Show us your Pushbikes

[Galena]

Excuse the mess Dining room come bike store come brewery store come woodwork centre.

My little used Ridley. Not quite as fast as yours but Pleasant on smooth tarmac

X


then there’s the insurance replacement For my old orange p7 nicked from a shed in west bridgford 17 years ago - the classic yeti arc of 2003



then the Turner 5spot for the trails


All sadly silent

Nice, but you really need to tread on the pedals a little

 

[Clint]

It's blurring the lines a bit with electric motors... especially at 40mph!

 

[Galena]

I'm not a "serious" cyclist but do enjoy being out on a bike in the beautiful countryside that surrounds me. My knees are not that good these days and it was ruining my enjoyment of cycling and I live in county that you can't ride 100 yards without having to climb up a hill. So I did a budget diy conversion of my old MTB into an eBike. This year, I have done more miles cycling than the last 10 years combined. I still get exercise but I have the assistance for when I hit a climb or for when I'm knackered. I ride mostly single track country roads (often they're not in a great state of repair), and minor and/or B-roads. I used to struggle doing 10 miles, now I can manage up to 30/35 miles and still have a smile on my face. I fear this may sound a little trivial to most hardcore cyclists, or maybe an eBike is not even the done thing, but it has changed my outlook to cycling immeasurably and has made a decent ride out possible again, and for very little cost. I can now enjoying the countryside again and with a much larger range.

Love the conversion, how easy was it to do and what sort of cost? I could do with one for the wife's bike.
You don't need to be 'serious' to get my vote and I am all for e bikes if it gets people out and especially in your situation where you wouldn't be able to otherwise. I know what you mean about the terrain, similar here a flat ride is literally impossible unless I drive to get there which I rarely do as I feel it defeats the object though sometimes I just need a flat ride.

 

[mitch]

Heres one of mine.
1976 Ultra Violet.
Fully restored.

 

[Turexy]

Interesting, how easy was the conversion?
Are you in the UK? If so presumably you are aware it is illegal? Not that I am a kill joy and if I had an e bike I reckon 25mph (with pedal assist) would be what I want, the 15mph limit is probably fair for non sports cyclists and novice riders to prevent them doing harm to themselves or others but for an experienced cyclist who can reach speeds in excess of 25mph it would seem very tame.

Yes I'm from the UK and I know you can only have up to 250W motor and pedal assist only but hey ho.... The actual conversion took me about 3-4h in total. If you have all the right tools then for anyone who knows few thinks about bicycles it's nothing too complicated.

 

[Galena]

Yes I'm from the UK and I know you can only have up to 250W motor and pedal assist only but hey ho.... The actual conversion took me about 3-4h in total. If you have all the right tools then for anyone who knows few thinks about bicycles it's nothing too complicated.

Cool, I could do with one for the wife's bike

 

[Galena]

Heres one of mine.
1976 Ultra Violet.
Fully restored.View attachment 33105

Class
I bet that doesn't go out on wet roads?

 

[mitch]

Class
I bet that doesn't go out on wet roads?

Nope! Only ever bone dry.
Its one of 5.
Its currently a household 'orniment' like the others.
Definately a head turner and conversation starter even a potential sort of 'income'...
The answers always a 'no'

 

[Rigsby666]

Love the conversion, how easy was it to do and what sort of cost? I could do with one for the wife's bike.
You don't need to be 'serious' to get my vote and I am all for e bikes if it gets people out and especially in your situation where you wouldn't be able to otherwise. I know what you mean about the terrain, similar here a flat ride is literally impossible unless I drive to get there which I rarely do as I feel it defeats the object though sometimes I just need a flat ride.

Thank for the encouragement @Galena. Yes, it was a real game-changer for me. And I know what you mean about the hills, they are great at pushing your cardiovascular capabilities as well as the strength in your legs, but you don't always feel in the mood for that (and they kill my knees). The nice thing with the eBike is that I am in total control as to how much effort I put into the ride (or how much assistance I utilise), so completely flexible for your mood, your terrain and your strength on any particular day.
The conversion was genuinely easy to do, I would say most people with basic skills could cope with doing it. I just did a bit of research, bought the bits off the internet and then put it together. It all depends what you want from the bike and how much you are prepared to spend. Mine is very basic and build on a tiny budget, compared to what I hear people spend on such things. I went for a motor that has plenty of torque for the hills, I'm not really interested in speed, I've got motorbikes for going faster. Basically, it's only a battery (the single most expensive bit), a hub motor built into a wheel and a controller. There is obviously a bit of wiring, motor cutouts on the brakes and I have a throttle (I didn't want pedal assist). It cost me £300 all in, so super cheap as most people who buy eBikes seem to spend thousands. I don't suppose my bike would stand up to major usage or abuse for long, but I'm never going to be doing that, so really it's horses for courses. I've done 800 miles over the last few months and I'm very happy with it.

