Getting ready for Tour de Presteigne

[Tiberius]

Less than a week to go, so thought I'd better start putting my bike together.

Nick

(I'm not joking; look out for a red bike with a welded battery case.)

 

[Barnowl]

What can I say. Like the colour.... Good luck getting it all together and hope you do well on Sunday. Is that a steel frame?

 

[Tiberius]

Hi Barnowl,

Yes, its a steel frame. Difficult to come by now, but you can weld and braze them.

Here's the end of the work on the frame

And here it is on Monday

 

[Andy Grayland]

A differnet approach

Hi Nick

Looks great. Here is my work in progress to let you know what you are up against. Afterburner tunning is taking a lot of doing though. Hope I crack it before TDP.

 

[Tiberius]

Hi Andy,

Could be useful in the forthcoming elections - are you standing?

BTW, I still have the modified Torq and the folding bike (the one that did 120 mph up the M5). I have had to order a special rack that will take 3 e-bikes.

Nick

 

[Barnowl]

Hi Tiberius

The bike is looking most interesting. I'm no techie but I'm guessing the welded bits (top & front) are for batteries? Perhaps another larger one between the top tube and down tube. Back behind the seatpost the controller? And is that a Bionx motor in the back wheel? Dropped handlebars so I'm guessing you'll be putting some extra effort in yourself or is that just for streamlining.

 

[Tiberius]

You're on the right track. Its a Crystalyte motor and there will be LiFePO4 batteries. I've been running tests on the cells in my fiendish laboratory.

I just like drop handlebars, but its been quite an exercise to get all the necessary hand controls in place.

Nick

 

[Barnowl]

You're on the right track. Its a Crystalyte motor and there will be LiFePO4 batteries. I've been running tests on the cells in my fiendish laboratory.

I just like drop handlebars, but its been quite an exercise to get all the necessary hand controls in place.

Nick

Hi Nick

How's the bike coming along? Only a few days left.

 

[Tiberius]

Hi Barnowl,

Just got it all finished and been for a 50 yard ride. That was enough to convince me I'd better wait until daylight for further testing.

I also have to build the charging and battery management system, and fit a bike rack to the van, and assemble another bike out of the leftover parts.....

Nick

 

[bode]

D'oh! Are you trying to make the rest of us feel inadequate?

 

[Andrew harvey]

You were lucky to have nearly a week for the build, my new motors have just arrived this morning, out of the three I ordered two have taken a bashing in transit. They will both need to to pulled apart for re-soldiering, and the controllers are yet to arrive, luckily I have a good collection to chose from.

Which Crystalyte motor is that, if it's a 406 we might all need to get the speed cameras out just to photograph you.

 

[Tiberius]

Hi Andrew,

Good luck getting it together, I hope it goes well. Its a pain when deliveries are late. My bike rack didn't turn up yesterday so I'm going to have to sort something else out. Some power supplies haven't arrived from Hong Kong so I may be turning up with a 19" rack full of equipment for charging.

Did some weighing last night. Things are heavier than planned, which is normal, but the new bike is only 2.5 kg heavier than the Torq, despite the steelwork and 720 W-hr of batteries.

Nick

PS. It is a 406, at 72 V

 

[Andrew harvey]

I hope your carrying a drogue chute, you'll need something to slow you down.

 

[Barnowl]

Just done some sums - probably wrong as usual but I'm guessing it's the wrong side of the national speed limit on the flat. Fiendish. Tee hee.

 

[Tiberius]

Well, I did get it assembled and working in time. I managed a 10 mile test ride on Friday. A mudguard bolt came off and I realised the handlebars needed to be extended. So I machined a bit of broom handle down in the lathe, hammered it into the ends and set off for Presteigne.

I like it when a plan comes together. The calculations turned out to be correct.

Nick

PS. Barnowl, which side is the wrong side?

 

[fishingpaul]

Well, I did get it assembled and working in time. I managed a 10 mile test ride on Friday. A mudguard bolt came off and I realised the handlebars needed to be extended. So I machined a bit of broom handle down in the lathe, hammered it into the ends and set off for Presteigne.

I like it when a plan comes together. The calculations turned out to be correct.

Nick

PS. Barnowl, which side is the wrong side?

So how did you do in the race,i presume this was posted after all the events had finished.

 

[wurly]

He won.......
Actually very exciting to watch. Better than Formula 1
Nick won the hillclimb and both races.
I have some pictures i will post later today.

 

[flecc]

Congratulations Nick, all your hard work paid off handsomely, richly deserved success.
.

 

[Barnowl]

PS. Barnowl, which side is the wrong side?

Depends on your point of view. From yours I'm guessing I should have said the right side.

PS I'm a bit miffed I missed seeing the beast in action but I got there too late. Just out of interest that wasn't you torturing a bicycle helmet with a pair of metal clamps just before the tour yesterday afternoon was it?

 

[Tiberius]

So how did you do in the race,i presume this was posted after all the events had finished.

Hi Paul,

Sorry, I was being my usual understated, uncontroversial English self and waiting until the official results were posted. Also I was rushing off to a meeting in Germany. But, yes, I won the hill climb on Saturday by a substantial margin. The 20 lap race on Sunday was very close with a huge battle between Matthew from Oxford and myself. I finally got the lead at the end of lap 19. The no pedalling race was a bit easier, though I thought the Zero Motorcycle was a proper entrant not just someone showing off and I was trying to catch it.

Nick

PS. I wore a helmet