The bike is finally complete. I reckon it took about six hours all up to put it together. As it was my first build, I took my time and spread tasks over a few days. This allowed me to think through and plan each step so that mistakes weren?t made. If I were to put together another bike for my wife, about four hours would be needed for the build. I forgot to include a photo of the gear shift sensor. As you can see from the pic, the outer sheath of the cable is cut and reduced in size and the inner cable is threaded through the sensor. The remaining wires were positioned and secured with cable ties and the wheel size was entered into the display program. Fingers were crossed as I switched the bike on and started riding. There are 5 power assist levels on the bike and the lowest level was selected for the test. The bike was so easy to pedal. It felt like you were riding down hill all of the time. I went for a 2km ride to show the guys at a new bike shop what I made. They adjusted the gears for me so that all changes were smooth. I will see them again tomorrow to buy a new chain. Cycle paths were followed all the way to the main shopping centre. I used gear changes and brakes regularly to ensure that all sensors worked as they should. The bike couldn?t be faulted at all. I live on a hill and there is one short ,steep climb to push up before reaching the house. Normally people walk their bikes up this hill as it is quite a difficult climb. I selected a low gear and put the bike into assist level 3 and climbed the hill with ease. I was impressed with how the bike performed. Later that day I rode into town again. On this trip, I was pushing into a breeze. I needed to put in a bigger effort with my legs to keep the bike speed up. It was still easy going but the extra effort required was noticeable. I pressed a button and went to power level 2. The bike immediately took off and accelerated when I turned the crank. On the trip home, a tail wind allowed me to ride home on the lowest power setting with minimal effort on my part. 23km was covered in the test rides. The battery was still showing 80% charge so it looks like the range will be very good. Hilly country and higher assist levels will obviously reduce this. I did try the high assist levels briefly but there was so much power there, it would rarely be needed. Overall cost for the build was $1850 which included the bike, kit and an assembly tool kit. The kit did come with a front light but that has not been fitted as yet. While we were away on holidays, I rode a $3500 bike. It looked pretty was quite nice to ride. My bike doesn?t look as refined but I have a larger battery and have double the power of that bike. As far as value for money goes, I?m well in front. Can?t wait to jump on again and get out on the road. Unfortunately, my bees are calling me and they take priority today.
Cheers
Les
