An interesting thing happened the other day. I was riding down the road when I suddenly lost all power. Normally this happens when my battery comes unplugged or something like that, but not this time. After checking all my power connections I checked my fuse. It seemed ok until I pulled it out. Turns out going up my hill it had gotten so hot that I had melted all the solder that held the fuse together. It happened over time which explains why the fuse didn't break but I was still surprised when half of it just pulled away from the glass. I swapped it for the spare I always carry and was on my way again. The fuse lasted about 9 months so I think I got my $1's worth.
I'll be heading down to industrial liquidators again for a new spare but it still amazes me that my fuse holder got so hot as to melt the solder without the fuze breaking.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Maintenance and Mechanical Issues
Recently I took the plunge and decided to attempt a mountain trail as a shortcut in my commute. Little did I know that only half the trail was an actual fire road and the rest was a rocky stream bed. The jolts and jars bent my motor mount and did a number on my rear wheel.
Luckily the motor mount is aluminum so I could bend it back just by leaning on it. My wheel was old anyway and I had planned on replacing it so no harm there. My chain on the other hand is another story.
After this jaunt in the canyon I was having an awful time trying to keep my chain on my front cog. It just kept falling off. A closer inspection showed it bent and mangled in three places and one of the links had nearly popped apart. A short ride to the bike shop for a new chain and I was back in business.
While attempting to adjust the chain stay that is mounted to the motor I somehow managed to bend it. Not wanted to have to order another one I decided to try and make due without it. I wasn't really motivated to replace it anyway because that thing has been a pain ever since I installed the motor. The two cogs are so close together that if your chain drops it is all but impossible to reinstall it without breaking the chain.
So far I've had no problems and I actually like it better. One thing I have noticed is that if I go over any larger bumps the chain is more likely to jump off the motor cog but that's no problem now since a simple lift of the chain fixes it. Time to reseat the chain now is around 5 seconds vs. 30 sec to a minute with the chain stay.
Luckily the motor mount is aluminum so I could bend it back just by leaning on it. My wheel was old anyway and I had planned on replacing it so no harm there. My chain on the other hand is another story.
After this jaunt in the canyon I was having an awful time trying to keep my chain on my front cog. It just kept falling off. A closer inspection showed it bent and mangled in three places and one of the links had nearly popped apart. A short ride to the bike shop for a new chain and I was back in business.
While attempting to adjust the chain stay that is mounted to the motor I somehow managed to bend it. Not wanted to have to order another one I decided to try and make due without it. I wasn't really motivated to replace it anyway because that thing has been a pain ever since I installed the motor. The two cogs are so close together that if your chain drops it is all but impossible to reinstall it without breaking the chain.
So far I've had no problems and I actually like it better. One thing I have noticed is that if I go over any larger bumps the chain is more likely to jump off the motor cog but that's no problem now since a simple lift of the chain fixes it. Time to reseat the chain now is around 5 seconds vs. 30 sec to a minute with the chain stay.
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