Biking: Catch-all

Electric assist really changes the commuter game. I just pedalled 95 km yesterday with varying amounts of assist. It's not any kind of accomplishment or anything, but I just wouldn't be able to do that and then work, which I had to do yesterday. Best of all, my legs aren't dead so I can still bike commute today.

No excuses.

Anyone interested in a Garmin Edge 1000? It's been used by a mountain biker but has always lived with a screen protector and silicon case. It's a great unit and has been my favorite Edge GPS computer so far. I'm planning on upgrading to the 1030 once it's available.

Serengeti wrote:

So I moved to western CO 2 months ago. There's so much good stuff around here!!!

Nice! GJ is definitely on our radar for a Front Range evacuation plan.

LiquidMantis wrote:
Serengeti wrote:

So I moved to western CO 2 months ago. There's so much good stuff around here!!!

Nice! GJ is definitely on our radar for a Front Range evacuation plan.

Well, if ya wanna come visit, we've got a guest room!

After a month of upgrading the tires, rack and fenders, preparing assembling or fabricating the motor and controller parts, and finally painstakingly double-checking all connections, my new commuter build is ready for the world!!!!!

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/PJ5zNy1.jpg)

Apologies if the reflective photo saturation bothers you. I kept it because I kinda like the Tron effect :D. When I get my side-running LEDs up, I'm hoping it'll look even more conspicuous.

Took it out today and I'm loving scooting along at 20+mph no problem! The 6 mile trip to the library was a breeze on the main drag. This thing is soooooooo fun!

Can't recommend the crew at EM3ev enough! They were incredibly helpful throughout the process!

Great bike, Kronen! I'm quite enjoying my own as well. In addition to being able to carry loads of gear, it became appparent to me that on an ebike, I just don't care about the weight of parts or rolling resistance. I can always just put in more effort, charge more often, or just get a bigger battery. Lord knows the engine can take it. It's tremendously powerful for pedal assist at 15 or even 20 mph. Of course, that's because I'm doing most of the work.

At 5500 km, I finally wore out the center treads on my Rapid Robs completely, so I got Minions to replace them. DHR2 up front, DHF in the rear. The stopping power and traction is incredibly better. I can't imagine why Giant didn't spec Minions standard. They're just so much better.

I did a ride up the nearby volcano last week. It was a night ride up a foggy road so picture conditions were abysmal. But the ride itself was excellent! I could freely alter the difficulty from default to flat. So it was less of an epic slog and more of a pleasant bicycle ride up. And then you get to the top and catch the sunrise.

Big week for bikes here. I converted our his & hers fat bikes to tubeless. Was a fairly simple process, but it took a while as I wanted to make sure I did everything perfectly. Since we moved out west and discovered the goathead cactus, we realized that tubes just ain't gonna cut it no more.

On top of that, I've spent the last 2 weekends demoing a ton of mountain bikes and finally put my money down for a new ride. Went with the 2018 Trek Fuel 8 EX with the 27.5+ tires. I tried different bikes from Kona to Ripley to Marin to Specialized, but the Fuel just felt the best ripping down the trails. I also very quickly fell in love with the SRAM GX Eagle 1x12 drivetrain. It's just so damn smooth! I rode a Shimano 1x11 and the jump from gear 1 to 2 is just massive and jarring. Some of the trails around here have some serious climbs, and I really, really wanted one more gear in between - something the SRAM GX gets exactly right.

So, I'll post some pics this weekend when I take my new baby out for her first ride. In the meantime, you can check out my test ride runs last weekend on Strava if you want. I'm horrible about remembering to turn it on, so I only captured 2 out of 6 runs. Oops https://www.strava.com/athletes/570514

New bikey day is the best, enjoy the new ride, Serengeti!

I envy you folks who get to test ride bikes. Being a big guy makes it tough, not many shops keep XL sizes on hand. I'm planning to have a new bike before a Spring Break trip to Fruita in April, but haven't figured out for sure what I want. At the moment, top of the list are bikes from Transition and Guerrilla Gravity. I'm going to Bend, Oregon this weekend for a getaway, and I'm hoping the Transition dealer in town has something I can throw a leg over. Guerrilla Gravity will for sure be a blind purchase if I decide to go with them.

Well, no pics yet due to FedEx not delivering my bike to the shop last week, but I should have it today or tomorrow.

fleabagmatt wrote:

...Spring Break trip to Fruita in April...

Keep me in the loop! I can provide a guest room, and I'll definitely ride with you!

From my place it's about 40 mins to 18 Road, 25 mins to Kokopelli, and 10 mins to Lunch Loops!

Edit: And here's some great trail maps of the area so you can get excited 6 months before the trip

Oh, I'm already excited! Been to Moab once, but never Fruita or GJ. We're actually renting a house on Little Park Road, right near one of the Lunch Loops trailheads.

Sweet, should work out real well then!

Any mountain bikers in the Seattle area? I've been getting back into it, after a couple of decades...

62 degrees today, so I skipped out of work at 2:30 and went riding!

