My T50 Emeljay Mod

[Rampa]

I have not found a one yet. The lower section of the boom on my Sofrider, before it tapers-down, is 34.9. I'll start by testing a 38mm ID tube over that. That'll let me know if it's worth persuing further. Pretty sure some other companies made 1.5 steerers. Hard to find though.

I'm going to keep searching for a while though!

 

[Rampa]

I think I have a stem that is the right diameter to clamp into the end of the tube if I cut the steerer-clamp off of it. That would look much nicer, I think.

I bought a 1 foot section of 16 gauge 38mm OD T6 for initial testing. The very lower part of the boom on my Sofrider, before it tapers down, is 34.9 like the T50. So I should know next week.

 

[rx7mark]

Wow! Very nice! I'am curious, please kindly find out for me the final weight of your build without the bags

The total weight without the bags or lights, but with the Wahoo mini, 2 sensors, plus two spy mirrors and the front light mount is 32.8 lbs.
20.8 0n the front and 12.0 lbs on the rear.

Mark

 

[rx7mark]

Could you show your lower seat mount. It looks much cleaner than what I have done with my Thor.

Here are two pics of the front mount. I made it from the stock T50 front mount, but cut off the rear swing link. The seat is only mounted at the rear frame mount with a single skewer. I used 4- 1/4 X 20 stainless steel panhead bolts. Its easy to remove and moved the seat back about 4 inches and down about 1.5 inches. This allowed me to rotate the bottom bracket higher so that it is even with the seat pan or just slightly above it. This made a big difference for me, as I am 6' 2" with a 45.5 inch X-seam.

Mark

 

[ak-tux]

The total weight without the bags or lights, but with the Wahoo mini, 2 sensors, plus two spy mirrors and the front light mount is 32.8 lbs.
20.8 0n the front and 12.0 lbs on the rear.

Mark

Thank you for taking the time to weigh it.

 

[DavidJL]

I was hoping I could find a zero-reach 31.8 mm-31.8 mm stem, but could not find anything. Looks like the term "Emeljay Mod" has stuck. I used scooter clamps for the steering boom, by the way. Really great to see what has been done so far.

 

[rx7mark]

I was hoping I could find a zero-reach 31.8 mm-31.8 mm stem, but could not find anything. Looks like the term "Emeljay Mod" has stuck. I used scooter clamps for the steering boom, by the way. Really great to see what has been done so far.

Hi Dave,
Your mod was the first T50 Emeljay mod I had seen, and was the inspiration for my version. I just happened to notice that the seat post clamps on the rear seat struts were 31.8mm and had the rack mounts. So one time while I had the strut off I measured both the rack and the steering fitting and was pleased to find they were the same width. After that discovery I knew I had to build it!

Mark

 

[rx7mark]

I've gotten a chance to ride with the new mod a couple of times this week and I can say that I really like the more leaned back 34 degree Thor seat angle, and the ability of the Emeljay mod to adjust the handlebar to the perfect position. It took me 2-3 tries to get it just right. The steering is a little tighter and more precise at speed, which adds a little confidence to my ride. I feel like I can place the front tire more precisely than before when steering around obstacles and debris in the road.

I also like the higher BB position that came from moving my seat back, but the downside of that change is that it is a little harder to start on a hill as the front wheel wants to spin on the first stroke before my other foot is clipped in.

But for those with longer legs, one warning! I have a two foot slider tube and in my current position only have 4 inches overlap in the receiving tube. If I want to adjust any further back I might need to get a longer tube. This will also depend on which handle bar you have. 30 inches would be perfect, but my 24 inch tube is fine for now.

Mark

 

[Shimelis]

But can you find a short one, I couldn't.
Mark

Where do you buy the new seat T50

 

[rx7mark]

Where do you buy the new seat T50

It's a GS Easy model seat from Thor Composite recumbent seats. Just Google them. Great customer service from Greg, I am a happy customer!

