Instructional video’s Thys 222 Revolver

All text below is covered by English spoken instructional video’s.

Be a safe rider

You have bought a fast and low bike. Always assume that other traffic users might not see you as you are lower and faster then they expect. Take no risks. It is not worth it!

How to make your THYS 222 Revolver Rowingbike ready to ride

Mount the Bow sprit onto the frame at the steering fork. Take care that filling rings (if present) are mounted at the correct side. Make sure that all shift cables and brake cables are in correct position. The brake and shift cables are all on the left side of the bike.
Put the steering bar in straight position.
The Armstroke cable goes from the steeringbar over the top bow pulley to the foot slider.
Mount the wheels into the frame. Take care that the propulsion cable goes straight from the footsliderring to the Snek on the rear wheel.
Make sure the cables of the brakes are mounted properly.
Once the rear wheel is in the frame, put the bike on the floor standing on its wheels and roll the Snek backwards (by freewheeling) until there is tension on the propulsion cable. Now the footslider will be in backwards position in lowest gear (The propulsion cable is completely unrolled from the footsliderring and winded all the way on the Snek.)
Now you can mount the return cable. This is the 5 m thick shock cord. Its function is to roll the Snek back into beginning position and to maintain tension on the propulsion cable.
Roll the shock cord off the footsliderring and leave the attachment of one end of the cord to the ring as it is.
Hook in the other end of the cable with the small hook into the Snek at the largest diameter of the Snek. The shock cord will leave the Snek contraclockwise.
Take care that the knot in the bungee is pointing upwards so that it does not disturb the next winding on the Snek.
Now you will have to wind the shock cord contraclockwise on the footsliderring under full tension, this will take some effort.
With the 178 mm Snek you need to wind it just over 4 rotations over the ring and then you lay it over the downward bow pulley on the front tip of the bow sprit.
When you have a 220 mm Snek you need to wind it just over 5 circumferences.
The ring has 6 different holes for the Shock Cord. In this way you can find an ideal position that prevents you from shifting to a too heavy gear.
On some rowingbikes the downward bow pulley acts as cable tensioner too; it pivots back and forth and is pulled on tension by a bungee.
To get the cable on its proper place and to get tension on it you have to pull the downward bow pulley backward to lay the propulsion cable over it.
Take care there is a lot of tension on the bungee! Watch your fingers. If the length does not fit, take another hole on the ring. Do not change length of the return cable in this stage. You can also very easily adjust tension by choosing another hole for the hook on the return shock cord in the Snek; there are several holes you can choose.

When there is tension on the system make a few strokes with the rowingbike and check out if you can shift it to the highest gear. Have a good look at the Snek system and check how changing gears works before riding.

When shifting, right thumb button is pushed all the way (like the clutch of your car or motorbike) and thereby two things happen: the Snek is locked, it can no longer turn around its axis and the footsliderring is unlocked from the foot slider. So when this shifting button is pushed:

Making (a small part of) a stroke is shifting down (cable is unwinded from the ring and winded further on the Snek)
Making a (part of) a recovery stroke is shifting up (propulsion cable is rolled onto the ring and unrolled from the Snek).

Correct use: push the shifting button all the way, or not at all!

Notice that when you are in a low gear you will have to shift almost a full stroke before you notice difference in gear (As one circumference of the snek at large diameter is perhaps 45 cm, whereas the perimeter at smallest part is only 13 cm).
When you are already in a heavy gear you perhaps only have to shift a few cm to feel a difference.

Adjust the rowing bike to your body length

You can adjust the height of the steering bar, it should be as low as possible so that you leave approximately 20 mm between you knees and the steering bar.
More important is the length of the armstroke cable (the cable that goes from top of the steeringbar to the footslider), you can adjust its length by using the sliding knot in the armstroke cable. The double part can be changed into a triple part by sliding the middle knot forward or backward.
When you are clicked in with your feet, lying down in the seat with your feet in the end of the stroke position, your elbow should be in an angle of 90 degrees. The steering bar should just not be touching your breast or belly.
Important before you start riding your rowing bike:

Check if your shoe plates are compatible with your click pedals, get used to click in and out your feet, make sure you can always get out of the pedals, they are adjustable.
Always use your arms symmetrically, if you do not do that you are in fact steering.
Only take one hand (or two once you are used to the bike) away from the steering bar when you are freewheeling, with legs in straight position.
Practice this one hand steering on low speeds first!
You should never take one hand off the steering bar during a power stroke, if you would do so you would pull the steering bar to one side and fall immediately!!
Take care that you always have to ride with tension on the armstroke cable. This is the cable that goes from top of the steering bar to the footslider. Once you are experienced rowingbike rider you always have automatically tension on the armstroke cable.

