Thumbtacks!

For the second time since owning the trike I received a flat tyre due to a thumbtack! I don't know why these things appear on the bike paths - I suspect idiots leave them there to create mischief. Anyway it was time to get a new tyre anyway so I ordered a Schwalbe Marathon Plus after hearing about them some time ago from my LBS. Unfortunately buying the 24 inch size in Australia turned out to be pretty difficult hence I ordered one from Chainreaction Cycles in the UK. It arrived really quickly and thanks to this helpful video I had it on pretty easily. The ride seems pretty good and hopefully punctures will be a thing of the past. It might be my imagination but the tyre seems to cushion the ride a bit better then the old Schwalbe Big Apples. Anyway the other two tyres on my trike have not been replaced since purchase so I have now ordered two more of the Marathon Plus to ensure all round protection!

Trike update

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. Life has been a bit hectic and the trike was off the road for a while after I had some issues with the steering. It was all a bit technical but the part of the trike frame that interacts with the pivot point / headset under the cargo box was slightly worn away. Simon from Cycle Surgery helped diagnose the problem and after discussions with Peter from PSBikes a new frame was supplied by him and has now been installed. Christiania in Denmark say they have never seen one of their trikes have this issue before so all should now be good - probably just a one off manufacturing issue with my frame. Indeed a google search turns up no reports of anything similar ever happening to anyone else. As always great to see after sales support from PSBikes and I couldn't have got it fixed without my great LBS!

Original handlebar - all in one piece with lots of curves

When the new frame was dropped off by Peter he had a new trike in his van and I noticed the handlebars were higher then mine. Apparently they now come this way as standard and as an added bonus the handlebar splits in two to make it easier to install brake levers, gear shifters and all the other gadgets people like me put on their handlebars. As you can see from this old photo of my trike, previously anything that needed to be 'slid' onto the handlebar could only be done by removing the entire bar and sliding it from the bottom, over the drink bottle mount points, around a few corners and over the hand grips. I remember the trouble we had getting the throttle around this obstacle course - it was almost as hard as getting the motor itself on! So I took the opportunity to order the higher set of handlebars and installed them whilst also switching over to the new frame (with help from Simon of course). I find it a lot more comfortable to ride now and making changes to items on the handlebar will be a lot easier in future as the bar splits in two about 3/4 of the way along the top.

New handlebar mounting point for lights

Another new item from Peter is a headlight mount that attaches to the front of the box after drilling a small hole through it. Positioning bicycle lights on the handlebars is obviously not much good on this type of trike as it would just illuminate the back of the kid's heads (hence my current helmet mounted light). This new mount from Christiania screws through the front of the box and basically adds a small 'handlebar' where any standard bicycle light can be positioned. I am thinking of obtaining one that can run off the motor battery so am researching a few options for this.

And my youngest is happy with this new piece of equipment below that he spied on the trike Peter had in his van. A bit florally for my tastes but hey whatever keeps the kids happy and it does spin very well in the breeze!

Every kid should have one on their bike!

School run.

Winter is well and truly here and this morning the ride to school required some rugging up and the use of bright tail lights! The trip to school is up hill and with the kids only getting bigger I am very thankful for the torque of the geared hubmotor in the back wheel.

Christiania goes electric!

I was chatting to Peter from PSbikes and received some information on the new e-trike now available direct from him. Christiania has come to the electric bike party and can now supply cargo trikes (and two wheelers) with a small geared hub motor in the rear coupled with a 9 amp hour Panasonic Li-ION battery integrated into a rear carrier rack -

It utilises a pedal assist sensor (common in Europe) that applies power automatically as you ride. The power level can be varied from none to low to high through a controller on the handlebars. Power is cut when you stop pedalling or your speed reaches 25km/h and I believe this is the European legal standard for e-bikes. I actually have a 25km/h cut off on my trike as well because if I am travelling faster then this I am probably going down hill and don't need the motor on!

