taming The Beast

[weirdfish]

Well my Alien Aurora is 2 weeks old and has covered just over 100 miles. As I said in a previous thread, it was pretty good out of the box however over the last couple of weeks it has been given a variety of upgrades that has now given me the bike that I want. Some of the changes were out of a quest for improved performance, others to suit my personal taste. At least one was born out of necessity to repair a moment of stupidity

I expressed my intent to upgrade the brakes at a very early stage and am pleased with the results, although to be fair, once I had spent some time setting up the originals and they had bedded in, they were not that bad. However I still went ahead with the planned changes and have a Avid Juicy 3.5 hydraulic 160mm disc brake on the front. It was an easy swap with the most involved part being the removal of the brake cut off switch wiring from the connector box. After some investigation from jbond on his bike it became clear that the switch is open circuit in its normal position and loops the circuit when the lever is pulled. This meant that removing the wiring from the connector has no detrimental effect, apart from not having a cut out on the front brake of course

 

[weirdfish]

The rear was a much more involved affair. I decided to keep the cut out switch on the rear lever so went for a better mechanical caliper in the shape of the Avid BB7 with its matching 160mm rotor, however because the caliper is a better design and slightly larger, it fouled the hub motor on the rear of the Aurora. Another issue was the depth of the disc mounting holes in the hub with the new torx bolts being too long. Not the hardest of problems to solve but worth noting. I went for the easiest option and reused the original hex bolts with some fresh locknut. The fouling issue was solved by upping the rotor to a 185mm Avid Roundigon and using the appropriate mounting bracket for the caliper.

In hindsight, I would still upgrade the front but I dont think the BB7 has offered enough inprovement over the stock caliper to warrant the agro. I may change my mind once it has bedded in. The BB7 is easier to set up and keep well adjusted so I'm happy I've done it.


Handlebars are a matter of personal taste and I found the narrow bars a little alien, no pun intended, so as I had some wider bars in the shed I swapped them over and had a little rearrangement of the controls. I shifted the motor control to the left side as it looked a bit odd where it was. I also moved the throttle/pedelec switch to enable me to shift the new brake lever next to the grip as it is a two finger lever. with the switch in stock position it was more or less a one finger lever!

 

[weirdfish]

The most work has gone into altering the location of the rear rack to shift the weight of the battery lower and bring it forward. It’s pretty straight forward to get instant results by just lowering the rack on the brackets, however, I did what other owners have mentioned and drilled an additional hole further down the bracket. This certainly helped but I does little to shift the rack forward. In the end I made some new angled brackets that not only lowers it from the original location but also moves it forward. The rack is now as far forward as it can be while remaining level with the upper brackets at the end of their adjustment. I swapped the upper brackets so I can reverse the angle that they meet the rack.

This was where I had my moment of stupidity. As I removed the last bolt holding the rack up, the whole thing dropped and smashed the rear light beyond recognition, let alone repair. As I was never overly impressed with the 1950’s technology rear light I went about making a mounting for my nice dual LED rear light. It’s simply an inch ali rod with a flat milled on it that the light sits nicely against. The top is milled at an angle that replicates a seat post. I could have mounted it on the seat post of course but it would be blocked if I had anything on the rack. The batteries last very well in the light so I don’t feel the need to do a DC conversion to rig up to the main battery.

The Aurora is a very good bike to begin with but it now suits me better. The only thing left that I am considering is the saddle. It feels like sitting on a tractor although comfortable when along for the ride, I find it less comfortable when peddling. Oh and maybe the forks……

 

[trickletreat]

Thanks for posting this, great pics showing a very tidy looking bike. I'm sure you will enjoy it.
Nigel

 

[Cyclezee]

Nice job Weirdfish, where did you get the rear lights from?

J hn

 

[weirdfish]

Nice job Weirdfish, where did you get the rear lights from?

J hn

to be honest I can't remember, I've had it for a while now on my non electric bike. I do know it's made, or at least branded, by Raleigh and it has two 0.5 watt leds. The reflectors on each led are different so one is diffused and the other spot. It seems to work well and although I have it on steady, it can be set to flash, either both leds together or alternately.

