Bill
From Delray Beach, Florida
October 17th, 2006
Dear GeBe,
I have been car free for
10 months now. I
commuted under my own power
up until last
month when I found your
kit online. There
are some days I am too
tired or just can't
get up the gumption to
make the 25 mile commute,
plus trips to the store,
and to friends and
families houses. I have
tried all sorts of
electric bicycles and kits
and have been
left dissatisfied. Electric
bicycles at this
point are far too unreliable
(rain does a
number on these products),
don't have enough
range (my best is a 9 mile
range with a 4
hour recharge time), and
the batteries are
too heavy (removes the
light and free feeling
of a bicycle). I have had
my GeBe Subaru
Engine Kit mounted for
one month now and
have logged over 1000 miles
already! Thank
you for offering such a
great product.
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I purchased your kit and
received it within
4 business days. That was
a great start to
my gasoline powered cycling
adventure! I
purchased an Electra Townie
8 to mate my
engine kit with. Unfortunately,
the flange
radius of the internally
geared hub changed
the spoke configuration
so that the drive
ring would not just snap
on… No step for
a stepper! First thing
I did was call your
company, a gentleman named
Den answered the
phone promptly. He was
very helpful and apologized
that the drive ring would
not mate with the
particular bicycle I chose.
He offered me
a couple great tips on
how I could modify
the ring (he had apparently
done this on
a bicycle prior to my inquiry).
A quick drill
bit, a hacksaw, and a sharp
razor blade remedied
my malady. In about 2 hours
I had my kit
mounted on my stock bicycle.
The engine fired
on the third pull! ZOOM!
I was off at 26.8
mph on the first run! I
have the Garmin Edge
305 computer mounted to
my handlebars; my
speed estimation is extremely
accurate! This
6'2", 224lb. male
was extremely happy
to find your website's
claims to speed to
be accurate! Within a one
week break-in period
I have attained unaided
(either by wind or
hills) speeds of around
29.6 mph. I will
be installing the larger
gear on my engine
soon to get an extra 10%
of mph!
I found the rear axle mount
an ingenious
way to make this kit universally
fit to most
bicycles. Unfortunately
all of my bicycles
are flat tire magnets.
I decided to re-mount
the kit to my frame rather
than to my axle
to simplify changing flats
on the side of
the road. I drilled my
rear dropouts, threaded
the holes, added some rubber
motor mounts
(glorified rubber washers),
a couple big
bolts, a whole bunch of
blue threadlock and
shortened the mounting
bracket to compensate
for belt length (I'm sure
doing so voided
my warranty on both the
bicycle and the engine
kit!). Whew, now that this
project was over
I have an engine kit that
is mounted directly
to the bicycle. Now, if
I get a rear-tire
flat I don't have to mess
with the engine
kit mounting assembly.
I just release the
belt tensioner, remove
the belt, and off
comes the wheel!
The more I have ridden
the more I have found
myself tinkering (big surprise!)
to make
adjustments for ease of
use, quietness, and
safety. My stock rear rim,
front hub, and
spokes on both wheels could
not handle the
rigorous use I subject
them to. So of course,
out come the tools again!
I upgraded to heavy
duty double walled rims,
10 gauge spokes,
and a Bulletproof front
hub with sealed bearings.
These upgrades were complimented
by Kevlar
reinforced tires with heavy
duty tires (great
items for anyone who doesn't
like flat tires).
I also zip tied the spokes
together for a
little bit more added sturdiness.
(I would
not recommend this for
standard gauge spokes.
The spokes will break under
the speeds this
kit will move your bicycle
at). While I had
the wheels off, I added
some duct tape cushioning,
some washers, and of course
a whole bunch
more threadlock to the
undersides on the
fenders to eliminate rattling
noise.
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I added a spare fuel tank.
Thank you adding
the link to MSR fuel storage
tanks on your
website. Between the gas
tank on the engine
and the spare canister
I now have enough
range to make this vehicle
useful day to
day. I could always add
a couple more tanks
for really long range rides.
My last addition
to my vehicle was the brightest
lights I
could purchase/afford.
Lights and being seen
are the only bit of protection
I have from
angry road raged automobile
drivers. I chose
the "Light and Motion
Arc Li-Ion Ultra"
for the headlight and the
"DiNotte Li-Ion
tail light." There
is only one headlight
brighter on the market;
The Lupine Edison
10. In my humble opinion
the brightness difference
is perceivable but not
worth the price difference.
The Dinotte taillight is
the brightest taillight
hands down.
I am not some anti-car conservationist that
thinks the "peak-oil" crisis is
going to happen tomorrow. I still use my
pickup truck occasionally for errands to
Home Depot. All I am doing is looking for
a way to hang on to a little bit of my hard
earned cash (and keep it out of the oil baron's
hands), while trying to be a bit more environmentally
friendly, and have a bit of fun in the process.
I have given you a complete breakdown of
how I setup my bike so that anyone interested
can see how practical this vehicle can be.
I use it daily. I own a used car lot and
this is how I get back and forth from home
to work and get most of my errands accomplished.
I use it to go see friends and family. I
use it to get food from the store and to
go to restaurants. Most importantly I use
it to go to the beach on the weekends. Chicks
dig it! I no longer arrive at my destination
in a sweaty huff (it's hot in Florida most
of the year) from pedaling. My 160-200 mpg
will knock the socks off of any "eco-minded"
Prius driver. And just to top it off, at
about every other stoplight I get to have
a conversation with a complete stranger about
my ride. Thank you again GeBe for such a
great product and great support/service!
Best Wishes and God Bless,
Bill D. |
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