Usage instructions – Bike Lane Sweeper, Pick-Up V2 prototype

The above video provides instructions for how to setup and use the second prototype bike lane sweeper.

⚠️ When storing the sweeper, make sure to lower the kickstand. Otherwise, the rubber lip will get deformed and this can cause problems (lip suck, and debris getting kicked forward).

⚠️ It’s necessary for the towing bike to have a kickstand, so that the bike can hold itself upright while the sweeper operator empties the two bins at the back of the sweeper. Also, in hilly terrain, e-bikes are helpful.

⚠️ The leaf blower isn’t powerful enough to reliably move wet or matted leaves to the side. Our priority for the next version of the sweeper is for it to reliably move leaves to the side.

How to set up the sweeper:

1. Attach a Burley bike hitch to the left side of the towing bike’s rear axle (as illustrated here).
2. With the sweeper’s kickstand lowered (oriented vertically), undo the two quick-release levers at the coupler on the sweeper.
3. Raise or lower the trailer’s coupler so that it lines up with the hitch on the bike.
4. Attach the coupler to the hitch.
5. While holding the bike upright, wiggle the coupler to ensure that it’s at the position that it wants to be at (in other words, the position where it’s not stuck up or down, but is rather in a neutral position in alignment with the hitch).
6. Close or clamp to the two quick-release levers to fix the coupler in place relative to the rest of the sweeper. The kickstand will position the sweeper so that the rubber lip is at the right height relative to the ground.
7. Raise the kickstand by pulling out the pin, turning the kickstand to the horizontal position, and reinserting the pin.
8. Attach the on-off remote switch to the bike’s handlebar (requires a 4mm allen key).

How to use the sweeper:

1. Plan your route. In dry, favorable conditions, the sweeper can run for approximately 20km (12 miles). In wet conditions, its range is reduced because the brush works harder. If using biodegradable bags, pack enough bags.
2. For getting to places by pulling the sweeper by bike without sweeping, the sweeper can be switched to taxiing mode by pulling the brush suspension spring together, and clipping the cararabiner in the spring to the metal loop at the end of the spring.
3. With the sweeper attached to the bike, ensure that the kickstand on the sweeper is up (in the horizontal position and not the vertical position).
4. Turn on the switch on the battery unit of the sweeper (up position). When storing the sweeper, turn this switch off to avoid slow-draining of the battery and to avoid accidentally turning the brush on with the handlebar-mounted on-off switch. 
5. Turn on the two safety lights at the back of the sweeper.
6. If you encounter leaves, the sweeper’s bins might fill up fast. The leaves can be blown to the side using the leaf blower on the sweeper. It is turned on independently of the brush, using the trigger on the side of the leaf blower’s handle. The leaf blower has a turbo mode that can be kept active by inserting a small piece of zip tie in the opening around the turbo mode button, but be warned that the turbo mode is loud.
7. When dumping the bins, debris will sometimes fall into the bin-holding compartment. There is a small hand brush clipped to the right hand side of the sweeper that can be used for sweeping this debris into one of the two bins (by holding the bin on an angle behind the sweeper).
8. If ever there’s a need for accessing the inside of the sweeper from the back (for example, for dealing with over-filled bins), the rear end of the transparent shroud can be flexed open by undoing the two latches that are on each side of the sweeper near the back.
9. For the second prototype sweeper, the lights and the leaf blower are charged independently of the brush system. There is a charging device for each of these.
10. Every few weeks or so, check the tire pressure of the sweeper’s two wheels. 

Thanks for sweeping and making bike lanes safer!