Home Built Bike Study.

Year mark since ordering the bike!

2010-10-16T17:54:00.000-07:00

On this date late year, I ordered posted the drawing of "my" home built A-bike design on this site.The A-bicycle copy from the hobby shop in B.C. was ordered on Oct. 20, 2009. As noted in past blogs, I really like the bike. I has about 473 km on it now. I did some riding on it before the computer was put on so I figure I have about 500km on the bike. That was about the target range I had in mind when I got it on Nov. 3, 2009. It is a too bad this bike is not really promoted more since some of the people I have seen like the idea it uses.

Other then some passing notes starting next year about things happening to the bike as far a future wear and tear, this blog will go quiet. I hope that anyone looking at this web page will get some idea of how the bike is in terms of quality and long term use.

One Year mark coming on Oct. 20th.

2010-10-08T20:30:00.000-07:00

I has been almost one year since I ordered the bike from the hobby shop in B.C. The bike has been working better then expected. In the time I have had it, it has come in handy for rides where I had use as my way home while my girlfriend had to go to work. We where on trips out of town and she had no time to drop me off at the apartment. The bike was the only way to get home. At times it was nice to get out on slower paced ride offered on my other bikes. I have listing of the things I both like and dislike on the design of the bike.

Likes

- Light weight frame, it makes it easy to carry around when not being ridden.
- Comfortable set-up, once the original factory seat was replaced.
- Good speed given the lower gear ratio.
- Easy to work on, I have taken it apart to fix a few things and I wanted to see how it worked!
- Overall it has held up to regular useage.*

Dislikes

- Low quality parts used that wore out too fast, namely, the pedals.
- Improper fit of some frame parts, example being the misaligned handlebar to front wheel assembly.
- Poor rear frame lock assembly. This needs to be looked at. This affects the opening of the bike.
- The rear bottom frame section. When the rear frame lock becomes loose, it comes out from the bottom frame section allowing over time develop a metal tear to start*. A hose clamp fixed this but this should not be happening. This not restricted to the copy version of the bike. The original versions have problem as well.
- Total lack of support for the product. There is no parts list or 1-800 help number to support any problems that can happen over time.

So even with these problems I enjoy using the bike. Having moved from a house into a apartment makes the folding design even stronger. It takes up a less space with a ful sized bike. Once you get used to the feel of the bike, it is very rideable, unlike some reviewers comments on it. It is a different feel to the ride due to the smaller wheels. I was disappointed to find it had the solid wheels but I have gotten used to them and for the most part, there are working out well.

The bike has now been ridden 450 km since last fall and feels as solid as the day I bought it. I was logging the rides of this bike along with my other rides and found out that it has been used 26 percent of the 2010 riding season. The average speed for this year on the A-cycle is 12.614 kph. The cruising speed is around 17 to 19 kph. Not too bad for a little wheeled bike. The gearing on the bike works well most of the time. I noted a bit on chain slip in the drive train. I think that the fine pitched 1/4 inch chain is sensitive the pressures of the riders pedaling. It happens on small hills ans when you start the bike from a dead stop when the pressure on the system is the greatest. Small adjustments on the rear wheel tensioners helps out to some degree.

I would recommend this bike for people doing short distance rides and fit the specs set buy the designers. Sadly, the biggest problem the bike has is the weight limit. Set at 185 lbs, many North American are too heavy for the bike. It is too bad that this design is not too well know because the people that I talked to really like the design. Buying it is a challenge since you have to hunt down places that will carry it.

Although I own this copy, I would recommend that you look into buying the original version that is supported by a warrenty. You get the on-line store to get replacement parts if needed. You are supporting the people that designed the bike in the first place. The biggest problem I see with the original is the price. It is about $500.00 to buy. Since there is not too much to the bike in terms of weight or size, many may look at alteratives but the quality models do cost you. You have to decide the model that will suit your budget. I was tight for money so buying a copy version was the best type for me. So far it has been holding up.

*- note1

Repaired frame section

2010-09-21T17:27:00.000-07:00

Today, I bought a hose clamp to tighten up the damaged rear frame tube section. It works great! I test rode the bike from the apartment down to the downtown core and back, a 8 km ride. The bike felt very solid. A average speed of 14 kph was reached. I now trust the bike again. This was reached on areas that are a little hilly in areas. The designers of the bike really need to do their homework in thr design of this rear section of the frame. I figured out that I have had about 32 hours of riding time on the bike when this happened. This should not be happening! Anyways, I feel the bike lives up to it being a fine short range machine. I have gone as far as 9 km (5.5 miles) it with no problems other then the slow pace it provides.

