We have completed a very challenging shakedown ride on the new tandem, Golanth, the bronze dragon. Here are the details: First we are now at L. L. Stub Stewart State Park near Vernonia, Oregon. This park is in the middle of the Banks Vernonia State Trail. It is in the coast range of mountains and has some severe hills to negotiate. Continue reading Dancing on Clouds:
Category Archives: Bicycle Construction
The Missing Link:
Golanth, the Bronze Dragon, is now electrified! Whoee! The electric auxiliary boost drive works pretty much as I had envisioned it. Actually I envisioned the bicycle to be about 10 pounds lighter, but that is another story.
What I have is an Astro 60 Brushless Motor, a 10:1 gear reduction and a 2:1 cogged belt reduction. This is powered by 2 each 9 A-Hr Lead acid batteries. These weigh 12 pounds by themselves. The motor is controlled with an Electronic Speed Controller (ESC). We control that with my Futaba R/C radio control. I am still working on the thumb throttle.
On the web site you will find a couple photos of the power train…and the missing link! Continue reading The Missing Link:
The Ugly Duckling:
It’s done: It ain’t pretty: It works!
O.K. What am I carrying on about? Each week I seem to be able to get another little project off my punch list toward finishing the new bicycle. This week it was a battery eliminator circuit, (BEC) to power the electronic speed control, (ESC) for the electric assist drive on Golanth, our new bicycle. The BEC was designed with the help of Neil, my Son-In-Law, and is really a dual voltage battery eliminator. I needed 4.8 volts for the speed controller and I also need 3 volts to power the microprocessor and the thumb throttle. Continue reading The Ugly Duckling:
Contest:
I am declaring a contest. This will be to celebrate the completion of Golanth, the Bronze Dragon. He is a recumbent tandem bicycle. We are daily getting him outfitted and ready for serious riding. I mounted a new bicycle computer on his stem today. And a new blindingly bright flashing tail-light on his butt. While we were downtown Portland today visiting my Neurologist for my Parkinsonism, we went over to the east side and ordered a new set of panniers custom built just for Golanth. Continue reading Contest:
Building and Fixing:
This was the weekend for building things and fixing things.
Glen and I spent the day Sunday building a belt guard for the electric drive on Golanth, our new recumbent bicycle. We can ride it anytime as a true bicycle, and we have ridden a total of 84 miles since I completed it. As my friend Ed would put it, that works out to a tad over $68 a mile just for the cost of all the parts. Continue reading Building and Fixing: