonable size it was an extremely uncomfortable riding position with the sadlle so much higher than the handlebars.

Anyhow, check out the link for morepictures & info:

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bicycles/5058-handlebar-height.html

I`ve fitted stem risers to all my bikes and barends as well simply because the E bike is not(in general) a head down bum up bike and cruising around in an upright position is just so much fun.I even fitted a Quill extender to my evans/Alien conversion bike( for those that don`t know the quill stems are the older design where you undo the centrebolt and can lift the stem right out)

 

[NRG]

...

The one part Im not keen on is the handlebars. I clamped them on, and tightened the bolts but after running over a few of the bumps around here they revolved in the clamp. This pulled the gear cables really taught as there is not much play in these anyway.
Ive filed deeper grooves in the clamp and also added a good dollop of Araldite before tightening the bolts so I`m hoping the bars will now stay put.

Hi TTT, not wishing to teach you how to suck eggs but you do realise the bar clamp is asymmetric...IE you nip down the rear bolt first then tighten down the front to clamp the bars. There will be a gap at the front of the bar between the clamp and stem...if you try to tighten down evenly the bars may not be tight enough. I'll take a photo to show you what I mean...

 

[tiggerthetiger]

Great information !

Wow I have learned so much in such a small time. Thanks Rus, Dave and NRG.

Dave that`s cleared things up for me, and feel that changing the cables will not be a problem.

Rus, great photos in the other thread and its reassured me that I can get things sorted, with a stem raiser if needed..

NRG I did not know about the clamp being asymmetric, and I really appreciate the info. I will loosen both bolts off and start again . !

Geoff

PS : On the Alien Ocean website I read that on the electric wheel kits the speed can be increased up from the road legal limit, by turning clockwise a smal screw on the potentiometer (spelling ?),
Does anyone know if this screw is accessible in the control box of the Gents Special Alien Cycle 11. I`m aware that this would invalidate the guarantee, but would be nice to increase the top speed.