Hydra ! My Turn

[reed scott]

Rain Clouds not withstanding it was now or never. (so to speak) I'm not fond of long drives ( 4 hours is long to me ) but a new bike is pretty good incentive. It was a 4 cigar drive culminating with 20 minutes on the San Antonio Death Loop. That's 1604 that circles the outer bounds of the city for you non South Texans. It was not too bad as I had arranged to not be there during rush hour. I was headed East. I noticed the West bound lanes were bumper to bumper and hardly moving. Great. That's my route home. Soon I reached my exit and the neat and efficient FedEx store where my bike was waiting right at the front desk. They even had a nice clean restroom which I sorely needed at this point.

Rio and I backed the truck right up to the front door and in no time we were outa there. Headed home. Box fit the bed like somebody planned for it.

We won't bore you with the trip home. It was uneventful. The traffic jam had dissipated while we loaded the bike evidently. So here we are. And there SHE is!

After cutting loose the unattached front wheel I used my patented 'stand the box on it's end and roll the bike out on its back wheel' method. This saves my poor usually aching back.

Had to put her on her back to get the front wheel on. The brake pad spreaders/protectors had fallen out but the pads were still separated ok. Put a little grease on the Axel and everything went together easy peasy.

I'm happy happy happy. This color does exactly what I hoped for. Changes with the light intensity and angle. She's decidedly lighter than my AM 1000 and has a very different feel. Much more nimble ... and leggy. She's a big girl. Stands right up there.

Really digging this color.

YESEREEY BOB !

 

[reed scott]

She's got a 44 tooth front sprocket and I suspect she'll hit 35 mph. We're about to go find out. With helmet. If you don't hear from me again .....

 

[ecotrichammer]

My goodness bro, what color is that exactly, specs please! And also was that 44tooth easy to install and where did u get it? Also brother, how long did this take to ship? WOWWW!! What's your config? I'm so pumped.

 

[reed scott]

My goodness bro, what color is that exactly, specs please! And also was that 44tooth easy to install and where did u get it? Also brother, how long did this take to ship? WOWWW!! What's your config? I'm so pumped.

The color is Midnight Bronze by Cerakote. It just looks like Hershey brown under interior lighting and even on a cloudy day it is nothing spectacular. But in the sun it really comes alive. I was going to go with a lighter bronze but realized it just looked like darkish gold in reality. I followed Cuz Vinny in his selection of Midnight Bronze and I'm glad I did. The bike came with the 44 tooth sprocket as specified by Pushkar. I just came back form the first little trial run and it does indeed reach 35 mph but the required cadence is way too much. It was cruising comfortably at 23 to 25 and I felt I could keep that speed up for several miles at a crack. Time to ship: Pushkar announced these bike back in November of 2020 if memory serves me and we are just now getting them. He's had a lot of trouble sourcing parts as have all the bike makers and providers.

 

[Cuz Vinny]

The color is Midnight Bronze by Cerakote. It just looks like Hershey brown under interior lighting and even on a cloudy day it is nothing spectacular. But in the sun it really comes alive. I was going to go with a lighter bronze but realized it just looked like darkish gold in reality. I followed Cuz Vinny in his selection of Midnight Bronze and I'm glad I did. The bike came with the 44 tooth sprocket as specified by Pushkar. I just came back form the first little trial run and it does indeed reach 35 mph but the required cadence is way too much. It was cruising comfortably at 23 to 25 and I felt I could keep that speed up for several miles at a crack. Time to ship: Pushkar announced these bike back in November of 2020 if memory serves me and we are just now getting them. He's had a lot of trouble sourcing parts as have all the bike makers and providers.

Looks good man! Good color choice.