Minor repair/ Frame damage

2010-09-19T18:10:00.000-07:00

With 380 km on the bike, a number of items have come to my attention.

The first was very minor problem dealing with the bell. Ever since the bike was new, the bell was always loose. It made hearing other possible problems on the frame difficult to detect. Up until now, I never really did anything about it. The noise began to bother me so I removed bell by unscrewing it from the brake lever and tried to retighten the fastner but due to the plastic part on the bell, it would not get it nice and tight. I bought some 5 minute epoxy and glued the bell in place. It is on tight now and I feel better at this.

The other item that has come up is more serious but fixable. I read on the A-bike forum about the rear seat tube getting damaged due to it tearing at the cut sections with the rear seat lock coming off the frame. The weight of the rider will with time put stress on this area and at some point the metal will tear as has happened to mine. I found out about it while out on a store run. I asked to store owner for a hammer get the frame section hammered back into a place where I could get the rear seat locking assembly back on to the bike. I had to remove the locking lach and just place to metal pin in place to lock up the frame to get the bike home. I am going to get a hose clamp to tie around the frame section that is damaged. This should stop the frame from splitting any farther. This is a design weakness that has showed up the original A-bike as well. I feel that there are design problems like this that should be better thought out. I have had a problem with this frame design system from day one and would like to see big improvements in areas like the frames locking points.

I am hoping that this bike will last for a while but with this frame tube crack, the future of this bike may not be as long as I was hoping for. Apart from these problems, I am enjoying the bike as much as the first day I got it. The frame was test ridden after getting the clamp arm put back on and the bike feels tight. The only noise coming from the bike is the sound of the solid wheels and the bikes responding back at the various points that can still make a bit of noise.

The next report will be written in Nov. on the first year of buying it on-line.

One Year mark on the A-bike

2010-09-09T09:24:00.000-07:00

I am coming up on the one year mark for buying this A-bike type design vehicle. It is running very good. It is still feeling like new as far a the feel of the folding frame. The bike as a bit on the stiff side as far as folding it went. It has loosened a bit and folds down and opens better then new.

The tire wear is doing not too bad. The rear drive tire is taking the bulk of the wear. By October, I am hoping to have 400 km on the bike. This is a bit short of what I hoped for but the general bike condition is holding up good.

Other signs of use are showing in areas like the handle grips. Small wear points are starting to show in this area. Over the time I have have the bike, I have taken apart the drive train section and managed to misplace two on the nuts used to lock in the bolts used to hold the casing together. These have been replaced with some hardware store fastners.

The overview of the bike design is that it is a fine short range bike design. It is holding up well and once you get past the novel design, it fits into my normal riding time. It is a slow bike due to the low geatr ratio but it is nice to get in a slow ride every now and then. Anyone looking at buying this type of bike will have fun using it. I find the way it folds up very useful when travelling. I just wish that it was seen in more locations like stores to be seen so that the public can get a chance buy it there. I have not been disappointed by the bike! It is great!

Minor fastner tune-up

2010-05-01T18:18:00.000-07:00

The bike has reached about 240 km. On a short ride I did, I noted a sound from the upper mid section of the bike. I had to tighten up the rear bolts on the main upper frame section to remove slight movement that was present. There still is a bit of creaking sound but is much better then is was.

Tandem concept

2010-04-29T09:01:00.000-07:00

I have done a nice drawing of the tandem bike in a form that could look a lot like a finished product. The idea of a folding compact tandem would be an interesting on to try out.

Tire Wear at 200 km

2010-04-27T09:06:00.001-07:00

Here are some images the front and rear tires at the 200 km mark. The image on the left is the front tire. The original line at the centre of the tire is still there. The rear tire shows greater wear due to the greater weight put on it. There are some small cracks on both front and rear wheels but the tires overall wear is good. I am expecting these tires to last a while.

