Schwinn Meridian with Honda GX35 powered Stanton gearbox

I know the ones, use them for UPS all the time and for other electronics projects and have a few sitting beside me here. I'd say you could run a 250-500W hub motor off one if you were so inclined for that extra bit of power. I ran a 500W angle grinder off one before with an inverter they can deliver huge amounts of current for a short time

Edit: Maybe not 500, it would run down in a couple of minutes but 250 definitely or you could put another one beside it in that lunchbox
 
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Spiffy design and nice build.
Is there a reason you didn't consider gears?

I know the area, I live in Phoenix and been up along the Colorado River in AZ from end to end many a time though usually farther down stream in the Lake Havasu area.

130 miles on that little gas tank? Impressive.
I am into trikes for customers now too but ruled out gas and went electric. They are quite, clean, and pretty much disappear from the overall look.

It doesn't have near the range you do but a minimum of 30 miles and maybe over 50 using the gears properly with the huge LI battery on board that has enough juice to power any lights without taking motor power via a tire-rubber dynamo gen.

Very cool build. if you find yourself in the Phoenix area with your trike look me up and we can go trike riding ;-}

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Have absolutely no interest in speed, so went for the KISS approach, geared it for hills around here, it tops at 18 mph, but I normally keep it down to around 12.

We lived in Phonix area before moving to Alaska in 1969. Presently live in Topock/Golden Shores which is midway betwixt Bullhead City and Lake Havasu City. http://www.goldenshores.net/

Nice trike you have there.

Home page: http://hstrial-rchambers.homestead.com/Index.html

I drop by your site fairly often.
 
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I just discovered this thread. I like your bike, Tanstaafl. (Are you a Heinlein fan as your handle suggests?) You bike is such a sensible build. It's got me thinking about trikes, actually. Also, you managed it on much less that I did on mine, what with all the extras... Shoot, I have a tire and wheel fetish, so I went super deluxe there.

On that note, as a bicyclist in the California central valley, I know about thorns. They are NOT as big as the goatheads you have in AZ and NM though, but I've ridden there. I tried the "thorn proof" route many times, and I gotta say that in the end, I found that I'd just paid more money, and they did not work. Seriously, I HIGHLY recommend "Mr. Tuffy" tire liners. I do NOT recommend "Slime" brand tire liners. My riding buddys in the SW swear by Mr. Tuffy. Also, my favorite bullet-proof tire these days are Michelin "City" tires. You can often find deals on Amazon.

That being said, you've already bought tires, so that's water under the bridge for now.

Cheers,
Rick
 
I tried the "thorn proof" route many times, and I gotta say that in the end, I found that I'd just paid more money, and they did not work. Seriously, I HIGHLY recommend "Mr. Tuffy" tire liners. I do NOT recommend "Slime" brand tire liners.
Slime liners seem pretty good, but the slime slightly thicker tubes with slime in them or just squirt in slime, it's a waste of money, slime is an 'after the fact' fix that doesn't.

Heavy duty tubes (2 to 3x thicker than stock) and what I call a Kevlar liner between the outer tube and inner tire do pretty much make them bullet proof for $28 a wheel. I can't even remember the last time I had a flat and my whole yard is dirt with thorn weeds and cactus pieces.

Trike are OK especially when I need to make parts runs with big parts, but I'll take any 2-stroke shifter that happens to be in the shop otherwise ;-}
 
Slime liners seem pretty good, but the slime slightly thicker tubes with slime in them or just squirt in slime, it's a waste of money, slime is an 'after the fact' fix that doesn't.

The problem I've had with "Slime" liners was where the ends overlap. Twice, I found my tube cut in that spot. As far as Slime on the inside, well, it actually works... sometimes. Sorta.

On a bicyclists' forum I read, one of the guys said it's actually just ethylene glycol--antifreeze--with finely shredded cotton fiber. So you can make it yourself. I have not figured out how to get cotton that finely shredded though, and of course you need removable valve stems.

With the thorns around here, I find the pieces get embedded in the tire, then, over time, they work their way in. Little bits of glass are the same way. A good tire liner (of whatever brand) will stop that.

(That, and inspecting the tire and picking 'em out after a ride.)
 
