My first long ride event of the year is coming up on Saturday: Spring Up Wolf Creek, which is lovely and short but has a neat cat2 climb over 7.7 km of road, pitching from 7% to 4% without a single flat spot on the way! We head up to the top, turn around, and come zooming back down.
With not even 1000 km under my legs so far this year, I'm thinking it's going to be a lonnnnnnng day. Slow and steady, right?
@tynic have you considered a backpack for your laptop rather than panniers?
I've actually never really used panniers much, I've been using a backpack for my laptop for the last 10-12 years. I only got a rack on this bike like, three weeks ago. Carrying that much weight does bad things to my neck and shoulders, which is why I'm finally hunting out alternatives.
I'm giving up on this commuter pannier, though. Going to try and return it, then save up and go for a more secure laptop-bag style one. Which won't fit much grocery shopping in, which is frustrating, but also hopefully won't fall off my damn bike.
edit: It's a proper ergonomic riding backpack, - it's got a structured interior and well-padded, well-placed shoulder straps. I just have really tense shoulders. Also I tend to load up my bag and I don't have much of a neck, so when you add in a jacket and a helmet things get pretty cramped and uncomfortable back there.
grr
I'm trying to return this stupid pannier and after a week's worth of photos and back and forth they're finally like "We'll send you out a new attachment mechanism!"
... and I don't want a new attachment mechanism. I don't think there is anything wrong, mechanically, with the attachment. It simply isn't very secure. And I don't want to go through this garbage again in another few weeks. So now I'm wondering how I can politely say "your engineering is shithouse, can you please just take the goddamn bag back."
more communication with the company (note that they manufacture both the pannier AND the rack I'm using)
Turns out that pannier doesn't work with that rack (a fact which is not noted anywhere on the website or product page for either bag or rack).
They helpfully sent me a few pictures of bags that would work with the rack. I politely said yes, thank you, I'm glad you have other bags, I can't afford to buy a whole bunch of expensive bike bags and can you just fucking tell me if I can return this sodding one, given it's within the 30-day window and it clearly is not meeting my needs (those being to have a bag that doesn't jump off my bike every five minutes).
edit: "That should not happen! Can you send us some pictures of the bag mounted on the rack?" this is exactly where we started two weeks ago. But they did say I can return it if I like.
Donovan PuppyfuckerA dagger in the dark isworth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered Userregular
Yeah those wheels and tyres are heavy as shit, and on top of all that you've got all that extra rolling resistance from the extra surface area in contact with the ground.
These wheelsets are meant to be used on sand and in snow.
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Blake TDo you have enemies then?Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.Registered Userregular
It's an electric bike, it's already going to be heavy so it'll never be a true road race bike so there isn't much point pushing it to the nth degree. Electric bikes are commuter style bikes that can handle most terrain so it makes sense to go with larger tyres.
And since it's already heavy, why not get something that looks cool?
ButtersA glass of some milksRegistered Userregular
You don't have to go that big for tires that can handle most terrain. Regular mountain tires will do fine in everything but sand and snow and weigh the bike down far less.
So after three years of riding my road bike in the incredibly small area that is the downtown core of my city, this weekend I finally decided to switch to a commuter bike that would be kinder on my back and better for carrying groceries and takeout, which is like 90% of my biking these days. I chose this in black.
Help me pimp my bike, SE++. Already looking at a rear-rack and front basket, but what else is a good addition for an around-town ride?
"If complete and utter chaos was lightning, then he'd be the sort to stand on a hilltop in a thunderstorm wearing wet copper armour and shouting 'All gods are bastards'."
I'd recommend mudguards (fenders) for a commuter if you live somewhere it rains. A waterproof pannier (or two) is super handy; I have a pair of ortlieb "front rollers" that I love. The best thing about them is they clip off quickly and have a strap so I can throw them over my shoulder, go shopping and not have to worry about someone taking them. They are pretty expensive though, so maybe there is a cheaper option.
I know some people like having a bell if they ride on multi-use paths, I usually just say "on your left!".
I'd recommend mudguards (fenders) for a commuter if you live somewhere it rains. A waterproof pannier (or two) is super handy; I have a pair of ortlieb "front rollers" that I love. The best thing about them is they clip off quickly and have a strap so I can throw them over my shoulder, go shopping and not have to worry about someone taking them. They are pretty expensive though, so maybe there is a cheaper option.
I know some people like having a bell if they ride on multi-use paths, I usually just say "on your left!".
I'm in northern CA, so not much in the way of rain for most of the year. But I do like the look of fenders in general, so will definitely check them out.
