A year 'Bent

My First Ride on Rover I, Panama City Beach, FL: Dec 29, 2015

It's been almost exactly a year since Rover I arrived in that big box. It has been and continues to be a wonderful adventure. No matter the weather or location, that first roll down the street everyday puts a big, stupid grin on my face. And in spite of my wife's initial insistence, not one close encounter of the auto kind. The twice I did flop it over were minor stupidity and only cost a bit of skin.

Rover I was stolen after a month and about 8-900 km, but after a week of mourning and raging, I ordered Rover II and got on with my life. Never did see hide nor hair of Rover I since, but hope whoever now has it found the 'Bent experience as exciting as I have.

Rover II has been a really great trike. I've tried and will continue to add mods for enhancing the triking ride, but I can't think of one reason to abandon Rover II in favour of another. It has been super reliable and has never left me stranded on the road.

Maintenance and repairs have been minimal, With over 5300 km on the odometer, I have worn out a set of tires (replaced with Big Apples + one rear lug for the snow). I changed the 11T sprocket because I wore it out from continuous use in high gear before I put on the 24" rear wheel. I think the chain has pretty much had it, but has never broken and I have a replacement I will put on when/if I go e-assist. I have a set of replacement brake pads for the Alhonga disks, but last I checked the old ones are still fine and working well. So other than tightening a few nuts, bolts, spokes, and lubing the king pins, etc., All systems are go!

E-assist is still planned.Don't want a hotrod but I need the extra oomph to help me up those really ugly hills and extend my range on the gravel roads. The problem is legislation and availability of a legal, durable, reasonable cost kit. There are several that will do the job, but all have a sticking point someplace in the whole conundrum. Canada has enacted really short-sighted rules specifying '500W Max, stamped and certified by the manufacturer that it cannot be altered': obviously written by a bureaucrat because it cannot be met or enforced. Each prov/ state I may want to visit has another set of rules or none at all. Allowed/dis-allowed on MUPS, bike lanes, roadways, signals... the confusion goes on.

Even in Europe where pedelecs face pretty strict rules for speed and power, 'chipping' kits are now readily available to remove power/speed restrictions from the most popular ebikes. These mods are not externally evident and you can bet they work just fine as the same hardware is available at the higher power in other jurisdictions or for off road use.

In the end I will have to make a decision on my own and pioneer. I think one wags definition of a legal e-bike is one that "you can ride by a cop without getting stopped or ticketed. Stay tuned as I may have to start a 'Go fund me' campaign to raise bail.

So the past year has been a great adventure. Due to being 'Bent I am happy, active, and healthy. The weight and blood sugar is being kept at bay and in spite of my wife's insistence otherwise, the budget is not in bad shape either. Probably have about $2000 spent on this hobby so far... How many rounds of golf or gym memberships is that?

So whether I go zooming by you or the more likely scenario, you go zooming by me, smile and GRIN!

Happy New Year

Today, Dec 28, 2016, Dressed for -8C, Osoyoos, BC