Notice

Always ride with two feet clicked in. When you start to ride with one leg only, use very little force, you can put enormous asymmetrical forces on the foot slider and bow sprit when driving with one leg.
Once you have two feet on the pedals you can go full force! (For disabled people with one leg we build special reinforced foot sliders with more bearings).

Flat tires

If you have a flat on the rear wheel you can repair the tire when you leave the wheel in the bike as it is.

If you want to replace the inner tube

Put the bike in lowest gear with the footslider in most backward position.
Unhook the hook of the return shock cord out of the Snek and attach it somewhere on the frame near the rear dropout.
Now lift the rear wheel up and let the footslider roll to its most forward position.
Loosen the V brake. Now take your rear wheel out and replace the inner tube.
Pump up the tyre before you put it back in the frame, attach the V-brake again
Now take the foot slider back to the most backward position while the bike is standing on both wheels, you need a bit of force as you are pulling out the bungee in this way.
Now hook in the bungee on the Snek again and you are ready to ride again.

Maintenance

Always keep your propulsion cable and Snek far away from greasy products, just clean it with water every now and then.
The chromium rails of the bowsprit and the ball bearings of the foot slider need a bit of Vaseline or other grease on a regular base, these parts should never be without lubrication!
The bearings of the revolverring and the inside of the ring can best be lubricated with WD 40, this does not attrackt dirt.
Do not use: Witte Vaseline from Kroon Oil in spraycan. (Solves Paint)
After a ride in heavy rain, certainly in winter conditions when there is salt on the road, clean your bow sprit and the inside of the revolver ring immediately. Let it dry and grease bow sprit and inside revolver ring immediately.
If you use the steel CVT propulsion cable on the revolver bike it should be replaced after 5000 to 7000 km depending on how much you shift and on your weight and force. The more different gears you use the longer the lifetime of the cable.
We advise to check all cables for damage and fatigue brakes before each ride. The rejection standard is when there are more than 10 fatigue brakes per 10 mm cable length.
If you use Dyneema®  propulsion cable you will see it wear out slowly. It is likely to break after 1200 ~1700 km. Only the part that runs over the Snek all the time will wear out so you can use it two times by turning it around. We advise to ride it for 800 km, then turn it around and use it for another 800 km, then replace it. When you use the Dyneema®  cable in wet and dirty conditions it may wear out sooner. Exchange it earlier!!
The ball bearings of the foot bench are mounted with eccentric parts. You can adjust these with a thin (3mm) 11mm and 14 mm end wrench after loosening the centre bolt with an Allen key. Always leave some space between bearings and bow sprit so that it runs without resistance and dirt and sand can not cause a jam.
When foot slider bearings become noisy oil them or replace them (usually after 10.000 to 20.000 km)
Check the 4 bolts of seat every 2000 km.

Good to know

The steering damper between mainframe and front fork is mounted with a black eccentric part, in this way you can adjust the neutral steering angle. The rubber steering damper should be mounted in such way that the front wheel is in straight position when the bike is hold upright.

Stretch on cables

Dyneema®  propulsion and return cable stretch when they are new mounted. The Dyneema®  fibre does not stretch under short tension but it does crawl, this means it stretches very slowly when hold under tension for a long time. The stretch of cables when they are just mounted is stretch caused by the knots and stranding of the cables. So after mounting a new cable you may have to stop and readjust your cable length.

If you park your rowingbike it is best not to park it in lowest or highest gear. The Snek might adapt itself slightly to the force put on it by the shock cord.

The Shock cord will loose some of its elasticity when it is held under tension. So if you park your bike for longer time it is best to release the shock cord windings off the footslider ring and put it on again before your next ride.

Afstelling spanning van het elastiek:

Het is gebleken dat de rek eigenschappen van elastiek wat kunnen veranderen door andere temperatuur en luchtvochtigheid.

Als het warmer en droger wordt lijkt het er doorgaans op dat je elastiek korter wordt, je kan dus in de regel het elastiek dan wat losser zetten door keuze van een gaatje in de Snek voor het elastiek. Vooral als je een grote Ø 250 of Ø 220 mm Snek hebt dan moet het elastiek echt erg strak staan en dan kan het nodig zijn de elastiek spanning  te controleren en zo nodig aan te passen. Kijk hiervoor naar het instructie filmpje fine tuning shock cord : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK3JSgvTBIk

Er zijn verschillende soorten en fabrikaten elastiek; er is helaas geen atijd toepasbare vuistregel te geven, je moet gewoon af en toe eens checken of de spanning nog goed is.

