Electric Trike Carrier

annsimpson

Pedelecer
Aug 22, 2014
133
26
67
Towbar mounted trike carrier, never used (new) adjustable and fitted light board, cost £290 accept £200 ono. From Mission Trikes
 
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Kuorider

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 18, 2014
379
195
How did the trike work out ? Diamond or Dog ? I reckoned Dog , shoot me down .
 

annsimpson

Pedelecer
Aug 22, 2014
133
26
67
Absolutely horrible! it frightened me with the sense of leaning and I couldn't get over it, was tried a couple of times but never even got beyond the gate so I wasn't sorry to see the back of it. Mind you it sold first time round on ebay but the carrier was never used.
 

Kuorider

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 18, 2014
379
195
Sorry to hear that, I really expected a flea in my ear and you zooming around on the trike. It can be a tricky change to three wheels and you are not alone with this difficulty. If you still have your original bike something can be done to solve the issues you had with it. Do ask and best wishes.
 

annsimpson

Pedelecer
Aug 22, 2014
133
26
67
unfortunately I had to sell my other bike to help with the costs of the trike bu, and wait for this, we've bought a lovely low step through ladies bike and hubby is going to put a kit on it for me.This will make you laugh I ordered a kit from Panda bikes on amazon, it arrived last week, firstly the pannier case had lots of bits of plastic fall out when we took the battery out they turned out to be the inside of the lock and then the battery had a rattling sound inside. This was sent back at their request at a cost of £20, soon after we opened the main box only to find the wheel was a good inch or more smaller than my 26inch bike wheels. Despite sending them photos of the difference I was told it definitely was a 26in and my bike, which has 26x16 written in the rim and takes 26x1 3/8 tryes was the wrong size and I could use the smaller wheel on the front with no probs despite the fact that the brakes would be in the wrong place. Anyway they agreed to take it back and this time they arranged a courier and I did manage to get my money refunded minus the £20 postage cost for the first parcel. The kit now on order is from e bikes on ebay and they swear its the right size wheel so fingers crossed, it was hard to find a kit with a throttle and pannier battery most have thumb ones which I don't want, I also don't want pedal assist, hopefully it will arrive next week and it was less than Panda bikes. Watch this space !.
 

Kuorider

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 18, 2014
379
195
I hope Panda come on to explain what went wrong here. A good internet reputation is a fragile thing. You can change a throttle for another type easily. Just leave the pedal sensor off or unplugged if you don't need it. Throttles are technically illegal from Jan 16 but I doubt you will encounter any problems with this but bear it in mind. Keep us posted but change threads as this thread is for sales.
 

annsimpson

Pedelecer
Aug 22, 2014
133
26
67
I didn't and wouldn't leave Panda a bad feedback but I must admit I couldn't understand why they sent out too small wheel but insisted it was right, however someone told me that the sizes have changed and the 26 or 650 is infact a 26 for a mountain bike which is a 24 in my sizes not that it helped me. Anyway there was obviously misunderstanding as to which 26in I wanted but I don't know what size tyre you'd need for the wheel I was sent as the wheel didn't have anything written on it, I did laugh though when they asked if I'd still like the battery sent back as I couldn't think what use it would be without the rest of the kit. I just hope the new one on its way is the right one although the guy we talked to seemed to know what I needed, I think I'm also getting a 350 motor instead of a 250 ( hubbies idea) but its the same price so what the heck. Sorry only just noticed the change threads note. I need a twist grip throttle to help me get the bike going when I get on, my knees are bad and I'm not sure I could use a thumb one when I mount the old fashioned ladies way and need to hold on the grip to do so. Feel free to move the thread to somewhere more apropiate if you can.
 

Swytch Bike

Trade Member
Sep 10, 2014
154
68
34
Hi Ann

Monday was quite a confusing day and we did our best to help you out, spending about 2 hours total on the phone with you and sending upwards of 20 emails back and forth to help you sort your problem. We wouldn't normally be able to spend this amount of time with customer service but we could tell you were really stressed by the confusion and we hate to leave a customer unhappy so we really tried to go the extra mile here.

