I had no idea this existed. Now I want one.

The addition of a Dutch wheel lock made this bike perfect for quick errands. Early ones came with a flip up seat that had storage for your wallet and keys.

Living in the Lime light, the universal dream...

@dkylehall75

25 күн бұрын

The way the big wheels spins...

I saw one of these locked up really recently with all the decals off and I couldn't tell what was going on. Wild timing for this vid to drop.

I remember selling a few Limes when they debuted, and even though it's a well-made product it suffers the same basic design flaw that the Autobike and Landrider had: you don't ride it like a geared bicycle. When you ride a geared bike and want to go faster, shift up. Want to go slower? Shift down. What you don't do is just pedal faster/slower, at least not by more than a few rpm to bridge gear changes. Riding a fixie, sure, but on fixed gears the relationship between cadence and speed is perfectly linear. But with the Shimano Coasting system like the Lime had, if you want to go faster you furiously pedal until the computer initiates a shift, and then you immediately drop your cadence 20-30 rpm and settle into the gear. If you want to downshift before you start a climb up a hill, hopefully you're not attached to your momentum because that easier gear isn't going to come online until you've already lost it and if you're a casual rider without world-class thighs you probably lost a bunch of rpm too. I get it, it wasn't marketed to enthusiast riders, or people riding for cardio and fitness. Hence the "coasting" name. But that crowd was never exactly mystified by analog 3 speed internal hubs, were they? I'm hardly a Luddite, I own and freely praise every version of electric shifting wizardry on offer, but Coasting was a huge miss for a reason.

@tauncfester3022

21 күн бұрын

Sounds like there weren't enough programming sensors. I owned a German folding bike with the Fictel-Sachs Automatic 2 speed it was just like you mentioned but as it was purely flyweight driven and could be reset to first gear at any speed just by lightly backpedalling for a second. It wasn't that big a problem with inclines. Sounds like the speed sensor had too lax a hysteresis algorithm for sensing when the rider's rpm had dropped below what would be comfortable shift down point as the bike slowed on an incline.

Wow. I love this and hate this all at once. It's like art.

I was always impressed by how well they handled. Very stable. Didn't sell that well.

You have a knack for understanding design from the engineer's perspective and then disseminating it to us in ways we can understand. The reasons behind design. I remember when these came out. Honestly, I really don't think I understood the concept back then. It feels like the Globe bikes series came out about the same time and those kinda had my attention at the time. I wonder who was behind these? Really smart idea (that went right over my head)

Fascinating. Never seen one before. A dynamo to power the shifter is clever alright. I’d own one in a state that was mostly flat if I was planning to ride it. Otherwise, collecting sounds like a better option. Cheers. 👍

Fantastic 😻 love the look and the techy shifting with no brake levers. Cool video. Thanks

Three speed hubs oh no! I do not know why but I love watching work being done to a bike I would avoid. Next time lets put in new bearings, I would hate doing that.

Awesome video, as always! I was today years old when I found out this existed! As a 3 speed aficionado, I really like this bike. My only concern is relying solely on the coaster brake. I genuinely like coaster brakes but I understand their limitations, so I would add a front rim brake for safety, even if I would usually just use the coaster.

that's why I really appreciate the roller brakes from Shimano as they work and have almost no wear. They are used in typical "oma fiets" or Holland bikes but also in many rental bikes. Everyone tells me "disc brakes are the only good braking system" but the roller brakes on my Bakfiets cargo trike work reliably even with heavy load and rain.

@MetalTiger88

29 күн бұрын

well to be fair, brake performance isn't great on roller brakes...😅

@FuchsHorst

29 күн бұрын

@@MetalTiger88 it is great compared to rim brakes, at least the Shimno ones they still sell. It's not meant for fast e- bikes or downhill. but they don't need re-adjustments. Only some grease every couple of years and maybe a new brake wire.

@MetalTiger88

29 күн бұрын

@@FuchsHorst a good adjusted v, brake or cantilever brake is much more aggresive then a roller brake. but even though the brake performance on a roller brake is lacking, it will at least run forever, i only replaced one in 20years so far.