Tandem A-bike concept drawing

2010-04-25T18:37:00.000-07:00

I was interested looking at the idea of a tandem A-bike type folding bike. As it stands now, it is only a drawing concept, nothing more. Here are some drawings of the design. I have no idea if it would work or not but it is fun to draw it up at least to see if the concept works or not. On paper at least, it works out.

The drawings shown show the drawing of the single seater version and the tandem set-up by basicly copying single drawing and adding 20" on to the bike. I then altered frame to make it into the tandem set-up. A drawing showing the tandem folded up is included on the page.

Spring detail problems

2010-04-18T13:46:00.000-07:00

Although the overall bike is working great, small details items have shown signs of wear. Over the winter time, I noted the front locking assembly lever had become slightly bend out of place. I removed it from it's assembly and tried to fix it. It had become slightly bent out of place but I did manage to put back into the pin again. The rear section of the lever has been somehow damaged so I just held the edges of the lever on the pin while tightening up screw on to the frame lock assembly. The lever needs replacing for it to allow the lever to lock and unlock the quick release properly. For now, I have it working so it holds the quick release assembly section together.

The original light I put on the bike has worn out and broke a few weeks ago. The rough ride on the bike makes any part that can not withstand bumps will break at some point. Since this was just a very cheap way of getting my first bike light into place, it did not have a long life span on it. The original light design was just a book light. It was not ever really designed for bike use. The remaining broken section has been removed from the bike.

Overall the bike is working out becoming more of a work bike that I just treat as any other bike I ride without too much though as to how different it is from the regular bikes I own.how different is is from the others.

Bike update

2010-04-14T13:33:00.000-07:00

I managed the best speed on this bike to date. I had to ride the bike home seeing that my girlfriend had to go to work I was about 6 km from home. I managed to get an average speed of 16.2 kph. This is very good considering the size of the wheels. It took only 21:18 minutes/ seconds. Having set-up the drive train into a tightened condition helped out.

Having pulled out the bike, I have found out a number of things about it. On one ride, I reached a top speed of 32 kph on a section of down hill! This not something I would recommend to do. The bike is not set-up for this high speed riding.

Drive train tune-up

2010-04-13T18:27:00.000-07:00

Spring has come and the bike is out and being used again. The bike has about 175 km on it now. I had to readjust the chain so it is tight again. There was a bit of slipage on the chain that was connected to the drive wheel. I also took the drive train casing apart to see how well insides where holding up. It is holding up well. Once the adjustments where made, it rode far better. Climbing smaller hills in the area where done with no slipping of the gear drive train.

The readjustment was done by loosening 4 small bolts on each side of the rear drive assembly. I pulled this down a bit to tighten the final drive chain up. The more I use this bike, the more I like it.

Winter has come!

2009-12-12T09:43:00.000-08:00

Winter has finally arrived! There is not too much show but it is colder now. The bike has seen very little use but I will get it out when I can. For those interested, I bought the bike from this location. http://www.snhobbies.com/product_info.php?products_id=414. If you live in Canada, this looks like the place to get one. I had the store owner deliver the bike in a timely manner. Not to much more is going to be written on this blog for a while. There will be more written about the longer term use of this bike in the spring of 2010.

Steve.

Bike mileage

2009-11-28T05:24:00.000-08:00

The bike is still running strong. It now has 88 km on it as recorded on the computer. Adding some extra mileage for the time I was using it when I first it without a computer on it, I figure that it has close to 100 km on it. It is holding up well other the the items that have been replaced. The frame still is feeling solid. With winter coming soon, The bike will be stopped being used. Given the time of year I feel that getting 100 km on the bike is great. I have grown to like this compact design of bike type. They are very small to store indoors and make short trips done normally done by walking quicker. The only real draw back is the lack of any type of rack to carry a small light weight load. I have seen a clip-on type rack that attaches to the seat post. I may try one of these items on the bike to see how it works.

Bike Frame Quick release design

2009-11-16T04:33:00.000-08:00

I do not know about other users of this bike but I find that the rear quick release assembly to be not as well designed as it could be. My will come off the bottom section of the frame when the bike is unfolded. The main problem I see is the fact that the quick release bolt holds the section on place. That is the only fastner on the assembly. If the bolt that holds the assembly becomes loose, this when the part comes out. The problem with this is that the nylon bushings are in the bottom tube come out when the top tube is pulled.