I just discovered this thread. I like your bike, Tanstaafl. (Are you a Heinlein fan as your handle suggests?) You bike is such a sensible build. It's got me thinking about trikes, actually. Also, you managed it on much less that I did on mine, what with all the extras... Shoot, I have a tire and wheel fetish, so I went super deluxe there.

On that note, as a bicyclist in the California central valley, I know about thorns. They are NOT as big as the goatheads you have in AZ and NM though, but I've ridden there. I tried the "thorn proof" route many times, and I gotta say that in the end, I found that I'd just paid more money, and they did not work. Seriously, I HIGHLY recommend "Mr. Tuffy" tire liners. I do NOT recommend "Slime" brand tire liners. My riding buddys in the SW swear by Mr. Tuffy. Also, my favorite bullet-proof tire these days are Michelin "City" tires. You can often find deals on Amazon.

That being said, you've already bought tires, so that's water under the bridge for now.

Cheers,
Rick

Am a fan and I always liked Heinlein.

See you live in Fresno. When a kid visiting my sister in Kerman, we used to go to the nice zoo in Fresno. I got transferred (oil patch) out to Bakersfield in 1986, most said the wife and I would hate it. But in comparison to that mess over the Grapevine, we said thank god it was Bakersfield. Wife really liked the town, but I wasn’t sad (CA gun laws) when got transferred back to Wyoming in 1991.

I checked out the Michelin City tires and if flat problems continue, will definitely be taking a look at them.
 
See you live in Fresno. When a kid visiting my sister in Kerman, we used to go to the nice zoo in Fresno. I got transferred (oil patch) out to Bakersfield in 1986, most said the wife and I would hate it. But in comparison to that mess over the Grapevine, we said thank god it was Bakersfield. Wife really liked the town, but I wasn’t sad (CA gun laws) when got transferred back to Wyoming in 1991.

I grew up here, then moved back a few years ago to finally finish a college degree. These Valley towns tend not to look like much to drive-by visitors, but they grow on you. Right now, the orchards are full of blossoms; the river is warming up, so the fish are getting hungry, and the people? Generally they look you in the eye and say, "Hello." Fresno's a bigger town with more industry and financial services than any other town in the valley besides Sacramento, but it still has that small town flavor. It's a red zone in a blue state. Plenty of gun totin' ex-military guys around here (like me), regardless of party affiliations.

And by the way, there are a lot of good rides to be had. Still, college done now, I plan on moving back up to the Mt. Shasta area where the woodcutting is better. (I carve wood for a living.) Cheers!
 
I grew up here, then moved back a few years ago to finally finish a college degree. These Valley towns tend not to look like much to drive-by visitors, but they grow on you. Right now, the orchards are full of blossoms; the river is warming up, so the fish are getting hungry, and the people? Generally they look you in the eye and say, "Hello." Fresno's a bigger town with more industry and financial services than any other town in the valley besides Sacramento, but it still has that small town flavor. It's a red zone in a blue state. Plenty of gun totin' ex-military guys around here (like me), regardless of party affiliations.

And by the way, there are a lot of good rides to be had. Still, college done now, I plan on moving back up to the Mt. Shasta area where the woodcutting is better. (I carve wood for a living.) Cheers!

IIRC, Willie Brown used to say, "Bakersfield was so conservative, that when he flew to the capitol over the town, he wore one flak jacket and sat on a another." (;>)

Wood carver. have any pics of your work?

I used to do some scroll saw cutting, here are a few examples:

img070.jpg


img068-1.jpg


img074.jpg


img067-1.jpg


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Nice work! I like the Native American and wildlife themes. Scrolls saws drive me bat-scatos. I am too impatient, and I break blades like mad.

I've been studiously avoiding promoting my work on this forum. It just does not seem appropriate, and I don't ever want to appear spammy, but you can see some older pieces on my old--now defunct--blog. I have a new website I'm building as we speak. Once I get the parts of it up that are relevant to motor-bicycling, I'll link to it in my sig.

My newer stuff is all laminated, and larger, generally. But you still can see the flavor of my rough-hewn style.

And, well, it's best to avoid politics. That said, and getting really off topic... I'm a live and let live kinda guy, and strange as it may seem in this divided era, I do not fear my government. We ARE the government. The more responsibility citizens take, the less government you need--and the less government you get. (Former DoD civilian.)
 
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