The 11-34t cassettes should arrive soon.
I also emailed Andy Inchville to fab me an 80t chainring sprocket for 8mm chain. With 34t and 80t chainring, low gear will be 41.21:1. This should be excellent for steep ramps and hills. Eighth gear will be 13.33:1, which is good for highway speed.
The 11-34t cassette was installed last week. It makes all the difference in the world for climbing steep ramps and hills.
On the ramp at work, I now have cardkey access. The entrance arm raises, and I have a rolling start to climb the ramp. I can shift into second gear near the top, whereas with the 32t, the bike barely made it with pedal assist.
One disadvantage of the shift kit is that pedal assist is not synchronized with engine operation. In other words, in the low gears, your engine is pulling hard but the gear ratio does not allow you to pedal forcefully. In higher gear, you can pedal hard uphill, but your engine will be lugging and not pulling hard. That is why it is very difficult to pedal uphill with engine support. With a very low first gear like 37:1, you can pull uphill with very little pedal assist.
It might not be a good idea to shift and apply full power on the ramp. The bike might flip backwards; even on flat ground, the entire bike jerks violently if I get back on the throttle too quickly. When shifting smoothly, it's like riding a powerful horse. Acceleration is brisk; more power is available if I fine tune the carb's top end.
On the steep hill near home, the bike charges up with power to spare. There is gridlock sometimes, but I can come to a complete stop midways and continue forward in first gear. If it's gridlocked though, I jump onto a narrow paved trail on the shoulder and ride to the hilltop. Then I jump back onto the level road, which has a 25 mph speed limit.
On the 35 mph stretch of that same road, there was major gridlock. I coasted downhill in the bike lane @ < 20 mph and passed about 50 cars. A few cars were several inches INSIDE the bike lane, even though they had a wide curb lane. I had to be VERY cautious passing them.
On the last long block near home, I always coast at < 20 mph to reflect on the awesome 25-minute ride home. The cagers zip past me, even though it's a 25 mph zone. No probs, because they're ALL waiting for me at the next light.
This project is almost done. It'll be icing on the cake if the 80-tooth chainring sprocket and HD freewheel is installed. If not, I'll just ride this bike, as is.
Methinks I'll finish working on Project 29er with twin GP460 engines!
Or maybe my Whizzer bike.