IMAGE(https://8gjr8g-bn1305.files.1drv.com/y4mS0BjLbO1BDilQ2jhIuoJ0zh3tFvPkkSVDVR0-TLhUeJTaHdGHeAqkUPNZ5KcC6I_M21eSim5g8p-UxvtbvAEUTtKCOMnfj4SchyHt4pSfXk7hjOyM_ReagjNdOzaja8l9KY1_KAehpMvHGPlyBg2VyTYWBEv_0ZXQSXTIIi-qefAdXF4dnwIdCakGzzunwL8KeqXSDyQ0UE9rbMZft9cpA?width=4032&height=3024&cropmode=none)

Not sure what looks better the trails or the bike. Together I am blind.

That's a good pic!

Question for those of you with electric bikes: I have a 20 mile commute. Would I be able to get to work sweat free then use it for exercise on the ride home?

We don't have showers at work so not sweating is a pretty big deal.

As long as the bike has a 20 mile unassisted range and a way to charge the bike I'm sure you could. I think most have a 20+ mile unassisted range.

EvilDead wrote:

That's a good pic!

Question for those of you with electric bikes: I have a 20 mile commute. Would I be able to get to work sweat free then use it for exercise on the ride home?

We don't have showers at work so not sweating is a pretty big deal.

It depends on the bike and your weather. If it's pedal assist only, the motor should be powerful enough to tackle all major climbs. On max power, many ebikes are strong enough to get you 20 miles unassisted. But specs matter.

I believe the Bosch Performance Line speed motor on a Class 3 pedelec (pedal assist only, 28 mph Max speed) will get you 20 miles sweat free when then temp is below 70. Above 70, the real problem becomes controlling your own impulse to apply torque to the pedal, even when it's strictly unnecessary.

For riding with a natural feel or for active riding, the Yamaha, Brose, and Shimano motors are best because they have less resistance. So when you turn off all assist, it just feels like an old heavy bike. But they also require higher torque inputs for the assistance they provide, so you could sweat a bit more going to work. They also emphasize a more bike-like riding experience so it feels more natural even at higher assist levels.

My own Giant is a Yamaha PW powered hardtail. When I put it on Max assist, I can go 18 miles easy, but I'll sweat a bit because I'm riding in 90 degree weather at 80% humidity. It's nothing major and most of the sweating happens at the stoplight.

For reference, my bike is the 2016 Giant Dirt-E 2. It's the mid level Yamaha PW motor with mid range componentry (Deore). On maximum assist in rolling terrain, I can get 30 miles to a charge. On normal assist, 50 miles. With minimum assist, I can wring 70 miles from a charge. I'm 200 pounds.

OK, thanks for the tips. Due to the weather I probably wouldn't get much riding in until the spring but I'm going to keep my eye out for sales.

I'll be the over bearing voice of caution when it comes to ebike battery range considerations.

Factory-made complete-package ebikes have a strong tendency to oversell their range. The best way to gauge range is to do a double check of the specifications using the ebike simulator on ebikes.ca. If you input the bike type, motor, battery capacity and average grade, you'll get a pretty good and usually much more accurate estimation of the range you can expect.

Layer on top of this the fact that, if you can, you're going to want to only utilize your lithium battery between the 20%-85% marks. If you do this properly, the battery will last at least twice as long as if you drain it from 100 to 0 consistently.

EDIT: I forgot that if you plan on commuting in temperatures below 50° expect a drop off of battery capacity. Getting below freezing temperatures drops the capacity of a battery ~15%.

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The first couple below freezing commutes have been awesome up here in the northeast!! On an unpowered bike I could get away with less, but since upgrading ski goggles and thick winter motorcycle gloves have been a godsend!

I also recently upgraded to a brooks b67 and cannot over emphasize just how game changing a good saddle can be. They are worth every cent!!!

Can anyone recommend a good cadence sensor that supports Bluetooth and ANT? I'd like one that would work with both Zwift and my Garmin 800.

I haven't used Zwift but my understanding is that if I want to use it with my iPad (which would be my preference), Bluetooth is the way to go. I still want to go outside in the Spring, though. Anyone have this same issue?

Well put Kronen. I'll add that the 50 miles I get from standard settings at flat-ish terrain brings the battery down 60% - so from 90 to 30% or thereabouts. Going up a sustained 4% average grade, the motor was constantly engaged so I made about 30 miles.

I'll add even further that I am kind of a regular cyclist so on flat terrain at speed, the motor is basically off once I'm cruising.

Anyone try a bike share program? I've been noticing limebike around here in Seattle.

IMAGE(https://i.redd.it/g6h1r4x6ox101.jpg)

same af. *nod*

fuzzyslug wrote:

Can anyone recommend a good cadence sensor that supports Bluetooth and ANT? I'd like one that would work with both Zwift and my Garmin 800.

I haven't used Zwift but my understanding is that if I want to use it with my iPad (which would be my preference), Bluetooth is the way to go. I still want to go outside in the Spring, though. Anyone have this same issue?

The Wahoo one is great for dual-radio.

Handyman skills activate! (I built a ramp)

https://mobile.twitter.com/bspang75/...

Apparently loud language but it is about cycling, I promise.

Spoiler:
Serengeti wrote:

Handyman skills activate! (I built a ramp)

Nice craft work

If I have 23Cs on right now with fenders, and say there's enough room to bump up to 25C or 26C, am I likely to notice much of an improvement on city commuting? I'm thinking it might be better for winter rides when there may be a little snow or some ice patches, and the slightly larger tires might be more resistant to puncture.

Thoughts?