Archive for June, 2009

Almost every component of a bicycle is as important as the next. You wouldn’t be able to ride without pedals, handlebars, a stem or most other bike accessories for that matter. One element that is integral to the movement of the bike and the transition of power from the rider to the wheels is the chain. This incredible piece of engineering is utilized in equipment and machinery all over the world and is responsible for many different tasks. Chains however are prone to breaking down quickly if not cared for. Here are the 3 main reasons why you need to give your chain some regular TLC.

Long life.Due to the fact a chain is metal, it will always be prone to corrosion and rusting. Bike chains are even more prone to this as they are often exposed the elements quite a lot. After every time a bike is ridden the chain should be washed down well and then oil or a suitable lubricate should be applied to it. This will prevent any corrosion taking place and should also prevent the chain from ceasing up. You should not really every allow the chain to have more than a couple of links not moving optimally at any one time.


Damage to bike
. If you do not look after the chain on your bike it will start to damage other component that are connected to it. Cranksets work in close connection with the chain and if the links are not moving freely or are damaged, this will cause the crankset to be bent out of shape. The derailleur of a bike is yet another important component that can pick up damage by a chain being in a bad condition. Racing bikes are even more prone to this their mechanisms are very finely tuned.

Rider harm. Last but not least, there can be serious damage done to a rider by a neglected chain. If enough links cease up then the chain can jam and sometimes bring the wheels to an abrupt stop. If you are riding at any sort of speed this can cause the rider to be thrown from the bike and receive untold injuries, especially if you are wearing fragile cycle clothing

There are many reasons for riding on the road and there are lots of different kinds of bikes. The four main kinds of bikes for road bike cycling are Road bikes, Mountain bikes, Hybrid bikes and Folding bikes. All these kinds of bikes have numerous different designs so choosing the most suitable bike for your needs can be a tricky decision.

The kind of bike you choose to use on the road depends on the frequency of use, the reason for using it, the length of the journeys you make, and also which kind of bike you feel comfortable on.

Generally road bikes have drop handlebars and thin tyres, and they are relatively lightweight. They are mainly designed for speed so the riding position is low down and aerodynamic. This type of bike is certainly the quickest choice for road bike cycling and is the bike of choice for racing and most experienced road bike cycling fans.

Road bikes can be split into two main types - racing bikes and touring bikes. Touring bikes are ideal for riding long distances while racing bikes are designed for speed.

Touring bikes have lower gear ratios, which makes them suitable for carrying stuff on a long ride or touring holiday. Racing bikes are very light but have rigid frames to make sure the maximum amount of power is transfered from rider to wheels, to give a smooth ride.

A good choice of road bike for commuters, keeping fit and cycling for leisure are hybrid bikes. They are basically a combination of a mountain bike and a road bike, and they are gaining in popularity all the time. They have fast spinning wheels like a road bike, but the riding position is more upright and similar to a mountain bike position, because they have flat handlebars.

Mountain bikes have tryes with tread designed for off-roading but they can easily be adapted to road cycling if you have one and don’t want to spend money on another bike. A mountain bike can be adapted by changing the tyres for narrower road tyres. This will reduce resistance and make cycling on the road more efficient and easier.

If part of your journey to work involves cycling on the road an excellent sort of bike to use is a folding bike. These are ideal if you use public transport as part of your journey, or if storage is an issue at work or at home. Instead of thinking about where to secure your bike you can just fold it up and take it indoors with you.

Whichever bike you decide is most suitable, when you are road bike cycling makes sure you are always visible to other road users by wearing refelective clothing and using lights. This is crucial for safety on the road, whatever type of bike you choose.

In recent years, electric motor and battery technology has advanced tremendously. Today’s LEVs (Light Electric Vehicles) and folding electric bikes have clear advantages over fossil fuel powered vehicles in the areas of performance, ease of use and operating costs. In addition to the financial and environmental benefits, electric bike owners are quick to add that riding these vehicles is fun—and they get “thumbs up” and other encouragement from neighbors as they go by.

Pollution Free

If you drive a car the typical 12,000 miles a year, your vehicle annually leaves four-and-one-half metric tons of carbon in its wake. Electric vehicles provide the opportunity to reduce your personal environmental impact and improve local air quality as they run on batteries and do not burn fossil fuels as their main system of propulsion.

Plenty of Torque

With their sophisticated electronic controls, today’s motors are more efficient and produce an abundance of torque even with very little throttle. As a 3 horsepower gasoline engine and the torque is immediate, on demand,a 1-horsepower electric motor has about the same torque.

Quiet Power

Electric motors are quiet and give you an entirely different feeling when riding. Riding gas-powered personal vehicles is banned in many neighborhoods and they are louder than lawn-mowers. Quiet electric bikes seem to glide down the road with ease and are welcomed in most communities.

Clean Machine

There’s no grease or oil to get to get your hands or clothes dirty. It never leaks oil and no foul exhaust or gasoline fumes. You can safely store an electric bicycle in your home or apartment.

Economic Ride

Electric motors cost almost nothing to run. Electric vehicles are recharged by plugging them into the wall sockets instead of burning up expensive fossil fuels every trip. Given the rising gas prices worldwide, going electric makes good financial sense.

This is an electric bicycle. Electric bicycles are usually based on traditional bicycle designs but they incorporate a battery pack, controller, and an electric hub motor on the front wheel, rear wheel, or both wheels.

The electric bike can function pretty well as a bicycle even without having any battery power. Just turn off the power or leave the battery at home for a charge if you want a bit of exercise.

Storage is usually accomplished by the rider wearing a backpack or attaching saddle bags, bungee cords, or other storage device to the rear carrier. Typically,there’re no built-in alarm systems about electric bicycles.