I looked at a tripod design I has. It is a Manfrotto art 190 model. The design of the legs locks is a very good one. It uses a double fastner system that locks the mounting assembly on to the tripod leg. The locking fastner that locks up leg sections are separate from primary fastner that locks the assembly into place. I could see something like this being used on the A-bike design to improve locking quick release assembly. The single fastner design used now to me does not really cut it. This tripod inspired design looks far better. I think that this bike design is basicly sound and small details like this only inprove the bike.

Youtube video

2009-11-15T07:21:00.000-08:00

Here is a video of myself using the bike I bought.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzhSZe-scbg

Replaced the pedals.

2009-11-13T15:30:00.000-08:00

After only using the bike for about a week, another weak area showed up. It is the pedals. I liked the folding pedals design. I have used a set on my mini recumbent bike 11 years ago.

The main difference between the two pedal designs is in the construction of the bearing housing section of pedal. The older ones on the recumbent bike uses a cast alloy body allowing the a long bearing life. The structure is rigid and the bearings will not move around because of this. Although I not use a cycling computer on this Mini Max bike, I do know that I have at least 200 km on the bike. The pedals are still in good working order.

The A-bicycle on the other hand uses pedals that are made of plastic. This includes the section thar houses the bearings. The bearing section uses two halfs that are riveted together. After only about 45 km distance put on the bike, the right pedal was already showing signs of use and stress. I noted the pedal was loose on the axle. Not a good sign. I figure the way the pedal was made and the materials used where not standing up far speeds I was getting on the bike.

I had a set of non-folding that I had been given to me years ago. These are an alloy type pedal that I really like. I was given a case of these from a local home hardware store. These pedals where not needed and I gladly took them. The pedals going to the A-bike are new out of the box. Although they lack the folding design, I think that they will be better suited to my style of riding.

As a note as to how the bike has cost so far, here is a break down of all the costs to date. Based on 45km distance ridden to date.

- Cost of the bike- $124.00

- Cost of the seat- $57.00

- Cost of the seat post- $18.00

- Cycling Computer- $12.00

- Lights- $26.00

- Rear seat bag- $12.00

- Pedals- $0.00

Total- $249.00**

Total operating cost per km, $5.53 per km. As long as no other items wear out or break, I am hoping that this operating cost will go down a lot.

Here is a comparison of operating costs to the road bike I used in the speed test runs. Based on 440 km distance to date.

- Cost of the bike- $284.00*

- Replacement 90mm headlebar stem- $90.00

Total- $374.00

Total operating cost per km to date- .85 cents per km. I hope the A-bicycle gets within this range when used more next year.

This is the rear mounted seat bag I added to help carry small items. Just a small item to help make the bike a bit more useful. The tool kit that came with the bike is now placed in this bag.

*- The bike was an early present from my girlfriend. The bike has been used for four months. From August, 2009 to Nov. 10, 2009.

**- The A-bicycle has been used for one week as of Nov.10, 2009.

New light

2009-11-11T10:36:00.000-08:00

I needed a more powerful light on the bike. The little book was is not really up to the job. The one problem I noted on it was the bracket that holds the light was too small to fit on to the handlebar. I had to drill out the hole on the mount to allow a larger and longer bolt. Once this was done, the light was put on to the bike. The light is a L.E.D. type and puts out a lot of light for the size the light is. I retained the little as well. It is nice to have back-up light on the bike. This bike is now a well equipped commuter bike.

Nice ride!

2009-11-09T14:51:00.000-08:00

I had to do some running around putting in resumes for work today. I decided that is was a good time to take the A-bicycle in to town as well. With the computere mounted on it and most of the problems with the bike either fixed or at least identified that could happen, I enjoyed taking the bike out after doing some job hunting.

I took the bike to a section of bike path in London, Ontario, Canada. From this spot, I took off on a ride. Up to this point, I was getting about a speed of 12kph for an average speed. The traffic levels in my home town are on the low side. My run on the London ride took on a mix of bike path and roads. The ride lasted for 36:35 minute/ seconds. I was surprized at rest of the run. The total distance I rode was 8.6 km in length. My average speed was 14.1 kph! The max speed was 25.1 kph and this was going down on slight grades on the pathway and road sections. On the road, I found myself holding speeds in the 18 to 20 kph range and holding this with comfort. I was running around the 90 rpm pedaling range. I figure that this doing good when you factor in the small wheel size and dual chain being used.