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Rijklaar maken Thys 222 Revolver

Dit artikel is helaas alleen in het Engels beschikbaar. Onderstaande instructies zijn ook te vinden in deze PDF

Instructional video’s

All text below is covered by English spoken instructional video’s.

Be a safe rider

You have bought a fast and low bike. Always assume that other traffic users might not see you as you are lower and faster then they expect. Take no risks. It is not worth it!

How to make your THYS 222 Revolver Rowingbike ready to ride

Mount the Bow sprit onto the frame at the steering fork. Take care that filling rings (if present) are mounted at the correct side. Make sure that all shift cables and brake cables are in correct position. The brake and shift cables are all on the left side of the bike.
Put the steering bar in straight position.
The Armstroke cable goes from the steeringbar over the top bow pulley to the foot slider.
Mount the wheels into the frame. Take care that the propulsion cable goes straight from the footsliderring to the Snek on the rear wheel.
Make sure the cables of the brakes are mounted properly.
Once the rear wheel is in the frame, put the bike on the floor standing on its wheels and roll the Snek backwards (by freewheeling) until there is tension on the propulsion cable. Now the footslider will be in backwards position in lowest gear (The propulsion cable is completely unrolled from the footsliderring and winded all the way on the Snek.)
Now you can mount the return cable. This is the 5 m thick shock cord. Its function is to roll the Snek back into beginning position and to maintain tension on the propulsion cable.
Roll the shock cord off the footsliderring and leave the attachment of one end of the cord to the ring as it is.
Hook in the other end of the cable with the small hook into the Snek at the largest diameter of the Snek. The shock cord will leave the Snek contraclockwise.
Take care that the knot in the bungee is pointing upwards so that it does not disturb the next winding on the Snek.
Now you will have to wind the shock cord contraclockwise on the footsliderring under full tension, this will take some effort.
With the 178 mm Snek you need to wind it just over 4 rotations over the ring and then you lay it over the downward bow pulley on the front tip of the bow sprit.
When you have a 220 mm Snek you need to wind it just over 5 circumferences.
The ring has 6 different holes for the Shock Cord. In this way you can find an ideal position that prevents you from shifting to a too heavy gear.
On some rowingbikes the downward bow pulley acts as cable tensioner too; it pivots back and forth and is pulled on tension by a bungee.
To get the cable on its proper place and to get tension on it you have to pull the downward bow pulley backward to lay the propulsion cable over it.
Take care there is a lot of tension on the bungee! Watch your fingers. If the length does not fit, take another hole on the ring. Do not change length of the return cable in this stage. You can also very easily adjust tension by choosing another hole for the hook on the return shock cord in the Snek; there are several holes you can choose.

When there is tension on the system make a few strokes with the rowingbike and check out if you can shift it to the highest gear. Have a good look at the Snek system and check how changing gears works before riding.

When shifting, right thumb button is pushed all the way (like the clutch of your car or motorbike) and thereby two things happen: the Snek is locked, it can no longer turn around its axis and the footsliderring is unlocked from the foot slider. So when this shifting button is pushed:

Making (a small part of) a stroke is shifting down (cable is unwinded from the ring and winded further on the Snek)
Making a (part of) a recovery stroke is shifting up (propulsion cable is rolled onto the ring and unrolled from the Snek).

Correct use: push the shifting button all the way, or not at all!

Notice that when you are in a low gear you will have to shift almost a full stroke before you notice difference in gear (As one circumference of the snek at large diameter is perhaps 45 cm, whereas the perimeter at smallest part is only 13 cm).
When you are already in a heavy gear you perhaps only have to shift a few cm to feel a difference.

Adjust the rowing bike to your body length

You can adjust the height of the steering bar, it should be as low as possible so that you leave approximately 20 mm between you knees and the steering bar.
More important is the length of the armstroke cable (the cable that goes from top of the steeringbar to the footslider), you can adjust its length by using the sliding knot in the armstroke cable. The double part can be changed into a triple part by sliding the middle knot forward or backward.
When you are clicked in with your feet, lying down in the seat with your feet in the end of the stroke position, your elbow should be in an angle of 90 degrees. The steering bar should just not be touching your breast or belly.
Important before you start riding your rowing bike:

Check if your shoe plates are compatible with your click pedals, get used to click in and out your feet, make sure you can always get out of the pedals, they are adjustable.
Always use your arms symmetrically, if you do not do that you are in fact steering.
Only take one hand (or two once you are used to the bike) away from the steering bar when you are freewheeling, with legs in straight position.
Practice this one hand steering on low speeds first!
You should never take one hand off the steering bar during a power stroke, if you would do so you would pull the steering bar to one side and fall immediately!!
Take care that you always have to ride with tension on the armstroke cable. This is the cable that goes from top of the steering bar to the footslider. Once you are experienced rowingbike rider you always have automatically tension on the armstroke cable.

