+100 degrees all this week and ebiking

[mrgold35]

We usually don't get above 100 degrees in June in Albuquerque. We are +10 degree hotter than our usual 80s-90s for May and June. Even our morning lows are 10-15 degrees warmer than the avg of 50s-60s (low/mid 70s around the city when I hit the road at 5:30 am).

I haven't noticed anything out the ordinary with my Radrover in this extreme heat so far during my the 13 mile round trip work commute. I have a Luna Cycle triangle bag and I'm debating about using my heat or freeze gel packs I only use with my winter riding Bar Mitts handlebar covers and putting the cold packs in the triangle bag to keep everything cool for my mid-afternoon ride home (we have small fridge with freezer in break room).

I had to change how I ride a little bit because of the heat like:
- sidewalks are starting to buckle and they make cool ramps to jump off
- freshly paved roads and road tar are getting a little gooey and I try to avoid getting tar on me
- no more after work rides on the trails. I now leave to work around 5am to hit the trails when it is cool (I've seen about +10 riders, joggers and walkers at 5:30am when I usually see none).
- I'm up from two to three 22 oz camelbak water jugs in a day

Any thoughts on how hot is too hot for ebike commuting and any extra thing you are doing to fight the heat?

 

[Brayden is RAD]

CALI IS ALWAYS BURNING UP WHAT I DO IS I JUST STOP PEDELING AND SIT THERE WITH MY FULL THROTTLE ON LOL THATS IT. AND TANK TOPPS AND SHORTS PURING WATER ON YOUR FACE AND NECK CAN COOL YOU DOWN TOO.

 

[Dewey]

any extra thing you are doing to fight the heat?

I've read about people in hot dry climates putting a hand pump plant mister in a handlebar mounted bottle cage to provide a constant spray. You could add ice cubes and wrap it in foil or an insulation sleeve to keep water cool. Bicycle air conditioning you'll get a wet t-shirt but it should quickly dry off and keep you cool.

Also look on Amazon for cooling scarfs. Or try wearing a damp bandana or do-rag under your helmet.

 

[mrgold35]

I might be tempted to try the cooling scarfs. I think it would only take less than a mile for it to dry out at 18-20 mph on my ebike in this heat. The wet scarf might come in handy because we have a few wild fires north of the Santa Fe. Sometimes the wind blows the smoke towards ABQ for a smoggy low vis LA look during the day.

We are expecting around 101-103 degrees; which means, +110 degrees on the ground near concrete/asphalt/buildings and +130 degrees in your car sitting in the parking lot.

 

[Dewey]

We are expecting around 101-103 degrees; which means, +110 degrees on the ground near concrete/asphalt/buildings and +130 degrees in your car sitting in the parking lot.

Sounds brutal. My wife had good luck wearing linen scarfs when we visited my aunt in Tucson. Driving through Phoenix I was fascinated to see lots of homes have car ports, makes sense given the hot sun. Bummer about the wild fire smoke. We live in Virginia and on one visit to Williamsburg lightning ignited a wildfire in the great dismal swamp and choking smoke swept north across the James River, you could smell it all the way to Yorktown.

 

[tomjasz]

I worked outdoors in the Southern Nevada desert for 20 years. WATER. The most important rule is being hydrated. Also loose clothing and long sleeves. Several companies make very airy long sleeve shirts. At first I thought it was nuts to wear long sleeves, but is they are light enough it's actually cooler being covered. MOST important is a good hat, I like the really light boonies from Midway. A surplus and gun supply group. I also got my huge 20MM ammo can for charging from them. I also wear those tube bandanas. Buffs are available in very light weights and invaluable desert wear.

It was crazy hot in MN last week and I brought my battery in when I was going to park for more than a half hour, or was needing to park in the sun. I have a couple of smaller packs that I use rather then my 21Ah packs.

 

[mrgold35]

I did take a 22 mile all paved bike ride loop around the city starting at 2:30pm just to see how hot is too hot on an ebike. It showed 101 degrees on the internet; but, it was probably 100-107 depending on the part of the city (started heading east from work near downtown, headed to north side of ABQ, cut down towards the west to the north/south river trail, and back home on west side). The Radrover rode like a champ the entire way. Never felt under powered, zero issues with braking, or it had any issues maintaining PAS 3 at 17-21 mph. I did up the PAS to 4 for longer inclines to maintain my speed and used the throttle at full 750w on short but steep inclines.

SPEED is your friend! It really helped keeping my speed +17 mph because it aided in the cooling. I never felt overheated during the ride (commuter Osprey backpack, vented bike helmet, sunglasses, half finger glove, long sleeve bike shirt, extra long baggy bike shorts with spandex under, and regular running shoes). I like the long sleeve shirts to keep from getting sun burned when riding.

I ran into a few other bikers and they could only travel 1/2 to 3/4 of my speed on the same paved trails. A few were walking their bikes or taking breaks in the shady spots along the river. I did the same loop on my old pedal bike last year during the summer and that left me tired into the next day.