Dilemma - tell the wife or not?
Discussion
About 4/5 years ago, we (sorry, I mean my wife) bought an electric scooter. She thought it would be handy for keeping in the caravan to get around large sites.
All that happened was that my son would tear around the site on it and I was forever telling him off, so we brought it home where it has since never turned a wheel due to the insurance/legal black hole that these things fall into on the public highway/pathways. Besides anything else, you would look like a right prat riding it and the coppers would stop you as soon as they saw you on it.
Now, I'm afraid to say that I use the Metro to get to work as it's free, quicker than the car when it's rush hour (only due to the stupid Gateshead traffic lights - but that's a different gripe), drops me off at works doorstep and the station is only 1.5 miles away from home.
While I had the Cerbera, I didn't want to start the engine of the car, only to travel 1.5 miles and switch it off again. This would do the engine no good what-so-ever, so I used a push-bike. However, I hated the bike, I arrived at the station all sweaty and I'm allergic to physical exercise and it always went through my mind that if it had an electric motor, it would be much better.
Now that it's winter, I'm just using the Lincoln to get to the station and the wife's got the Mini and the bike has been put to the back of the garage and forgotten about - until now....
I've just been tidying the garage and come across the scooter and the bike. In a moment of scrapheap thinking clarity, I realised that the motor from the scooter would fit onto the bikes frame, powering the pedal part and keeping the full gear train to adjust the torque required for hills and stuff. As the bike would still look pretty standard (albiet with a couple of smallish batteries strapped to the frame), any coppers passing wouldn't give it a second glance and you wouldn't feel like a prat riding it.
So, to my dilemma.
Do I tell my wife that I'm going to steal the motor and batteries from her £200 scooter and fit them to my bike.
Do I just steal them anyway and when it's finished announce my bastard creation.
Do I steal them and never tell her until she finds out herself.
Do I just forget about it and keep using the Lincoln to get to the station.
Over to you.....
All that happened was that my son would tear around the site on it and I was forever telling him off, so we brought it home where it has since never turned a wheel due to the insurance/legal black hole that these things fall into on the public highway/pathways. Besides anything else, you would look like a right prat riding it and the coppers would stop you as soon as they saw you on it.
Now, I'm afraid to say that I use the Metro to get to work as it's free, quicker than the car when it's rush hour (only due to the stupid Gateshead traffic lights - but that's a different gripe), drops me off at works doorstep and the station is only 1.5 miles away from home.
While I had the Cerbera, I didn't want to start the engine of the car, only to travel 1.5 miles and switch it off again. This would do the engine no good what-so-ever, so I used a push-bike. However, I hated the bike, I arrived at the station all sweaty and I'm allergic to physical exercise and it always went through my mind that if it had an electric motor, it would be much better.
Now that it's winter, I'm just using the Lincoln to get to the station and the wife's got the Mini and the bike has been put to the back of the garage and forgotten about - until now....
I've just been tidying the garage and come across the scooter and the bike. In a moment of scrapheap thinking clarity, I realised that the motor from the scooter would fit onto the bikes frame, powering the pedal part and keeping the full gear train to adjust the torque required for hills and stuff. As the bike would still look pretty standard (albiet with a couple of smallish batteries strapped to the frame), any coppers passing wouldn't give it a second glance and you wouldn't feel like a prat riding it.
So, to my dilemma.
Do I tell my wife that I'm going to steal the motor and batteries from her £200 scooter and fit them to my bike.
Do I just steal them anyway and when it's finished announce my bastard creation.
Do I steal them and never tell her until she finds out herself.
Do I just forget about it and keep using the Lincoln to get to the station.
Over to you.....
Rough fag packet calculations work out around a 25-30mph top speed. My objective will be to activate the 30mph limit signs on the bottom road. 
Back to the dimemma though:
If I tell her what I'm doing before hand, she's likely to tell me not to do it - as it's her scooter despite never actually riding it or using it for the last 3 years.
If I do it and then tell her, she's likely to hit the roof and I might be in the naughty room forever.
