Orange C16-R e-bike - 1996

rwm1962

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I bought this 1996 C16_R a few months ago. £95 & local collect on ebay. As it's a 17" & a tad small for me I planned to use it as a donor bike for another frame I've been given & sell the frame & forks. However, just having had a replacement ankle 6 weeks ago & living on top of a hill I thought an ebike might be useful for a while & for ongoing rides with the Mrs who leaves me for dead on hills on her Giant Dirt-E. Not one for buying new bikes I have turned this into an ebike. I'm pretty sure for the rides I'll do with it the size won't be an issue _ I'm pretty much on the cusp between 17" & 19". As soon as I've got the green light from the physio I'll be taking it for a ride - after I've hooked it up to the laptop & detuned it a bit. It's a bit rapid!

As it came. The front wheel was bolted on so it could take the front luggage rack but the seller included the original, matching front wheel. Stripdown didn't go well - BB was a bugger to get out & the NDS plastic end came out in bits. I had to get our local bike tech to chase the threads. Stem was also siezed & I sheared it trying to undo the bolt.

EDIT: motor etc moved onto another bike, parted out & frame karma'd

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The headset was goosed & the ones I had must be a lower stack height so had to get the thread on the steerer extended by about 8mm. The kit was a piece of cake to fit. I added a lighter, better 42T narrow-wide chainring with more offset to give a better chainline & a sensor to kill the motor on gear changes. The theory being it's better wearing on the drive - especially on 7 speeds. I also added a new chain& 12-32T cassette, 1" threaded to 1 1/8"quill adapter, an adjustable stem & some Orange Supercross riser bars. Plus a kick stand. I didn't fancy the weight of the battery being taken by the 2 bottle cage bosses so got a set of three mounts that bolt to the battery cage & cable tie to the down-tube. Got them from a lad who 3D prints them specifically for the diameter of your tube. They will be augmented with 2 Voile straps.

I've fitted mudguards - bit of a issue as there is no chain stay bridge so the rear is cable tied to the bottom of the seat tube. It had eyelets for the stays on the rear but not on the forks! I've cable tied the stays to the forks for now but would welcome any suggestions for a better method of attaching them.

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I've used these bafang kits a few times, you get used to the assistance very quickly, I can't believe how difficult normal riding is after commuting on my bionicon golden willow with the bafang kit. That x-ray is nasty! My wife is recovering from a similar looking heal break.
 
Ouch! Unlike your poor wife the heel (& metatarsal metalwork) was realignment surgery. My foot was tilting outwards & had blown my peroneal tendon & worn the cartilage out, hence the ankle replacement.
 
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