The owner of the bike shop said it would be easy for me to assemble, but it was too heavy for me to pick up. So I asked my neighbor to put the box in the back of my car and I took it down to Dublin Cyclery to assemble.
The bike was ready about a week later. It did not come with any instructions, and one piece was damaged during shipping, but the bike mechanic in Dublin did a good job getting everything to work.
This bike is designed to carry up to 300 lbs. and is built like a tank. All of the tubing is extra thick, and it has an electric motor on the rear wheel with a sealed battery. Mine looks like the one in the photo except in black.
All of this reinforcement doubles the weight of the bike from a normal cruiser-type bike which would weight 30 lbs. to 61 lbs. Also even though the frame is a step through, I had difficulty climbing through it. The bike guys suggested getting on from a curb, which I tried and that worked.
The mechanic put the seat level with the rear bike rack. This crunched my knee on the up stroke, so he raised it up a little. It's still tight on the knee, but any higher and it would be too tall for me.
I bought a basket for the handlebars, which stuck out over the top by 2 or 3 inches. We tried several other baskets, including a wicker one, but the best was a metal cage that hung from the handlebars with rubber covered hooks. I noticed when I got home that the handlebars have a gouge where the first one was bolted on. I'm a little annoyed by that but overall the guys in Dublin did a good job.
I bought a bike carrier to take it home. I was nervous it would be too heavy for me to take it off the carrier, but that wasn't a problem. The rear wheel is heavier than the front because of the motor. I put the battery inside the car. That took 15 lbs. off the weight of the bike leaving over 45 lbs.
I was able to lower the rear wheel with the motor on it onto a chair under the bike carrier. Then I took the front of the bike off the carrier, and put it on the ground, and eased the rear side onto the ground. I felt good about getting this far with it.
I locked the bike onto a steel cat cage I have in the garage, and left it in the garage next to my Focus. Later I realized I should have taken the battery into the house because it was getting very cold at night and that would cause the battery to lose its charge. I brought the battery inside and put it on the charger, but the bike shop had charged it and the charge light turned green in a minute.
So the battery and the bike were ready to go, but I wasn't sure I was yet. The next day I adjusted my new helmet, took the bike to the curb, and tried it out. I was able to get on it, but I wasn't able to peddle fast enough for it to start moving.
It started to tilt over on me. I was able to get my feet on the ground and keep it from falling over, but the chain or gear (probably the gear) got caught in my sock. I pulled it lose, but it caused a 2" cut in the back of my calf. This bike was starting to scare me.
A neighbor was walking her dog across the street. I asked her if the bike looked too big for me. She said it was just the right size, but I wasn't ready to try riding it again. So I put it back in the garage and it has been there this week.
They say when you fall off a bike (or is it a horse?) you must get back on right away so you don't let it intimidate you. I didn't fall off, but I'm very afraid of falling because as I have mentioned here before, if I fall down I can't get up without help. It would be even worse with a 61 lb. bike cutting up my leg.
I'll buy some calf sleeves and try riding the bike again. I haven't ridden a bike in 15 years, so maybe we do forget how. Or maybe I need something easier like an adult tricycle.
Now I know why so many older folks ride those big tricycles. The last time I rode a trike I was 6 years old and that was 63 years ago, but once you learn to ride a tricycle you never forget how.
