2026 - Our Rides in Words, Photos, Maps and Videos

[edobici_forza]

I rarely see night rides on this forum. I am sure there are many who do.
I had too much energy the other night, so I grabbed a couple of lights and headed out. Outbound light on the helmet, a cat eye AMPP on the bars since it was available, my default see-me Ravemen light. On the rear: Varia 820 Radar, Knog Cobber Reflex light and helmet Cygo light. Very low traffic route. but the key was my new super Reflectoes reflective vest.

only a 30 minute ride up to Cañada College and back. 8 miles, 950ft elevation

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

I rarely see night rides on this forum. I am sure there are many who do.
I had too much energy the other night, so I grabbed a couple of lights and headed out. Outbound light on the helmet, a cat eye AMPP on the bars since it was available, my default see-me Ravemen light. On the rear: Varia 820 Radar, Knog Cobber Reflex light and helmet Cygo light. Very low traffic route. but the key was my new super Reflectoes reflective vest.

only a 30 minute ride up to Cañada College and back. 8 miles, 950ft elevation

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Excellent! Night rides have a very special feel. If you have a reasonably safe place to do it, nothing quite like it.

For starters, the sensation of flying through space that I sometimes get on day rides is stronger and much more common at night. Then there's the feel of the evening air.

Most of my night rides are just 5-10 one-mile laps around my quiet neighborhood. Few cars then, but we have a lot of oblivious night strollers who apparently signed a pact to dress like ninjas.

With no sidewalks and little street lighting, they're usually meandering down the middle of our dark, narrow streets. A good bell and a headlight bright enough to pick them up well ahead are musts.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I rarely see night rides on this forum. I am sure there are many who do.

I have limited my night rides to short grocery shopping. While riding at night is fun (especially where I live: scarce traffic and a good infrastructure), I lost my appetite for night riding.

 

[Chargeride]

Gopro has been bought out by a military optical company called Starman Optical.

They have promised to support their camera base, but outside of the weird Mission series we probably wont see anymore gopro action cameras as we know them.

 

[fooferdoggie]

 

[RabH]

I think we have all heard the saying "all good things come to an end" and yesterday it finally happened after 48758 miles...my syncdrive pro motor suffered a catastrophic failure! I got lucky though as it happened less than a mile from home after riding 69 miles! My pedals just suddenly locked and I thought the chain had jammed...if only! I managed to move the cranks backwards and they would go slack and then tighten, I then tried moving them forward and they freed up but it was short lived and there was all sorts of awful noises from the motor!

No complaints from me after 8.5 years of brilliance, I knew it would happen at some point! I was hoping to make 50000 miles but it wasn't to be...I also just missed the exact same model for sale just 70 miles from home, my batteries would have worked as it was also a 2018 and with very low mileage! Back on my 17 year old Giant CRS 1.0 hybrid for now, it will take some getting used to again...

 

[DaveMatthews]

I think we have all heard the saying "all good things come to an end" and yesterday it finally happened after 48758 miles...my syncdrive pro motor suffered a catastrophic failure! I got lucky though as it happened less than a mile from home after riding 69 miles! My pedals just suddenly locked and I thought the chain had jammed...if only! I managed to move the cranks backwards and they would go slack and then tighten, I then tried moving them forward and they freed up but it was short lived and there was all sorts of awful noises from the motor!

No complaints from me after 8.5 years of brilliance, I knew it would happen at some point! I was hoping to make 50000 miles but it wasn't to be...I also just missed the exact same model for sale just 70 miles from home, my batteries would have worked as it was also a 2018 and with very low mileage! Back on my 17 year old Giant CRS 1.0 hybrid for now, it will take some getting used to again...

Aw ratburgers!
Was rooting for the milestone indeed. Curious to hear what your plan will be.
Quite the achievement nonetheless mate!

 

[Chargeride]

50,000 miles, I always said those syncdrives were dodgy

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

I think we have all heard the saying "all good things come to an end" and yesterday it finally happened after 48758 miles...my syncdrive pro motor suffered a catastrophic failure! I got lucky though as it happened less than a mile from home after riding 69 miles! My pedals just suddenly locked and I thought the chain had jammed...if only! I managed to move the cranks backwards and they would go slack and then tighten, I then tried moving them forward and they freed up but it was short lived and there was all sorts of awful noises from the motor!

No complaints from me after 8.5 years of brilliance, I knew it would happen at some point! I was hoping to make 50000 miles but it wasn't to be...I also just missed the exact same model for sale just 70 miles from home, my batteries would have worked as it was also a 2018 and with very low mileage! Back on my 17 year old Giant CRS 1.0 hybrid for now, it will take some getting used to again...

Sorry to hear that your motor's finally given up. At nearly 49,000 mi, it had a very good run. Any idea of its total elevation gain?

That bike's been a very good friend. Any chance of replacing the motor?

 

[RabH]

Aw ratburgers!
Was rooting for the milestone indeed. Curious to hear what your plan will be.
Quite the achievement nonetheless mate!

Cheers Dave, unsure at the moment but I think given I have 3 good batteries a replacement motor or 2nd hand bike of the same model would be my best bet!

50,000 miles, I always said those syncdrives were dodgy

I know right, bloody useless they are...

Sorry to hear that your motor's finally given up. At nearly 49,000 mi, it had a very good run. Any idea of its total elevation gain?

That bike's been a very good friend. Any chance of replacing the motor?

Thanks Jeremy, would you believe around 3.2 million ft? how the heck did it last so long? See above regarding the motor!

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Thanks Jeremy, would you believe around 3.2 million ft?

From you, yes, I'd believe it. That's 0.25% of the way to the moon.

 

[DaveMatthews]

Cheers Dave, unsure at the moment but I think given I have 3 good batteries a replacement motor or 2nd hand bike of the same model would be my best bet!

I know right, bloody useless they are...

Thanks Jeremy, would you believe around 3.2 million ft? how the heck did it last so long? See above regarding the motor!

I wonder if these guys can help...

eBike Repairs and Servicing (Home)

At eBike Motor Centre, we believe in more than just repairs. We believe in sustainability, circularity, and keeping e-bike motors on the road for longer. We’ve proudly become the go-to destination for e-bike motor repairs, parts, and servicing, trusted by leading bike shops across the UK and...

www.ebikemotorcentre.com

 

[RabH]

I wonder if these guys can help...

eBike Repairs and Servicing (Home)

At eBike Motor Centre, we believe in more than just repairs. We believe in sustainability, circularity, and keeping e-bike motors on the road for longer. We’ve proudly become the go-to destination for e-bike motor repairs, parts, and servicing, trusted by leading bike shops across the UK and...

www.ebikemotorcentre.com

They repaired my motor in 2021 Dave, I have emailed them and awaiting a reply but thank you! I'm hoping they might have a motor as I doubt mine is repairable...

 

[Stefan Mikes]

It is so sad to hear about your disaster, Rab! It is interesting how differently the motors behave when shot. When my Specialized/Brose motor failed, it was producing a terrible noise only with the power on (and there was an immediate emergency shutdown of the motor). However, the inner clutch managed to engage, so I could ride for the last 5 km on the pedal power only.

 

[DaveMatthews]

They repaired my motor in 2021 Dave, I have emailed them and awaiting a reply but thank you! I'm hoping they might have a motor as I doubt mine is repairable...

Excellent, and fingers crossed!

 

[McApple]

Cheers Dave, unsure at the moment but I think given I have 3 good batteries a replacement motor or 2nd hand bike of the same model would be my best bet!

I know right, bloody useless they are...

Thanks Jeremy, would you believe around 3.2 million ft?

Wow! And here I was, feeling good about doing 3,300km and 4-1/2 Everests this year

 

[Rás Cnoic]

They repaired my motor in 2021 Dave, I have emailed them and awaiting a reply but thank you! I'm hoping they might have a motor as I doubt mine is repairable...

Rab, given Yamaha's rep I wouldn't be surprised if they throw in some new bearings, give it a quick grease and it'll be back on the road!

Seeing how many miles you've done I bet the motor is like that Toyota Land Cruiser that Top Gear tried to kill one time, even chucking it off a building and the damn thing kept going!