 

[daniel.weck]

Very nice to see incremental improvements such as this. Thanks for sharing

 

[weirdfish]

Ideally, for aesthetic purposes, I'd lose the mudguards also but I have to remind myself that it is a commuting bike foremost.

 

[NRG]

Nice looking bike, good job. I like the 'debadged' look.....maybe its me but the saddle looks out of place but if its the same as on my GSII its comfortable!

 

[weirdfish]

maybe its me but the saddle looks out of place

No I agree. It feels like I'm riding through a country lane in an Enid Blyton book.

It would make a good bar stool though.

 

[jbond]

Like your little rack brackets! For others there's a quick fix that doesn't involve any drilling. Just swap the brackets top for bottom and you can use the first 2 or 3 holes to lower the rack as far as you can.

Re:controls, the light switch feels little pointless to me. If we put the switch near the controller (a Maplin push on-push off switch or something), you get rid of one wire up the bike and the switch off the left handlebar. The pedelec switch can then move to the left which gives you more room for the brake lever on the right. There's some annoying curves on the gear changers and the mode switch which prevent moving everything close together in the right order. Time to get the dremel out again, I think.

 

[weirdfish]

Re:controls, the light switch feels little pointless to me. If we put the switch near the controller (a Maplin push on-push off switch or something), you get rid of one wire up the bike and the switch off the left handlebar. The pedelec switch can then move to the left

I'm liking that idea

 

[lessped]

Ideally, for aesthetic purposes, I'd lose the mudguards also but I have to remind myself that it is a commuting bike foremost.

Hi i thought the Aurora was an off road bike not a commuting bike ? ..!

 

[saneagle]

No I agree. It feels like I'm riding through a country lane in an Enid Blyton book.

It would make a good bar stool though.

Looks a really nice bike.I like the mods you have done.I think if the seat is a comfy ride,it is worth keeping.Steve

 

[Old Timer]

A few nice upgrades( although to be honest as I have said before the brakes on mine are as good as I`ve ever had before and can skid both wheels when required)

I still think you have missed the two most important upgrades when you consider the power this thing has and the extra amount of juice she will use if you are forced to push it along.

1. Get a decent ali set of cranks with a 55T large ring and you will then know just how this baby can cruise in top gear.(set to high power)

2. Make provision for a second battery and add a switch to the controller box for switching between them.

I agree that it is a sweet bike, it`s heavy but with enough power to carry it along the weight and bulk make for a comfortable ride and yes those Tour tyres make for much better confidence and grip over the originals.

 

[weirdfish]

Hi i thought the Aurora was an off road bike not a commuting bike ? ..!

I commute to work on a private runway

 

[weirdfish]

1. Get a decent ali set of cranks with a 55T large ring and you will then know just how this baby can cruise in top gear.(set to high power)

2. Make provision for a second battery and add a switch to the controller box for switching between them.

I agree that it is a sweet bike, it`s heavy but with enough power to carry it along the weight and bulk make for a comfortable ride and yes those Tour tyres make for much better confidence and grip over the originals.

Give it time, I haven't changed anything for a few days

I may look at the cranks but I don't go far enough to worry about a second battery, although that may change so never say never.

 

[weirdfish]

1. Get a decent ali set of cranks with a 55T large ring and you will then know just how this baby can cruise in top gear.(set to high power)

What have you got set up on yours Dave?

I did wonder before whether 3 chainrings up front were that necessary on an eBike. I tend to just leave mine on the central ring unless I'm in full flight, which I then switch to the outer and top at the rear. I've not used the smaller front at all.

 

[Old Timer]

What have you got set up on yours Dave?

I did wonder before whether 3 chainrings up front were that necessary on an eBike. I tend to just leave mine on the central ring unless I'm in full flight, which I then switch to the outer and top at the rear. I've not used the smaller front at all.

Steve

I`ve answered your PM.

Yeh! you don`t need three rings for sure but two is worth having incase your battery runs down and you have to cycle home I`ve got a 55T-42T but in all honesty one chainring would easily suffice with that power.

 

[lessped]

I commute to work on a private runway

MMMM.. ok ..!