criggie.org.nz

News Images MP3 Humour Email Us Webmail Links
Stuff from: Debbie Criggie Daniel Luke Katherine Gladys

iBike Dash


Gotchas

Combining and swapping shells

UPDATE May 2014 - turns out the idash Coach looks the same as the idash CC but inside they're different.

idash coach lacks all the internal ANT+ antenna circuitry and the battery connectors.

So I managed to remove the hinge pins holding the lid on and swapped them over. Use a long pin or a small thin nail to push the hinge pins out. No great force is needed, be careful of the flimsy plastic.

When the pins are out, consider reinforcing the plastic somehow.

Then reinsert the pins using firm hand pressure. No hammers or anything, just use a stout nail or similar.

Screen Protectors

I fitted a nice glass screen protector from DX.com, which worked really well but it was too thick to fit in the idash case. Bother!

Broken Cover - Quick fix

March 2014 - I have this unit on my bike - was on clearance so why not? I only needed a speedo to know how fast my project bike was going, whereas this ibike unit measures a lot more.

99% great and the 1% rubbish lets it down.

Clamp separated Clamp in place
So I used some elastic cord and make this String Bikini for my ibike holder. I believe Shibari or Karada is also a valid name.

The string Bikini
It looks a bit silly but stops the phone popping out the top, while staying usable.

Backside with strings Backside with more strings
As I said, the device doesn't get covered so it is still useable.

In place on the bike
Downside is the waterproof seal doesn't meet so this is not finished.

Broken Cover - Proper fix

Harder said than done - there's no meat on the plastic to glue or bolt to.

I've tried gently pushing out the pin in the hinge, and things just bend and split.

So the possible plans are:
  • I'll try getting a really small briefcase clamp and stick it on with epoxy
  • Create a new mount using 3D printing
  • Create a new mount using sculpture and 2 part mix like Selleys Kneed It

    Broken Cover - bigger fix

    Here's "Create a new mount using sculpture and 2 part mix like Selleys Kneed It" BUT the lid suffers from a dreadful design flaw - the hinge has about 2 square millimetres of plastic to hold it together. Naturally it snaps, so here's my attempt to fix it....

    Step 1: Bother - its broken!

    I don't have tons of cash to fling on bicycle clobber, so I made an effort to fix it. The main unit is in the bottom of the enclosure, and the electronics still function fine. The biggest problem is that the seal is broken and the unit won't be waterproof. First thing is to save all the parts.

    Step 2: Cleanup the nubbins



    I used a coarse file to flatten off the daggy ends of plastic and make a clean, flat, and rough surface. Also drilled a couple of shallow blind holes into but not through the plastic for added bite.... not sure if this makes a difference at all.

    Step 3: Mask the area with tape


    This image was from later, but shows how I masked the area with tape. The goop gets everywhere, easier to do now than clean it off later.

    Step 4: Goop



    I used a product called Selleys "Knead It" which is rated for water and cost me $10 NZD for a small tube. I've used perhaps 3% of the tube doing this, and that was about four times more than necessary. Cut a wee bit off and roll it around between finger and thumb. It stinks and is quite tacky when mixed.

    Step 5: Make bumps


    I used part of the mix to make two bumps on top of the nubbins. As the goop sets, it gets firmer and easier to work with. You want to have it basically in shape before then and just do touchups. Try and squash it into the blind hole a bit, for added grip. Best tool was a putty knife, which was damp with water. This stops/reduces the sticking. I should have made mine stand out much taller - they were barely adequate. You're after a domed house shape, don't worry about the flat ends because we'll trim them up later. To get a smooth surface and remove all your fingerprints, wet the putty knife or your finger and smooth it off. Once the shape is right, put the whole thing aside for an hour or so to set. Two hours is a safe bet. Clean up your hands and tools in water.

    Step 6: Cleanup

    Use a sharp knife like a Stanley knife or a scalpal or a box cutter to trim the four ends flat. Ideally you want the black plastic sides of the original nubbins to be visible but not cut. Don't remove the masking tape yet, it'll help protect while drilling.

    Step 7: Drill!




    I used a 1.5 mm drill bit in a drill press to go in through the dried goop.Take your time and drill slowly. I had the drill barely in the jaws of the chuck, for added length. My errors were that I was forced to drill from each side, and the two holes were poorly lined up, as the photo with the nail shows. Also that I hadn't formed the goop high enough.

    Step 8: Assembly


    Its not the reverse of disassembly, that's for sure. I used a 1.5 mm nail to drive the pin out of the hinge. DO NOT HAMMER! Either use hand pressure or a gentle squeeze in a bench vise. Any impact is likely to snap the plastic. Once the pin was ~2 mm out I used some boot pinch pliers to grab and extract the pin. Then I simply lined it up and pushed the pin back in place through the hinge and the new holes. Photo above shows it halfway pushed in.

    Step 9: Summary

    Finally I used a black vivid marker pen to hide the creamy colour of the goop. Will update this with more info when I've got some distance on it.

    Links

  • The manufacturer's website Makers of the ibike. They now sell a dedicated device called a Newton rather than an adapter for a cellphone.
  • A review form computershopper.com
  • Strava Data comparing site where the idash uploads your run info. I wasn't competitive till I started seeing this.

    This file last modified Sunday July 13, 2014

    If you find something here useful, feel free to donate bitcoin: Donations address: 14LHst9s1UEh8NMem87qaEd9tJWSCiNt1x

    Valid HTML 4.01!

    .