That is for now. I keep liking this type of small wheeled more and more.

Added cycling computer

2009-11-06T19:50:00.000-08:00

I needed a way to measure the way the the bike rides. This means mearsuring speed at which the can travel at. Given the size of the wheels and the gearing it has, one would expect a very low speed. Although this is not a full sized you get a bit of a surprise as to how well it does go. to measure the speed of the bike, I mounted a Mongoose cycling computer to the A-bike. A wireless type cycling cycle would be the ideal for this bike but all I could get was a wire based cycling computer. It may end up getting a wireless unit down the road but for now, this one will have to do. I use this same type on my other bikes so I know they all give me reliable accurate readings. This bike was never really designed to have a cycling computer put on it and the one main item I had to get creative on was the mounting of a magnet on the wheel. I lost the magnet that came with the cycle computer and had to go to a dollar store top pick up a fridge magnet. I took off the clip assembly that was on it and glued the magnet on to front wheel. I used the instructions for setting the computer so it reads the size of the front wheel. You basicly set a number on the computer to "read" the wheel size. I found out that the size of the wheels on the bike are only 7.5 inches, not 8". To set the number, you take the size of the wheel and multiply this by 3.1416. the number you get is 23.5575. This number must be converter into metric so you can enter the number into the computer. Times the number 23.6 (I rounded the number out) by 25.4. The entered number on the computer comes to 598. Once this is done, the computer now can read of a accurate speed for the bike.

After mounting the set-up cycle computer on to the bike, I did a ride of 4.6 km long. This would fall well within the bounds of the urban commutering it has been designed for. The riding time was measured at 20 minutes and 42 seconds. The max speed reached was 18.9 kph. The average speed was 13.3 kph. This falls below the speeds set in the ads but with the gearing set-up this bike uses, this works out to to accurate based on gearing charts I have from books I own. I am maintaining an average of 65 to 70 rpm. My peak rpm is 90 at 18.9 kph.

Anything added to this bike is subjected a very bumpy time. The computer is moving on the ties it has on the bumpy sections of road. This bike demands you be on where guard at all times. The handling is very quick. I tried a number of times to adjust the moving computer and the steering was very quick to react the the small change in hand postions. The light was being affected as well. On bumpy roads, the light was flicking off and on. At least the light is there to make it legal for night time riding. The tail light works great. It is nice and bright.

Added lights to the bike.

2009-11-05T21:47:00.000-08:00

To make this bike night legal, I added a front and rear to it. Here are pictures of the lights in place. The front light is just a dollar store reading light strapped I the the middle of the steering stem. The front light is not very bright but the bike is at least legal to on the road at night. Given the size of the light, it's small, puts out a surprising amount of light. The light is basiclly a small LED reading light that has a clip to hold to a book. It is small and fits the design of the bike well. The rear light is a Bell red flasher unit that is nice and bright. It uses a hand tightening nut so it can be moved if needed without the need for tools. The bike is now ready for any time of day, if is nice out of course!

Small bike repairs

2009-11-04T08:28:00.000-08:00

This is the second day of using the bike. The first big change over was replacing the seat. I had the seat and needed the seat post. A local bike shop had one so it was bought. With the new seat in place now, the bike rides far better now. The seat type is a male, hybrid type seat that as a hole on it. The base is gel so it makes for a comfortable place to be now.

