Old photos

[saneagle]

I found an old SD card with literally thousands of my old ebike photos on it. Some of them were for projects I posted on here, and there were lots of other interesting ones too.

Here's an ebike I spotted in the town centre. A couple of things stand out to me. It seems to have a cable operated hydraulic brake on the back 6 years ago. I didn't know they were around then. Look at the mount. Is it home made? Also the arrangement for holding the front wheel looks weird. I can't make it out. I should have looked closer at the time. Finally, the front brake looks like a standard cable disc brake that's badly adjusted and about to go over top dead centre, which would be a real problem for that bike with all that weight travelling at 30 mph:


Next, is a Gocycle that I repaired. This photo is of the inside of the chaincase, which is much more complicated than it looks from the outside. You can see the nice chain tensioner and the R/C servo that's used to do the automatic gear shifting. That was the thing, which was faulty and needed replacing:

 

[AndyBike]

It seems to have a cable operated hydraulic brake on the back 6 years ago. I didn't know they were around then.

That one looks like a Zoom.

But cable actuated hydraulic disc brakes go further back, with the 1996 Amp Research making them(The D1) They later sold the concept to Rockshox who marketed their own version.

I'd a pair of the rockshox ones, but never manage to find the rotors and mounts so stupidly sold them.

 

[Tony1951]

That GoCycle drive train looks nicely made.

The enclosed chain appeals to me. Clean and dry and always lubricated.

Great in the winter in comparison to a chain out in the wet, dirt and road salt.

My old CG125 (year2000) probably has its original drive chain at 17000 miles. Totally enclosed, and brushed with ep90 every petrol tank full - about 260 miles. 11hp.

 

[saneagle]

That GoCycle drive train looks nicely made.

The enclosed chain appeals to me. Clean and dry and always lubricated.

Great in the winter in comparison to a chain out in the wet, dirt and road salt.

My old CG125 (year2000) probably has its original drive chain at 17000 miles. Totally enclosed, and brushed with ep90 every petrol tank full - about 260 miles. 11hp.

IIRC, Gocycle said the chain would last the life of the bike, but I guess it depends how much it gets used. It is a nice solution though - a lot cheaper and easier than a belt, and a lot cleaner. Those Gocycles go pretty well too. The motor is bespoke and tiny, but they can handle enough power to do whatever a normal rider would want. Gocycle brought a fleet of them to Redbridge race track. They turned up the power and let us race them around the track. I'm not sure what the max speed was, but it was somewhere in the mid 20s mph.

 

[Tony1951]

IIRC, Gocycle said the chain would last the life of the bike, but I guess it depends how much it gets used. It is a nice solution though - a lot cheaper and easier than a belt, and a lot cleaner. Those Gocycles go pretty well too. The motor is bespoke and tiny, but they can handle enough power to do whatever a normal rider would want. Gocycle brought a fleet of them to Redbridge race track. They turned up the power and let us race them around the track. I'm not sure what the max speed was, but it was somewhere in the mid 20s mph.

Do you remember what the old primary drive chains looked like when you opened the primary drive case to work on the clutch of old BSA and no doubt other old brit motorbikes from the 1950s? I had a few of them back at the end of the sixties and early seventies, and the chains ran in an oil bath and after tens of thousands of miles the chains looked perfect unless they had been abused and neglected by an ar se.

That Gocycle would be the same only more so because the power delivery is so slight and it is totally enclosed.

Last winter I rode my bike twenty miles one wet day after the roads had been salted and a week later the chain would not even go through the derailleur, until I oiled it up and freed the rusty links. Exposed chains lead a dogs life in winter.


EDIT:

Just looked up the prices of those Go Cycles. You can get a half decent Chinese 125 motorbike for about half that price.

No thanks - not for me. I could have two of these for that money: