Necessity forced Pamela Jacka to give up her car; she hasn't looked back – except to make a right hand turn. By Pamela Jacka
IN 1998, to celebrate attaining my half century, I bought myself a brand new Honda CRV. The engine plate said she came off the assembly line in July, so she was henceforth known as "Julie".
On Monday, February 24, 2020, I received a letter from Honda saying that my 22-year-old car was in need of airbag replacement. However, because of her age, the parts were no longer available for that model airbag, so she was being recalled, never to return. I was offered market value, which coincided roughly with the insurance value, of $2700. I would not have been able to re-register the car in its current state and to have the airbag replaced would not have been economical. Julie left, with a full tank of petrol (rats!) the following Tuesday.
IN 1998, to celebrate attaining my half century, I bought myself a brand new Honda CRV. The engine plate said she came off the assembly line in July, so she was henceforth known as "Julie".
On Monday, February 24, 2020, I received a letter from Honda saying that my 22-year-old car was in need of airbag replacement. However, because of her age, the parts were no longer available for that model airbag, so she was being recalled, never to return. I was offered market value, which coincided roughly with the insurance value, of $2700. I would not have been able to re-register the car in its current state and to have the airbag replaced would not have been economical. Julie left, with a full tank of petrol (rats!) the following Tuesday.
Once the dust had settled, I began to think about what I would do now. There's a bus stop across the road, which is handy, but how was I to do my fortnightly grocery shop? I didn't fancy lugging it home on the bus. It was time to look at my options.
$2700 wasn't going to buy me much of a car and I'm beyond the age of tinkering with engines. I had a two-wheeler bike at the time but somewhere along the line my fear of heights became a factor. How about a three-wheeler, I thought. I'd always fancied one when I was a child, so I started investigating.
I looked on the internet for local bicycle shops and found one in Wonthaggi that offered an electric three-wheeler. With that information, I then searched the internet again for more information and comparisons. I don't know a lot about electric bikes but I did know that I wanted 24-inch wheels because you get more distance out of each revolution than you would with a 10 or 12-inch, for example. I made my decision and ordered an XDS E-SCAPE 24" 7-Speed E-Trike Black from the shop in McBride Avenue.
While all this was going on, a thing called COVID appeared on the horizon and the subsequent lockdowns caused havoc with the expected delivery. The bike (I think of trikes being for young kids with the pedal on the front wheel and a tray at the back) comes in pieces from Melbourne and had to be assembled in the local shop. It was ready for collection on Friday, March 20, which sounds like a reasonable timeframe to me now but was frustrating at the time. I bought a fancy new fluoro green/yellow helmet and swapped the bell and light from my existing two-wheeler "exercise" bike in the spare room. The two-wheeler has since gone to a new home.
My first ride down the Fincher Street rail trail almost ended in disaster when I reached the slope down towards the Arts Centre. I squeezed the rear brake instead of both at the same time and slewed into a garden bed. Fortunately I stayed upright. Speaking of staying upright, a three-wheeler is totally different to a two-wheeler as far as balance goes. With a two-wheeler you lean your whole body to zoom around corners but with the three-wheeler, I find that you just need to bend at the waist. Lifting one of the rear wheels off the ground is a bit hairy because the centre of gravity moves considerably.
Unfortunately, there was no owner's manual with the bike but there is one for the monitor on the handlebar which shows all sorts of useless information about distance, speed, etc. If it told me the time I might show it more respect.
For those who aren't familiar with this type of bike, it has seven manual gears and five "electric" speeds. The battery sits under the seat and is removable for recharging or it can be charged in situ if you have electricity nearby. My shed doesn't, so every now and then (the monitor shows me when), I remove it for recharging. It takes about four hours to fully recharge. The definition of the power is "pedal assist" which means that the pedals need to be rotated even when the battery is engaged but there is no resistance.
Naturally, when the power isn't engaged, it's the same as riding a manual bike but the three-wheeler is quite a bit heavier. If you get up a good speed with the battery on and you are on level ground, you don't have to pedal until it starts slowing down. I think there's a correlation between the manual gears and power speed. For example, if I had the bike in 7th gear and the power in 5th, I reckon I'd be going pretty fast. The top speed is 25km/h but I've gone over that by a couple of k's when the wind was behind me. I broke the speed limit when I visited the State Coal Mine a while ago. It was quite thrilling!
As you can imagine, my budget got a nice boost after I cancelled all my car-related expenses. The bike cost $2500 and the $200 balance from the car compensation was invested in a dozen red. There are no real costs with the bike except for a regular service at the local bike shop. I was given a free (labour) five-year service deal with the purchase and the first one cost $60 for parts. The rail trail gravel plays havoc with the chain which is what was replaced.
I don't ride in the rain but have been caught in drizzle. I'm sure the bike wouldn't mind but I'm not fussed. Because of the COVID restrictions and the contrary weather, I haven't travelled far. I've discovered where most of the bike racks are around town and have slowly worked out a process for shopping in different shops without dragging the bike around with me. I attach the bike to a bike rack and walk, which is another novel experience.
I can carry four Woolies shopping bags in the carrier, two stacked on top of two and strapped down. The bike is very much like walking a dog. People want to have a chat when they see me parking it. I was accosted both arriving and leaving Woolies t'other day. When everything settles down a bit more, the plan is to head off to the general store at Dalyston, via the rail trail, for fish `n` chips. I've heard that the store is for sale again, so I'd better get a move on.
I've been asked whether I would recommend it. I bought the bike as transport and it certainly fits the bill. I haven't used it for pleasure yet but, as it's like sitting in an armchair, I'm sure it will be good fun. Once you get used to the balance, etc. it's easy to ride. I took one of the cats to the vet in it and she managed okay although you certainly find out where all the bumps are in the paths when you have "precious" cargo on board!
As is my wont, the bike has to have a name. May I introduce Whitney!
$2700 wasn't going to buy me much of a car and I'm beyond the age of tinkering with engines. I had a two-wheeler bike at the time but somewhere along the line my fear of heights became a factor. How about a three-wheeler, I thought. I'd always fancied one when I was a child, so I started investigating.
I looked on the internet for local bicycle shops and found one in Wonthaggi that offered an electric three-wheeler. With that information, I then searched the internet again for more information and comparisons. I don't know a lot about electric bikes but I did know that I wanted 24-inch wheels because you get more distance out of each revolution than you would with a 10 or 12-inch, for example. I made my decision and ordered an XDS E-SCAPE 24" 7-Speed E-Trike Black from the shop in McBride Avenue.
While all this was going on, a thing called COVID appeared on the horizon and the subsequent lockdowns caused havoc with the expected delivery. The bike (I think of trikes being for young kids with the pedal on the front wheel and a tray at the back) comes in pieces from Melbourne and had to be assembled in the local shop. It was ready for collection on Friday, March 20, which sounds like a reasonable timeframe to me now but was frustrating at the time. I bought a fancy new fluoro green/yellow helmet and swapped the bell and light from my existing two-wheeler "exercise" bike in the spare room. The two-wheeler has since gone to a new home.
My first ride down the Fincher Street rail trail almost ended in disaster when I reached the slope down towards the Arts Centre. I squeezed the rear brake instead of both at the same time and slewed into a garden bed. Fortunately I stayed upright. Speaking of staying upright, a three-wheeler is totally different to a two-wheeler as far as balance goes. With a two-wheeler you lean your whole body to zoom around corners but with the three-wheeler, I find that you just need to bend at the waist. Lifting one of the rear wheels off the ground is a bit hairy because the centre of gravity moves considerably.
Unfortunately, there was no owner's manual with the bike but there is one for the monitor on the handlebar which shows all sorts of useless information about distance, speed, etc. If it told me the time I might show it more respect.
For those who aren't familiar with this type of bike, it has seven manual gears and five "electric" speeds. The battery sits under the seat and is removable for recharging or it can be charged in situ if you have electricity nearby. My shed doesn't, so every now and then (the monitor shows me when), I remove it for recharging. It takes about four hours to fully recharge. The definition of the power is "pedal assist" which means that the pedals need to be rotated even when the battery is engaged but there is no resistance.
Naturally, when the power isn't engaged, it's the same as riding a manual bike but the three-wheeler is quite a bit heavier. If you get up a good speed with the battery on and you are on level ground, you don't have to pedal until it starts slowing down. I think there's a correlation between the manual gears and power speed. For example, if I had the bike in 7th gear and the power in 5th, I reckon I'd be going pretty fast. The top speed is 25km/h but I've gone over that by a couple of k's when the wind was behind me. I broke the speed limit when I visited the State Coal Mine a while ago. It was quite thrilling!
As you can imagine, my budget got a nice boost after I cancelled all my car-related expenses. The bike cost $2500 and the $200 balance from the car compensation was invested in a dozen red. There are no real costs with the bike except for a regular service at the local bike shop. I was given a free (labour) five-year service deal with the purchase and the first one cost $60 for parts. The rail trail gravel plays havoc with the chain which is what was replaced.
I don't ride in the rain but have been caught in drizzle. I'm sure the bike wouldn't mind but I'm not fussed. Because of the COVID restrictions and the contrary weather, I haven't travelled far. I've discovered where most of the bike racks are around town and have slowly worked out a process for shopping in different shops without dragging the bike around with me. I attach the bike to a bike rack and walk, which is another novel experience.
I can carry four Woolies shopping bags in the carrier, two stacked on top of two and strapped down. The bike is very much like walking a dog. People want to have a chat when they see me parking it. I was accosted both arriving and leaving Woolies t'other day. When everything settles down a bit more, the plan is to head off to the general store at Dalyston, via the rail trail, for fish `n` chips. I've heard that the store is for sale again, so I'd better get a move on.
I've been asked whether I would recommend it. I bought the bike as transport and it certainly fits the bill. I haven't used it for pleasure yet but, as it's like sitting in an armchair, I'm sure it will be good fun. Once you get used to the balance, etc. it's easy to ride. I took one of the cats to the vet in it and she managed okay although you certainly find out where all the bumps are in the paths when you have "precious" cargo on board!
As is my wont, the bike has to have a name. May I introduce Whitney!