Elephant bike

[palinurus]

Collecting 40 litres of compost from the hardware store that time forgot: a few years back the old boy who ran it would smoke behind the counter, the stock is all sun-bleached, there are things on the shelves with signs attached- 'Not for sale'- it's the greatest.

 

[palinurus]

Still enjoying it. Done 10 miles recently taking a load of metal to the dump (noisy!) followed by shopping.

Did Sainsbury's and then went on a mini-tour to a local garden on the way back, I like going there to hear the birds sing when I feel a bit shoot.

I'm definitely going to commute on it soon. Maybe Friday.

Tried an emergency stop today just to see what it would be like, very stoppy! The rear brake feels like it's binding a bit, releases after a short while- will have to look into it.

 

[Effyb4]

I've just ordered one of these in mint turquoise (the smaller size) with plastic box and palm leaf basket. The turn around time is 7 days, so it should be here pretty soon. I went to Camden market at the weekend and had a sit on one, then couldn't resist buying one.

 

[annedonnelly]

The bike recycling charity that I volunteer with has an Elephant bike for sale secondhand. It's priced at £200. I think it's the same colour as the one @palinurus has. It's in Newcastle if anyone is interested.

 

[palinurus]

Already been out shopping (food) on the Elephant bike today. Just about to go out again for number two shopping trip (Belgian beer and a new frying pan)

 

[simon.r]

I’m using mine more than I thought I would - once or twice a week on average, mostly for shopping. Before I bought it the car was the go-to option for large loads, but the ‘orange beast’ has replaced the car for most short trips.

It’s certainly a useful bit of kit to have available.

 

[palinurus]

I've also started doing Elephant bike mini-tours. This involves riding to someplace nearby that I haven't been to before, using something like the quietest option suggested by the Cyclestreets App. Might stop for coffee somewhere, all done is less than a couple of hours.

Maybe in the summer I'll throw a tent into the front basket and do a mini overnighter.

 

[palinurus]

Today on the way to the shops I stopped at Viento for a coffee, it's a bit out of my way if walking so I don't tend to go there even though the coffee is the best in town. Something about the bike leads me to do these sort of things, I've done bike shopping for years but never stopped anywhere on the way before. Maybe it's just that it's easy to put it up on the stand and leave it right outside.

 

[simon.r]

If anyone’s looking to buy one of these and is prepared to do a bit of fettling there’s a few here at £95:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/263580865078

 

[palinurus]

Really appreciate the kickstand but mine doesn't retract as far as I'd like. Sometimes scrapes the ground with even mildly spirited cornering. Doesn't seem to be adjustable, are they all like that?

 

[simon.r]

Had a look at mine today. I’d have to lean over at least 45 degrees to ground the stand.

 

[palinurus]

Had a look at mine today. I’d have to lean over at least 45 degrees to ground the stand.

View attachment 418463

Thanks- mine is closer to the ground than that, will investigate further. I've looked at it enough to see that how it is currently fitted there's no way it can move any further but perhaps there's more to it. Too dark to check it right now.

 

[palinurus]

Had a look at mine today. I’d have to lean over at least 45 degrees to ground the stand.

Thanks, that was useful. Had a closer look at mine and it's free to move in it's fitting- although it's quite a tight interference fit so it took a bit of effort to move it back to where it should be. Maybe it's supposed to be like that or maybe a weld has cracked or something.

 

[palinurus]

Thanks, that was useful. Had a closer look at mine and it's free to move in it's fitting- although it's quite a tight interference fit so it took a bit of effort to move it back to where it should be. Maybe it's supposed to be like that or maybe a weld has cracked or something.

Update- yeah, it was broke at the weld. A good tug and and it came apart, fixed it temporarily with some mouldable epoxy but have a nice new one on there now.

 

[palinurus]

The cover I use for my Elephant bike is really worn out, getting full of holes which I've patched up using a tent repair kit but there's new holes between the holes now.

Anyone got a tip for a nice large cover that'll do it?