EBR made me do it!

[Jeremy McCreary]

Maybe try a helmet mirror if you haven't already.

Stephan insists that I will stab my eye out when I fall but I'm doubting that.

Remember,..
It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye !!
Then it's a sport.

My neighbor swears by his helmet mirror, but my helmet already has a big add-on visor that complicates mounting. For now, will try a Mirrycle bar-end mirror.

 

[PCeBiker]

The pedestrians here are even scarier than the cars.

If you're being approached from behind by a pedestrian, then you should probably hit the throttle and go a little faster.

 

[Slaphappygamer]

If you're being approached from behind by a pedestrian, then you should probably hit the throttle and go a little faster.

Some pedestrians, I’d do that!

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Excellent choice, Jeremy! Hold off a bit on the RE, you might be surprised at how thrifty that motor can be. I have one for my Creo, hardly ever use it though I generally put it on the bike if a ride is going to be over 40 miles, which isn’t often anymore.

Great color, too. I met and chatted with a woman who was riding that bike last week who was on the last day of a solo trip across the Erie Canal route. Rode with her for a few minutes as she neared Albany and she appeared quite happy with the job it had done for her. I think it’s a great choice for touring.

EDIT: Oh, and I think you’ll be good with the gearing on that thing on your hills. I just changed my Creo to a climbing setup of 40:46, and you’re looking at 44:50. It will go up anything if you just slow down and let it spin a bit. Big difference to the 44:42 it originally sported.

All good advice. This will be my first mid-drive. Felt nice in the short test I had on an SL 4 EQ, but that involved nothing steeper than 3%. Have a whole list of test hills I've tackled with my hub-drive. Eager to see just how different the climbing experience will be.

 

[PCeBiker]

My neighbor swears by his helmet mirror, but my helmet already has a big add-on visor that complicates mounting. For now, will try a Mirrycle bar-end mirror.

I had issues with handlebar mounted mirrors because I had to mount them on the ends of my handlebars so I could see past my shoulder, then they would get caught up on stuff.
The Hafny mirrors had to be fully loosened off to fold them in and out of the way to get my bike through my doorway.
It was a PITA.

My helmet mirror is working great for me now but it took me a week or two and hundreds of kilometers to stop looking down and to the left to see what was behind me.

I've got lots of room for visor clearance if I had one,..

I ended up gluing it between the helmet outer shell and the Styrofoam liner to keep it from moving around, and it looks nice and tidy.


I also have a full face helmet that I've had for a year but have yet to use.
The mirror would stick nicely to the side of this helmet too,..

I've also got a couple regular flat wire mirrors that mount to your glasses but I haven't tried them either.

I like the velcro mounted mirror.
It's slightly convex with a larger field of view, but not so much that a car (or one of those speeding pedestrians) has to be ten feet from you before you see it, so I bought two more in case I break one off in my eye.

There cheap enough to try one and see what you think before you invest in the $50 fancy version.
They stick on with the supplied velcro and are removable

https://a.aliexpress.com/_m0elTQc

Less than seven bucks, or fifty cents American money.


Helmet mirrors allow you to see up and down hills as well as around corners.
You just move your head instead of adjusting your mirror.

 

[Slaphappygamer]

Good ol’ AliExpress. Haha

 

[PCeBiker]

Good ol’ AliExpress. Haha

@Slaphappygamer Are you wearing gloves now when you ride your e-bike?

My gloves don't fit worth a crap but I still wear them,..

Men's XL my ass. Maybe if I was Chinese?

So I bought leather XXXL motorcycle gloves,..

They fit much better but my finger tips are still cramped. I have to keep my nails cut short.

I may have some Alien DNA in me?
I dunno?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Just ordered a Specialized Vado SL 5.0 EQ in yellow, my favorite bike color!

Congratulations, Jeremy! I hope you'd like your Vado SL and get many happy miles on it!
(I know you have Ignored me but anyway...)

1. Will 240W and 35 Nm be enough help on local hills, many above 10%? Probably, but making no assumptions at age 76.

You will need to practise it out. To my surprise, it has turned our your Vado SL (depending on the exact specification) might be equipped with a 110 BCD chainring, which could make it problematic if you wanted to go with a smaller chainring. Please first determine whether your chainring would be 110 BCD or 104 BCD (if the latter then no issue to find a smaller chainring).

2. Will I have to cough up another $485 for a range extender and cable?

Not necessarily. I don't think your rides are overly long. As long as you would not ride in Turbo mode all the time, the main battery could suffice. These configurations give a long range and a decently strong assistance:

• 40/100%, where hard or high cadence pedalling gives a lot of assistance but regular pedalling saves the battery a lot
• 60/60%, which is the max assistance for the long range

Of course you would use 100/100% Turbo for any steep climb but then no pedalling on descents.
Bear in mind the Mastermind display can show you the remaining Range, and the Microtune mode allows you regulating the assistance as you are riding (my version of Vado SL has none of it!)

