Viking harrier handlebars

[Oldgal]

Hi all.
Mine are way too high and make my wrists kink and hurt
I'm very short.
Is there any way to lower them. I think there is no adjustment because of the folding part.
Can I buy a shorter headstock riser thingy (not sure what it's called)
Thank you

 

[Bonzo Banana]

Hi all.
Mine are way too high and make my wrists kink and hurt
I'm very short.
Is there any way to lower them. I think there is no adjustment because of the folding part.
Can I buy a shorter headstock riser thingy (not sure what it's called)
Thank you

Yes you can buy a different type of stem to suit you. Firstly there are two types of stem one that works with a threadless stem on the forks and the other for threaded forks using a quill stem. I think you have the latter but you will have to check. Then for quill stems it can be a quill stem diameter of 22.2mm or 25.4mm. I think you would have 25.4mm or 1" which would fit inside the tube of a 1-1/8" threaded fork. The other issue is what angle the stem needs to be for the bike. Yours looks like it could be straight rather than angled. Lastly you have the diameter of your handlebars the stem mounting at the top needs to be the same size.

Here is a possible product.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/COEWSKE-Raiser-Adjustable-Folding-Bicycle/dp/B07G2SSV9Z

Note they have a choice of silver and black but they show silver for both images. This is the bike I have used but all the models of varying years seem to have the same basic fixed height stem.

Ultimately you are going to have to do some measuring to know the spec of your bike.

Really you just need to measure the diameter of your handlebars where they attach to the clamp and remove the stem from the bike so you can measure the quill stem diameter. I would post a few photos on this thread as well as take those measurements.

 

[Oldgal]

That's very helpful. Thank you.

I only got the bike yesterday and tried to ride it round the local area but ended up pushing it up the hills back home because it just doesn't provide any assist on hills, it seems, and being a very unfit 55 year old with arthritis, I can't cycle uphill without a lot of help.

I only rode for a mile or so and the battery is 30.% down. No way I'd get the 8 hilly miles to work. Which is why I bought it.

I suppose it would be ok on the flat, not much flat round here though.

Oh well, back to the drawing board.

 

[Bonzo Banana]

That's very helpful. Thank you.

I only got the bike yesterday and tried to ride it round the local area but ended up pushing it up the hills back home because it just doesn't provide any assist on hills, it seems, and being a very unfit 55 year old with arthritis, I can't cycle uphill without a lot of help.

I only rode for a mile or so and the battery is 30.% down. No way I'd get the 8 hilly miles to work. Which is why I bought it.

I suppose it would be ok on the flat, not much flat round here though.

Oh well, back to the drawing board.

Is that a new purchase or secondhand? It does sound like secondhand as it doesn't sound like there is a lot of capacity in the battery. I don't think its a very powerful ebike anyway but still sounds too low.

1. Make sure the battery is fully recharged
2. Make sure you are in the easiest gear, largest cog on the rear wheel
3. Make sure you set it to the maximum assist level.

Such bikes are fairly low geared anyway due to the small wheels so it should be quite easy to get up hills.

If the bike is secondhand then obviously the battery may be end of life. Its not like a normal bike, the batteries may only have 400-500 good charges out of them before capacity starts reducing and a very well used battery would struggle to hold much charge.

It may even be a low capacity 24V battery and those are particularly prone to early failure as the demands from the motor are far higher per battery cell than a good capacity 36V battery for example.

 

[Oldgal]

Is that a new purchase or secondhand? It does sound like secondhand as it doesn't sound like there is a lot of capacity in the battery. I don't think its a very powerful ebike anyway but still sounds too low.

1. Make sure the battery is fully recharged
2. Make sure you are in the easiest gear, largest cog on the rear wheel
3. Make sure you set it to the maximum assist level.

Such bikes are fairly low geared anyway due to the small wheels so it should be quite easy to get up hills.

If the bike is secondhand then obviously the battery may be end of life. Its not like a normal bike, the batteries may only have 400-500 good charges out of them before capacity starts reducing and a very well used battery would struggle to hold much charge.

It may even be a low capacity 24V battery and those are particularly prone to early failure as the demands from the motor are far higher per battery cell than a good capacity 36V battery for example.

Hi
It is secondhand but the battery is new. I hsve the receipt, only weeks old. It's 24volt. So not powerful

The hills are extremely steep. I suppose it's my fault for thinking I could even do 25 percent of the peddling. Clearly I'm that weak. I've a bad hip and not ridden a bike for 25 years!

I think I had unrealistic expectations.

 

[Bonzo Banana]

Hi
It is secondhand but the battery is new. I hsve the receipt, only weeks old. It's 24volt. So not powerful

The hills are extremely steep. I suppose it's my fault for thinking I could even do 25 percent of the peddling. Clearly I'm that weak. I've a bad hip and not ridden a bike for 25 years!

I think I had unrealistic expectations.

I don't think those motors are too powerful. Sometimes the motors are sub 250W like 140-200W only peaking around 250W. The fact the wheels are so small though means the torque is amplified more.

To give lower gearing you could replace the rear freewheel with something like a 14-34T freewheel or you could reduce the size of the chainring/crankset. If it was 46T you could drop to 42T or even 38T.

I don't think a folding bike like that is a bad choice for climbing hills however I think you would want a 36V model with a larger battery capable of more amp output and I think ideally a rear hub motor to give more grip for steep hills.

As you cycle you improve your fitness and what seemed difficult could become easier.

By lowering the gearing and improving your fitness the ebike may be suitable for those hills.

So the original owner replaced the battery and then immediately sold it after that point? That is a bit suspicious maybe dis-satisfied with the new battery. New batteries are expensive so a lot to invest only to sell on shortly after. What happened to the original battery?

 

[Oldgal]

Hi
It was his wife's bike but she decided to get a mountain bike instead. They use the bikes to take with their motor home.
He asked if I wanted the old battery but it didn't take a charge anymore, so I didn't bother.

 

[Bonzo Banana]

Hi
It was his wife's bike but she decided to get a mountain bike instead. They use the bikes to take with their motor home.
He asked if I wanted the old battery but it didn't take a charge anymore, so I didn't bother.

Maybe they bought it with the dead battery then replaced the battery and realised she didn't like it so then sold it on. I guess maybe she found the assistance lacking too due to the 24V battery and motor. I still feel it could be a competent ebike for you with a slight modification to the drivetrain and you developing a few more muscles given more time with it.

Don't forget you can do partial commutes. If there is one big hill you hate but its relatively flat after that point. Just drive past that and park with your car and then commute in from there on the bike. You will still save a huge amount of petrol and you have made your commute a lot more pleasant. Some people might have a 20 mile commute each way so they drive 10 miles and commute in on bike the other 10 miles. They have halved their petrol or diesel consumption and over a year that is a huge saving probably enough for a decent holiday or something and they have made the cycling commute ten times better by avoiding the crap bit.

 

[Oldgal]

That's exactly what I've been looking at doing. I'm trying to find a secure place to park for the day that's near to the cycle route into the city. There's only a shopping centre (risk of fine if not a customer) or a public carpark which costs more to park than I'd save on fuel, so far. The nearest streets are residents parking only, I'm still looking. Won't give up yet.

 

[Bonzo Banana]

Best of luck finding the right parking. Sometimes there are park and rides you can use but you haven't mentioned the area. Here in Yeovil there aren't a lot of resident parking permit areas I think its mainly around the hospital so you are forced to use their extremely expensive parking or the town centre. I think you can park pretty much anywhere else as long as the road isn't marked to prevent that. This is a relatively small town though and not a city with a higher population density.

 

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