The second item to come up was the rear quick release assembly on the lower frame folding section. This was loose and came off the bottom section frame. It is to be locked to the rear bottom frame section. With this part coming loose, the folding and unfolding of the bike could not be done. On top of this, the quick release section was be bumped off of the place it is when riding making the frame very loose after trying place it back without any type of glue. The bike is not as tight as non-folding bike to start with and this loose quick release assembly makes this bike not safe to ride. It is a problem that can be fixed and I did. I bought a tube of epoxy glue and glued the rear quick release assembly back on to the section it needed to to be on. I hope that this fixes this item on the bike and it holds in place for a while. The bike now folds and unfolds with no problems. If I where the type of person that demanded a perfect out of box product, I would have sent this back. Seeing that I like to fix things and get them working right, I do not mind doing these small fixes. Given the price of the bike, I was expecting a few small things that had to be repaired. Another small problem that came up was two of the screws that on the rear band brake assembly feel out due the bumps the bike was being subjected and is still going to be taking. I found one of the screws but the other one had to be replaced. Given the many small parts on this bike, regular safety checks should be done. This is true of any bike, not just this bike design.
Although I need not use lock-tight one the ones I put back in, this would be a good idea increase the chances keeps these fastners in place in they where to be taken out and put back in due to them loosening. The only real problem with the bike now trying to stop using it all the time. I do not what to break it. The new seat allows me to ride for a fair amount of time. The seating postion is set more the over the pedals. Compared a regular non-folding bike riding postion, it feels almost like standing straight. This means there is less power being put into the pedals but given the fact that the frame and drive train of the bike are weaker then a rigid welded frame bike, you work around this and enjoy the bike on it's terms. The other real problem I have is I can not really take the bike (or any of the others I own) in the near future since winter is coming. I will try to get out as much as possible before the cold weather comes in.

The Bike has come!

2009-11-03T09:55:00.000-08:00

After ordering the A-bike copy, it came at 9:30 am on Nov. 3rd, 2009. It was well packaged. I was totally open as to what to expect.

The first item of note was the type of tires used on the bike. After reading how the original bike used air filled tires, I was surprised to see the bike I bought used solid tires. I have mixed feelings on this. While I look forward to not getting flat tires, I what to see how long these solid tires last. Time will tell. The bike unfolded in about 30 seconds. I was not trying to do the unfold in any speedy manner.

The second item I noted was the seat set-up. The seat post uses quick release clamp and a series of holes in the seat post frame. There is a small pin built seat post to act as lock pin. This feature does work but not well as in there is no strength to hold the seat up. The overall build quaility is solid but there are areas that show this bike not being built to a high build standard. The fenders on the bike are part of the rear gear cover and the front fender is part of the fork cover assembly. There was a gap in both the front and rear assemby sections on the bike I received.

The next set after unfolding the bike was to check the overall fit of the various fastners. For someone expecting to get a bike to get up and go, you should really fine tune this bike before using it. I do this with any bike I buy. I need to know that the bike is safe to use. Fine tuning this bike is a simple manner tightening the items like the seat post. I found after riding the A-bike for bit I really needed to tighten the quick release for the seat stay in one place without moving.

After getting the bike unfolded, it was time get it on the road to ride. The first thing I noted about the bike was the seat. In a word, it works but it is very uncomfortable. Although the seat design works well for it folding up, it does not work from the riders side. It is just too small. This original seat will be replaced by regular bike seat. The ride quality of the bike on the rough side when riding rough pavement. The ride does smooth out on concrete based roads that this area has. The brakes on the bike are not too good. When compared my mountain bike and the V-brakes it uses, the brakes on the A-bike almost not work. They are very weak but they do stop the bike. Although the bike is slow, once you up to speed, the bike rolls along better then I thought it would be. Compared to the scooter test I did, the larger 8" wheels rolled better. The frame was solid given the fact that it has many folding points on it. For someone to compare this cute folder to a rigid bike like a alumium framed road bike is very unfair. I have test ridden tis bike about 8 to 9 km this day.

As it stands now. I like it. The seat needs to be replaced but that the only real big item I see so far. As to long term life of the bike, only time will tell this. I hope it lasts for some time. I like this design concept!

Concept A-bike folding seat

2009-10-23T18:00:00.000-07:00

Just a short note this time. I did a drawing of a seat that could be used on a A-bike type design. It uses the design feature of a rear mounted seat section that has two pivot points on the side of of the front mounted seat section. There is a cut-out section on the rear section to allow the seat to fold into the bike just as is done now on the current seat. This is just a thought of making this bike a bit more comfortable and user friendly.

Small wheel testing.

2009-10-22T08:47:00.000-07:00

Today, I tested out how small wheels work out in the real world. To do this, I used a scooter I had bought years ago and started to use it. Although this is not the A-bike, it showed just how the small wheels responded when in use. The ride quality was very bumpy. These are solid wheels and the A-bike will have air filled tires so there should be a small difference I hope. I figure that to get the bike up to speed and keep it there, a lot more pedaling input will be needed when compared to a full sized bike. The shorted crank arms will mean a faster pedal rate for what put into your pedalling of the bike. The next post will be the first riding impressions of the real bike after a ride on it.