If I do it and never tell her, well, it might just work as the scooter has a large fibreglass body that will hide the missing componants, but I'm unsure as to how to explain the extra bits added to the bike. As for the scooter not working, I'll just tell her its old and broken.
I feel the need to take pictures of the idea and if/when it progresses, this could turn out to be quite dangerous.
Back to the dimemma though:
If I tell her what I'm doing before hand, she's likely to tell me not to do it - as it's her scooter despite never actually riding it or using it for the last 3 years.
If I do it and then tell her, she's likely to hit the roof and I might be in the naughty room forever.
If I do it and never tell her, well, it might just work as the scooter has a large fibreglass body that will hide the missing componants, but I'm unsure as to how to explain the extra bits added to the bike. As for the scooter not working, I'll just tell her its old and broken.
I feel the need to take pictures of the idea and if/when it progresses, this could turn out to be quite dangerous.
Byff said:
Rough fag packet calculations work out around a 25-30mph top speed. My objective will be to activate the 30mph limit signs on the bottom road.
Higer gearing then? We need an NSL furious cycling charge at least..
Byff said:
If I tell her what I'm doing before hand, she's likely to tell me not to do it - as it's her scooter despite never actually riding it or using it for the last 3 years.
Its better to seek forgiveness than to ask permission. Also, see footnote.
Byff said:
If I do it and then tell her, she's likely to hit the roof and I might be in the naughty room forever.
Wont be forever. Just till she wants something different, like a shiny thing for the Christmas tree. Byff said:
If I do it and never tell her, well, it might just work as the scooter has a large fibreglass body that will hide the missing componants, but I'm unsure as to how to explain the extra bits added to the bike. As for the scooter not working, I'll just tell her its old and broken.
And there is the magic get out clause! The scooter is broken, you were trying to fix it, when you figured out that you could save £600 on buying an electric bike, but stripping and re-armaturing the motor to restrict the speed. After all, you're using 12v batteries, instead of those high speed 6v ones, aren't you?
Byff said:
I feel the need to take pictures of the idea and if/when it progresses, this could turn out to be quite dangerous.
Bugger pictures, we need video. And isnt dangerous the point? Gragh!
randlemarcus said:
Byff said:
Rough fag packet calculations work out around a 25-30mph top speed. My objective will be to activate the 30mph limit signs on the bottom road.
Higer gearing then? We need an NSL furious cycling charge at least..
You'd definitely need to change the gearing if it's an MTB - most top out at about 26-27 on the flat, you just can't peddle any faster. I've been trying to trigger a gatso on the way to work too
Byff said:
As the bike would still look pretty standard (albiet with a couple of smallish batteries strapped to the frame), any coppers passing wouldn't give it a second glance and you wouldn't feel like a prat riding it.
It's not illegal.
You can buy bicycles with electric motors. Saw a young mother on one, compltete with kiddyseat on the back, taking her sprog to school a while ago.
Saw her a couple of times and couldn't understand how she was gliding effortlessly up the hill where fit cyclists had to work up a bit of a sweat.
Then, one day, I happened to be on foot as she sped past.....complete with a subdued buzzzzhmmmmmmmmm......then the penny dropped.
Motor appears to be built into the hub.
On a bike with a 9 speed cassette it’s quite possible to pedal above 30mph. You run out of gears around 40mph on a downhill.
Activating speed signs on a bike is an art form. The problem is a bike doesn’t have a big enough frontal area to trigger the sign. The solution to this is to fasten a tray to the handlebars. This takes some experimenting, the tray has to be big enough to set the sign off but small enough not to affect aerodynamics and slow you down.
For GATSO’s attach said tray to the rear of the bike.
Note: for GATSO’s tray must be reflective.
Being a student was fun.
Activating speed signs on a bike is an art form. The problem is a bike doesn’t have a big enough frontal area to trigger the sign. The solution to this is to fasten a tray to the handlebars. This takes some experimenting, the tray has to be big enough to set the sign off but small enough not to affect aerodynamics and slow you down.
For GATSO’s attach said tray to the rear of the bike.
Note: for GATSO’s tray must be reflective.
Being a student was fun.
Gassing Station | North East | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff