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  1. Mr. Coffee

    Stranded on remote trail

    Public Service Announcement Deserts have lots of sharp pointy things that cause flat tires. If you have any brains at all you will know how to fix a flat if you are riding your bicycle there. Even if you run tubeless, use self-sealing tubes, have puncture-resistant tires, or "never get flat...
  2. Mr. Coffee

    Stranded on remote trail

    Yes that sounds correct in theory but we all know that a pretty high percentage of e-bikers on this site (an enthusiast site) can't or won't fix a flat tire in the field. And I suspect that percentage is even higher amongst the vast majority of e-bikers who don't participate in this site or...
  3. Mr. Coffee

    Helmet Safety Protection Ratings

    You can spend a bit more money and get one of the stick-on GoPro mounts on Amazon (about $17) and get a regular bike light that can use a GoPro mount. You'll spend a bit over $100 but you'll have a great night riding light (or one for rail-trail tunnels that sometimes are over a mile long)...
  4. Mr. Coffee

    Helmet Safety Protection Ratings

    "VT rating" is the Virginia Tech number. And as the helmet models change year on year the ratings change.
  5. Mr. Coffee

    Hydraulic Disc Brakes - Anyone Change 'Mineral Oil' With Brake Pads?

    The justification for DOT fluid is that your brakes will still work and work much better when the brake fluid is contaminated with water. At least in theory. Some of the mineral oil fluids sold at bike shops also are not great for you or other parts of your bike, so wouldn't assume that just...
  6. Mr. Coffee

    Hydraulic Disc Brakes - Anyone Change 'Mineral Oil' With Brake Pads?

    Note that what kind of brake fluid you need will depend on the brakes. https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/buyers-guides/brake-fluid-mineral-oil-vs-dot Having said all that, some mountain bikers have used baby oil as brake fluid and relatively few of them have died in horrible crashes caused by...
  7. Mr. Coffee

    US health insurance and mtb

    So tell me how exactly you would make a house less expensive than a TV?
  8. Mr. Coffee

    Salsa e-Bikes - Bikepacking Options

    If you aren't picking up your bike every now and then you aren't on a real gravel ride.
  9. Mr. Coffee

    Lighting kits

    https://forums.electricbikereview.com/threads/hardwiring-lights-on-a-como-2-0.41876/ I'd say that unless you are riding a lot (and I mean a lot) at night there are many great rechargeable LED lights at reasonable prices these days. And no matter how great the lights mounted on your bike even...
  10. Mr. Coffee

    automatic self-adjusting wire strippers

    The Knipex Mini-Pliers are great but have some pretty specific narrow situations where you really need them. In particular on my Rohloff-equipped R&M Charger they are indispensable. I have a couple of other cases where they are helpful but not strictly necessary (one is a couple of very...
  11. Mr. Coffee

    Hydraulic brake upgrade or calliper upgrade?

    Even without considering the motor cutoff switch upgrading to hydraulic brakes is going to be quite a project. Especially if you haven't worked with hydraulic brakes on a bike before. Expect to make a mess and mess some stuff up. If it were me I'd start by upgrading the rotors, and probably...
  12. Mr. Coffee

    Battery recharge with dynamos?

    The rim-drive dynamos are very inefficient and in practice are barely enough to charge small lights. Hub dynamos are more efficient, but are draggy, heavy, and often very expensive. I have a quite nice hub dynamo on my touring bike that keeps a front light going and has a USB jack on the stem...
  13. Mr. Coffee

    What should I get? New to ebike world?

    This is probably heresy, but for the distances you are proposing to ride I'd argue that a decent non-electric city commuter bike is probably the thing to buy. I'd only really want an e-bike for this application if I knew all of the riding was going to be quite hilly. There are a whole universe...
  14. Mr. Coffee

    US health insurance and mtb

    It turns up more often with life insurance or disability than health insurance. Probably they think the risks of being physically active in a possibly risky activity are less than the risks of being inactive. And they are probably right. A lot of life insurance (really death insurance) has...
  15. Mr. Coffee

    The Future of eBikes: How Fast is Too Fast?

    That also kind of depends on context. Most of the "group" rides I've ever participated in are carefully routed onto very quiet roads. When I say "very quiet" I mean it isn't super likely that we will encounter more than one or two motorized vehicles over the whole route. And much of the rides...
  16. Mr. Coffee

    Lightweight all around bike

    Yeah, this. Also, most e-bikes are not only heavier but have an awkward weight distribution as well. This combined with the longer wheelbase and (usually) longer chainstays that they have compared to meat-powered bikes makes them handle like a barge. If you haven't ridden a regular bike very...
  17. Mr. Coffee

    The Future of eBikes: How Fast is Too Fast?

    Who exactly is restricting your speed? In Europe you can basically go as fast as you want as long as you have a license and insurance. What we're talking about here are vehicles that require neither of those.
  18. Mr. Coffee

    The Future of eBikes: How Fast is Too Fast?

    One of the things a lot of people miss about the non-street-legal electric bikes is the liability issue. On one side, if somebody hits you with a motor vehicle and injures you, chances are you are SOL on getting any compensation from them or their insurance because you were operating an illegal...
  19. Mr. Coffee

    carrying extra battery(s)

    One thing to watch out for with velcro straps is that they often fail to hold if they get wet or dirty. If you use a dry bag or a salty roll you could easily wrap your battery in a rag or a sweater if you think you need padding. On the top of the rear rack you really don't need padding.
  20. Mr. Coffee

    carrying extra battery(s)

    Voile Straps are strong and reliable.
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