 

[ecotrichammer]

The color is Midnight Bronze by Cerakote. It just looks like Hershey brown under interior lighting and even on a cloudy day it is nothing spectacular. But in the sun it really comes alive. I was going to go with a lighter bronze but realized it just looked like darkish gold in reality. I followed Cuz Vinny in his selection of Midnight Bronze and I'm glad I did. The bike came with the 44 tooth sprocket as specified by Pushkar. I just came back form the first little trial run and it does indeed reach 35 mph but the required cadence is way too much. It was cruising comfortably at 23 to 25 and I felt I could keep that speed up for several miles at a crack. Time to ship: Pushkar announced these bike back in November of 2020 if memory serves me and we are just now getting them. He's had a lot of trouble sourcing parts as have all the bike makers and providers.

What do you mean by cadence? What's your battery life also? What's your fork name, which X1 did you choose 1000W? Also, 11 speed cassette?

 

[ecotrichammer]

Looks like I'ma have to go brown too, but I like a dark choco one, bronze not my thing. I don't know which would be any of these pictures I attached. I want this color!

 

[reed scott]

What do you mean by cadence? What's your battery life also? What's your fork name, which X1 did you choose 1000W? Also, 11 speed cassette?

Cadence is how fast you have to pedal. Everybody has their own comfort zone. Road bikers like to 'spin' that is, keep up a fairly high revolution rate. You just count one side of your crank revolutions. 60 or 70 revs per minute is comfortable for me but I'm a MTB rider.

No idea about battery life yet. That will take time and testing. Plus it is highly variable depending on how much power you want to put to the pedals apart from what you ask the motor to do by selecting the power output through the electronic controls. Some want to just use the throttle ( not me ) some want to get a workout. If you are touring and want to go as far as you can, you have to pedal more to extend battery range. Or you can purchase an extra battery and switch them when necessary.

I stayed with the lower 1000 watt version as that is a lot of power. Plenty. I'm the furthest thing from a speedster. Yes I have the 11 speed. 11/42. Seldom use the 11 and almost never the 42.

Your color preference is attractive but Cerakote is not a high gloss finish. To get that deep shiny brown you will have to go with paint and high gloss clear coat. Expensive.

 

[ecotrichammer]

Cadence is how fast you have to pedal. Everybody has their own comfort zone. Road bikers like to 'spin' that is, keep up a fairly high revolution rate. You just count one side of your crank revolutions. 60 or 70 revs per minute is comfortable for me but I'm a MTB rider.

No idea about battery life yet. That will take time and testing. Plus it is highly variable depending on how much power you want to put to the pedals apart from what you ask the motor to do by selecting the power output through the electronic controls. Some want to just use the throttle ( not me ) some want to get a workout. If you are touring and want to go as far as you can, you have to pedal more to extend battery range. Or you can purchase an extra battery and switch them when necessary.

I stayed with the lower 1000 watt version as that is a lot of power. Plenty. I'm the furthest thing from a speedster. Yes I have the 11 speed. 11/42. Seldom use the 11 and almost never the 42.

Your color preference is attractive but Cerakote is not a high gloss finish. To get that deep shiny brown you will have to go with paint and high gloss clear coat. Expensive.

Thanks for your help. What about if you do max throttle alone, 30mph?

 

[RandomCrap]

Looks like I'ma have to go brown too, but I like a dark choco one, bronze not my thing. I don't know which would be any of these pictures I attached. I want this color!

Look at Midnight Bronze (H-294), Barrett Bronze (H-259), Chocolate Brown (H-258), perhaps Burnt Bronze (H-148), or if you like something a little lighter, Copper Brown (H-149). Other browns can be seen here, but you must pick only from the H series colors.

 

[reed scott]

Thanks for your help. What about if you do max throttle alone, 30mph?

I didn't try it. Need a longer straight away. I have to get to another part of the ranch where the road is open without brush or trees near the road. The damn deer will jump right out in front of you. People don't think about this but these bikes are so quiet the wildlife doesn't have time to get away from you. Before they realize it you are right on top of them and they panic. You never can predict which way they will jump.