It is a great pleasure to ride a Vado SL in the "clean" configuration, that is, without the Range Extender. You could install a second water-bottle-cage and carry a second water bottle instead, which might be useful in South California

3. Will the stiff, unsuspended alloy frame be too jarring — even with the stock FutureShock 1.5 stem and the added Redshift suspension seat post?

I am all against unnecessary mods, and making the necessary ones only when the need arises. First of all, most of the vibration comes from the e-bike front (but that's handled by the FutureShock). Secondly, it is all about the tyre type and the inflation pressure. If you install Pathfinder Pro tyres (especially tubeless) and run them at the minimum pressure allowed for the rider + e-bike + cargo weight, you'd get as much of the suspension as even the suspension seat post might not be necessary! (Currently, I am very attracted to the idea of replacing my ShockStop seatpost with a dropper post - but it has to be either an electronic one or the one activated by a handle under the saddle. I need the dropper for descents in rough terrain or riding in the sand).

Very interested about your experiences!

 

[Slaphappygamer]

@Slaphappygamer Are you wearing gloves now when you ride your e-bike?

My gloves don't fit worth a crap but I still wear them,..

View attachment 180925View attachment 180926


Men's XL my ass. Maybe if I was Chinese?

So I bought leather XXXL motorcycle gloves,..

View attachment 180927



They fit much better but my finger tips are still cramped. I have to keep my nails cut short.

I may have some Alien DNA in me?
I dunno?

View attachment 180928View attachment 180929

I wear them more so others can see my hand signals better AND so I can touch my phone.

 

[PCeBiker]

(I know you have Ignored me but anyway...)

I'm ignoring you too, but anyway...
I will let you know when I stab my eye out.
I've "crashed" a few times and dropped my e-bikes more than two dozen times but no face plants yet.

Congratulations, Jeremy! I hope you'd like your Vado SL and get many happy miles on it!

That would be "I hope you'll like your Vado SL"
"you'd" is past tense (you would) and Jeremy doesn't have his e-bike yet.

... As long as you would not ride in Turbo mode all the time,

"As long as you don't ride..." works a little better.

... Bear in mind the Mastermind display can show you the remaining Range,

Bear vs. Beer,..

Bear drinking a beer ,..

,.. which might be useful in South California

"Southern California"

,.. Secondly, it is all about the tyre type and the inflation pressure.

"Tire" in North America.
"Tyre" in the UK.

Interestingly, in the UK, a "Boot Torch" is a light in the trunk of your car.

This is a torched boot in North America,..

,.. (Currently, I am very attracted to the idea of replacing my ShockStop seatpost with a dropper post - but it has to be either an electronic one or the one activated by a handle under the saddle. I need the dropper for descents in rough terrain or riding in the sand).

They should make an "upper post" that would eject the rider clear from the bike in the event of a crash.
Perhaps the charge from an airbag from a car installed in the seat tube to eject the rider?

I know that you say to hold on when you wipe out, but that's not a safe option for me.
I've had my dirt bike land on top of me many times when I rode and couldn't get off the bike in time.


I know of 8 different people who's lives were saved by NOT Wearing their seat belt, including my cousin.
He slipped off the snow covered road with his bald tires and was thrown from the car.

The cop told him right to his face that he would have been killed if he had his seat belt on. The car was Totalled!!
Then he was issued a ticket for not wearing a seat belt.

 

[DaveMatthews]

Nicely done mate.
I suspect that you will be one happy SOB once you get comfy on it.
CONGRATS!

 

[PCeBiker]

I wear them more so others can see my hand signals better AND so I can touch my phone.

Yeah, it worked out nicely for me.
I've got semi- fingerless gloves now and I can work my phone way better.
(Smoking and nose picking is easier too. )

I've got two other pairs of gloves were the "conductive" finger tips wore out.

I "fixed" the one pair with silicone, but I can't work my phone with the coating,..

My favorite pair of gloves are from when I bought my Honda Nighthawk in 1982.
I was 19 years old.

They're the only pair of gloves that I've ever owned that fit me properly.

I had to get a 42" Tall matching leather jacket.
I remember being measured for a suit around that time. The salesman measured me and said that my arms arms are too long for the rest of my body.

I think that I've got some caveman genes as well as the alien ones?
My knuckles are always bloody from all that scraping and dragging.

I wear them more so others can see my hand signals better AND so I can touch my phone.

You probably spent more money on the bandages to put on your hand.

That's what you get for trying to wave to your neighbors.