I just got my first BL36 kit this afternoon. Yay!
But. I went to fit my old tire on it and it was loose as a goose. I tried anyway and managed to get it centered but could not get the bead to catch. It popped right off under pressure.
Went to the local bike shop and they just shook their heads. Tried every tire in the shop -- some good looking tires too, but nothing would fit. Seems the rim diameter is somewhere in-between 26" and 700. 27" is too loose as well. Measuring as best I can, this rim is at least 3/16" smaller than mine. The rim is also very wide -- 1.275". My old rim is just under an inch with knobby Kenda tires on it.
There are no markings on the rim -- no size or manufacturer. And I'm about ready to start yelling.
Am I missing something? Does anyone have a clue?
Thanks in advance for whatever help anyone can offer.
ps -- the rim is also way out of true. That's a solvable problem if I can find a spoke wrench to fit :)
pps -- I did mount the rim and lit it up and it spun very very merrily. As if to say, "Come on, let's GO!"
Hmmm, sounds like time to get the old rim laced on the new hub, or learn how yourself. But I reckon if anybody has your tire, it would be Ebikesca.
Be the pack leader.
36 volt sla schwinn beach cruiser
36 volt lifepo4 mongoose mtb
24 volt sla + nicad EV Global
Ok, got it running. But the question still stands -- has anyone had this kindof trouble with their tires?
What I did was carefully inflate the tire and tube, sortof massaging the bead into place. Mind you, I've never had to do this with any bike tire and I've been riding since like '64. But you can feel, can sense when the tire bead matches the bead of the rim. So guess it might be OK.
After looking at the rim, it is very deep. So that the tire slips on easily. Much more easily than most bike tires. This is a 75 pound tire, but I only put 40 pounds in it. That's very soft by my standards but does hold the weight. Maybe I'll slowly pump it up a bit. But maybe not.
Anyway -- Report! After riding and bouncing around and getting confidence in the tire mounting, with fresh batteries a top speed of 23.8 mph. With a bit of peddling I saw 29 but ran outta road and courage at the same time.
On the way home after running lots of errands, the topspeed dropped to about 15. This is after an hour and a half of stop and go (with some peddling). Even with the batteries that low, a little peddle would still go in the low 20's. So that ain't bad -- was rode hard.
So I'm impressed. This ride is much better than I thought it would be. They say the first time's the best...
Stock BL36 on a 10yo Schwinn Searcher
She got wheels in her smiles, she can coast along for miles...
If I follow what you're saying, maybe you can go out and buy a Walmart type aluminum bike with steel forks (measure it first to make sure kit is compatible). Keep your other bike for strictly pedaling.
Wilderness Energy opposes/discourages putting a different rim with their hub motor because of your labor costs and the fear that the other rim may not be as sturdy as the one hub comes with. I would agree with Wilderness because you're using a 1" wide rim.
Even if the 1" rim is steel, the motor weighs about 10 or 15, plus torque and your weight! good luck, JL
ok I misunderstood you. I guess the only practical thing is to buy another tire. A slightly larger inner tube might make a tighter fit for the time being. JL