Hi Chaps & Chappesses!

After about 15 months of e-mails & fruitless searches, I finally got my mitts on 2 GoBikes, 1 is a 9-speed X9 for me and a slightly heavier 7-speed model for my mate 'Moneybags'
I love it, my arse has hardly left the saddle over the last 2 weeks!
It does have a few well documented niggles but on the whole it's superb! Looks gorgeous, it's fast, folds well and though cheaper than the Birdy it replaces it's as good in all respects and better in many!!! better looking, air shock rear suspension.
We intend to fit 14-speed Rohloff hubs, hope hydraulic mini-pot disk brakes and mountain drives (due to there being no room for a bigger front sprocket.

See my previous Rohloff Birdy special which was stolen in Dublin and my new GoBike :-

http://www.long-john.com

Safe riding!

Sorry to hear about your Rohloff Birdy getting stolen. The GoBike looks pretty cool. Do you really need the Mountain Drive with the Rohloff? The Rohloff has a pretty wide gear range, after all.

well the range is quite big (understatement perhaps) but due to the original in going ratio the 14 gears would be too low, i want to go faster but my gears won't let me! there is no point in having 14 low gears, if you look at the pics of the Rohloff Birdy it had a 67 tooth eliptical spocket on the front, impossible with the GoBike!
different town every day, sometimes a different country every day, I use my bikes everywhere. Different folks different strokes I guess!
safe riding!

Chop, the reason I'm asking is because I will be putting a Rohloff on my Dahon Jetstream XP in the next few weeks, so I will follow your adventure with interest.

Check my thinking on this, please. The lowest gear on most mountain bikes is around 22-26 inches. The highest gear on road racing bikes is usually around 108-110 inches. On a bike with 20" wheels and a Rohloff, and a chainring/sprocket combo of 52T x 13T, you get a gear range of approximately 22 - 117 gear inches. That's as good as the low range of your average mountain bike, and better at the top end than your typical racing bike. In the highest gear you're going to go about 9 meters per pedal stroke. With a cadence of 60, you'll be going 32.5 kmh (~20 mph.) With a cadence of 80, you're going in excess of 43 kmh (~27 mph.) This is the first time I've done these speed calculations myself, so it's worth double checking them. But assuming they're close, isn't that fast enough?

Even if you say it isn't fast enough, the Mountain Drive gives you LOWER gearing, not higher. Wouldn't you want either Schlumpf's Speed Drive or High-speed Drive?

Mountain Drive ........ 2.5:1
Speed Drive ............ 1:1.65 overdrive
High-speed Drive ..... 1:2.5 overdrive

I'm not trying to be contentious at all, just trying to understand why you would want it, or more importantly, why I might. I also ride in very mixed terrain.

— Spalding

Should that be "chappettes"?


Chop! I checked out your website before, you've had some snazzy bikes through the ages! I'm especially jealous of your Long John work bike, but I've heard they weigh a tonne!!

Anyways - your new blinky pedals... It's a clever idea, and I checked out the manufacturer's website. What I can't work out is, do the pedals sense which way up they are, and change the led's colours to suit? Otherwise it would blink red at the front and white at the back when they are upside down.... Regardless, I'll be waiting for an spd version before I put any coin down (They're working on it!)

cheers, Magnus

Hi Magnus! Unfortunately they do not yet have a sensor so you have to get the generator end of the pedal to face backwards, there's a small red LED on top of the pedal to make this easier in total darkness. But this is still a bit of a pain when you're stopping & starting in town. I've also asked them to figure out a discharge button to stop the flashing when you park up or take the folded bike into a bar or restaurant.

Thanks Cap'n!

Sorry haven't really had a chance to check the Schlumpf web site to check the names of specific models, I am only basing my theory on my experiences with my Birdy when the large front egg-ring gave a great range, just got back from Bulgaria (holidays without my bike! Arghhh!)
Have to do my yearly tax return today, get my ears lowered and then leave for a 6 week trip around Europe, the Eastern Bloc, Scandinavia and UK. So time is never on my side. May manage a few mods between trips over the Xmas break!
That's Rock & Roll for ya! ;)