 

[reed scott]

Look at Midnight Bronze (H-294), Barrett Bronze (H-259), Chocolate Brown (H-258), perhaps Burnt Bronze (H-148), or if you like something a little lighter, Copper Brown (H-149). Other browns can be seen here, but you must pick only from the H series colors.

I can tell he wants high gloss. From what I've been told Cerakote is not into high gloss.

 

[Cybertruck2022]

Such a beautiful bike!! Congrats man!!

 

[Merle Nelson]

Yep that is a good looking bike. Glad you are able to be out enjoying it. Great pictures and write up, thanks.

 

[Merle Nelson]

I didn't try it. Need a longer straight away. I have to get to another part of the ranch where the road is open without brush or trees near the road. The damn deer will jump right out in front of you. People don't think about this but these bikes are so quiet the wildlife doesn't have time to get away from you. Before they realize it you are right on top of them and they panic. You never can predict which way they will jump.

I've heard there are an inordinant amount of deer strikes in Texas. Would a deer sonic device they use on cars work to forewarn them?

 

[AdilDesai]

Rain Clouds not withstanding it was now or never. (so to speak) I'm not fond of long drives ( 4 hours is long to me ) but a new bike is pretty good incentive. It was a 4 cigar drive culminating with 20 minutes on the San Antonio Death Loop. That's 1604 that circles the outer bounds of the city for you non South Texans. It was not too bad as I had arranged to not be there during rush hour. I was headed East. I noticed the West bound lanes were bumper to bumper and hardly moving. Great. That's my route home. Soon I reached my exit and the neat and efficient FedEx store where my bike was waiting right at the front desk. They even had a nice clean restroom which I sorely needed at this point.

View attachment 89509

Rio and I backed the truck right up to the front door and in no time we were outa there. Headed home. Box fit the bed like somebody planned for it.

View attachment 89510

We won't bore you with the trip home. It was uneventful. The traffic jam had dissipated while we loaded the bike evidently. So here we are. And there SHE is!

View attachment 89511

After cutting loose the unattached front wheel I used my patented 'stand the box on it's end and roll the bike out on its back wheel' method. This saves my poor usually aching back.

View attachment 89512

Had to put her on her back to get the front wheel on. The brake pad spreaders/protectors had fallen out but the pads were still separated ok. Put a little grease on the Axel and everything went together easy peasy.

View attachment 89513

I'm happy happy happy. This color does exactly what I hoped for. Changes with the light intensity and angle. She's decidedly lighter than my AM 1000 and has a very different feel. Much more nimble ... and leggy. She's a big girl. Stands right up there.

View attachment 89514

Really digging this color.

View attachment 89515

YESEREEY BOB !

View attachment 89516

RIO!!!! Better than the bike!

 

[Haystacks]

I can tell he wants high gloss. From what I've been told Cerakote is not into high gloss.

MC160 is Cerakote High gloss ceramic clear, however it can't be sprayed onto Cerakote paint, it can be sprayed over normal paint though...

 

[Ebike Addict]

She's got a 44 tooth front sprocket and I suspect she'll hit 35 mph. We're about to go find out. With helmet. If you don't hear from me again .....

Congratulations! It is a great looking bike and I like the contrast between the Midnight Bronze and the orange fork. Hopefully, I will get mine sometime in June. Let us know how it performs.

 

[reed scott]

I've heard there are an inordinant amount of deer strikes in Texas. Would a deer sonic device they use on cars work to forewarn them?

Funny you should mention this. I truly believe in the deer warning thingies. Been proving they work for 25 years. In all that time I've only hit one deer and he had come on a dead run like something was chasing him. And this is rural central, brushy, semi-wooded Hill Country. However these things work by emitting an alternating tone between the two sending units that need to be widely spaced somewhere in the grill of the vehicle. They function just by the air moving through them. Somebody needs to invent an electronic unit small enough to mount on a bike.

 

[reed scott]

RIO!!!! Better than the bike!

He's a really good pup. Blue Lacy.