And those front rollers are super nice, but you weren't kidding on the price point. Will make a nice wishlist addition though! Like that you can add some visibility with the color options.
"If complete and utter chaos was lightning, then he'd be the sort to stand on a hilltop in a thunderstorm wearing wet copper armour and shouting 'All gods are bastards'."
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Blake TDo you have enemies then?Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.Registered Userregular
Using lights and reflectors at night is the law (CVC §21201). During darkness, bicyclists must have the following equipment:
A front lamp emitting a white light visible from a distance of 300 feet.
A rear red reflector visible from a distance of 500 feet.
A white or yellow reflector on each pedal or on the bicyclist’s shoes or ankles visible from a distance of 200 feet.
A brake which will enable the operator to make a one brake wheel stop on dry, level, clean pavement.
Different counties say various things about helmets.
So after rolling on my cruiser for awhile and getting passed by waaaaay too many assholes blaring "on your left!" .01 seconds before they pass me going 30, I bought a for realsies road bike with cleats and everything!
I bought a Felt Z5!
It was mainly the Battleship Grey with Carbon Fiber accents that sold it for me. I have ridden it a few times and I absolutely LOVE it!
So we get stiff once in a while. So we have a little fun. What’s wrong with that? This is a free country, isn’t it? I can take my panda any place I want to. And if I wanna buy it a drink, that’s my business.
Lights are definitely on the list. I've got some decent clip-on LEDs I bought for our road bikes a while back, so we're covered on the safety front, but now I'm looking for something with some style. Unfortunately most of the LED bullet lights on Amazon have poor reviews.
"If complete and utter chaos was lightning, then he'd be the sort to stand on a hilltop in a thunderstorm wearing wet copper armour and shouting 'All gods are bastards'."
I've got a Cycle Torch night-owl (http://cycletorch.com/) and I'm fairly happy with it. Wouldn't necessarily take it off-roading in the dark, but for visibility and front lighting in urban areas with street-lighting, it's pretty solid.
Donovan PuppyfuckerA dagger in the dark isworth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered Userregular
I'd link my favourite bicycle light here, but I'm on my phone and besides, I don't think too many of you are interested in a device that can probably also double as a helicopter-mounted searchlight...
I'd link my favourite bicycle light here, but I'm on my phone and besides, I don't think too many of you are interested in a device that can probably also double as a helicopter-mounted searchlight...
I hate cyclists with these über-bright lights. They are never properly adjusted to light up the road instead blinding other oncoming cyclists.
Southwestern Virginia, about 15 miles outside Blacksburg. The first picture is on the way to Kentland Farm (a research farm operated by the local university) and the last is the New River at Big Falls / McCoy Falls. (There are more scenic spots on the river, but none with more college kids, climbers (there are some cliffs above the railroad tracks just behind the camera), and kayakers.
(One of my favorite summer rides is to bomb down to the river, swim for a bit, lunch and laze around on the rocks in the sun, and climb back up into town. Backroads 95% of the way.)
I am an idiot for not getting into cycling when I studied at VT. Damn me. Now I try to ride it in a city with 20 million people. Dumb.
It it is super handy to get one with a USB charging socket (though most lights work this way nowadays); I have this one and it's plenty bright enough to be seen by -- I also have one of the super-bright ridiculous lights, but I didn't find it actually made a whole lot of difference to how I could ride in the dark, because when it's dark around here when I'm riding to work it's usually winter, and more light doesn't help all that much for distinguishing different textures of ice.
(and, yes, when oncoming cyclists have their lights set to "blind", it is no good at all -- if they have their lights pointing at the ground, _that_ is helpful for seeing upcoming road/trail conditions, but based on last winter that happened about 1/3 of the time)
I'd link my favourite bicycle light here, but I'm on my phone and besides, I don't think too many of you are interested in a device that can probably also double as a helicopter-mounted searchlight...
I hate cyclists with these über-bright lights. They are never properly adjusted to light up the road instead blinding other oncoming cyclists.
I have a 850 lumen Cygolite mounted on my handlebar but it has 3 levels of brightness so I just use the low mode in urban areas and use the high setting when I am riding in a rural area or the driver coming towards me is an asshole. It's all about the angle though. My mount is easily adjustable so I can point it on the road most of the time and point it ahead to drivers who blind me with their highbeams with ease.
Basar on
i live in a country with a batshit crazy president and no, english is not my first language
I may have gone down a rabbit hole last night and started looking at triple tree forks. Not sure how I feel about adding that much weight to the front end, but I think even something as simple as the below (older version of the townie) looks pretty cool without going over the top.
"If complete and utter chaos was lightning, then he'd be the sort to stand on a hilltop in a thunderstorm wearing wet copper armour and shouting 'All gods are bastards'."