 

[Clint]

Heres one of mine.
1976 Ultra Violet.
Fully restored.View attachment 33105

How much would that be worth?
The amount of those that were down the tip....

 

[mitch]

@Clint If memory serves Raleigh produced i recall 5 million frames between 68 and 80/81 - it ws their biggest production run ever.
And yes. Most ended up at the tip.

The value of this one is around £700. Its all original except the seat cover and handlebar grips and decals.

Frame was shot blasted back to metal.

I have a red one value slightly less and a fizzy lemon yellow crossover. Features parts left over from the mk1 which were used when the mk2 came out but thats in bits on a 1971 frame. Also a black one which was the last colour to be made.

If you know where to look. Old bike shops etc you can still find some NOS parts. Pedals wheel nuts groos and original holland tyres fetch a fortune as does the shifter. I cleaned out a shop once of brake blocks! A lot of the chrome can be re chromed fairly easy and the tyres and spokes are readily availably especially after Raleigh re launched the Chopper in 2002. It wasnt the same. All the tooling etc was destroyed. Production had ceased by then and all the bikes were made in Malaysia to be shipped to Notts for finishing/assembly. I had one. Frame No 1001 of 2002 made. Sold it for double a few years ago. Decided i didnt like it. It was still flat packed.

Nice to be a kid again... that can drink!

 

[Jordang]

£3k i would want an ebike or an engine in it for that.

Won’t mention how much my MTB cost then lol

 

[London]

Here's my single speed which is all I need for getting around my local area as no big hills. Cost me about £400 with the upgrades.

 

[Galena]

View attachment 33109
Here's my single speed which is all I need for getting around my local area as no big hills. Cost me about £400 with the upgrades.

Nice clean lines, good looking bike that, I do like a fixed gear bike, though no use whatsoever where I live. What frame is that a Fixation? I can't quite read it

 

[London]

Yes it a Fixation I think they are no longer in business, it's similar to a Mango or 6KU.

https://www.londoncyclist.co.uk/300-single-speed-bikes/

 

[Leon103]

I love the idea of building my own electric bike. If the need arose I would happily ride one and have been considering on for my daily 32 very hilly commute. Would love to know more.

 

[Rigsby666]

I love the idea of building my own electric bike. If the need arose I would happily ride one and have been considering on for my daily 32 very hilly commute. Would love to know more.

I found building mine quite easy @Leon103. I built it last March and it has transformed my use of cycling. When I was considering an eBike, I was on a very tight budget, so I decided to build my own. Prebuilt eBikes seemed to start around £700 and they didn't seem very good ones for that money, people seemed to spend £1500 as minimum for a new eBike, but most spent £2500-£3000, which is impossible money for me. I ended up spending £300 to build my own from parts, but I already had an old Giant ATX780 MTB which seemed fine for this use (would have liked some front suspension, so may upgrade that over the winter). It has a strong traditional frame with plenty of space for mounting battery and controller, etc, and good components (Shimano Deore XT level). The bike only cost me £50 about 7 years or so ago. The UK law restricts us to 250W motors that have a limit of 15 or 16mph, but I tried one of those (borrowed a friends) and I found it fairly pathetic up anything like a decent climb, involving almost as much pedalling to get up them as if I was riding an acoustic bike. If you buy anything bigger though, it is at your own risk as technically it is classed as a motorbike or moped or something, and needs registering with DVLA, you need a bike licence, insurance, etc. I think, in reality, as long as you don't make it obvious that your eBike is more than 250W and ride sensibly, most riders would be fine, as it doesn't seem very strictly enforced. But that is a decision each would have to make for themselves.

 

[Galena]

@Rigsby666 Did you find your design anywhere we can research a build?

 

[hop-a-long]

Like @MyQul I'm more of a laidback cylcist.
This is my second recumbent.
It's an HP Velotechnik Scorpion FX
I rode over 45000km on my first recumbent (Sinner Demon 20/26) in a little over 15 years.
The photo's were taken on my last cylcing holiday in Scotland, where I cycled from Kinlochleven to Newcastle in about 3 weeks.

 

[Galena]

Like @MyQul I'm more of a laidback cylcist.
This is my second recumbent.
It's an HP Velotechnik Scorpion FX
I rode over 45000km on my first recumbent (Sinner Demon 20/26) in a little over 15 years.
The photo's were taken on my last cylcing holiday in Scotland, where I cycled from Kinlochleven to Newcastle in about 3 weeks.

I have never ridden a recumbent but it looks like you can get plenty of gear on with that trailer and it must have been a nice adventure. How did you find it in the UK? I would worry about the aggressive drivers we have in this country.