Hello from Cape Cod

[stompandgo]

Tell me you don’t miss COVID, though…

Fortunately, I’m spared all that, now, Chris. Being retired is great!

OMG. I was working for a government contractor that was mandated by CISA to continue working. I was living in western MA and commuting. Nobody was on the road, especially cops, and anyone that was, was flying. It was like Mad Max. Road insanity. My commuter vehicle was a 300hp Stage 1 GTI. Say no more.

I retired 3 years ago. I'm busier than I ever was, but I'm doing what I want to do. The only time I set my alarm is when I'm working a race that day.

 

[stompandgo]

This is my first pass with the new cockpit. Road stem, 70cm carbon riser bars, Ergon small grips, Hafny mirror. It's off to the dealer for the Bosch upgrades.

 

[Chazmo]

This is my first pass with the new cockpit. Road stem, 70cm carbon riser bars, Ergon small grips, Hafny mirror. It's off to the dealer for the Bosch upgrades.

Oooh, nicely outfitted!!!!

What upgrades are you getting, Chris? Are these Cannondale things or are you fitting some aftermarket stuff?

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

The Cape isn't paradise. It has its problems. On the flip side, I'm 5 minutes from the beach, and I can afford to live here.

Pretty much sums up my retirement here in north San Diego County. The 5 minutes is by bike in my case — a true blessing, as the combo of cycling and communing with the ocean is the best attitude adjuster I know of.

Gets a little crazy when the tourists are here in force and school's out at the same time. But you can still find beach parking most weekdays even then, and traffic's rarely as bad as you've described.

Luckily, the bike infrastructure's good enough that cycling quality of life stays good year-round.

Hoping that playing up the kraken risk will keep it that way. People will believe anything these days — especially if they've seen it on a screen.
;^}

 

[stompandgo]

Oooh, nicely outfitted!!!!

What upgrades are you getting, Chris? Are these Cannondale things or are you fitting some aftermarket stuff?

Well, as you can see, I've already done a lot myself. I had no need for the clunky aluminum fenders and Hangtime rack. I prefer the Topeak MTX 2.0 system that I used to have on my commuter bike. It's a trunk bag that has panniers that fold out. I had to do some wiring to move the Supernova tail/brake light out to the end of the new rack. On the back of the rack, I cut down an old carbon seatpost and screwed it to the reflector boss. I mount my Varia radar and Fly6 video camera on that. It came with flat pedals so I added Crank Brothers Candy 7's which I use with my Specialized Comp MTB shoes. I can't ride too far without cleats. Up front, I swapped that horrific adjustable MTB stem for a Ritchey road stem that I had hanging around, along with a modified expander plug. Then I added carbon bars and Ergon grips to it, as well as a Hafny mirror.

The Bosch stuff I cannot do. I can't even get all of the parts, so I am having the Bosch guy at the local Cannondale dealer do it. He's going to mount the second 500W battery and enable it so that it shows up on the Kiox. Update all firmware. Set the headlight mode to off after 3 seconds so that I can control it manually. Finally, if possible, he's going to swap the Sport mode for the eMTB mode, which varies the assist from Eco to Turbo depending on pedal pressure and cadence, all in one mode. This is a System 2 bike, not a Smart System, so changes have to be done through the diagnostic.

 

[Chazmo]

Well, as you can see, I've already done a lot myself. I had no need for the clunky aluminum fenders and Hangtime rack. I prefer the Topeak MTX 2.0 system that I used to have on my commuter bike. It's a trunk bag that has panniers that fold out. I had to do some wiring to move the Supernova tail/brake light out to the end of the new rack. On the back of the rack, I cut down an old carbon seatpost and screwed it to the reflector boss. I mount my Varia radar and Fly6 video camera on that. It came with flat pedals so I added Crank Brothers Candy 7's which I use with my Specialized Comp MTB shoes. I can't ride too far without cleats. Up front, I swapped that horrific adjustable MTB stem for a Ritchey road stem that I had hanging around, along with a modified expander plug. Then I added carbon bars and Ergon grips to it, as well as a Hafny mirror.

The Bosch stuff I cannot do. I can't even get all of the parts, so I am having the Bosch guy at the local Cannondale dealer do it. He's going to mount the second 500W battery and enable it so that it shows up on the Kiox. Update all firmware. Set the headlight mode to off after 3 seconds so that I can control it manually. Finally, if possible, he's going to swap the Sport mode for the eMTB mode, which varies the assist from Eco to Turbo depending on pedal pressure and cadence, all in one mode. This is a System 2 bike, not a Smart System, so changes have to be done through the diagnostic.

Awesome! Nothing like making it “your own!"

Keep us posted. I’d love to see / hear how this turns out.

My only comment to you is be careful with the fenders off. I don’t know squat about how Cannondale does this, but on my bike taking off the fenders exacerbated a weakness in the design which allowed contaminants to get in my battery (and cause a fire, ruining the battery in the process). You don’t want any wet crap getting into your electrical system. I.e., make sure all that stuff near the bottom bracket is well sealed and not vulnerable.