Broadbeans

Well, Throttle Jockeys Evening, Throttle Jockeys! I got my Fly Cobra 'snake' inner tube last Friday, wondering if I would ever need to use it. Well, on Sunday I got a puncture! It was a strange, remote-control sort of puncture, as my fellow e-pal and I had stopped for a rest on a rideout, and we were standing about six feet away from the bike when the back wheel suddenly went pssssssst! Patched it, but not successfully. So it was Cobra to the rescue! It takes about five minutes to put on, and it's been fine all week! Been out today for a chilly ten miles cirlcular along litle ice-bound lanes round Sinderland Road, Altrincham, way, if any of you folks know the area! Keep kool! Johnny

Ta, alex! I'll have a look at those! Wonder if they do them in 20in? My pal's mentioned kevlar tyres. I'll investigate those too. Blimey, all these ideas! Maybe the best solution is my trusty 'Network of Girlfriends, Each 20 Miles Apart' idea. As well as providing battery-charging, they could just come out and pick up me and punctured bike at the roadside. Sadly, I've only enrolled one girfriend so far! Johnny

Ta for info, Flecc! I imagined that in the event of a puncture, if not patchable, I'd cut the old tube and pull it out, then replace with a Cobra. The Cobra ones I've found have a perforation hole at one end of the tube, which slips over the valve at the other end, to secure it as a loop. I've had slime in my ordinary mountain bike for years - and have never had a puncture at all! Johnny

Evening, Throttle Jockeys! Been reading about rear-wheel puncture repairs, and think I'll try a Cobra inner tube for £11.99. They're like a straight snake that you link together with out having to remove zee dreaded wheel! Anyone tried 'em? Johnny

Hi, Throttle Jockeys! Interesting thread! I dread getting a rear-wheel puncture, as I'm about as adept as the Chuckle Brothers. Just wonder if anyone has experience of Cobra inner tubes. They're like a straight snake, and you simply link the ends together without having to remove the wheel. You can see a demo on Youtube by typing in Cobra Inner Tube. It looks a doddle! I've found 'em for sale online at Evans Cycles for £11.99 and think I'll invest in one! Johnny

Hi, Throttle Jockeys! I've been feeling grumpy and grotty due to the weather lately and have looked into the idea making a SAD lamp with superbright LEDS. Apparently, a certain shade of BLUE has the necessary wavelength of light for good results. (I think it's about 453 nanometres) Seems odd, really, as my pal fitted blue LED ceiling lights in his bathroom, and it was depressing, like going into the ghost train!

Ta for that info, Scimitar. I'm probably worrying too much about it. And, yes, Zebb, it must be about that distance. Sand dune-flanked road from St Anne's, then Blackpool's Golden Mile (with stop-off for chippy, bingo game, a pipeful of St Bruno and a paddle) then on through Bispham, Cleveleys and onto Fleetwood! Some promenading and some roadway, but it stays pretty close to the sea. Shame the beautiful old trams have now been replaced by modern ones. If I can face bicycling back, I'll put the Wayfarer in its bag and catch a tram. It's very manageable. Don't know if you know the area, Zebb, but besides the well-known Blackpool North rail station, there's another, rather little-known train line which runs into Blackpool from the southern end, with a very convenient station at the Pleasure Beach. It's been running for decades, but I only discovered it a couple of years ago! Keep kool!

Hi, Throttle Jockeys! Am still whizzing around on my Pro Rider e-Wayfarer and am so pleased I got into e-biking. Have been all over the shop with it, having tremendous fun. Next trip will be along the prom from St. Anne's to Fleetwood, and maybe back on the tram if I get too c-cold! The bike lives mostly in the back of the car, but am wondering what the consensus is on where I should keep the lithium-ion battery between expeditions. Should these batteries really be kept coolish or warmish? Or should I really keep it as cool as possible? Your views would be welcome! Keep pedalling!

Hi,throttle jockeys! Still having loads of fun on my trusty new eWayfarer. It seems to fly along the canal towpath. I think there's extra phlogisten in the air near water, which enhances the magnetic flux of the motor. Or maybe it's just the narrowness of the pathway ahead that makes you feel you're going faster! LOL! I fancy doing the Cheshire Ring, which is 60-odd miles, and had this plan for charging an (unconnected) spare battery whilst going along. I put a suitcase generator in my titchy bike trailer to see how it fared, but have discovered that trundling along with it is too much of a kerfuffle and a bobbins idea after all. Ah, well! Apparently, in the earliest days of television, viewers were called Bairders. It got me thinking what electric bike aficionados will eventually come to be known as. eBikers? e-Riders? Electrocyclists? I like 'throttle jockeys' best, and I myself am an eBoy, of course! It's been a glorious, warm day, and I've just come back from my first night-ride, which, sticking to quiet roads, proved very pleasant indeed. Wore a flashing LED head-torch from the pound shop, and Bob's your uncle! Time for a recharge, ready for another trip tomorrow! Night, all! Johnny

Ta, Indalo and Barry! Yes, Pro Rider also sell mobility scoots, wheelchairs and golfcarts, and have a service department, so we should be fine for back-up suupport. My pal and I like old motorsickles but have wanted electric bikes for years - long before they became popular. We used to google 'electric bike', and all you find, at that time, were ingenious home-brew bikes, with a motor strapped to the carrier and powering an extra wheel sprocket via a long chain! I'm hooked, and would like to electrify my Halfords mountain-bike as a bit of a project. Don't know if there's a supplier in Britain yet for hub-motors and the rest of the gubbins. I also had a thought: say you put a little Honda generator in a lightweight trailer and towed it to supplement the power to your bike, would that be legal? LOL! Cheers, Johnny