One of the first things we asked you for were clear pictures of the bike wheel and a measurement of the rim to confirm whether it really was the wrong size or whether there was just confusion on your side about bike wheel sizings. As explained on the day, there are multiple types of 26" wheel and as advertised ours are 650C 26" wheels which have a diameter of about 570mm or 23 inches, which I know is confusing.
You sent us this picture in the afternoon:



As you can see the diameter is actually around 23" (or 571mm to be exact) and so this is a normal 26" wheel size as we explained at the time.

For reference for other people, wikipedia has a very useful reference page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_wheel

This page also explains how a 24" wheel is about 20" rim diameter so the wheel we sent you definitely wasn't a 24" rim as you have said.

As you can see on this page (and we did send you the link at the time) most 26" wheel rims have about a 23.5 inch wheel diameter

I think the difficulty with this encounter was that you were very keen to have immediate response and assistance but weren't able to send useful things like this picture until we had insisted multiple times - in future it is best to handle these kinds of issues slowly and carefully as it avoids confusion such as that we had on Monday. We always start a customer service enquiry like this by requesting the necessary information to be able to diagnose and had we received this in the first instance we could have solved your problem much quicker and without any confusion.

We would be happy to help you in the future with any other ebike conversion project you have - but please don't expect instant solutions when things aren't quite right or as expected.

In the end we arranged the next day a collection of the item and a refund but I'm sure given a bit more time we could potentially have helped you find a suitable tyre for our 26" wheel or at least advised you exactly what type of wheel you have to help you get the right one next time (if you'd send measurements of your current wheel rim).

All the best of luck with your project, I hope the next wheel is the right kind of 26" wheel for your bike
 
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annsimpson

Pedelecer
Aug 22, 2014
133
26
67
I'm not prepared to argue with you on an open forum and assume you wouldn't like that either however I feel like I'm talking to a child! you know full well I sent you a photo showing the size 26x16 written on the rim of my bike wheel,and said my bike is a standard old fashioned if you like, 26 inch wheeled ladies bike, I don't know what else could possibly show the size and as for finding a tyre for a wheel that has no size written on it and is much smaller than the rear I can neither think of a reason I would want to or a reason to use an uneven bike. I thank you for the refund however as the kit wasn't something I could use and wasn't what I had asked for then I can't see what other option there could have been. If I'd matched your wheel with a new one for the back the brakes and possibly the gears wouldn't have been in the right place and therefore unsafe which I'm sure no one would have wanted. The photo for anyone interested shows my 26x1 3/8 normal tyre against the wheel sent me I maybe female but to me I have a tyre which in no way would fit your 26in wheel. I still don't understand why there can be a difference between 1 26inch wheel and another but know what I have and it isn't what you sent me and I don't know of any other way I could have tried to have made you understand, with hindsight I should have took both wheels into Halfords for example and got them to tell me or confirm that one wheel is smaller than the other.
 

Swytch Bike

Trade Member
Sep 10, 2014
154
68
34
Hi Ann

There's no need to argue at all - there was some confusion on Monday about wheel sizes and I am just trying to clear it up now in writing and with the picture you sent so that others can learn from the misunderstanding.

The wheel we sent you really was a 26" wheel, it was just a different type of 26" wheel to what you have as the picture you have taken shows - it is the same size as advertised on our listing - 571mm diameter 650C wheel rim.

The only issue is that yours is a different type of 26" wheel which is why we had to return the kit from you and let you look elsewhere

Please take a look at this description of 26" wheels which will hopefully convince you that 26" wheels can come in different sizes:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_wheel

Best of luck with your project - when your next kit arrives just bear in mind it might be a different type of 26" wheel again, but hopefully not this time!
 

annsimpson

Pedelecer
Aug 22, 2014
133
26
67
You are the experts not me so if you knew and I didn't that there are different sizes in a 26inch wheel then maybe you should have checked before sending me out what you assumed was the right size. The people I have now ordered from did do just that and also asked me the tyre size so hopefully it will be the right one. All of my bikes both electric and normal have been standard 26inch, nothing special, not mountain bikes or BMX just normal ladies low step bikes so why would I know that saying standard 26inch meant anything else. As for the 'others will learn' I hope that includes you and that you will check in future as well it would have saved a lot of emails and waiting for you to phone me, it might also be a good idea for you to have a number the customer can call you on. My hubby was on the last days of his holiday and we did ask if we could bring my bike and the kit etc to you for you to have a look at but we weren't allowed to do that, maybe that also would have saved a lot of time and guess work.
 
