It’s taken months, with, admittedly, some time out for winter weather, but Raffi is on the road again after his November disaster.
New configuration: The battery’s under the seat, reversed,
with the horrible mount facing backwards. A small bungee
spider web is wrapped around the battery case handle,
and allows the battery to be easily clipped on and off.
After troubleshooting with a good riding friend (thank you, Mike!), and interested input from Ian, a fellow blogger (Aussie on a Brompton, highly recommended!), I set to work and did my best to resolve Raffi’s dilemma — and failed. Repeatedly. However, I did verify that his battery could be moved from its original placement below the rear rack to under his seat, at the inner end of his rear rack, and that was key to the ultimate resolution.
Read more…
When Raffi first arrived, I rode only three times before the casing holding his battery in place broke. That debacle is chronicled here. I received a replacement part, and then hedged my [future] bets by strapping Raffi’s battery in place to protect the terribly-designed slots meant to hold it in place from breaking again.
This worked brilliantly — for four months. Then the replacement casing broke — this time on the opposite side from where it had broken previously.
Read more…
Raffi was drop-shipped from Italy, where Di Blasi tricycles are made, to me in the USA, arriving in perfect condition in a surprisingly small carton, thanks to his compact fold. The transaction seemed a risky business, but went very well, and it was possible to ride immediately. Out of the box!
Cracked and split.
Above, the raw edge where the clip,
which is meant to hold the battery in place,
has broken off.
However, three rides in, disaster struck. The mounting plate into which the Di Blasi battery slides and clips cracked and broke — making it impossible to use. After three rides. Read more…