First Ride!

[rossfree]

Success!

I got the 12 gage spokes on my wheel and trued it up just fine. It's not perfectly round but the spokes are tight and it's pretty darn straight... almost no wobble at all. It only took two nights and four beers. I pats myself on the back!

380 miles and counting. Smoother ride in to work today. New issue... my prescription glasses are fogging up. Had to stop to clean them half way to work. Should have stopped a couple more times.

Anyone have a solution for fogged glasses?

Love the GEBE.

Ross

 

[stude13]

i use rainex

 

[BigDaddyT]

I remember reading that shaving cream works, at least on bathroom mirrors.

 

[rossfree]

...gone 500 miles...

Hey all,

Broke the 500 mile mark today. Everything is working swimmingly. I did have a mishap with my rear tail light. I had mounted it with a small steel bracket to a clutch housing bolt. It was rock solid... but vibration and fatigue set in and a few days ago when I reach around to turn it off, it wasn't there. Nope... the bracket just snapped off and it tumbled merrily somewhere on the eight mile stretch.

I have one more and have been wearing it on my belt until I can come up with another bracket and a better spot for it (sans the vibration). I have to remember I have it on or I look rather stupid walking into Dunkin Doughnuts with a tail light strapped to my butt.

I purchased a new timming belt from GEBE and got it in short order. CUDOS! I'll carry it around with me as a spare though my first belt looks like new and has only skipped teeth one time when I gunned it going around a corner. I've taken it a little easier on acceleration and have had no other problems thus far.

The 12 gage spokes have worked great on my back wheel and I HIGHLY recommend them for a GEBE build from the start! I repeat! Get the 12 gage when you order your GEBE kit! It will save you the hassle later. I hated waiting for the kit... then having it break down only to wait again for the 12 gage spokes. Granted... I'm a big guy (250+lbs). It may not be as bad for a lighter person but I still think fatigue is working against you.

Love the GEBE kit!

Ross

 

[Hive]

Custom or Permanent GEBE Rack Frame Mount


Ross, nice vehicle ... efficient, I will bet.

Just a couple thoughts!

Somewhere I recall reading (Sheldon Brown???) suggesting that the laced wheel should be very true or it will stress when riding and warp faster. I have no clue ... but you must remember the powered belt will stress the spokes/wheel and if you ride much that will be a factor bearing on wear and breakage, maybe safety.

The frame mounts that have been and displayed on this thread are impressive and well designed. I thought about it, and considering my limited motor time, I decided to not try it, besides, I am not a welder.

I also considered the time spent doing the custom work versus the time to change a really good Kevlar tire, which will last me a few years, and concluded it was more efficient to simply change the tire and deal with the rack removal at the time. I also use a 9-inch rear axle and double-nut the rack so it is easy to remove at will, throttle cable /kill wire notwithstanding.

I also use a GEBE rear wheel and have had no spoke failures.

A little humor: I guess-timated my mileage, including my peddling time, and it came to something like 800 MPG. Second summer on bike, and only third tank of gas on T-3300, so my motor time is nil.

 

[pumpbuilder]

Holy Cow Hive, now thats some good mileage. How many gallons O Sweat Tho, lol.

 

[rossfree]

Quick update for those interested...

Found a puddle under my bike engine shortly after arriving at work this morning. I park it inside our shop and you could smell the gas. It turns out the plastic tank has a hair-line crack adjacent to the lower mounting bolt. It was enough of a crack to allow a slow drip, drip, drip of gas. Really, with the vibration these engines are subject to, I'm not surprised in the least. I called GEBE and they are sending another tank. I had to buy it but they will refund when mine is returned.

750 miles now. Still starts fine and runs great. In a word... dependable.

I think the single biggest improvement I made was the upgrade to 12 gage spokes. The ring snaps very tight to the heavier spokes. When I installed the ring I was very careful to center it. I just spun the wheel on my home-made alignment jig and bumped the ring here and there until it was well centered. This was about 400 miles ago. The ring has stayed centered and is still very tight to the spokes. As walk the bike and observe the tensioner, there is no noticable movement at all. The 12 gage spokes virtually eliminate the concern of ever breaking a spoke again.

The belt still looks like new. I don't baby it but I treat it reasonably well.

The next two days will be in the low 40's. Brrrrrr! The clock is ticking!

Still a happy GEBE customer!

Happy Trails!

Ross

 

[rossfree]

I've been wanting to put my bike rack back on the bike ever since I bought the GEBE kit and finally got around to it last night. I also have foldable baskets that mount on either side but only had room for one opposite the engine side. The other would interfere with the engine unless I scooted it forward... then it would interfere with pedaling.

It's nice to have the rack and basket back on the bike. I still need to slide in the rear fender... maybe do that soon. The bike is getting heavy! It was no lightweight when I got it. Now that the steel rack and basket is back on it's getting harder to lift and turn around when I need to (like backing it into the garage at night). No big deal.

Here are some pics I took this morning in the garage to show what I did. I might get some paniers later instead of the baskets... they just look so much nicer. I'll take better pictures later... these will have to do for now. Note how I attached the engine to the rack. It worked out well.

850 miles!

Happy riding!

Ross

 

[rossfree]

1000 Miles!

YEE HAW!

Just turned 1000 miles on my GEBE / Schwinn Clear Creek Bike!

Happy Trails!

Ross

 

[rossfree]

First accident...

I'm ok... mostly bent my pride.

I go to work in the dark... 5am. It was really foggy and my "windshield wipers" aren't installed yet. I wear prescription glasses and they were coated after a mile or so. So I decided it would be best to stop and take them off.

I pulled into the parking lot of Rite-aid and thats when the trouble started.

The entrance to the parking lot is dark, and a streetlight behind me shadowed a curb that I had to go around. With my glasses fogged and it being poorly lit, I headed straight for the curb at about 10mph (guess). I saw it at the last second, locked both wheels with my hand brakes, hit the curb and did a "YAHOOO". I felt like I was in the circus... until I landed. Flipped the bike right over my head, jumped the curb and landed hard on the parking lot on the other side.

It's cold here in New Hampshire, so I was wearing an inner and outer coat, helmet, jeans with windbreaker pants over them, and work gloves. The bike landed on top of me but with all that padding I was mostly fine. The folding basket (in folded position) took the brunt of the damage but was easily straightened. I wasn't going fast enough to hurt the front rim.

I've cut through that parking lot several times, and under better visual conditions still almost hit the curb each time. Today I rode through the entrance wondering why I keep underestimating the length of the curb. This time it was clear. The light behind me shadows the end of the curb in such a way as to make it look shorter than it is. An optical "conclusion". Ha!

I was lucky. Sprawled out on the parking lot of Rite-Aid, and not even a bandaid available til 8am. Seriously embarrassing. Knowone around to see me dump... thank you very much.

1200 miles and counting.

...and a bit more careful.

Happy trails,

Ross