So... the next day dawned.
I was going on a 45 mile cycle ride with Wowbagger and others from the YACF forum, but as Alfie was by no means ready (lacking pedals, for example, plus no chain attached etc) it was clear the old Trice Q would get another outing.
On the way over to the meeting point for that ride I popped into my favourite bike shop, 53-12 in Colchester, and picked up some SPD pedals for £35.
I enjoyed the ride on the old Trice which still behaves very nicely. When I got home I was in a rush to get ready for my evening engagement (a dancing lesson!) so didn't have a chance to fiddle any further with Alfie. However, I posed for a photo with new pedals - I seem pleased to have made progress with the trike construction! Spot the appalling Lake Cycling Sandals foot tan!
Whilst I was showering etc James fitted the pedals.
And here I am posing with pedals (and the dog insisted on being in shot as well)
Whilst I was getting ready to go out James fitted the chain now we had got the correct boom length with the pedals.
When we got back from our dancing lesson at 9:30pm I wanted to make a bit more progress so I decided to fit the rear wrap-around mudguard.
Unlike pretty much every other part from ICE, this didn't seem to have the right instructions (it included information about a plastic bit which we didn't have and clearly didn't need). So I decided I'd have a go working it out for myself.
Here is the mudguard fitted:
And here is the small rubber bit that I was left with after I had finished
Aha, I can see where that goes now - between the frame and the screw which holds the mudguard on towards the front of the bike.
However, fitting this screw had been a nightmare. Mainly because we really needed to remove the back wheel - but hadn't the faintest idea how to do it. The Alfine is an entirely unknown bit of gadgetry and ICE had fitted it correctly and we were afraid if we removed it everything would go wrong. A quick Google failed to show any useful information about how to take off a wheel with an Alfine. So I decided to think about it overnight and see if the morning held any answers.
The next morning I once again would have to use my old trike to cycle to church as Alfie wasn't ready. However, my brain had slightly unscrambled myself and I managed to fit the rubber bung by deflating the tyre, using the dog's collar to pull the tyre out of the way as much as possible, and careful use of an allen key. Success at last!
Note, if you're ever going to buy one of these trikes, make sure you get the mudguard fitted before the back wheel goes on!!!
Back from church (Trice Q enjoyed its 10.5 mile round trip, plus I popped into Waitrose and bought a restorative butterscotch & pecan yumyum to help with the bike building) and we were almost finished.
James, an electronic engineer, fitted my rather fab Busch & Müller Lumotec IQ Cyo Senseo Plus front dynamo light:
He also shortened the chain which we realised was slightly long - in the granny ring the chain tensioner was rubbing two pieces of chain together.
I started taking bits off the old trike to get the new one ready to roll. I took the front light mount off the old trike to use as a Garmin mount (ICE were out of stock of this item when sending me my new trike so it'll come soon but wasn't available today). However, I decided to also take the old Garmin mount of the trike - a cut down bar end which I stick on the upright part of the front mech holder. And it fitted! And, not only that, the fold still worked with the Garmin in place. So that was easy. The front light mount went back onto the old trike.
James is going to trim down some of the light cables when I am sure the boom length is correct. For now there's some gaffer tape holding the cables in place but we will tidy this up in due course.
James had a little sit down on the trike now everything was ready.
Now, after a spot of lunch, it was time for Alfie to have his first visit to the Big Outdoors. Which involved taking the seat off to get him from our lounge through the hallway to the front door. He seems a bit lighter than the old trike to carry around, which is handy!
And here they are together - old and new!
And now time for the first ride!
How cool is that Alfine hub gear! Quiet as anything, easy to use, a great improvement over a rear derailleur.
Alfie rode well, nice and quiet, a different seat position which was strange initially, as was the slightly narrower track (I had to widen the handlebars so I could go round corners!)
We did identify a problem which is that Alfie pulls quite strongly to the right at speed. We're not sure if it's the disc brake on that side not quite properly set (we fiddled with it a bit) or if it's drag from the dynohub (surely not?) but we'll ring ICE tomorrow just to get their advice. The old trike pulled a bit left (with the camber I suppose) so this is just a bit different to get used to.
I nicked the rear light from my old Trice and am now ready to ride Alfie to church tonight. I wonder if anyone will notice I have a new machine!
The bike stable (the uprights are James's, and his folding Dahon is lurking in the dining room rather than in shot)
