So I bought an ebike...

Started by Toonces, December 31, 2018, 05:15:00 PM

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Toonces

It's hit or miss with bike friendliness here in SoCal.  Where I live, there are some great bike paths into town and along the coast, and biking is very popular.  In downtown San Diego where I work, the train dumps me off in Old Town and then it's about 4 miles +/- to work.  There are bike paths along one route, but it is a very busy street with a lot of lights and buses also use the route.  It's the fastest route to work, but I have real concern about driving along that road during rush hour.  On the way back to the train station, the road goes along a bunch of strip malls and that, combined with the traffic, makes me very worried about surviving long term. 

An alternate route goes along the harbor, and should be safer, but I'm not sure about the pedestrian traffic along the harbor road.  Also, the first part of the bike route has to negotiate some seriously challenging car traffic before it gets on to the bike/ped path.  And it's an extra 10 minutes on the train, plus an extra mile of biking. So, while safer, you're adding 15 minutes each way to an already long commute.

I'm probably going to try the shorter, more dangerous route first and then, if it's just not working out, try the other route.  My boss does the more dangerous route every day, and he's got some shortcuts that bypass some of the worse parts.

I guess like getting shot in the butt during war, the golden bullet would be to get hit by a car hard enough to get me on permanent disability without, you know, killing or crippling me.  Maybe this whole biking thing is my ticket out of the rat race.  LOL.

Anyway, the bike shipped today, and I got the little basket thing to go on the back.  Things are gettin' REAL.
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Toonces

LOL, you know, I think it does come with a bell!
"If you had a chance, right now, to go back in time and stop Hitler, wouldn't you do it?  I mean, I personally wouldn't stop him because I think he's awesome." - Eric Cartman

"Does a watch list mean you are being watched or is it a come on to Toonces?" - Biggs

Pete Dero

Quote from: demjansk1942 on January 02, 2019, 05:25:34 AM
Also no local bike shops?

Every town over here has more then one bike shop !

What happens when you need repairs ?

MikeGER

#20
i think the path will be ok, because in comparison to a bike the ebike is fast and surfs more with the stream of traffic

Don't forget to shop a good ventilated but sturdy enuf bike helmet
I also recommend some elbow-protection
(i hide mine, that was once in a set for inline skating, under a light jacket. it looks a little odd on a hardtail MTB when not downhill on a tricky single trail. but i once had fallen on the elbow bad and it had hurt for weeks, luckily nothing broken then)
and some gloves with free fingers
(when you topple your body will by instinct use the hands in some way ...you want to have some material between palm and abrasive tarmac)   



^ my safety gear in action in the animated gif



JasonPratt

Quick question about the gear sprocket on the front wheel: is that just because the wheels (not only the tires) are interchangeable?
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Toonces

^ Is that for me?  I don't know.  It came with a wheel, so that's what I'm using.  It is removable so I guess you could put a different wheel on there if you chose.

I got my safety gear and a big chain lock so I think I'm ready to give it a go tomorrow.  It's assembled, but the front brake needs to be adjusted so I haven't taken it for a drive yet.  It's on the list for today.  I'll let you know how it goes.   ???
"If you had a chance, right now, to go back in time and stop Hitler, wouldn't you do it?  I mean, I personally wouldn't stop him because I think he's awesome." - Eric Cartman

"Does a watch list mean you are being watched or is it a come on to Toonces?" - Biggs

Toonces

Alright, I took the ebike out for a test ride.  The front wheel isn't true.  I thought at first it was the front brake, so I loosened it up and did some troubleshooting and that isn't it.  Finally, I loosened up the front wheel, sort of re-mounted it, and took it for another ride.  I'm almost positive that it's simply not true, and it's wobbling enough that a portion of it is hitting something and causing the wheel to rub.  It's like a periodic light braking feeling when I stop peddling, even with the front brake loosened completely so that it doesn't work.  I don't think it's the disk; I am pretty sure it's the actual wheel.

It's certainly rideable, but definitely not "right" so I'm going to put it on hold until I talk to the company and see about getting it fixed.  It's kind of frustrating.
"If you had a chance, right now, to go back in time and stop Hitler, wouldn't you do it?  I mean, I personally wouldn't stop him because I think he's awesome." - Eric Cartman

"Does a watch list mean you are being watched or is it a come on to Toonces?" - Biggs

Toonces

Damn Mike, that fall looks worse than my skateboarding accident!

Alright, so I went to the bike's website and apparently some rubbing is normal until you get 25-50 miles on the bike.  Who knew?  And then there's a whole troubleshooting guide to adjust the brakes.

So I'm already committed to driving tomorrow, but I'm going to give the bike a go on Tuesday now.   More to follow...
"If you had a chance, right now, to go back in time and stop Hitler, wouldn't you do it?  I mean, I personally wouldn't stop him because I think he's awesome." - Eric Cartman

"Does a watch list mean you are being watched or is it a come on to Toonces?" - Biggs

MikeGER

is there no local little bike shop (heh, its Southern California after all isn't it?) who can give the bike a short glance over and do the little adjustments while you wait.

place the bike upside down with the wheels in the air. stand perpendicular infront of the wheel and give the front wheel a spin with your hand, so you can see if the wheel(rim) itself and the disk of the brake wobbles or if the rim is mounted straight but just the tire on the rim is a little uneven deformed. and has to adjust/flex itself on the rim by use, i have no experience with those monster tires so, but the wheel should spin free.

concerning my somersault over the handlebar
i walked away without wounds cause of the safety gear (and guardian angles) 
later at home i found a stone shaped like a stoneage arrow tip pressed in the vents of the helmet, without helmet the skull bone would had to absorb that instead. also the gloves took the beating instead of the palm 
(my summer gloves are actually a left over from my fixed-route mountaineering set, so actually are summer fingerless climbing gloves made by Camp. for me its all about the sturdiness when falling not the non-sweaty grip on the handlebar.)                

Toonces

There is a local bike shop.  Since they specifically say that some rubbing is normal, I'm going to follow the instructions and see how it rides after a trip or two to work- about 15 miles round trip.  There are some additional videos on how to adjust the brake tension, so if it's still rubbing in a day or two I'll start working through those.

Worst case, I spend an hour or two of my time trying to learn how to fix the bike myself before taking it to a professional shop.  We'll see how it goes...
"If you had a chance, right now, to go back in time and stop Hitler, wouldn't you do it?  I mean, I personally wouldn't stop him because I think he's awesome." - Eric Cartman

"Does a watch list mean you are being watched or is it a come on to Toonces?" - Biggs

Toonces

W00t!

We've got some rain here, so I decided no better time than to give the bike a test ride.  Turns out there's a mall about a mile or two from my house (who knew?) with a Sears.  I had hoped to get some rain gear so I decided to ride the bike instead of drive and see how the whole process works.

Oh man, you guys seriously need to get one of these things!  That was so damn fun I can't even believe it.  It's like having bionic legs.  It was so incredibly easy to ride and get where I needed to go, and coming off of a stop light, I can give it a goose of throttle to start moving and I'm up to speed in a second or two with some pedaling.  Then, going uphill on the way home, I just clicked up the assist, dropped a pedal gear, and it felt like pedaling on a straight and level street.  Just so awesome!

After the unsuccessful Sears run (man, an absolute ghost town, but they are practically giving things away there...going to have to stop there this weekend and stock up on workout gear) I decided to ride the bike downtown and pick up some wine for the wife.  This takes me to the bottom of the worst hills before my house.  Got some wine, put it in my backpack, strapped the pack to my little My Little Pony carrier thingy, and then simply cruised up the hills back home.  Sweet!

I was pretty sweaty at the end of it all, so I guess I was actually using my heart a bit, but man, I felt like I could bike forever. 

So tomorrow I'm going to try it out to work and back.  I bought my train ticket, and I worked out the kinks of how to pack up the bike with all my work gear and whatnot.  If this works out, this could be a game changer, because that commute by car is absolutely killing my soul.

More to follow.  Stoked!
"If you had a chance, right now, to go back in time and stop Hitler, wouldn't you do it?  I mean, I personally wouldn't stop him because I think he's awesome." - Eric Cartman

"Does a watch list mean you are being watched or is it a come on to Toonces?" - Biggs

MikeGER

#28
 woot O0

believe it or not, i didn't had a chance to test an ebike yet :-X
i always wanted to rent one for a day for a test ride, but didn't had that done yet 
(...well, i don't have the spare money to get a decent one atm anyway, upcoming car repairs/ truck-restauration are eating me alive atm, so better i don't get addicted to get an additional expensive new toy) 

if all works well, and you really love your new bike don't forget to consider getting one of those 21century geo-locater thingies

its a situation like you just described above. At dawn you rush to a 7/11 for a missing ingredient for to pimp a meal. lock the bike to a pol - of course. come out of the shop and the bike is gone, and one of the chain-links must have been cut with the mother of all boltcutters ... if you concentrate hard you think you may remember some empty beaten up van or rusty pickup in the parking lot, that is now gone also... a crime of opportunity

Toonces

Still here and alive. On kindlenso thisnwill be short.  Of wtf.

Day 3 to.borrow.  weather is bad.  Had first fall; good call on gloves.  Heavy rain tomorrow.ngut check.  Inshall prevail.  Jesus thisnisnworse than a drunk post.  F you kindle.
"If you had a chance, right now, to go back in time and stop Hitler, wouldn't you do it?  I mean, I personally wouldn't stop him because I think he's awesome." - Eric Cartman

"Does a watch list mean you are being watched or is it a come on to Toonces?" - Biggs