Rock'n Roll in Christchurch
Posted on September 8th, 2010 by Grant - YikeBike
We had a fairly major earthquake in Christchurch in the weekend and continue to have some quite severe aftershocks . I was almost knocked off my feet walking to work this morning - very interesting to feel the earth roll like that!
The good thing is that there were no fatalities and the buildings are designed for shakes - really is a triumph of engineering and planning (with a dash of luck). I will never grumble about a building regulation again.... Quite proud of the way the city is cleaning up and getting on with things.
The other good thing is that there is no damage at YikeBike HQ and most of our teams' homes are fine – a few missing chimneys and frayed nerves. Our big YikeBike test rig took a walk around the test chamber during the quake, but the YikeBike on it kept running!
There will be a few delays with some suppliers but we are busy making YikeBikes and we are still hoping to deliver the first YikeBikes this month.
Comments
If I need extra batteries for longer range, and or need to recharge on route, those items need to be easily pocketable and not too bulky, heavy or awkward shaped.
If I go shopping perhaps a mini trailer basket on skate wheels could carry a few vegetables and a newspaper.
I am knocking on the 100 kg weight limit, so I look forward to a strong enough version.
How easy is it to replace a ripped or punctured tyre?
What is the bearing layout for the front wheel.
I suspect the drive is via a spur gear onto a toothed wheel rim.Plastic? The drive is NOISY,this indicates rapid wear, even leading to stripped teeth.Comments?
Good set of questions - thanks.
There will be additional battery pack available soon - they will clip into the hole in the front wheel.
There may well be a trailer option available before too long as well.
Longer term we will make a version for smaller and larger people.
Punctures are easier to repair than a back wheel of a bike. 3 bolts to take the cover plate off then you can access and replace the tube just like normal. Back wheel is even easier.
There has been huge development and testing work on the bearing configuration for the front wheel that has now been tested for many thousands of km. This has included water, heat, sand so we know the rim will last a long time and there will be relatively inexpensive rollers that can be replaced over time (in the same way you would replace tyres or roller-blade wheels)
The noise from earlier versions was due to the gearing system on the front wheel and on the production version with is dramatically quieter due to advanced materials selections and optimization of gear shapes.
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