AdamDZ

Even MagicShine is impractical. I like the setup with two flashlights. I carry them anyway to use at the campsite. Yeah, I'm stalled by the wheels, I need to drop by the bike shop and rush him up a bit.

This tape is more resistant to abrasion than the heat shrink wrap. I have that stuff too, I used it on bike parts before, doesn't last long.

Probably, but you'd need at least two and they're expensive and still take a ling time to charge. Funky's goal here was to get the most lights for the buck and these big batteries are cheap.

dwnptrl_777

Love build threads like this. Makes my dark little heart go pitter-patter. Something like that. Glad that the Magic Tape is working for you.

vXhanz

Yeah he keeps using that Magic tape but his hazard tape sits there, collecting dust and begging to be used...

FunkyStickman

Absolutely. Li or NiHM batteries would be lighter, but at 3-5 times the cost, not including the charger. Besides, I got these batteries for free. A 3 pound battery gives me 4+ hours of light, so it's a good tradeoff for commuting.

AdamDZ

Thanks for dropping by! Yeah, that stuff is great! Love it

Hang on tight! That will come at the end as the finishing touch

vXhanz

Yeah, that's true. I didn't consider the costs of the Li batteries. Now that I think about it they are pretty darn expensive. Thanks for pointing that out.

AdamDZ

Just when I thought last night I have seen, read and hear all the stupidity for the day, my Deore Shimano shifters arrived. It's the dual action type, where you squeeze the lever to brake, press it down to shift to larger cog and press it up to release it to drop do a smaller cog. There is also an optional, detachable thumb lever that allows you release the cable. I always take it off on the XT shifters since I'm perfectly fine with using the lever only and it just sticks out in the wrong place.

Now, for the stupid part: the optional, removable thumb levers were fastened with... security hex bolts! WTF?! I would need to order secure hex drivers? WHY?!?! Is there a law in California or somewhere that says these can't be removed? What The Hell??? I was so pissed. I drilled the bolts with titanium bits and with extreme prejudice, but man, that just made my day.

JPprivate

What a fabulous thread. Love all those detailed pictures, gives you an idea of the work involved. Keep up the good work. It's looking great!!!

AdamDZ

Thanks I'm being held up by my LBS who is building my wheels. I hope to get them by the end of the week then the project will move significantly forward. I might even be able to test ride it! The Xtracycle racks might not arrive by the weekend yet, though.

AdamDZ

The package from Yuba arrived. Although, they've sent me just one bag instead of two I emailed them asking what's up with that. The bag is giganormous, a lot bigger than I expected. You could easily carry a small person in it . The good news: the Yuba kickstand fits fine, like it was meant for it, and saying that it's a substantial kickstand is a huge understatement. The thing is massive! I'll take some pictures later.

I took mass transit last Friday and I feel sick since yesterday, I think I caught something, lots of people around are sick.

vXhanz

Get better man! I'm in the same boat as you, trying to recover. This weird warm then cold weather is really driving business up for our company, and not in a good way for the patients deal with.

AdamDZ

Yeah it's been crazy, up to 30 degrees temp difference between days! 50s one day, 20s next day, then back o 40s, then down to 20F again.... Nuts. I haven't been getting sick as much as used to since I started riding my bike regularly. I really believe I caught something on the subway last Friday. So far no one at work is sick. Lots of folks were coughing and sneezing on the train. I took the subway because the temperatures dropped from low 50s to low 20s again overnight and I was just too burnt out mentally to deal with that kind of cold in the morning. I'm really tired of Winter this year. So I bundled up and took the subway. At least that would explain the headache all day yesterday. I think I'll stay home actually.

jdswitters

Good call, stay home and post more pictures of the build.

Don't want to get your co workers sick.

FunkyStickman

I missed work a few weeks ago, some horrible bug has been going around down here. Get well soon, man! One or two days isn't going to kill you. I hated driving when I was sick, but I felt bad enough, I didn't have a choice. No public transit here, either.

I hope Yuba didn't short you a bag! Keep us posted on that.

AdamDZ

I hate when others come to work sick, because I hate getting sick. It's not "free" time off because you can't do anything. I'm bummed: it's 55F outside and a long weekend coming. Somehow I don't think I'll recover by then Anyway, enough... If we keep going about this someone might get sick! Make sure your anti-virus software is up to date... unless you're one of those Mac or Linux users

I hope Yuba didn't send me the last 2010 model and now they'll send me a 2011 that might be different. If they didn't have enough of them in stock they should have emailed me and ask what's my preference. I don't want to end up with two different bags.

Edit.: Yuba responded, said it was a shipping error, they're sending the other one today.

skijor

You rang?

Hope you're up to speed by the weekend Adam. I look forward to seeing that Yuba kickstand.

vXhanz

Exactly, that's why I feel it's better to just take the day and get better vs. contaminating everyone else around you. Though I used to have a job at Wal-Mart and people would come in sick to work all the time because they didn't have health insurance. But that's a topic for "Foo" me thinks.

Get well soon man! Don't fret about the weather too much, a large number of people will get sick in the next week or so for dressing poorly when it's getting colder. You're already going to be up and running by the time this thing plows them down.

Looking forward to the new pics as well.

AdamDZ

The Goat parts came today! I also feel a bit better after few doses of antibiotics and lots of sleep so I may get back to the built today or tomorrow. But I haven't heard from the LBS about the wheels. I should have ordered the wheels from Universal Cycles. I'm trying to get the LBS some business and maintain a relationship, but they can be slow as heck.

vXhanz

I was going to do that with my LBS, but decided to go with emailing them a list of parts to see if they can get me a better deal. I'm not in too much of a hurry, but if they can get me stuff cheaper than what I can get online then I'll go with them to help them and the local economy out a bit. I can't say it's going to work, but at least I made the effort

AdamDZ

As I mentioned before, the Yuba kickstand fits perfectly. Since I don't have the wheels installed yet, I don't know if it might be too short or too long but it appears to be mounted at the same height in respect to the rear axle as on Yuba Mundo. This thing is massive!


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Here I'm holding a quarter next to the foot (for non-Americans: a quarter is 24mm in diameter)


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Another shot with a quarter.


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AdamDZ

The Yuba bags fit too with two small caveats.


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First, they have to be attached with the deck removed. I'm not familiar with Xtracycle bags, it might be the same issue.

Rear


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Front


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Then, when mounting the deck you have align the bags and the deck so the hooks are placed between straps.


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Two, without sideloaders, the bags will have no support. Yuba Mundo frame/bike comes with sideloaders standard and hooks to attach two straps on the bottom of the bag.

On an Xtracycle the sideloaders are pretty much required IMHO if you really want to load those bags. And mind you, they're freaking HUGE! It'll be easy to throw 30-40lbs of crap into those before you know it. I'll shoot some pictures later but what Yuba shows in their videos is 100% true! These bags can swallow most power tools, 3-4 grocery bags or even a small person. With the sideloaders it all works out great. You can attach the front strap as shown here. Sorry, bad flash job. Still too sick to think straight.


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The rear strap has nowhere to go, however. But I don't think it's a big deal. The weight of the bags resting on the sideloaders plus the front strap should be enough to secure the bags. Unless you take 90 degree turns at 40mph, I don't think this will be a problem. You can also saw on a webbing strap extension with more Velcro if you really want to.


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Then you can attach the deck. By the way, there isn't any chance of the bag getting into spokes either. The back is stiff and the arch at the rear of the frame keeps it away from the wheel.


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AdamDZ

As I said above the Mundo comes with wideloaders/sideloaders standard. I think, they're actually integrated with the frame. Also, notice tat the Yuba Mundo deck has cutouts to run the straps through so the bags can be mounted without removing the deck. The bags come with shoulder straps too.

FunkyStickman

Awesome! I already see some caution tape finding its way onto the BD...

AdamDZ

It'll actually cost more through LBS than if I bought the wheels from Universal Cycles or Bicycle Wheel Warehouse.

Oh, I'm sure I'll probably want to re-wrap the wideloaders with the Magic Tape too.

AdamDZ

I re-wrapped the wideloaders. It looks like I've put the fabric back on the wrong way, but it doesn't matter. Unfortunately, the hazard tape can't go on the wideloaders.


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Any questions?


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