...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
In my opinion, the Armadillo has the potential to be the
Ultimate Expedition Vehicle.
20.06.2024
My Armadillo
bike has finally arrived!
But I can't drive it in the next time because it's in need of a complete overhaul...
That's the price you pay when you buy a used one...
The wearing parts - chains, sprockets, etc. - are no longer ok, I have to replace them all.
There are a lot of corroded screws and nuts, I will do all the replacements in stainless steel.
The Rohloff drivetrain is in urgent need of a complete overhaul.
Still, a lot of work and a lot of money has to be invested before it can go on the road again...
The last service was probably a long time ago....
But it has a lot of space for my equipment !
I bought a box, 105 cm x 69cm x 85.5cm !
This box fits perfectly between the wheels and on the sub-frame.
Of course, I will spray the box in olive color with the help of my good friend Klaus, but this time with
Raptor paint!
I think there's still room for a small box behind the big one...
The Box is perfect for mounting my solar panel on top!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A big plus of the recumbent is the 2-wheel drive!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
04.07.2024
Dennis & John from Velove
sent me some spare parts. This is going to be a huge help in getting the bike back on the road,
thank you so much!
Today I received a package with spare parts from Velove for my Armadillo, great!
Many thanks to
Dennis & John / Velove
No matter what question you have and no matter how often you ask,
Velove's service is second to none!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12.09.2024
Got spare parts from Sweden again today, thanks to Dennis/ Velove for the good price and the fast delivery!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
19.09.2024
I removed everything unnecessary for repair. E.g. the carrier frame for the box, the front bumper the wheel covers / mudguards etc.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
27.09.2024
Hand rests are a real gain in comfort when riding a recumbent. They relieve the arms enormously on longer tours.
I don't want to miss them anymore !
This time I will use some lighter ones.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01.10.2024
Stéphane Delery from Veltop
supports me with one of his expedition roofs for my Armadillo!
I already had a Veltop on my 2017 trike and was more than satisfied -
I would never ride without it again!
Thank you so much, Stéphane for your support
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
28.10.2024
Today I received another package from Sweden with a holder for two batteries. So now I have 3 battery holders on my Armadillo.
I also have 2 new bearings for the two rear axles!
Many thanks to Dennis / Velove
Of course, I installed the battery holder straight away and it fits perfectly!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
09.11.2024
The Veltop arrived today and I mounted it right away. It fits, but the rear mounting is still not ideal!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
09.04.2025
I've been trying for months now to find someone to fix my bike, to no avail!
Everyone who has seen the bike has wet their pants!
And that's what they call bike mechanic, hilarious.
As usual here in Germany, the people who would have had the guts to do it wanted astronomical sums for the repair.
What a rip-off,
sorry, but not with me!
So now I'm going to fix it myself!
That is definitely the better way,
because it's a very good preparation for upcoming repairs, I will certainly have to do a lot on the road...
I finally did some work on my recumbent.
The Schlumpf/Haberstock Mountain Drive is now installed and fitted with a 55 sprocket.
Therefore, I have a 55 and a 22 sprocket in the front now. My recumbent now has a Rohloff gearbox, a Mountain-Drive and a Bafang electric motor as drive!
I hope that's all I need for traveling, even in the mountains...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11.04.2025
Finally, I have a little more time for myself, albeit for a sad reason...
I dragged the Armadillo to the second floor on our terrace, not so easy alone with 65 kg, the bike has a very cumbersome size for maneuvering in buildings...
I'm currently in the process of giving the entire bike a proper clean.
I have replaced the old chain tensioner with a new one.
I also replaced the old rusty clamps on the drive axles!
Next, I'm going to replace all the screws on the bike with stainless steel ones !
I have to try to install a switch, since I have four batteries with 3 different battery holders!
That's the price you have to pay if you want to save money...
But I have 64 Amps now !
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12.04.2025
I have now replaced the old lengthened and rusty chain from the Bafang motor to the Rohloff.
It should last now for a long time!
On Monday, I will start replacing all the rusty screws with stainless steel ones!
That can get expensive...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14.04.2025
Almost all the nuts and bolts on the bike were really rotten!
I replaced them all with stainless steel bolts, washers and self-locking nuts, which wasn't exactly cheap, but should last for many years!
My two boxes fit well on the sub-frame!
For safety reasons and to secure the boxes, I will probably put a perforated aluminum plate on the sub-frame!
Now I have to find out how to attach the Veltop roof properly!
The attachment at the top of the seat is not ideal!
Plenty of storage space for my equipment!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15.04.2025
I replaced the bolts on the wheels with stainless steel bolts! That was a good thing, because 3 of the 60 screws were already rotten!
Of course, I have mounted all screws with Anti Seize Assembly Paste.
This will help me to get the screws off again easily in the future if necessary!
Next, I have to think about how I'm going to mount the two boxes on the sub-frame.
They have to be bombproof, but also easy to lift off the bike on the way.
That's why I want to avoid screwing the boxes on!
A type of lockable clamp would be best ...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Continue with:
_____________________________________________
Only those who risk going too far will discover how far they can go!
Expeditions by kayak, motorboat, catamaran, motorcycle, all-terrain vehicle, bicycle in the USA, Alaska & Canada, Scandinavia...
