2025 - Our Rides in Words, Photos, Maps and Videos

[Chazmo]

I've been pleased with the premium version of phone-based RideWithGPS. It's a phone battery hog with the screen set for always-on, but no bike computer like a Wahoo or Garmin required.

Record rides on my Specialized ebike with the Specialized phone app for various reasons — including phone battery preservation. But I import all those rides into RideWithGPS afterward for comparison and analysis.

On my other bike, I record with RideWithGPS directly, as the Specialized app requires a registered Specialized ebike. RideWithGPS has better mapping options and a good planning mode that the Specialized app lacks.

Lots of info on RideWithGPS and alternatives here. The forum search function is your friend.

I installed my slick new GUB phone mount on the handlebar. Seems nice and solid with my iPhone, although I’m a little concerned about the phone getting jarred a bit. Pix below (excuse the dirty garage). Next I’m going to grab the RideWithGPS app and try it tomorrow. Good news is that my controller display (on left in the pix) has a USB-C port which I think can be used to charge the phone if needed. I even have a cable for that, but I need to get one in black.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Good news is that my controller display (on left in the pix) has a USB-C port which I think can be used to charge the phone if needed. I even have a cable for that, but I need to get one in black.

Depends on how much current your phone needs to charge. My first ebike had 2 USB ports — a 0.5A on the display, and a 1.2A on the battery. The 0.5A wouldn't charge my Samsung Note20 at all, and the 1.2A just barely. But the latter could at least keep up with the RideWithGPS current drain with the "screen always on" feature disabled.

Should probably test before investing in a new cable.

 

[Very Bad Rider]

Anti-theft bike sandwich…

Whenever ebike theft is raised as a topic for discussion in the EBR Forums, there follows an enthusiastically animated flurry of postings featuring angle grinder gangs liberating ebikes D-locked to city lamp posts. For a video of such activity to be YouTube-worthy, no more than ten seconds is permitted to pass between switching on said angle grinder and the villain's first pedal stroke.

We country folk have a slower, but more thorough, approach to keeping our two-wheeled steeds in their paddocks:

• Lean bike against barbed wire fence.
• Sandwich it in place with pig netting and rusty old roofing iron (latter makes cosy home for snakes).
• Secure all of this with fencing wire.
• Add additional barbed wire (mainly decorative).
• Deflate tyres and tie one bike's back wheel to another's front wheel. (Use more barbed wire — makes tyre deflation easier).

Almost finished.

• Plant one stinging creeper vine below each bike's bottom bracket or mid-motor.
• And don't forget to place the full moon in the sky (it's always there between the equinox and Easter).

Thanks for looking.
— VBR

 

[Chazmo]

Depends on how much current your phone needs to charge. My first ebike had 2 USB ports — a 0.5A on the display, and a 1.2A on the battery. The 0.5A wouldn't charge my Samsung Note20 at all, and the 1.2A just barely. But the latter could at least keep up with the RideWithGPS current drain with the "screen always on" feature disabled.

Should probably test before investing in a new cable.

Hmm, the Juiced “manual” for the display says the USB port is for updating/programming the display, but it doesn’t mention charging power. I guess we’ll see.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

the USB port is for updating/programming the display

It is such for most e-bikes. It is not a charging port.

A crazy plan for the Easter weekend:
I'm riding to Kozienice, a small town in southern Mazovia, along the Vistula on Saturday. Spending the night at a guest-house (they allow bikes in). Returning directly home on Sunday, crossing River Pilica over wooden gangways, visiting Warka on the route. Meaning, two metric centuries.

I'm even not quite sure whether there is anything interesting in Kozienice Oh, yes, one of our Kings was born there The weather should be fine. Only almost everything will be closed on Easter Sunday, meaning I will need to be pretty self supported!

No plans for Easter Monday. Probably resting at home

 

[Very Bad Rider]

No plans for Easter Monday. Probably resting at home.

And, hopefully, writing up your adventures so they can be shared with us!

—VBR

 

[Stefan Mikes]

And, hopefully, writing up your adventures so they can be shared with us!

—VBR

Certainly! Though, the plans seem to be going further... I was reminded of the nearby Kozienicka Wilderness...

 

[Very Bad Rider]

As Chazmo and Stefan have mentioned it is 'not usual' for smartphones to be charged from our ebikes' batteries. Here is one of the rare exceptions…

Bosch Kiox computer/display connecting smartphone to ebike's batteries:

• Charging symbol (lightning bolt at top right of iPhone).
• Mobile phone's charge level (alongside ebike's battery levels) on Bosch Kiox computer/display unit.
• Different leads connecting Kiox (ancient deprecated USB port) and iPhone (USB-C). Jumble of wires conveniently out of view!

After taking this photo I rode for about an hour and, as usual, recorded the event with the Ride with GPS app (map display on). Despite the obvious drain from running a GPS app, the iPhone's charge level rose from 61% to 85%.

Don't expect similar phone-charging from too many other ebike computer/displays (including Bosch).

Thanks for reading.
— VBR

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Had to look that up. Not just furious but "wanton and furious cycling", which sounds like even more fun!

