I'm Back.........

It's almost March, I hope the last of the snow is now melting, and I am itching to buy a new bike on which I can reuse my hub motor.

Don't get me wrong, my current ride is great. Oh, here's an interesting story, my current ride is a Montague folding mountain bike that I bought on eBay from Wavecrestlabs. Actually, I bought the frame set only, the wheel set was from my old Cannondale which I originally had the hub motor setup on. A bunch of the Montague frames became available when Wavecrestlabs sold Tidalforce to Matra Sports. So it is kind of ironic that I went from riding an electric-conversion Cannondale to a de-electric Tidalforce. The old Tidalforce frame set came equipped with all necessary components (including the braze-ons for running the electric wires between the motor, batteries, and control - they are all still there but now empty), all that was missing were two wheels - I think I only paid $200.00! for the bike. Too bad the hub motor doesn't fit the front suspension fork, otherwise I would just mount the Wilderness Energy hub motor to the old Tidalforce frame - an odd partner of sorts.

Currently my old non-e Tidalforce serves as my station bike. I ride everyday, rain, sleet, snow, salt, heat, cold, or sun - no exception, the mile or so from my house to the train station where I chain it and catch the train into New York City to go to work. I also use the bike for short trips around town (milk runs, to the Post Office, etc.). The only problem I had was with the chain. The chain broke because it wasn't the proper size for the cogs on the Cannondale cassette - this has been fixed. I would not do this to any other bike, but once a week I spray down all the movable parts with WD40 to keep the workings well lubricated from the wintry nasty things that tend to gum up machinery. Usually I would use a good quality synthetic bicycle oil and grease. I will likely have to service all the bearings at some point during the spring.

Getting back to my itching, here is what I have been thinking about...... I will keep the non-e Tidalforce Montague for my wintry and rainy day commuting to the train station. I want to purchase the 2007 Schwinn cruiser that has the 7-speed Nexus rear hub and install the hub motor on the front fork. I need to mount baskets on the bike, so I want to mount large Wald wire baskets both front and rear - this will give me more cargo capacity than the trunk of my wife's VW Beetle convertible. The best part is, I think it will actually make money for me!

Here is where the revenue comes from - advertising! You see, I get to the train station at about 5:00 AM (really early - the first train of the day) so I get to park my bike right at the bottom of the stairs leading to the platform where everyone gets the train (this is first-come, first-served). Literally hundreds of people walk past my bike every day for the ride into New York City. The Wald baskets offer almost 10 square feet of conspicuous space where I can place advertisements for local businesses.

I have the location, hundreds of people pass the spot every business day, there will be a conspicuous cool-retro look, and it doesn't need to be expensive to be conspicuous, especially if local businesses can supply me with their artwork - then I just slip it into a mounting sleeve on the exterior of the baskets. On holidays and weekends, I can park the bicycle out front of the advertised establishment so there will be the advertisement-establishment association to more easily direct people to my sponsor. Spread out over 5 years, my cost is less than $0.75 per day (assuming 10 months of operation per year). So, even if I only charge $2.00 a day to have someones advertising on my bike, I will be able to buy a nice new bike every other year - not a bad way to stay in new wheels! Taking the concept further, I can sell franchises by offering a free bicycle to bike commuter if they park their bikes conspicuous public places (Anyone interested?).

Regarding the Schwinn Deluxe 7, I have ridden the bike. I feel it will make a great commuter/short trip bike. I like the ergonomics. I fit the bike really well. It has a very cool retro look, and the 7-speed Shimano Nexus hub has great gearing for around town. With a hub motor mounted, the bike makes a perfect urban/suburban cruiser, and with the baskets added the machine will move more groceries and stuff than any steroid pumped SUV.

Until next time.