Mark

 

[rx7mark]

You can take a peak at my installation thread, titled " T50 with a Thor seat"

Mark

 

[rx7mark]

FYI, here is the stem I used that had to be machined to 31.8mm on the steering tube side. Amazingly nice part for the price. Any really short stem will work, this one had plenty of aluminum to machine out, so worked really well.
View attachment 6921

https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-ZOAGEA...Stem-Silver-/292038890625?hash=item43fedfd481

Mark

I talked to my friend who did the machining of my stem and he would be willing to do similar stem machining for anyone else interested in a similar Emiljay mod.

Coordination would be thru PM's to me.
Cost would be $25 +round trip shipping.
You would ship your stem to me, he would do the work, and then I would ship your stem back. Paypal would be used for payment.

This assumes 5-25 people might be interested, as he could not handle 100's of these. So first come first served.

Make sure and specify you tubing outer diameter or send a few inches of your tubing along with the stem so he can check the fit.

We are offering this not to go into business, just as a service to help other tribe members. This was the only area I needed outside help to finish my Emiljay mod documented in this thread.

Mark

 

[Patrick Bateman]

That mod looks great!

 

[rx7mark]

That mod looks great!

Thanks Patrick. It really changes the feel and adjustabilty of the T50, I just wish I had done it sooner.

It was really quite easy once I figured out the details.

Mark

 

[astroleo]

Notice the oval hole, that is to get access to the allen head bolt that tightens the upper seat post clamp

Turning the upper clamp around would move the screw hole up and away from the plate, and eliminate the need for the oval hole in the center, right?
Greetings from Germany

 

[rx7mark]

Turning the upper clamp around would move the screw hole up and away from the plate, and eliminate the need for the oval hole in the center, right?
Greetings from Germany

Yes, but then the upper clamp interferred with the steering stem fitting. I could have redone my plates. But I did not realize the issue until I had the plates completed, so I flipped the upper clamp around and drilled the hole, as a work around solution.

If I was doing it over I would have moved the clamps down the tube just enough to clear, then made the plates the right configuration to fit.

Hindsight is great, and things like this are why manufacturers build prototypes.

Are you going to do the mod?

Mark

 

[astroleo]

Hindsight is great .

Are you going to do the mod?

Yes, I just assembled my T50 (frameset purchased in 2019) and am trying to 'optimize' it .
By no means did I want to challenge your solution for the slider clamps, rather hoped that someone
would tell me of any possible problems with the other way. [ Credits for that are indeed due to @Rampa,
whose earlier contribution I had overlooked, possibly because of too many yet unfamiliar English technical
terms; don't hesitate to enlighten me in that respect, please.]
I wanted the two clamps on the slider as far apart as possible, hence didn't think about the cover-up.
From the beginning I didn't like the fork shaft extension , for mechanical (long lever) and optical
(too much stuff in the field-of-view) reasons. In addition, its outer diameter was more than 0.1mm
larger the nominal 1 1/8 ",which makes mounting and dismounting rod clamps a hassle.
Difficult it was, but I found a supplier of inch-measure tubes for bicycle frames, which I will use to
experiment with. Goals: hinged steering colum or curved, etc.
But more on that later if there is progress beyond the state of vague ideas.
cheers

 

[astroleo]

column, sorry.

 

[rx7mark]

column, sorry.

I understood, your english is great!

Mark

 

[Rampa]

I used an oversized tube for mine. So it slides over the existing frame tube. That meant I had to cut a squeeze groove and find a 1.5 inch stem.

The clamp is a work in progress. I had some random things that I manage to get together. You want to make your clamp as stiff as possible, and also fully grip the tube all around. So those seat clamps do a good job of gripping.

I actually used an flag mount clamp for a roll bar. Two actually, as I needed to of the same sides, it being made of two pieces.

If you have access to a machine shop, you really only need a tube clamp to use with the existing pivot that clamps at the top of the head tube. You can find, or make, a shim to clamp that to the 1 1/8 steerer.

So look at the clamp on the existing higher end bikes, and use that as your basis to cut your own, if you can. Using the existing pivot has the advantages of a big. fat through bushing and a wide mounting point. Two things that add to the rigidity greatly.