"Wanton and furious cycling" - a guide to the road traffic laws that apply to cyclists. | Road Law Barristers

It seems that our roads are fuller than ever before with cyclists who are caught up in the wave of ‘cycling-mania’ that has gripped the country since the Tour de France’s Grand Depart in Yorkshire this July. Much is written on the numerous laws affecting motorists, but what about the laws that...

roadlawbarristers.co.uk

The author didn't mention the "wanton & furious" becomes a criminal offence only in case "a bodily harm was caused".

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Bosch Kiox computer/display connecting smartphone to ebike's batteries:

• Charging symbol (lightning bolt at top right of iPhone).
• Mobile phone's charge level (alongside ebike's battery levels) on Bosch Kiox computer/display unit.
• Different leads connecting Kiox (ancient deprecated USB port) and iPhone (USB-C). Jumble of wires conveniently out of view!

Any idea about the charging current (A) available?

 

[Chazmo]

As Chazmo and Stefan have mentioned it is 'not usual' for smartphones to be charged from our ebikes' batteries. Here is one of the rare exceptions…

View attachment 192284


Bosch Kiox computer/display connecting smartphone to ebike's batteries:

• Charging symbol (lightning bolt at top right of iPhone).
• Mobile phone's charge level (alongside ebike's battery levels) on Bosch Kiox computer/display unit.
• Different leads connecting Kiox (ancient deprecated USB port) and iPhone (USB-C). Jumble of wires conveniently out of view!

After taking this photo I rode for about an hour and, as usual, recorded the event with the Ride with GPS app (map display on). Despite the obvious drain from running a GPS app, the iPhone's charge level rose from 61% to 85%.

Don't expect similar phone-charging from too many other ebike computer/displays (including Bosch).

Thanks for reading.
— VBR

Copy that, VBR. The upgraded controller that I got for my bike from Juiced had an auxiliary power output/cable that was intended for this purpose (I think), but that failed and I had to revert to the stock controller which does not have that extra cable. A little more reason for me to try to fix the upgraded controller… I tried, but couldn’t get past the huge mess of silicone sealant to actually access the electronics. Oh well… Some things I just can’t do without the help of the (dead) manufacturer.

 

[Chazmo]

The author didn't mention the "wanton & furious" becomes a criminal offence only in case "a bodily harm was caused".

Whose body? The rider or some wanton and furious pedestrian?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Whose body? The rider or some wanton and furious pedestrian?

 

[Base]

As Chazmo and Stefan have mentioned it is 'not usual' for smartphones to be charged from our ebikes' batteries. Here is one of the rare exceptions…

The Bosch, Shimano and Yamaha system supports USB output to a mobile device (Smartphone, GPS etc). Bosch rates the output at 5v600mA, cannot find specs for Yamaha or Shimano, but they are usually at 1 till 1,5 A. And there are also some custom solutions for the Bosch DU for the 12v Multi use port on the DriveUnit (for some users "Motor") and there is always the possibility to use the light output to let that run through a 12 to 5,3volt adapter.

 

[Very Bad Rider]

There is always the possibility to use the light output.

Cheating… but I love it!

Anyone tried that 'option'?

—VBR

 

[Stefan Mikes]

DriveUnit (for some users "Motor")

Bosch is always the DU
I was considering a purchase of a Bosch electric kettle today but went with a Tefal

 

[Base]

Bosch is always the DU
I was considering a purchase of a Bosch electric kettle today but went with a Tefal

that would BDU

Yamaha is the inventor or DriveUnit. in 1992. All the OEM suppliers call the mid-motor DriveUnit.

 

[Chazmo]

Copy that, VBR. The upgraded controller that I got for my bike from Juiced had an auxiliary power output/cable that was intended for this purpose (I think), but that failed and I had to revert to the stock controller which does not have that extra cable. A little more reason for me to try to fix the upgraded controller… I tried, but couldn’t get past the huge mess of silicone sealant to actually access the electronics. Oh well… Some things I just can’t do without the help of the (dead) manufacturer.

Hold the phone!

There is enough power to charge my iPhone coming from the LCD display USB-C port! Yay! Figures that Juiced would’ve gotten that right. They were pretty bright and aware of these things.

I have no idea what the output is from that port, so I can’t compare it with Bosch, but it charged my iPhone 13 mini with RideWithGPS running and my camera on as well. Could be that the iPhone has a low current draw. Bosch is, indeed, a great company for appliances, etc.

 

[Chazmo]

Working on a trip report from RideWithGPS for today’s ride. Hope to have it soon. Trying to figure out if I can annotate with pictures placed in the route map, but I’m pessimistic after talking with Stefan about it. Anyway, the software looks really feature-rich and looking forward to figure out how to plan more trips and explore more paths… It seems to know a lot more than I do!

 

[Chazmo]

View attachment 192287


View attachment 192288

I wasn’t expecting a real answer, but there you go! I have to wonder if anyone has really, seriously, actually been arrested or charged with this. I mean, it seems like good law in the sense that people (even bike riders) need to be held accountable for bodily harm that they inflict…. But, I was kind of joking earlier.