The rear hub gears standard on a normal Christiania are replaced by a seven speed derailleur system and the rear coaster brake is replaced by a hydraulic disc brake. It all looks very good. Throw some panniers on the rear rack and you would have no idea it was electric!

Nice to see Christiana copying my idea for a geared hub motor in the rear! These bikes really need a geared motor with the extra torque it provides to get up hills - especially when you have substantial weight in the cargo box. Peter tells me some people in Australia have them already and are happily riding around hilly areas loaded up with the kids and groceries!

Quick update!

Yes it has been a while since the last update. A combination of Christmas holidays, school holidays and not much happening with the trike are the main causes of the lack of posts.

The only issue lately was some weird noises emanating from the left front wheel - lots of 'clunks' as we rode along. The kids thought the wheel was going to fall off but it turned out the wheel bearings were the cause and I had these replaced (as well as the ones on the right hand wheel as a precaution). Got the front disc pads replaced also - they get a fair workout trying to stop my fully laden trike! Speaking of brakes the installation of Avid BB7s inspired a fellow Christiania owner to undertake the same thing with similar success. His write up of the Christiania and the modifications he has undertaken are well worth a read as well.

The motor is powering along very well. On a couple of tests of my range the two batteries I have now installed in parallel have given me full power for about 16 amp hours before dropping off. I routinely charge up well before this though.

I hate posting without a photo so here is a shot of the boys in the trike and my lovely wife after a trip to a local park. Happy cycling!

Reelights

A recent comment on my blog led me to this website - an Australian distributor for the rather nifty Reelights. I had purchased a set of these previously from a local bike shop for a 'normal' bike and they work very well. From the site I saw they now had a version that fitted to a rear rack with a generator unit attached via a cable. Previously the light and generator were an all in one unit and therefore it had to be mounted at wheel level on the axles (either front or rear). These lights are very popular in Europe due to their set and forget nature - once installed they just work without ever needing batteries and they have no discernible affect on the bike's performance. This looked like a great new gadget for the trike so I ordered one!

In this shot you can see the light, the generator unit and the magnets that attach to the spokes and provide the power as they spin past the generator -

The installation was very easy and the thought that has gone into the product is quite impressive. For example -

• The generator unit can 'slide' once attached to the seat stay to ensure it can be positioned the correct distance from the magnets attached to the spokes.
• The magnets that attach to the spokes are well designed and could be attached to any wheel regardless of the spoke pattern.
• Any excess cable can be wound into the generator unit.
• The mounting bolts for the light are able to be adjusted to fit different mount points on rear racks.
• The light also has reflectors on either side.

A video of it in operation follows -

Now the Reelight company just needs to work out how to put a front light on a Christiania where there is nowhere to mount the generator unit!

And just another interesting footnote regarding the delivery of this light. It was posted in Melbourne on a Tuesday and I received it in Canberra the following Monday. On the Friday afternoon I ordered some computer memory from America (go Aussie dollar!) and it was this package that arrived first (about 30 minutes before the light!). Australia Post really needs to lift its game!

Electric vehicle show

An electric vehicle show was held today and it had something for everyone. From these 1917 Detroit electric vehicles (yes electric cars have been around that long!) that have a top speed of about 40km/h and a range of 50km -

Through to the showstopping Tesla roadster with a range of about 380km (this one drove from Sydney to Canberra without a recharge), a top speed of 200km/h and 0-100km/h acceleration in 3.7 seconds! It is a strict two seater and the 'boot' is full of batteries so it is not exactly the most practical car in the world but I would not mind one anyway -

In other displays one guy had even converted his ute to electric and piled all the batteries into a lockable box on the rear tray -

No petrol required here-

And of course lots of electric bikes were also on display. The one below is an interesting prototype. With a weight of just under 10kg it is (apparently) the lightest and probably the smallest electric bike in the world. The motor is on the front wheel and looks like it uses a cog to drive a series of notches built into the rim. The battery is built into the central tube and is recharged in place. The range is about 30km but it is not built for speed so it may take you a while to go that distance! The bike was imported by Switched on Cycles who I have done some test riding for previously.