@krollpeter

26 күн бұрын

@@MetalTiger88 Brake power suffices for the rear.

I love simplicity. I'm building a 3 speed coaster brake now. I also have a 7. I don't think I'd like a computer choosing when to change gears.

First time seeing or hearing about these! Wow. Very interesting. A test ride to see how it feels would be great!

Loved my lime,great commuter,just couldn't or wouldn't work on it! Gave up to an ex,and she sold it,wish I'd kept it,it was fun to ride!! Good luck finding used ones,tough to find!!

Some of those rubber Airless tires might be a good candidate for this one.. cool bike but jeeez, all that for a flat.

@MylesHSG

29 күн бұрын

I'd be running marathon plus's with a thick tube filled with sealant if that was my bike!

@MisterAndyS

29 күн бұрын

I have hub gears on my Brompton and my Trek District. I usually just pop the tube out from under the tire and patch in place without removing the rear wheel.

@jamesconroy7030

14 күн бұрын

@@MisterAndyS Perfectly good solution.

I remember the Auto Bike infomercials from the 90's.

shimano does make the best coaster brake. most modulation and best actuation -you can mount or drop curbs fairly easily without setting it off

Great use for that DiamondBack frame😁🤘🤘

I would love one of those bikes. May be a bit hard to find in Australia:) Those chrome hubs look awesome. Thanks BF.

Great video. Thanks for sharing.

I have a recent yard sale find - an aluminum frame with coster brake - Trek custom cruiser . I was pondering whether I do a clunker , rat rod or even low rider . After the first ride , why fix what ain't broke . It has an amazing ride and comfort . And Hey ! It still looks cool.

It's about time! I LUVVVV this bike!! May I please buy THAT one?!?! No Joke!!

Really like the dynamo self powered feature. I want one! ...and a 50 pound Raleigh Superbe Dawn Tourist for both ends of the 3 speed spectrum!

I was going to email this, but the 'about' link on your youtube isn't there. I wanted to say, having been a bicycle mechanic (at a local co-op shop recently, and prior to that, some 40 years ago at another shop), that I love these videos. Being naturally sarcastic (me), your style is just up my alley. In my most recent stint at the co-op shop, we were a teaching shop. People bring bikes in, and we'd teach them how to do repairs and maintenance. I'm finding that almost all of your processes are identical to what I'd tell people. (The only notable difference is I tend to grease the inside of cable housings instead of TriFlow'ing them. Other wise, keep up the great work, and anyone that doesn't like your style, well.... They're wrong, and you're right :-)

Like you, I collect weird orphan bikes like the Auto-Bike and the LandRider, and I'd grab a Lime if one ever presented itself locally. The Schwinn Nancy used the same componentry as the Lime and I did miss an opportunity with one of those. This is going to be a very interesting vid!

@keithschrack

29 күн бұрын

The LandRider uses a belt & pulley system with counter-weights at the derailleur. When I had a flat on that bike, I just pulled the tube aside and patched it while the wheel was still mounted in the dropouts. Seemed easier than dealing with all the gadgetry.

I see them all the time on marketplace for like 50 bucks never knew about the auto shift hub pretty sweet.

I worked in a Chicago bike shop for years and I remember going to the Trek World conference when this bike came out and Trek had a huge group Lime ride through Madison. The bike was really fun to ride, among my other bikes, I had a 3-speed cruiser at the time that I used to bar hop in Chicago... I preferred the cruiser with the nexus 3 because of the style and fenders, but the lime was so light and fresh looking... trek just focused on selling stupid color-match accesory bits rather than fenders and commuter accesories ... or chasing the euro city bike trends that were flooding the city at the time... the bike was basically dead in the water in our shop. I think shimano pulled the plug on the "cruise" shifting tech after trek bombed this product release.

I commuted on a lime every day for 10 years through Wi winters. Loved it and hated it. Was a pain in the ass to change tires. Not great on hills, but otherwise indestructible and fun to ride.

Interesting, a couple months back I bought one of these for my wife, I was curious about the auto shift. I have a bit of experience with internal gear hubs and wanted to see how they integrated a Alfine type hub into an auto shift system. A month ago I found one for myself. The Lime is unique and I enjoy the oddball tech in some areas of cycling but I think the Lime may be suited to a different market than one found in the US. As far as you tube patching, I think you could have left the wheel on, get the tire off the rim, find the hole patch it, and be on with it. I thought you were going to adjust the shifting or something but not need. Speaking of shifting you may want to cover in a short video how the servo in the "computer box" can be adjusted so that the shifts come at different speeds (I read a document that claimed, factory setting was to shift at 8 and 11 MPH). Did you happen to measure the rear dropouts? Anyway, you say you may want to buy a few of these for you shop, mine is for sale and I am just down the road

I remember seeing a lot of infomercials in the late 90s or early 00s for an automatic transmission bike that used weights that would slide up and down the spokes of the rear wheel, and those weights would move the gears up or down as you sped up or slowed down. I guess the idea never caught on, because I never actually saw one in the wild.

True art , and great design

There was once a company that made a snake tube which made it possible to change the tube while wheel remained on the bike. I just take a longer tube, cut it, tie knots in it, shove it in.

that is as complex as the sturmey archer hub in my dahon folding bike. i needed new parts for it but i had to be creative to maintain it after a cable change.

Looks a lot like a small mini bike setup there are normally tolerances for chain tightness. Not really bad just more work than your used to pretty good quality.

I had one of those! I know you’re in WI, but there were many brands that ran the coasting drivetrain at that point. And Giant did a good job making that bike for Trek! 😂😂

I used to data processing for a company that sold the “Auto-Bike”, it used weights and centrifugal force to shift a derailleur. It actually worked pretty decent, just don’t ever leave it outside in the rain, it was a nightmare to get working again. The parent company gave a bunch of us one for free, I never would have spent the money to buy one. It was a decent working gimmick, but it was still a gimmick.

Probably too collectible now, but damn! That would make a perfect winter bike! Nothing is really exposed to the snow/salt/snert.

is there a hidden storage compartment under the saddle??

I'd just run the most puncture "proof" tires as possible to avoid roadside hassles. I run Panaracer Tourguard Plus on my Nexus 7 equipped Bianchi Milano and as soon as the current tires wear out on the 700c converted Fuji/Marlboro folder, they will be replaced with Schwalbe Marathon Plus.

@ericsande5345

29 күн бұрын

I bought a pair of Continental Tour Ride (now Ride Tour) tires in 2015 and continue to buy them because I haven't had a single flat in 9 years. They used to be cheap - first pair were $22 each.

@kevinfeeney5309

29 күн бұрын

@ericsande5345 good to know, just in case I can't get either of the two I'm already used to.... thanks!

@PRH123

29 күн бұрын

Good choice, that's just what I do on my single speed commuter. The schwalbes are very heavy, but when you leave the office at 9 at night and it's raining and 5 C. outside, you are very, very glad you have them. Secondary benefit is they roll really well, when you're up to speed they are very low resistance. And they last a long, long time. I used to replace cheaper tires once a year, I've had my current pair of Marathon Plus for 5 years now. So in the end you save a lot, despite their higher price.

Do you like how the furniture polish works on matte finish bike?

I had one of these in the stand recently! I thought the autoshift was pretty neat- but it was very polarizing in the shop.

Does that bike have the seat with the storage compartment in it?

Hey, you didn’t wash it down w Dawn and furniture polish and it looks like it would clean up really good!

Clever system. Would be cool to see it built into a light aluminum frame, with seatpost - stem - bars - seat correspondingly light. And fenders. You know, something a commuting cyclist might ride :)

@bkefrmr

29 күн бұрын

It’s definitely a light bike and fenders can be added

If tubeless wasn’t such a pain for the riders this bike is intended for, that would probably be the way to go.

I would use that go get into the society of three speeds

Would it be quicker to leave the wheel on to do the repair?

I've never seen these, but now at least if I do I'll have an idea of how it's supposed to work. Doubt I'd remember how to get the wheel off and on though.

Yeah, I wish these came out about 5-ish years later. I was working at a bike shop that specialized in Treks when the Lime came out, but I was still in my bike racing phase. I recognized the utility and robustness of this bike, but if a bike wasn't lighter than 25 lbs, it didn't make sense to me. Oh, to be young and dumb again...