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trex

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 15, 2011
7,703
2,671
...
'others will learn'
...
dead right. The rim sizes always confuse me. I much prefer to go by what is printed on the tyres because the rim tapes (26 x 16 in this case) can be misleading. Your tyre 26 x 1 3/8 EA3, Continental, City Ride means that you can google it up if in doubt and get their ISO number, 37-590
Ann, not many sellers offer hub kits in this size, make sure they know exactly what you need.
 

annsimpson

Pedelecer
Aug 22, 2014
133
26
67
thanks I did go by the tyre size to get my wheel size!, it was only because I kept being asked the rim size that the photo of the writing on the rim was taken (not shown here) as I didn't know how to measure it anyway, this was all after, not before the kit had been sent to me. I also hope this one is correct especially as returning part of the previous kit cost me £20 which wasn't refunded, it was the pannier case for the battery which had the inside of the lock broken meaning the lock was unusable. We very silly opened that parcel and finding damage dealt with that before realizing the wheel was the wrong size mind you we wouldn't have thought to check the size until hubby went to put the new tyre on it. This time it will all be checked as it all would have gone back by courier not us paying at the post office for next day recorded delivery as we were told to. The seller did ask the tyre size and seemed to understand so fingers crossed. You have very good eyes if you read what tyre is in the photo. Surely if the seller has any doubts or questions they should be asked before selling the product and if they don't have the one you want then should say so I don't think its up to the buyer to understand technical things and should be assumed not to know rather than do know especially in my case as a women with a ladies bike.
 
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Croxden

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 26, 2013
2,134
1,384
North Staffs
I now know I'm confused, I thought biking would be simple.
 

trex

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 15, 2011
7,703
2,671
would you mind revealing whom you buy the new kit from? 650B may be but 650A is certainly not a popular size for rims.
 

annsimpson

Pedelecer
Aug 22, 2014
133
26
67
would you mind revealing whom you buy the new kit from? 650B may be but 650A is certainly not a popular size for rims.
you've lost me there but I think they are called Ebike again on ebay but I had a job to find a kit with a twist throttle and I know they are now illegal but I don't think my thumbs are strong enough to use a thumb throttle and and I need the throttle to get going on the bike, as I mount the 'scoot' ladies way need to be able to both hold the handlebars and throttle to get on. I have no probs doing this with a normal throttle which I've always been used to and don't want/need pedal assist.
 

annsimpson

Pedelecer
Aug 22, 2014
133
26
67
All my previous e bikes have been bought ready made but all have needed changing in some way so this time we thought we'd try doing it as I want/need but if I can't get a wheel then I may have to start all over again.
 

trex

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 15, 2011
7,703
2,671
haven't you read HelenJ's post?
we all have two more years suspension before the throttle is illegal.
The new date is 1/1/2018. By then, if you still need the throttle on your NEW bike, it's £50 license fee from the VCA.
 

annsimpson

Pedelecer
Aug 22, 2014
133
26
67
by then I'll probably be to old and decrepid to walk let alone ride a bike or on a mobility scooter, by thanks for that info where would I find the thread about throttles? Can I add that I'm a very 'fat' nearly 60 year old nana and never go very fast. I'm not built for speed but hubby wanted me to have a bit of power as he got fed up with me walking up every hill however slight, at least we now get somewhere, I also have very bad arthritic legs/knees so all in all I'd be more likely to be stopped for going to slow or riding on the path than for speeding.
 
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