News and Events

Keep up to date with the latest news and events of Modular Bikes.

Saturday, October 28, 2017

Short Trip to Bendigo

Flowers like these were all over nature strips on the way to Spring Gully

Uber-hip cafe on Hargreaves St Bendigo. Here is a link to stories about its previous lives.

More from the cafe
Op Shop Bounty from Bendigo.  The record is actually worth something, that is, a bit more than I paid for it but not enough to retire on.  It is a New-Zealand-only issue of the record from 1969, a Johnny come lately rerelease of the 1963 version. But of course.........
it comes from 1969, with record titles such as Tune-In, Aquarius, Hashish, Hair, and Be-In (Hare Krishna) spruiked on the back cover.
Hi

I have just got back from Bendigo where I spent about 24 hours promoting the OzHpv Challenge .  Its just over a month till the Challenge is on.  After arriving by train, I rode up to Spring Gully where the challenge is based and checked in to the Burns View accommodation I had booked.  This turned out to be a house given over to accommodation, you let yourself in via a code sent to you by SMS which all worked for me this time. Woohoo!  A bit later I rode the few hundred meters to the One Tree Hill Hotel and met Kevin Crockett there.  Kevin is with the Bendigo Amateur Radio Group who will help Ozhpv with some marshaling, and he showed me some ipad pictures of his radio-equipped-velomobile-in-developement.

After that I rode the Challenge road race course before heading back to Burns View for dinner.  In the evening I visited a Future Movers Forum event which involved some compulsory mingling.  There were a few people there I knew from the council like Rob Kretchmer and Chris Rowlands but spoke to many more through the activities based around meeting others and discussing transport solutions.

The next day I joined the Moroni's Shop ride which consisted of high end road bikes and included bike shop owner Peter Moroni.   Unfortunately I was unceremoniously dropped due to not knowing the route about 5k out of town and meandered my way back to the city centre, increasing my geographical knowledge of Bendigo.  I'd already had a pot of tea by the time the Moroni's group had got back after their 50k ride.  Chatted with a few cyclists at the cafe next to Moroni's and these included Michael Taylor.  Michael is a handcyclist and cycling royalty in Bendigo: last year he won the handcycling division of the New York Marathon.  I was humbled by him, he frequently rides with the Moroni's bunch, averages 30kph and does not get dropped!

After the shop ride I went back up to Spring Gully, packed up my stuff and returned to town, dropping OzHpv challenge flyers at the Spring Gully store and a few bike shops on the way.  Then I visited an op shop and went to the cool cafe in Hargreaves Street.  A local unicyclist,  Peter bailed me up and asked me about my trike and we got chatting and I handed him a Challenge entry form. He excused himself, had to go to a "business meeting" which consisted of having lunch with a couple of ladies at the cool cafe. Yeah, maybe there was a spreadsheet or two tossed around but I could think of worse places to work!

The freewheeling fun workshop is right next to the Hargreaves Street Caf and it was closed when I looked in the first time, but open a few minutes later after another op shop visit.  I spoke to Kieran Moroni, (cousin of Peter) , had a chat about the OzHpv challenge and the good works his bike shed does.  This includes having an outreach trailer which takes cycle repair facilities and training staff to people and communities around Bendigo that need them.  After that it was back to the station for the trip home.

Oh, and the record and the tea cup and the video and the other crap I bought all made it home in 1 piece.

Regards

Steve Nurse


Tuesday, October 17, 2017

A test on the fast trike





Hi

Last night I went for a ride on my new "fast trike".  In the short term the trike doesn't have a future in this form.  It looks like the next time there will be an OzHpv records meet will be in Easter next year, and I'm not sure I will attempt an unfaired recumbent trike hour record even then. For now though, the frame can be put to better use, either as a daily driver for me or a bike I can do up and then sell.

I don't for a moment regret having made this trike, even though its has been limited to a few wobbly blockies on the roads around us.  The aero wheel covers can be used for any of my leaning trikes and I can easily take the seat apart and remount it at a more sensible angle.

It is spring here now, and we have daylight savings, so I can head out at 7:30 pm when its still light and there's not too much traffic. Last night I got up to about 27kph but the brakes might have been rubbing! Aim to have another go tonight, I might even break out the bike shorts.

Regards

Steve Nurse

Sunday, October 8, 2017

Trike for sale

Timber Trike for Sale, $3000

Hi, I'm selling my timber leaning trike as documented in this blog.  This trike has front wheel drive and was built this year.  It has a hollow timber frame and weighs approx 18kg.  

38t biopace top ring, 11-40t cluster.

Frame material Hoop Pine plywood.

Adjustable seat and handlebars, suit riders approx 173 to 193 cm, 5'8" to 6'4"

Front wheel 559, rear 349.

Removable Seat / Tailbox with removable, customisable side panels and approx 50 litres of storage.

The trike uses techniques developed in my Industrial Design Master's degree.  It was entered in the  Dangerous Designs Timber Competition and the build from routed plywood was documented on my blog, click here  for a summary or begin here . A short video is on youtube .

Selling for $3,000 pick up from Clifton Hill, Victoria Australia, or can bring to Bendigo for the OzHpv Challenge.

Steve Nurse 0459341814 or (03) 94818290 or email cesnur (the at symbol) iimetro.com.au