For a bike innovation this must have been quite a radical one. Too bad the tire change looks like nightmare in field conditions

Wish you can encounter a TREK R200 too

Bike seems really cool on paper, I really dont like how it looks. something about the metal dome hubs is giving retro 50s vibes that the rest of the bike doesnt share.

@isaiahwelch8066

29 күн бұрын

Honestly, I'd take all the parts off of that Trek frame and put them all on a cruiser frame, like Huffy's "Perfect Fit" frame. Get it looking good in two-tone gloss black + dark silver, with bright chrome accents, and that bike would look like it rolled off the line in 1955.

I had this bike for a while as a city bike. However I’m an avid cyclist and the shift points of the auto shift drove me nuts. I should have known better that I needed to be in control and choose my shifts when I want them, not when the system does it for me.

It's always a good idea to add a few drops of gear oil to the hole the shift nail goes inside, ( it will directly lube the sun and planet gears..) as you never know how many miles the bike actually has. Don't over do it, just a enough to keep the oil inside from getting gummy.

You talked me into one...

I too never knew this Trek line existed. I have to think I'd change a couple of things imediately. Get rid of the stupid auto shift, if you want a bullet proof internial geared wheel, go with a Nexus, and the silly looking dome covers over the wheel nuts.... So, take the basics of what Trek did, change it into a manual 3 speed, or fixed.... and off ya go.

I WANT THIS TOO!

I want to try one. I’m going to keep my eyes open. For one.

One of the guys who works at my bike shop owns two!

Old Ope dropped another vid.

You should have a Ope! Jar.

Appealing bike, but no way! To me, the issue with tire changes negates the usefulness

@timtaylor9590

29 күн бұрын

Not too mention it's inefficiency

@jamesconroy7030

14 күн бұрын

Just patch the tube without taking the wheel off.

@timtaylor9590

14 күн бұрын

@@jamesconroy7030 that's actually a good idea. It may be a pain to work with around the bike but it will be easier.

@jamesconroy7030

14 күн бұрын

@@timtaylor9590 Just make sure there's no glass, nails, etc still stuck in the tire for regular flats. Plus, you'd still have to take the wheel off to change the tire itself.

But why does the generator hub not power integrated lights?

@cebruthius

29 күн бұрын

Would have been a logical choice for a design where convenience is prioritized. A shame.

If I come to pick it up, what would you charge me?

I think that's more complicated and time consuming than changing a rear flat on my Brompton! I say 'I think' because I've never had a flat in nearly four plus years of owning it, bought new with Schwalbe Racer tires...go figure. And yeah, never knew of the Lime, but I want one.

Certainly a lot of to-do mechanism in that old single-speed bicycle hub and axle. Simple however. Wasn't designed to climb 30% grades or stop at the bottom of a mountain after reaching 50 mph. I remember using, beating, wearing out the old 1-speed 20-inch bicycles in my childhood. Only brake was turning pedals backward. Only speed was my legs. Only hill climbing was my legs. The limitations were great, but I didn't expect to do more than the bike or my legs could accomplish. Simplicity.

Do you have SRAM/Sachs DualDrive hubs in the states? very common in Europe from the 90s to the mind 2010s

@PRH123

29 күн бұрын

I think those have gone out of production. Sturmey Archer still make a 2-speed kickback shift hub, but you will never see it as original equipment on a bike. Only a few people who know what they are build them into wheels themselves.

@FuchsHorst

29 күн бұрын

@@PRH123 Yes, it's out of production since 2018 but so is the Shimano auto shift hub shown in this video.

@mattgies

29 күн бұрын

They're here, but they're very rare. I've only seen two of them.

You're right, You would never use this bike for a leisurely ride on a rough trail such as the C&O Canal. Too much work just to change a flat. It looks intimidating.

Ebay, Local pickup in MI. $99

If it were belt drive, it would be the ultimate torque sensing mid-drive conversion. Flats happen so seldom any more, it isn't bad and still nothing near as awful as any hub motor fat tire e-bike.

No fenders though?

