Accessories that didn’t work out?

[Dallant]

Just wondering what ebike accessories you bought with high hopes that just didn't work out.
I recently bought an Animaris seat post and it worked fine but I just didn’t like it. My other seat post is a very basic Bontrager “suspension” seat post. Just thought I’d like the Animaris better but I just didn’t and it wouldn’t allow mounting in my Bike Hand stand.

 

[ronr]

When I first started riding again I went through 3-4 bags/panniers before finding the bag the worked.

 

[dmourati]

I bought some titanium axles for pedals and now I'm wondering wtf I was thinking.

 

[ElevenAD]

Just wondering what ebike accessories you bought with high hopes that just didn't work out.
I recently bought an Animaris seat post and it worked fine but I just didn’t like it. My other seat post is a very basic Bontrager “suspension” seat post. Just thought I’d like the Animaris better but I just didn’t and it wouldn’t allow mounting in my Bike Hand stand.

Animaris is very tricky to find the sweet spot thats for sure, takes me over half an hour to adjust and if i drop 2 pounds of fat i have to re-adjust again! i still love em but its harder to adjust than a Suntour imo. This Rinstin Spring however is the worst seat post i ever tried, just awful!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I'm sure junk-boxes in my garage hold a lot of wrong stuff. Other items went to the dustbin (you certainly recollect Dallant that "MTB kickstand alternative" from Topeak that cracked on first use).

The worst purchase ever were road-bike "arctic" shoes for SPD-SL cleats. At that time I was unaware those shoes required mounting road-bike clipless cleats and using clipless road-bike pedals (shudder). I still can sell those shoes, hopefully. Hardly used.

Also, a full-face downhill helmet. Still has its original tags.

 

[WattsUpDude]

Just wondering what ebike accessories you bought with high hopes that just didn't work out.
I recently bought an Animaris seat post and it worked fine but I just didn’t like it. My other seat post is a very basic Bontrager “suspension” seat post. Just thought I’d like the Animaris better but I just didn’t and it wouldn’t allow mounting in my Bike Hand stand.

That's funny. I thought of the Animaris seat post right when I read your title. I'm pretty sure it works fine for most people but it did not work for my weight range at all. It almost gives zero compliance even at the softest setting. Yes, I'm aware that I can buy softer springs for it but I'm so happy with the replacement Redshift seat post I have now.

 

[Dewey]

I bought some 155mm steel cranks to replace the Bafang BBS aluminum crank arms that kept deforming on the steel spindle. They were shorter because they were square taper and designed for a unicycle. I have ridden with them for a year, then took my bike in for a tune-up and rode ebikeshare bikes with standard 170mm cranks for a week, after I got my bike back I decided to replace my cranks with 170mm Lekkie Buzz Bars. I’m 5’10” and the longer cranks felt more comfortable when pedaling

 

[Dallant]

That's funny. I thought of the Animaris seat post right when I read your title. I'm pretty sure it works fine for most people but it did not work for my weight range at all. It almost gives zero compliance even at the softest setting. Yes, I'm aware that I can buy softer springs for it but I'm so happy with the replacement Redshift seat post I have now.

I’m keeping mine for potential future use when I may need that level of ass suspension.

 

[rajron]

Inexpensive SPD type pedals – mistake! They were inconstant, always easy to get in but not always easy to get out, a couple of times I needed to stop grab onto something to get enough leverage to rotate out – dangerous. Replaced with Shimano SPD’s which work the way they are supposed to; love them and won’t accept a fake SPD pedal again.

 

[sc00ter]

I got a Seatylock for my RadRunner. While the lock and seat work as advertised I found my Sella Royal seat from Wally World more comfortable for my derriere. Butt (ha ha!) it worked out because a friend was complaining about the wedgie master seat on his folding bike, and the hassle of carrying a lock. So he inherited the Seatylock.

 

[indianajo]

The garmin radar vehicle detector. It detects any metal object over a 170 degree angle. Vehicles approaching 5 lanes away, even trucks 8 lanes away on the freeway behind a chain link fence. WOLF WOLF WOLF WOLF!!!!!! What I wanted to know, was I going to be run down by a vehicle behind me? One in my lane.
Totally useless. Well, the display has one use. If the flashing red taillight goes dead, the indicator in front of me shows a red light then 60 seconds later goes dead too. So I can get off and change to the backup taillight. As little as I ride at night, the garmin battery lasts about 3 months, and is rechargeable with a micro-USB plug.

