Crank-Drive Subaru Build

what an awesomely awesome piece of ingenuity, wiley :)

headin' out for a long haul too, good deal...how are you packing for the trip?

gotta love those schwalbe tires, eh?
 
Baggage

Thanks for the compliments.

I've decided to fly to San Diego since I need to be there for a Baja race (not racing on the bicycle, although i do have some ideas for that) and ship the bicycle there so that I can ride it home to Montana after the race. Should be about 1200 miles and I'm hoping to do that in 5 days. I have two large ortlieb panniers for the front rack. I'll be taking a zero-degree down sleeping bag, pad, floorless pyramid shelter, and my regular cycling clothing plus some rain gear (arc'teryx beta AR jacket and some north face bib ski pants) and a pair of heavy mittens.

For food I have a small stove and a titanium pot/kettle thing. I usually bring an MSR water filter along on my bike trips, so that will probably come along as well.

For bike stuff I have a Nite Rider rechargeable LED headlight, and a GPS (garmin). I'll have a spare 3/32 chain (same chains on both sides of the bike), 2 extra spark plugs, a multi-tool, chainbreaker, and a quart of oil for daily oil changes (I'll be riding ~10 hours per day at 20-30mph). A tube of loctite, some extra safety wire, a small roll of duct tape, and a bundle of zip-ties. And a 1-gallon gas can for the long nevada highways.

That's not a complete list but it covers the major items.
 
Ah yes, the lure of the open road. I have been ogling the adventure cycling site myself and the new Sierra Pacific route with a return trip up the Pacific Coast looks like a really good Wymanesque 4300 mile adventure. http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/RouteNetwork.pdf

One thing for sure is that the naysayers will not be able to accuse you of not pedaling with that setup. And that has to be the longest top tube in history! You will get quite a bit of gas volume between the top tube and the drive tube also which is a bonus.

Prepare well and keep the rubber side down. And don't forget to write.
 
80-Mile test Ride

I took the bike out for an 80-mile test ride last Sunday. It's quite hilly but i averaged 24 mph for the run, which I'm happy with. Bike ran flawlessly right up to the last ten miles when it started throwing the primary drive chain between the gearbox and crank.

I'd been using a 3/32" 8-speed chain and an aluminum 54-tooth chainring. There was also a lot of snow and slush on the ground so the chain got pretty gritty. I think it was a combination of chain stretch and a bending chainring.

I've since put on a 50-tooth stainless steel chainring from Surly. I also ground the teeth off the 54-tooth chainring and mounted it with spacers toward the outside to act as a guide (The chain always popped off to the outside.) I also upgraded the chain to a 1/8" chain (KMC 410H) and 14-tooth ACS Freewheel.

I think I'll need a new cassette at the rear as well as I was getting some skipping when running the 48 - 11 gear combination. I reused a worn out cassette so that's not too surprising.

I think these mods will do the trick. If I still have problems I'll build a tensioner and some kind of roller guide for the bottom of the chainring. I'll try to get some photos up tomorrow.
 
Nice, chains get used up pretty fast on mab's. If you keep them extra well lubed, I use T-9 Boeshield in the lg. spray can and have for years, they will last much longer and perform much better. I probably only go 50 miles per chain lube and ofttimes less. Using blank outer rings as a guide is a good solution plus they act as a pants guard also.

24mph average is not bad at all, in fact you might admit that it is probably just about right to suit most people, especially in long distance touring mode. That is twice as fast as a good touring cyclist can average. I know your were pedaling the whole time because of your setup, but how about that feeling of getting on top of the gear and the motor at the same time? Like riding a tandem with Lance as your stoker, and never gets tired!

Any idea yet on fuel consumption/mi.?
 
Mabman: Yeah, I'm very happy with that average speed. Top speed on the flat is about 32mph, after that I run out of gearing, but I wouldn't have enough power (me or the engine) to go with a taller gear anyway. And yes, it's a great feeling to be pedaling along with that much extra power... driving through the cranks definitely synchronizes you with the engine. A neat feeling.

For the 80-mile trip I used a little less than a 1/4 gallon. So that's what, about 320mpg. Keep in mind I was doing more pedaling than just spinning along, I did add torque to the equation, but I was definately pedaling way way less than I would have been without the engine (and going faster). I'll keep track of mileage on the 1200-mile ride at the end of March. MPG might be a good way to track how much pedaling I'm doing. It's nice to see that between the pedal input and running the power through the gears, I'm doing better than the oft-reported 200mpg with the EH035.
 
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