Notice

Always ride with two feet clicked in. When you start to ride with one leg only, use very little force, you can put enormous asymmetrical forces on the foot slider and bow sprit when driving with one leg.
Once you have two feet on the pedals you can go full force! (For disabled people with one leg we build special reinforced foot sliders with more bearings).

Flat tires

If you have a flat on the rear wheel you can repair the tire when you leave the wheel in the bike as it is.

If you want to replace the inner tube

Put the bike in lowest gear with the footslider in most backward position.
Unhook the hook of the return shock cord out of the Snek and attach it somewhere on the frame near the rear dropout.
Now lift the rear wheel up and let the footslider roll to its most forward position.
Loosen the V brake. Now take your rear wheel out and replace the inner tube.
Pump up the tyre before you put it back in the frame, attach the V-brake again
Now take the foot slider back to the most backward position while the bike is standing on both wheels, you need a bit of force as you are pulling out the bungee in this way.
Now hook in the bungee on the Snek again and you are ready to ride again.

Maintenance

Always keep your propulsion cable and Snek far away from greasy products, just clean it with water every now and then.
The chromium rails of the bowsprit and the ball bearings of the foot slider need a bit of Vaseline or other grease on a regular base, these parts should never be without lubrication!
The bearings of the revolverring and the inside of the ring can best be lubricated with WD 40, this does not attrackt dirt.
Do not use: Witte Vaseline from Kroon Oil in spraycan. (Solves Paint)
After a ride in heavy rain, certainly in winter conditions when there is salt on the road, clean your bow sprit and the inside of the revolver ring immediately. Let it dry and grease bow sprit and inside revolver ring immediately.
If you use the steel CVT propulsion cable on the revolver bike it should be replaced after 5000 to 7000 km depending on how much you shift and on your weight and force. The more different gears you use the longer the lifetime of the cable.
We advise to check all cables for damage and fatigue brakes before each ride. The rejection standard is when there are more than 10 fatigue brakes per 10 mm cable length.
If you use Dyneema®  propulsion cable you will see it wear out slowly. It is likely to break after 1200 ~1700 km. Only the part that runs over the Snek all the time will wear out so you can use it two times by turning it around. We advise to ride it for 800 km, then turn it around and use it for another 800 km, then replace it. When you use the Dyneema®  cable in wet and dirty conditions it may wear out sooner. Exchange it earlier!!
The ball bearings of the foot bench are mounted with eccentric parts. You can adjust these with a thin (3mm) 11mm and 14 mm end wrench after loosening the centre bolt with an Allen key. Always leave some space between bearings and bow sprit so that it runs without resistance and dirt and sand can not cause a jam.
When foot slider bearings become noisy oil them or replace them (usually after 10.000 to 20.000 km)
Check the 4 bolts of seat every 2000 km.

Good to know

The steering damper between mainframe and front fork is mounted with a black eccentric part, in this way you can adjust the neutral steering angle. The rubber steering damper should be mounted in such way that the front wheel is in straight position when the bike is hold upright.

Stretch on cables

Dyneema®  propulsion and return cable stretch when they are new mounted. The Dyneema®  fibre does not stretch under short tension but it does crawl, this means it stretches very slowly when hold under tension for a long time. The stretch of cables when they are just mounted is stretch caused by the knots and stranding of the cables. So after mounting a new cable you may have to stop and readjust your cable length.

If you park your rowingbike it is best not to park it in lowest or highest gear. The Snek might adapt itself slightly to the force put on it by the shock cord.

The Shock cord will loose some of its elasticity when it is held under tension. So if you park your bike for longer time it is best to release the shock cord windings off the footslider ring and put it on again before your next ride.

Shock cord characteristics may change at different temperatures and humidity

When temperatures rise it usually looks like your shock cord gets shorter. So, by choosing another hole in the Snek you can loosen the shock cord somewhat. Espcially when using a large  Ø 250 of Ø 220 mm Snek the shock cord needs to be really tight and checking the tension may be prudent. Check the  instruction video fine tuning shock cord.

There are different kinds and brands of shock cord, so a general rule of thumb is hard to provide. Just check now and then if the tension is still okay.