I think this bike would have sold better without the auto shift. Three speed hub shifters are simple and allow you to control shifting. The dynamo should power lights.

I, for one, welcome our new three speed automatic robot overlords...

This is the kind of flat I would just repair with sealant.

I wanted see u ride it lol u better back a dinner take u long time change that on side of road Very coooooooool

15:03 I like to call em goo toobs

Cool

Yep, still not as tough as my 4 speed internal, coaster brake or my 7 speed roller cam

That was amazing. I never even knew that shifting system existed. It’s a great system and I wonder where it might have led to had Shimano continued its development or is the Nexus the outcome? Maybe someone can enlighten me..? 👍🏼

@PRH123

29 күн бұрын

Nexus came long before this system. It's an addition to nexus. Probably a good market for it with city rental bikes, or e-bikes. As far as I've seen in many countries, most all city rental bikes have Shimano 3 speed nexus systems.

@christopherwinstone434

28 күн бұрын

@@PRH123 Thank You 👍🏼

and I thought rear drive ebikes were a pain to remove the wheel ...... Wonder if one of those ebike tubes would work on this - the one that isn't a loop so you can replace the tube without removing the wheel

I’m just getting into biking, and bought an older used Trek 6500 Alpha ZX in yellow, for $200 with a few upgrades from the previous owner. I really like the bike, but can’t find a whole lot of information on it. I’m not sure what I’m looking for, but just curious on others’ opinions on it, or can tell me anything else about it.

I can't imagine how much you would have to charge to do a flat repair on one of these

Imagine having to fix a puncture on this thing by the roadside in the rain.

Need some solid tires on that thing.

Just patch the tube without taking the wheel off (unless you're changing the tire too). Work smarter, not harder.

Designed by the Trek German engineer maybe .🧐

Be very gentle with that shifting actuator. It looked to me like you handled it roughly. It was dangling around by the control wire and the rubber boot was opened up. That looks like a spot water can get into. I'd be packing that boot joint with a dielectric grease in both directions. Overall the bike looks like a nice simple functional bike but the engineering is poor and could be improved. I think the English had it right the first time with the Sturmy Archer hubs.

*explains why it's such a geniusly designed product for a long while* *proceeds to show excruciating 23 step process to change flat tire*. Lol

I would tape the rims and try to go tubeless

For a hot minute during the pandemic I almost got one to put bull horns on it doing some crazy mods. and while working at Budget, yes that one. We tried to up the cool factor on them by putting flat bars and colorful grips. sorry not sorry. and as of 2023 you could still go to budget and find some of the custom color kits.

Wooooooooooooody

Taking a wheel off that reminds me of the process of removing the rear wheel of 74’ Honda CB550…. Way too many bolts and parts for the average cyclist to lose

lol. Cool unless you need to change a flat. No way. I count five tools needed not including levers. 😳

@PRH123

29 күн бұрын

It takes me about 30 minutes to an hour to do at home, when I change from winter to summer tires and back. On my giant single speed with horizontal dropouts, drum brake, and fenders (so no shift cable). Would not be fun to do out on the road, especially at night. Which is one reason I use Schwalbe marathons, to make sure it never happens. (have had one flat in 5 years, knock on wood, but was able to patch the tube without removing the wheel)

Back when I was just a young engineer, I had a Schwinn 3-speed with that "Sturmey Archer" gear selector on the handlebar. I guess that must have been a primitive arrangement. My poor little right index finger and thumb, getting all blistered and callused from clicking that lever, 1 to 2 to 3 to 2 (headwind or climb), back to 3. Terribly laborious -- oh, wait, no it wasn't. I must be missing something here. Regardless of how clever it is, why does a person need an automatic transmission for his bike? Really, I don't get it.

@mattgies

29 күн бұрын

Why do people need automatic transmissions for their cars?

@christianb.1028

28 күн бұрын

I have the Shimano Nexus di2 on my cargo bike, which also has an automatic mode. It's absolutely great, just very convenient.

Is it for sale?

I'll pass, thanks!

I want to own one but never work on it.

How awful would that be if you got a flat a few miles from home? Good concept but I think that's why it failed.