Like the curate's egg - There's good news & bad.....

 

Had an email from Parcel Farce yesterday: My kit is at the Plymouth depot & will be delivered tomorrow.

 

But.... Customs have stuffed me for vat

 

And Parcel Farce have shafted me with a "Handling Charge" of £8.00.

 

No pay; no deliver - So Up Yours pal

 

Oh well, 'tis the season of good will to all men....

Bad luck. I think I got away with it on my new one, which came by Parcelforce. It came so quickly that they didn't get a chance to get their grubby little mitts on it.

 

One thing I need to add about this drive. I went out for a longish ride on it a couple of days ago and the roads were very mucky because of the floods. With all the muck that was being thrown up and the deep puddles I had to go through, there was a bit of nasty grating noises from the jack-shaft and primary chain for a while, so I guess that grit was getting into somewhere where it shouldn't. The noise soon went away, but came back next time I went through a muddy puddle. I can't seeit lasting long if you use it in all weathers, but should be OK in the dry.

"Sharp intake of breath"

 

Sounds unpleasant, that: Would it be feasible to make up a bit of a "sump guard", maybe?

 

I guess the problem would be that the muck's coming forward from the back tyre.

 

Well done with the vat etc. Always good to know someone's getting the better of them.

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Finally got out yesterday and today to test the new build. Firstly the construction. The main problem was that the chain stay had no space for the fixing brackets because the wheel and side stand bracket were in the way. I managed to fix this using cable tie reinforced hotglue! The real secret was using the supplied metal bolts to prevent the bracket pivoting on the crank upwards by screwing them into the bracket and using hotglue as a spacer to the chainstay.

 

How well does the bike ride?

 

The intention behind the bike was to have a fastish manual bike and the motor to provide assistance when feeling lazy.

 

First the bike was a bargain at £180. The frame and wheels were of decent quality. The bike was reasonably light without the battery and motor. I would estimate about 13kg.

 

On riding the shimano nexus 3 speed was a real star. Nice smooth shifts even when pedalling. If the 7 8 and 11 speeds are as good I shan't be buying derailleurs any more. The ability to shift without pedalling is too much of a bonus while commuting.

 

The motor was not very strong in the 250 watt variety. But in the context of this bike it is exactly what I wanted. My cycling is quite good now and I wanted this bike to use as a fastish normal bike with assistance when knackered. The delivery is different to a hub. It doesn't accelerate as strongly but it seems to keep pulling past the point at which the hubs cut off. it is a bike with assistance rather than being a mini moped is a good way of putting it.

 

third and second are usefull commuting gears with first being a granny gear.

 

You take a bit of a risk when doing these builds because you are never sure how it will turn out but I am pleased with the way this has gone.

 

I am going to fabricate a dust cover for the direct drive cog and fit a brooks b67 as the supplied seat is not to my liking. Otherwise job done.