Posts
With not even 1000 km under my legs so far this year, I'm thinking it's going to be a lonnnnnnng day. Slow and steady, right?
"Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
I've actually never really used panniers much, I've been using a backpack for my laptop for the last 10-12 years. I only got a rack on this bike like, three weeks ago. Carrying that much weight does bad things to my neck and shoulders, which is why I'm finally hunting out alternatives.
I'm giving up on this commuter pannier, though. Going to try and return it, then save up and go for a more secure laptop-bag style one. Which won't fit much grocery shopping in, which is frustrating, but also hopefully won't fall off my damn bike.
edit: It's a proper ergonomic riding backpack, - it's got a structured interior and well-padded, well-placed shoulder straps. I just have really tense shoulders. Also I tend to load up my bag and I don't have much of a neck, so when you add in a jacket and a helmet things get pretty cramped and uncomfortable back there.
Work out nothing else, just get a giant neck
"Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
yeah I
... I think I'm just gonna get a decent pannier.
Oh man, we can call you Giant Neck Nic!
"Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
"Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
I'm trying to return this stupid pannier and after a week's worth of photos and back and forth they're finally like "We'll send you out a new attachment mechanism!"
... and I don't want a new attachment mechanism. I don't think there is anything wrong, mechanically, with the attachment. It simply isn't very secure. And I don't want to go through this garbage again in another few weeks. So now I'm wondering how I can politely say "your engineering is shithouse, can you please just take the goddamn bag back."
Turns out that pannier doesn't work with that rack (a fact which is not noted anywhere on the website or product page for either bag or rack).
They helpfully sent me a few pictures of bags that would work with the rack. I politely said yes, thank you, I'm glad you have other bags, I can't afford to buy a whole bunch of expensive bike bags and can you just fucking tell me if I can return this sodding one, given it's within the 30-day window and it clearly is not meeting my needs (those being to have a bag that doesn't jump off my bike every five minutes).
edit: "That should not happen! Can you send us some pictures of the bag mounted on the rack?"
this is exactly where we started two weeks ago. But they did say I can return it if I like.
Me either unless you're actually using them in snow which I thought was their designed purpose. They have to be painfully slow to ride
These wheelsets are meant to be used on sand and in snow.
It's an electric bike, it's already going to be heavy so it'll never be a true road race bike so there isn't much point pushing it to the nth degree. Electric bikes are commuter style bikes that can handle most terrain so it makes sense to go with larger tyres.
And since it's already heavy, why not get something that looks cool?
Satans..... hints.....
https://trefectamobility.com/store/
Goes up to 70km/h for a real bargain of around 20k.
going fast?
(I am that asshole that blares "on your left" approximately 0.1 seconds before he passes you going 30, hi.)
Help me pimp my bike, SE++. Already looking at a rear-rack and front basket, but what else is a good addition for an around-town ride?
PSN: Robo_Wizard1
I know some people like having a bell if they ride on multi-use paths, I usually just say "on your left!".
I'm in northern CA, so not much in the way of rain for most of the year. But I do like the look of fenders in general, so will definitely check them out.
And those front rollers are super nice, but you weren't kidding on the price point. Will make a nice wishlist addition though! Like that you can add some visibility with the color options.
Satans..... hints.....
can't agree enough
Different counties say various things about helmets.
So after rolling on my cruiser for awhile and getting passed by waaaaay too many assholes blaring "on your left!" .01 seconds before they pass me going 30, I bought a for realsies road bike with cleats and everything!
I bought a Felt Z5!
It was mainly the Battleship Grey with Carbon Fiber accents that sold it for me. I have ridden it a few times and I absolutely LOVE it!
I hate cyclists with these über-bright lights. They are never properly adjusted to light up the road instead blinding other oncoming cyclists.
I am an idiot for not getting into cycling when I studied at VT. Damn me. Now I try to ride it in a city with 20 million people. Dumb.
But I occasionally go out of the city 8-)
(and, yes, when oncoming cyclists have their lights set to "blind", it is no good at all -- if they have their lights pointing at the ground, _that_ is helpful for seeing upcoming road/trail conditions, but based on last winter that happened about 1/3 of the time)
I have a 850 lumen Cygolite mounted on my handlebar but it has 3 levels of brightness so I just use the low mode in urban areas and use the high setting when I am riding in a rural area or the driver coming towards me is an asshole. It's all about the angle though. My mount is easily adjustable so I can point it on the road most of the time and point it ahead to drivers who blind me with their highbeams with ease.
That's more than I've done all year so far...I am lazy and unmotivated...