Bought a 8" wheeled A-bike.

2009-10-20T19:06:00.000-07:00

Today, I bought a A-bike from a B.C. Canada hobby shop. The price was better then what I have seen on E-bay. I want to see just how well this bike works. It also gives me a chance see how this bike holds up over time.

I looked at the specs for the bike and found out the final drive ratio is 5.66 to 1. The bike has a total of 44.6 gears inches. This is on the low side. I figured this out by taking the gear ratio and multiplying it by the diameter of the 8" wheel. When compared to Strida folding bike http://ridethisbike.com/products/Strida/version-5-o-folding-bike.htm, the Strida design has 56 inches inches. This allows for a bit better speed when pedaling it.

In order to try out how a fixed gear 44.6 gearing inch equipped bike would feel as far as speed goes, I used my ride bike and picked out gear setting that would give this amount of gearing. I used the 42/ 25 gear setting on the bike to get the same amount of gear inches that is on the A-bike and started to pedal without shifting. I looked at my cycling computer and noted the speeds I was getting. I was achieving 19 KPH (11.7 MPH) and the pedaling speed as not too high. Looking up an old cycling chart I have showed me I was doing 80 R.P.M. In order to get up to the claimed 15 MPH (24.3 KPH) a rider would have to get a cycling RPM of 110 to get that speed. That can be done but only for short bursts. A more realistic speed for this bike would be 12 MPH (19.47 KPH) for a cyclist that is used to maintain these speeds. For a cyclist used to only doing about 60 RPM would maintain a speed of only 8.2 MPH (13.3 KPH). In this regard, I am guessing that the design of the bike will meet the needs of a short range commuter. How well it works on real roads is something I am looking forward to trying out.

I am looking forward to getting this little bike to try it out. I think it will be fun use. When compared to riding the road, mountain or a folding bike with 20" wheels, I know that the A-bike will have very different feel to it! When I get the bike, I will post a number of pictures of it. It will also allow me to see how the drive train is set-up and see if a recumbent can be worked of it. The small folding recumbent drawing I have posted would be nice to see built into a working bike.

12" wheeled A-bike set-up drawing

2009-10-16T03:38:00.000-07:00

I have been doing a bit of drawing to see what I could come up with as far as 12"wheel version of the A-bike design. This drawing shows what I have come up with. It shows a number of changes as far as the proportions go in the frame. I have no idea as to how much time or money would be needed to start this as a building project. It would be more then the cost of the one you can buy. The projected wheel base is 34 to 36 inches. The projected height of the bike is 36 inches.

This just a drawing. To build this bike, a lot more work will be needed to get the various size of tubing for proper fit of tubes and materials needed for making the folds points work out. Just trying to work this out is fun to do.

One another note, I tried this drawing of recumbent version of the A-bike. It uses the drive train set-up used on the A-bike but is modified with a longer chain that goes on to a mid-drive. This would then allow another transfer on to the final drive wheel. The bike is based on a recumbent I built using 12" wheels. I made a number small detail changes to make it work around the smaller 8" wheels used on the A-bike design. At this point, it is just a idea, not a work in progress. Anyone interested in trying this beyond a drawing concept is welcome to

try it out.

2009-10-14T06:57:00.000-07:00

I have been looking up bike designs again after getting away from this for a while. I have seen the A-bike design. It is small and interesting to look at. I lack the money to buy one although I would like to get one to get a feel of how it does feel to use. I just like the idea of a very compact bike to use. It would be nice to create a recumbent bike using the parts used in the folding compact up-right design.

Here is a link to the A-bike. http://www.foldingbikes.co.uk/sinclair_abike.htm.

This link goes to a Chini based exporter of the bike. It has the specs and other info regarding the bike there. http://www.diytrade.com/china/4/leads/3028398/A_bike_folding_bike_foldable_bike_mini_bike.html.
It would be great to see if somehow someone could make a bike like this using standard bike parts using the same basic A-frame design as a base. I now lack some of the things needed to make one but I will post a drawing of a possible A-type bike design that could be home made.

2009-10-13T10:08:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog. It has been set-up so that people that enjoy building home made bikes of all types can be posted. Whether it be a recumbent or up-right bike design, feel free to post a story here about something you have created!