They are allowed on bike lanes and commuter trails and they are treated just like bicycles in most jurisdictions.

It’s an electric scooter. Except they are battery powered,electric scooters look like their gas scooter cousins. Virtually all electric scooters have much smaller wheel diameters than electric bikes. You just have to turn the throttle as they are designed as “twist n’ go”. They make lousy bicycles and the pedals are really for emergency use only.

Most electric scooters have lockable and waterproof storage under the seat. Many electric scooter models have a built-in alarm and immobilizer to prevent theft. The electric scooter offers a bit of protection from rain and wind.

Depending on the jurisdiction, the electric scooter may encounter more restrictions than the electric bicycle.

My own personal bias is that I prefer electric bicycles or folding electric bikes over electric scooters. They are a more bulletproof design in my opinion and many brands such as the eZee bike brand are of superb quality with widely available replacement part components.
At Sccoter Underground, you can give us a call or better yet ,drop in and our experts will help you to choose the solution best meets your requirements and budget.

Electric bikes now come in many models and styles and provide an inexpensive mode of transportation for short hops around town for errands, commuting to work or fun.

Electric bikes are providing a way to save money on gasoline and also reduce carbon footprints. The bikes can combine old fashioned pedaling with the modern technology of a battery powered motor or run on battery alone.

when Baron von Drais invented a wood “walking machine” in 1817 to be used in the royal gardens,electric bikes could not even be imagined. The Draisienne or hobby horse was propelled by pushing the feet against the ground. Next was the wooden velocipede Boneshaker with the pedals applied directly to the front wheel in 1865.

The price of Electric bikes range from about $1400 to $2500 or more. Price is usually determined by weight, quality and battery type. A 250-watt folding electric bike is available for about $1400. $2500 can buy an extra-light 350-watt model using a lightweight lithium-ion battery at the high end,. Most models can travel 15 to 20 miles without recharging.

If a car is replaced with an electric bicycle, saving on gas, wear and tear and maintenance cost are substantial. For example,an electric bike costs $20 for the same mileage while fuel costs for a car traveling 10,000 miles is $910.

Electric bikes are governed by different state regulations. They are classified as bicycles and require no license or registration in some places, in others its speed and wattage determines its status. The Department of Motor Vehicles should be consulted about the laws governing electric bikes.

Manufacturers of electric bikes use the latest technology to make them sleeker, better looking and hide the batteries more than ever before. They are becoming more main-stream and a Green way to save money and is more and more popular due to the new designs.

In the industry, electric bikes come in two basic designs - adaptive and purpose-built. The adaptive type starts with a bicycle and adds a drive system to it. It’s for about the price of our purpose-built bikes with these hits on ebay. From the ground up,a purpose-built e-bike is designed. Purpose-built bikes have innovative designs, heavy duty frames, reinforced suspension, heavy-load tires, and built-in features. Users of both types enjoy easy acceleration, hill climbing, and cutting through headwinds.

Rechargeable batteries which are rechargeable batteries provide ower for the electric drive motors. From common 110 VAC wall outlets, charging costs less than 5 cents of electricity. 3 - 8 hours is the normal charging time. Most electric bikes have a standard lead acid battery. However, in order to make it lighter, our folding electric bike comes with the Ni-Mh batteries standard, and with our mountain bike, we do have available at an option the Ni-Mh batteries which are last longer and work better in temperatures below freezing. Gasoline bikes, often referred to as mopeds, differ from e-bikes in that they generate more speed, risk, range, noise, pollution, and in some states, legal issues.

30 mph id the top speed of mopeds limited by law. Often, a driver’s license and registration is required. Also,these gas bikes usually require you to mix oil and gasoline and have two-cycle engines. They are nortorius for head gasket and other mechancial problems. The electric bike is more simple. An electric bicycle, which by law is limited to a top speed of 20 mph, reduces the risk of serious injury. It’s plenty for errands and short commutes in the shorter range of 15 - 40 miles. E-bikes are the cleanest motorized vehicles both in terms of air pollution and noise. They are slower, and do not work as well with very cold temperatures are the disadvantage compared to gasoline bicycles.

The front forks of bicycles have changed significantly since the introduction of the mountain bike. Due to the introduction a need arose for protection from impact of bumpy trails. A need that simply had not been there previously.

On most MTB’s these days you will tend to find that the forks at the front of the bike have a built in set of shocks, with the blades being made from upper and lower telescopic tubes, called ‘legs’. These telescopic tubes allow the impact of the extreme terrain under the wheels to be reduced, which will make the bike much easier to ride on rough terrain.

The characteristics for MTB Forks can change greatly, with the suspension travel and handling style setup to a specific type of riding. For example, a cross country rider will need a different suspension fork to a downhill mountain bike racer, who will have a different setup again to a freeride rider. Cross country bikes will not need as much suspension travel, usually around 80 to one hundred millimeters and can be made from lighter material when compared to the suspension forks used on a DH bike. This is basically because they don’t receive as much punishment as they might in other situations.

When suspension was originally introduced into mountain biking, a travel length of the above amount was the form. Now though, DH forks offer typically around one hundred and fifty to two hundred mm of travel. There are some downhill mountain bike forks though which can offer anywhere up to 300 millimetres of travel for really harsh terrain!

Some suspension forks may also enable the rider to change the suspension travel to fit particular sections of terrain. More travel for downhill and extreme sections, and lower travel for the not so rough cross country or up hill sections. The rider may even want to totally eliminate suspension fork travel all together which would be advantageous on a smooth tarmac road for example. This lockout capability may even be activated remotely from the handle bars making use of a cable.

Whatever the type of mountain biking you do, it benefits you to pick your mountain bike front suspension forks carefully as when you choose the right ones you will gain a significant change in performance.