 

[WattsUpDude]

The garmin radar vehicle detector. It detects any metal object over a 170 degree angle. Vehicles approaching 5 lanes away, even trucks 8 lanes away on the freeway behind a chain link fence. WOLF WOLF WOLF WOLF!!!!!! What I wanted to know, was I going to be run down by a vehicle behind me? One in my lane.
Totally useless. Well, the display has one use. If the flashing red taillight goes dead, the indicator in front of me shows a red light then 60 seconds later goes dead too. So I can get off and change to the backup taillight. As little as I ride at night, the garmin battery lasts about 3 months, and is rechargeable with a micro-USB plug.

Wow. I feel the exact opposite. I think it's one of the best purchases I've ever made as a bike commuter. Yes, the programming is skewed to be a bit sensitive. I'd rather have false positives than false negatives. It's an amazing product in my experience.

 

[fooferdoggie]

it is too wide to the left for sure and once in awhile i am on a bike path I get a ping. but overall its good.

 

[fooferdoggie]

Animaris is very tricky to find the sweet spot thats for sure, takes my over half an hour to adjust and if i drop 2 pounds of fat i have to re-adjust again! i still love em but its harder to adjust than a Suntour imo. This Rinstin Spring however is the worst seat post i ever tried, just awful!
View attachment 94670

ya its a pretty dumb idea the videos I see people are bouncing around like in a bouncy house.

 

[billmeek]

I spent too much on my Garmin setup for my needs, but because of the radar unit it's worth every single penny. The Garmin Radar really shines on backroads. Busy multi-lane highways and city riding gives too many (constant) alerts.

My biggest gripe with the Varia RTL515 radar/light unit is battery life. I've run the battery dead on a single ride. I'd happily pay for an extended battery system for it similar to Garmin Charge Power Pack.

 

[Prairie Dog]

I’m also a huge fan of the Garmin Varia RVR 315 and take it on all of my road rides. I’ve never had an issue with the battery life but that’s likely due to the lack of the tail light feature. My only minor caveat against it might be that it doesn’t differentiate other cyclists from vehicles.

 

[fooferdoggie]

I’m also a huge fan of the Garmin Varia RVR 315 and take it on all of my road rides. I’ve never had an issue with the battery life but that’s likely due to the lack of the tail light feature. My only minor caveat against it might be that it doesn’t differentiate other cyclists from vehicles.

I haver only had a few cyclists picked up one was a motorized idiot with a lot of noise and stink.

 

[steve mercier]

I have a lot of items that were good enuff but then I found better ones and sometimes a third or fourth upgrade to best. This applies to grips ,pedals , saddles, boxes/bags , chains , cassettes, front rings, brake pads, tires, and lube. The whole expensive learning experience is pretty sweet when you finally get the bike dialed in just the way you like it. For example here are my personal choices for good ,better, and best mountain bike grips. The black ones are good and the red ones better but I like the grey ones best.

 

[steve mercier]

 

[dmourati]

I spent too much on my Garmin setup for my needs, but because of the radar unit it's worth every single penny. The Garmin Radar really shines on backroads. Busy multi-lane highways and city riding gives too many (constant) alerts.

My biggest gripe with the Varia RTL515 radar/light unit is battery life. I've run the battery dead on a single ride. I'd happily pay for an extended battery system for it similar to Garmin Charge Power Pack.

Hey, I just got an RTL515. I emailed Garmin support to ask them about charging while running using a USB powerbank:

"Is it possible to charge the Varia RTL515 via a USB powerbank while the device is in use?"

They answered in a day or so, saying yes!:

"Thanks for reaching out. Yes, you can charge the light while using it. We don't make a charger for this specifically, but you may be able to find a third party charger that you can mount close to it to charge it."

I'm considering repurposing one of my Anker Powercore battery banks I initially bought for travel into an extended on-bike battery source for my RTL515. I estimate a 20,000 mah hour battery pack like my Anker would allow me to 10x the runtime duration of the RTL515.