This popped up on our local FB MP. It was listed a womans bike with Trek frame. I thought it looked interesting and did an image search to find out it was a Trek Lime with an automatic 3 speed. I did a little reading on it and, since I'm a glutton for punishment, I went to see it. Pumped up the tires and took it for a ride. I did get it to shift and on the strength of that I bought it. The seller was gifted this bike by a neighbor and thought it was a cruiser, had no idea about the shifting and also no idea what the insert in the frame was about. It was gummy on both sides, so I wonder if it was used for a "rolling billboard" and someone had pulled the stickers off. I have found a page on the transmission by Park tool and a video about taking the rear wheel off to repair a flat. Has anyone had one of these and have any hints, hacks, or "gotchas" to share? Thanks!

Haven't owned one, but have worked on and sold a few. The front hub generates power for the system, and also tells it how fast the bike is going. If you want to change the speed it decides to shift at, there should be a little dial on the main unit. They seem to be quite reliable, though getting spare parts for one would likely involving finding a donor bike to strip parts off of. If the electrical system does fail entirely, it should be possible to rig up a manual shifter to control the hub.

Thanks for the prompt reply. I know I felt it shift (it was very easy pedaling to start, then gave some more resistance at about 6mph). I did not feel it shift twice but I guess it means that the dynamo must be working and the speed sensor must be working somewhat. I did notice that it seems like I have to come to a complete stop and start again for it to shift to the easy pedaling. The weather has gotten bad here and I really haven't looked at it beyond my initial ride. Are there any (short) cable housings involved or anything to lube?

Might be as simple as old, cold, sticky lube not allowing the innards to move freely.

Bill: Great to see you pop up here again! I will definitely take it apart when it warms back up. It puts me in mind of a sticky cable/housing issue so I think cleaning and lube may fix it. I can't really simulate everything on the bike stand but I should be able to pull the spindle in and out to shift in the 3 gears. Come to think about it, I may try to come up with something in my drill to roll the front wheel fast enough to make it change.

From what I remember from some co-workers who had come from loooong stints at a Trek shop and worked on a ton of these, they are a pain in the arse. I believe there was a speciality tool needed but I could be confusing with another bike but I do remember them heavily complaining and watching them work it took a while. Good luck.

There is a short length of cable and housing between the main unit and the bell crank. Typically you can hear the motor make a noise when it shifts. If you always feel a shift happen at the same time as the noise from the motor, then cable isn't that likely to be the issue. I'd start with adjusting the dial on the main unit and see if you can find a spot where you get all 3 gears on it. It does seem like they typically downshift at a slower speed compared to when they upshift.

The bike was likely an early ride share bike. At the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, I helped hand out hundreds of these. It was the second most popular thing to do at the convention. Ours didn’t have the panel but they were the same bikes. The program was called Freewheelin and was sponsored by Humana and Bikes Belong. They had 1000 bikes for ride share and that wasn’t nearly enough. Some of the bikes were left along with a special rack. Those bikes kickstarted the bike share movement.

Interesting back story, thanks! I assumed it may have been something like that. The panel is 8 gauge aluminum, edges are finished well, welds look good, and the margins are good between the panel and the frame. It just looks like it is not a one off. I hope someone sees the pic and has more info on it.

The Trek Lime is long out of production, and uses many parts that may be difficult to source if they require replacement.

I have the manual that may help:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Luc...usp=drive_link

Thanks, I will download this, though I probably won't get on it anytime soon since we have a cold front coming in. I am hoping I won't need any parts, I am feeling at least 2 separate speeds, I think that means the dynamo must be doing it's thing and the brain is working to some extent. Since I don't know how it's supposed to feel, I am not sure if it is skipping over the middle gear. The easy pedaling gear is extremely easy. I'm looking forward to getting it up on the stand. With the other 3 speed it seems like the middle gear is roughly 1 to 1 on the rpm for the crank/wheel.

I found the Lime assembly instructions as well, if that helps: