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I road with a fellow who weighed 70 lbs more than I did and he was getting all the tire punctures and broken spokes while riding on the same roads. I can easily lift a 40 lb mountain bike into the rear tray of a bike rack but with 70 lb fat tire e-bikes I need a long motorcycle ramp and walk...

If you leave your bike outside of a grocery or other store do not expect to find it when you come out. It takes less than seconds to cut through any bike lock or chain or cable with a cordless cut-off tool and at less than $200 they are a cheap investment for a bike thief that will pay for...

The baggy is a good idea. Better to be safe than sorry, especially now when replacement parts are so difficult to find. Dielectric grease applied at connectors is also a good preventative measure and a small tube is all you need and will last a lifetime. Biggest problem is with bikes without...

On my first trip to China I noticed that a great many people were using electric bicycles and scooters. The bikes were small and light and could fit inside an elevator and be kept inside an apartment. The Blix Vika + is a similar bike as it folds and the 7 lb battery can be removed to make it...

Few bike racks are rated OK for RVs and those are not for mounting on a bumper as with a travel trailer. There are however, dual hitch receivers so the bottom one can be used for the trailer and the top one is available for a hitch mounted bike rack. It seems for theft the best practice is to...

I like to use a lightweight plastic power strip that has 3-4 plug receptacles and a couple of USB ports. I only need one wall outlet to be able to charge items. It the cord is 1.5 meters in length then it can be plugged into a wall outlet high off the floor and equipment being charged can sit on...

I have been working on the 1Up Super Duty double bike rack and making the needed modications to be able to attach a license plate holder and brake and turn signal lights and to add a mounting for a motorcycles ramp. The 1Up license plate holders do not work with the 1Up ramp attached and as it...

I used to participate in group night rides in San Francisco and in Pasadena in California and with the ongoing global warming it seems like something to resurrect. We did it before at night as all the cars and delivery trucks were off the streets then and so we had no problems with taking an...

I remember when the "real cyclists" all rode single speed bikes which was truly stupid as they lacked brakes and going down a hill was risky at best. Same with respect to "no real man" would ever drive a car or truck with an automatic transmission.

At this point in time I would look for bikes whose manufacturers and resellers provide good support for customers after the sale. If there is a problem with the bike how long will it take to get the matter resolved or to get replacement parts if needed. Many of the very inexpensive bikes also...

The only racks that have integrated ramps are the ones from Thule and Yakima. The 1up has an available ramp but it is short, prevents using their license plate holder, it does not securely attach to the rack and flips over with wide tires, and as it is only 3" wide it does not work with wider...

Look at the ability of the bike frame to support panniers and a crate for your grocery runs. If it lacks power for the steep hills you do have the option of having the bike shop replace the largest rear cog with a larger one. This will mean adding a few more links to the chain and possilbly a...

The "gravel" bikes are the best compromise betweeen a city and a trail bike. Most have tires that are 2.3 to 2.5 inch width and some have a front suspension fork. In soft dirt or sandy areas a wide tire provides a lot more traction but it also means modifying the bike rack wheel supports and...

Not mentioned is having to repair a rear tire when the tube is punctured. Much easier to do this with a mid-drive bike as it does not differ from a non-electric bike. My e-bike has a rear hub drive and the axle bolts require having a couple of 18mm wrenches to remove the rear wheel instead of a...

Riding in the heat differs greatly later in the day when the radiation absorbed by the pavement starts to go back into the air. I made the mistake after many miles of running cross country in the southern deserts of California of riding my bike from Pasadena to Palm Springs and came close to...

For tires fatter than 3 inches the1up requires an additional spacer kit for $68 and the 1up ramp only works for tires 3 inches or narrower and is not a good design anyway as it does not actually attach to the rack but rests over two spacers. I had to buy a motorcycle rack and adapt it to the 1up...

Depends on the total weight of your bikes. For more than 100 lbs of total weight it is best to buy a rack that attaches to a hitch receiver. For very heavy bikes that are going to entail a load of 120 lbs or more the choices are 1up, Swagman, Yakima, Thule, and Hollywood. If you want to use a...

The 1up is not a good choice for a heavy fat tire bike as their ramp only works with tires that are 3 inche or less in width. Bikes with wider tires will end up on the edge of the ramp and as the ramp is not attached to the rack the ramp will flip over. I bought a motorcycle ramp and modified it...

The human body is very tough and blood loss is the one type of injury that can be truly life threatening. That is where a Quikclot bandage and some duct tape is invaluable. Duct tape works well to make a splint in an emergency but then again people should act more cautiously when in the back...

For the forest trails the flat bike shoes like those sold under the Five Ten brand have a very grippy sole to keep them on the pedals. For normal walking the grippy rubber is going to wear much faster than regular sneakers. There are also "mountain bike" shoes that have a harder sole than the...