Hi, Throttles Jockeys! My pal and I (we're codgers) bought a brace of Pro Rider e-Wayfarers a couple of weeks ago, and have had tons of fun already. Blinking marvellous! Took 'em camping on Anglesey and whizzed around all over the shop, then back to the tent & electric hook-up for tea and a recharge for the next trip. On pedal-assist up and down the little lanes, we returned to camp after 13 miles with still 4 out of the 5 battery-state lights still lit up - and not at all out of breath! Originally I didn't fancy a folder, but they seem great, and as they go in the boot of the car so easily, they're going to really get used! Today we did 8 miles along the River Mersey and returned, feeling like Bradley Wiggins, with still 5 battery lights on. At £559 with lithium battery and free 2-day delivery, we're really impressed. Will keep you posted about how we get on! (Even more fun than an NSU Quickly, Flecc!) Johnny

A couple of months ago I broke down, phoneless, in the middle of nowhere on my old BSA Goldflash plunger. Not a car in sight, but what d'you think was the next vehicle to come along? An Ariel combination! The chap towed me slowly to his house and fed me on coffee and butties whilst I waited for the breakdown! Magic! Johnny

I've always liked Excelsior bikes, Flecc. Lovely styling, just like a lightweight motorsickle should look! And it's good to see you remember your first number-plate! KEL 444 is a smart number and probably worth a few bob now! Mine was PBA 738, then it was 5976 KW. Strange, isn't it, how things stick in your mind so well! I'll bet everyone else remembers their first, too! :-) Johnny

Great picture, BlewIt! Good to hear you had an autocycle! They're brill, aren't they? My pal's got an old New Hudson with a Villiers 98cc engine. It just has a clutch and just a single gear, yet it goes like billio. Yes, on those coast-to-coast runs, the autocycles streak away and leave the Cyclemasters, etc, far behind! In the seventies I had a Puch Maxi moped. Don't know if you remember them, but it was a great little machine - and more fun than wallpapering on a Sunday afternoon! :-) Johnny

Glad you like the links, Blew It (the original throttle-jockey!) and Red Sky Walker! These old bikes are terrific fun, aren't they? I've got a dusty Cyclemaster and an old post office bike still waiting to be united. But remember, one day in the distant future this forum's electric bikes will be period pieces, too! People will say, "We believe this to be an early twenty-first century model, from the days before anti-matter motors...when you actually had to plug your bike into the mains after a trip to the shops!" LOL Johnny An

And, Wibble, your dream has come true! Here's a real steam bicycle - THE HUDSPITH! It's a one-off, of course!

Morning, throttle jockeys! Love reading your posts about little two-stroke bikelets! I'm a real sucker for them, and still keep a 1950s NSU Quickly moped on the road. There's a society you may like to look at, who members do an annual coast-to-coast run on ancient jiggers, including Cyclemasters, PowerPak, etc. It really is massive fun, doing a long journey at earth-tottering speeds! And this year they did Land's End to John o' Groats! I kid you not, though it took eleven days! Have a butcher's here... BUZZING Best wishes from Broadbeans

Crumbs, Flecc, the Maximus trikes are magic! Ta for the info. Johnny

Blimey, Flecc, didn't realise you had hundreds of rickshaws in London! Another plan bites the dust! I'll have a look at Maximus now. Have heard about Lynch motors before - were they once known as printed-circuit motors? Johnny

LOL, Rad! Johnny

Evening, battery boys and gals! A couple of years ago I almost bought an eastern-looking pedal rickshaw from a junkshop for £250. I'm pretty sure it was a genuine imported one. It was rather crudely manufactured, gearless - and quite hellish to pedal, which is why I didn't take the plunge. But with a front hub-motor and the tyres pumped up well, I think it would have been a different story. I read about a chap in North America somewhere who runs a rickshaw business for tourists, and the interesting point is that he gives rides for free: the tips he gets from delighted voyageurs exceeds the money he formerly made with a structured fare system! And, as he doesn't charge, he doesn't have any red tape or licensing problems. Pedalling around and getting paid...have I hit on the perfect recession-proof business? Swanage, here I come! Or would Norfolk be flatter!? :- ) Johnny

That's a topping idea, John! There was recently a programme on Radio 4 called 'Three Men in a Float'. They travelled from, I think, East Anglia to Devon-ish in an electric milk-float, relying on goodwill from strangers, landlords, etc. to supply heavyweight charge-ups overnight. One chap even offered to temporarily re-wire his domestic supply to help them out of a fix! They got there in the end. Dunno if they returned the same way; it didn't say! Johnny

Evening, throttle-jockeys! Yesterday I spotted a fellow throttle-jockey steaming effortlessly up the hills of Rivington (near Bolton, Lancs, if anyone knows 'em). He was a middle-aged chap and he looked as if he was just on a leisurely amble along! But his bike looked like my pa's old green Raleigh from the 1950's. The only giveaway was the gentle whirring and the hub-motor in the front wheel. No sign of a battery - it was probably in the roomy old-fashioned saddlebag behind the seat! Anyone you know!?!? :- ) Johnny

It's a sad tale, Teejay. Folks don't realise just how little juice you need to recharge. Hopefully, things will improve...but I reckon it'll be a s-l-o-w learning curve. What you really need is my patent Network of Girlfriends, strategically chosen not for their good looks, but for their location and socket-friendliness. I'm hoping to have my network in place by the time I order my electrobike. I'm currently working on girlfriend number 2! :- ) Johnny

I love the idea of this little trailer tent, but I do prefer sleeping on the ground in a tent! Thankfully there are no Parktown Prawns lurking in the grass in England - or I'd soon change my mind! :- ) Johnny