Just bought a vintage LaFree as a first toe in the electric water

[mcspreader]

Picked up from ebay. The cycle computer said 44 miles on the odo and the zero wear on the moving parts seems to back this up. I am now suffering battery anxiety but consoling myself at every sighting of a hunched up MAMIL.

 

[D8ve]

There are quite a few models of the lafree around, which one is it?
They are good bikes for the time though

 

[mcspreader]

It is a Lafree Twist Lite, 3 Speed Nexus, crossbar, v-brakes, rigid fork and seat tube. Cheapest and lightest. Already looking to put a few more teeth on the rear cog for the Cornish hills but it does seem to get up the steepest and longest local hill without having to strain too hard though the v-brakes are none so keen on the going down.

 

[flecc]

That was the original and best of the models, very light for it's time and still one of the easiest e-bikes to pedal without power that there's ever been.

Swapping the 16 tooth rear sprocket for an 18 tooth will make those hills much easier but of course will reduce your maximum assisted speed to about 13 mph.
.

 

[mcspreader]

I'll get around to experimenting with cogs in a bit. They seem dirt cheap from http://www.dutchbikebits.com/index.php?route=common/home
and I have now found a possible supplier of battery internals in Germany that I e-mailed earlier for confirmation. Is there a good way to avoid the rear dropouts opening up?

 

[flecc]

Just being careful not to apply too much force when tightening the spindle nuts. The pull on this earlier Panasonic unit is nothing like as great as some of the later crank drive units, so wheel slippage in the slots is not a big problem.
.