1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th March 2023 - Commuting on the Bullitt and then tidying and finalising run of the electrics

Started on the Sunday previously 26th February where it was such a glorious Sunday I rode my Larry Vs Harry Bullitt up to a friends house a short distance away to do some work to my Royal Enfield Bullet and have a nice mid winter ride on both machines. This Sunday kickstarted a really nice run of weather for us here in the north of Scotland which lasted through to the following Sunday. I managed to get the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday commute on the Bullitt which thanks to the lovely weather and lengthening days was an absolute pleasure and just really enjoyed getting used to the elctric assist and adjusting to try and get the best from it and myself. I was certainly quicker on the commute and more relaxed with it as well. While it is always a better, more relaxed way to get to work and also the ride home letting the worries of the work day dissolve along the way, it was just plain old fun. It will be interesting to see how the commute on my Long Haul trucker will be after a while on the Bullitt as I find I am riding it at a higher cadence than normal, which I assume is down to the assist, so it may speed me up with my accoustic rides. My morning and evening commute, not stressful :) I then spent Saturday afternoon tidying up the electric harness and wires from the controller etc. While I had moved the controller from the outside back of the box to inside the cargo box, I had the connections loose as well as the harness to the front wheel inside the box so to be easy to fix or dismantle should there be a problem with it in these early stages. Besides a loose connection on thursday, every thing had been working fine. So I tidied the wires into the secondary box and moved the front drive harness to underneath the cargo box, waterproofed the connections where needed and then made sure it was all weatherproofed and secure.

18th February 2023 - Back out on the Bullitt - Making the best of a break in the weather

Out again today on the Bullitt as such a nice day after the wild weather of the last week. Trying to get used to the electric assist.

12th February 2023 - Larry Vs Harry Bullitt - Out and about electrified!

 Out and about again this afternoon putting a few miles onto the Bullitt to shake down the electric assist I fitted this week. Game changer in opening up its versatility even more with hauling cargo and commuting. Just a bit easier.

Still feels a bit like cheating but I can live with that on the cargo bike

11th February 2023 - Bullitt finally has electric drive refitted! Time to test ride!

 Out today on the Bullitt.

I managed to finally fix with a new controller and refit the electric motor that was with the Bullitt when I originally got it.

I originally went for a quick test ride just to see how the assist worked but it was running so nice I ended up going all the way into Thurso and around town, visiting Sam in The Bike Shop as he was the one who went through the system and diagnosed the fault.

It ran really nicely, though not ever having done any real miles on an electric assist before, it will take me some time to adjust to. Though I can see in just that short ride how it opens up so many more opportunities for going further a bit easier on the Bullitt.

This initial ride was very good with great stability with the weight of the front wheel now actually a benifit as there is no spin or slippage from the front end.

I have always been impressed with the Bullitt and then after buying one I was even more impressed and have loved the eighteen months I have owned it without the electrics, it has always impressed and exceeded my expectations.

The plan is hopefully to get it setup to suite, with a bit of touring, commuting and a lot of general everyday type hauling for the family.

Jamie

27th January 2023 - New bars for the Larry vs Harry Bullitt

 I finally got round to swapping out my bars on the Bullitt for a set with a bit more reach and also slightly wider.  These are the On One version of the Jeff Jones  loop bars, ironically called the 'Geoff ' bars.

It’s moved the position forward a good bit as on long rides it was feeling a bit too short with the wide sweep feeling a bit close to my body. Often at low speed or when taking off they just felt a bit wobbly now and again. Nothing major but just a bit unstable sometimes when setting off. Not really been a problem as they have been fine for all this time, just felt it could be improved. Plus, I love these bars on my Pugsley and similar bend on my 1X1 mtb, and also have the benefit of somewhere to mount my lights until I re electrify it again.

Short ride but what an improvement, not that it felt bad before, but now just a lot more stable and comfortable. This is especially noticeable when setting off, gone completely is any feeling of instability, no matter how small it ever was, it is completely eliminated now. I think this is due to the width and the fact it is a 3 to 4 inches further forward which puts a bit more weight forward than what the previous setup had.  

Only downside is I must have sat the rear lever with the master cylinder not level when swapping about and level must have been low anyway and it pulled in some air as I quickly realised, I had no back brake whatsoever so now need to top up and bleed the rear brake. 

I am hoping to get the electric drive front wheel sorted very soon and start using the Bullitt for commuting more often than I currently do as well as utilising it more for the weekend runs to town and back. Hopeful to have it ready for the better weather come spring, meanwhile I just have to keep pedalling harder :) 

Sat 7th January 2023 - Jack Taylor Super Clubman local ride

 After a busy morning that was pretty rubbish weather wise, this afternoon burst through with the first real sunshine and clearish skies so far this year. There was minimal wind and the temp was around 4 degree. 

So, it was decided not to miss this rare winter opportunity and get out for a nice ride on the road. A late afternoon local loop seemed just thing and what better machine could there ever be than the Jack Taylor Super Clubman? The roads were still damp and quite wet in a few places but that is normal for this time of year if not good. While I have been out on the Pugsley fatbike in the snow since Christmas this really was the first chance to get back on the road properly rather than commute. Since mid December I have also had a couple of weeks not riding due to not being well so it made this ride feel even nicer. It was just a nice steady pace round a local loop with minimal traffic keeping my legs rolling.

Very nice it was too and ended up being out longer and going further than planned. Afterward the JT was washed down and put away ready for the next ride which hopefully wont be too far away, though you never know this time of year as it could be snowing one day and fine the next.

Jamie

30th December 2022 - Local Snow ride - Pugsley with new bars

 Hope everyone has had a lovely Christmas and spent some nice time with family.

I finally managed to get the Pugsley out boxing day evening and fit my On One Geoff bars after riding the last couple of years with the straight Nitto Surly bars. Fitted up my Troutie lights as well trying to make some effort to be prepared for the Strathpuffer 24hour race in mid January. 
Luckily the following day we awoke to a bit of snow and I managed a late afternoon/evening ride out while it was still snowing on and off.
The bars were great, so nice to be back on a loop bar and the Pugs ran nicely through the fresh soft snow, though it was maybe the engine that was not quite firing on all cylinders after being a bit unwell before Christmas. To the point where I even dug out the XT rear Derailleur and the 9 speed thumbshifter ready to try it. Thankfully I came to my senses and stayed singlespeed, must have been delusional. 

The bars were very comfortable and pretty much the same bend as other loops I had ridden and fell naturally to hand, lights, though for the ride I fitted my On One lights rather than the Troutie beauties, mounted nice and centrally thanks to the full loop across the front, and the 90mm stem seems so far to be a good fit for reach etc, not leaning too far forward but also not sitting too upright, though I did cover the Giant emblem on the stem with a Fatty Owls Racing decal. This with my lights and the ancient PDW Daves mud shovel mudguards, Nate tyres and 32/22 gearing seem like the setup to use this year. 

I worked out I have owned my Pugsley about 11 years now and it is still running pretty much the same setup for most of that time, changes in bars and tyres and also a change of colour, so no wonder I think of it like my Long Haul Trucker and 1X1 as being faithful, dependable stalwarts of the stable.

Happy New Year to each and all

Jamie 

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