Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[RabH]

@RabH
Studded tires...just sayin... and of course some appropriate clothing.

View attachment 75880

I wouldn't use studded tyres on our roads, there is too much exposed tarmac and the sparks would be flying everywhere! If I had a mountain bike I would maybe go off road with them but I would rather just walk in this weather! I'm sure it won't last, fingers crossed!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Rode to My Brother Just to Learn...

...the front-wheel-hub-bearings in my Vado have been damaged and needed to be replaced by Specialized...

In addition to that, the stopping power of wind on the outbound trip felt unbearable! (Used Turbo for 3/4 of the trip).

 

[Sierratim]

Rode to My Brother Just to Learn...

View attachment 75887
...the front-wheel-hub-bearings in my Vado have been damaged and needed to be replaced by Specialized...

View attachment 75888
In addition to that, the stopping power of wind on the outbound trip felt unbearable! (Used Turbo for 3/4 of the trip).

Any idea how the bearings got damaged? As I recall they are sealed bearings, yes?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Any idea how the bearings got damaged? As I recall they are sealed bearings, yes?

Hard to say. There is unmistakable type of noise when the wheel is being spun. It is even noisier when the bike is ridden through puddles.

You might just buy a whole new wheel so you are not without your bike for couple weeks as it's at the shop. Then have the bad hub replaced. Then you would have a backup wheel in case this new hub fails.

I own more than one e-bike

 

[reed scott]

You might just buy a whole new wheel so you are not without your bike for couple weeks as it's at the shop. Then have the bad hub replaced. Then you would have a backup wheel in case this new hub fails.

 

[Deleted member 18083]

You know it's mid-summer when …

Click photo to view full-size.​

Newport on Deception Bay*​

… the ice cream van is parked on top of its own shadow (and my Homage is cooling off under the trees.)

Photo was taken looking west from the 50 km mark on the map. (Actually, it was at 70 km on the return trip… I had to earn that ice cream by thinking about it for an hour until I met up with the refreshment van on the way back!)

* Deception Bay is the name of this inlet of Moreton Bay and the little village where I turned around.

 

[Art Deco]

You know it's mid-summer when …
View attachment 75877

Newport on Deception Bay*​

… the ice cream van is parked on top of its own shadow (and my Homage is cooling off under the trees.)

View attachment 75874

Photo was taken looking west from the 50 km mark on the map. (Actually, it was at 70 km on the return trip… I had to earn that ice cream by thinking about it for an hour until I met up with the refreshment van on the way back!)

* Deception Bay is the name of this inlet of Moreton Bay and the little village where I turned around.

Nice shot. Snow and sleet up here again so summer scenes are very welcome.

 

[Sierratim]

You know it's mid-summer when …
View attachment 75877

Newport on Deception Bay*​

… the ice cream van is parked on top of its own shadow (and my Homage is cooling off under the trees.)

View attachment 75874

Photo was taken looking west from the 50 km mark on the map. (Actually, it was at 70 km on the return trip… I had to earn that ice cream by thinking about it for an hour until I met up with the refreshment van on the way back!)

* Deception Bay is the name of this inlet of Moreton Bay and the little village where I turned around.

So...what flavor did you get?

Heavy rain and chance of snow (finally) coming in for us tonight.

 

[Prairie Dog]

My ride today started out in the usual manner until I discovered a broken stay on my bike's rear fender. It created a slight delay as It meant removing and replacing it with the Beavertail that I used last season. Even though I don’t receive full coverage I’m glad that I kept it.



A wispy morning fog in the river valley was just lifting as I made my way along the trail to the north end of the city. It made for quite the eloquent start.

A transformed CP rail bridge is likely one of the safest methods of traversing over the river by bike and gets used extensively. For me, morning rides are enjoyable with very few people frequenting the pathways and today was no exception even with it being Sunday.

Riding conditions were near perfect. 9/10. The ambient temperature was -3C and the trail system was absolutely immaculate with the light snowfall that we received late last night. It softened the ride just enough to make riding the rigid a pleasant experience. There's still plenty of snow around and the ground surface was packed smooth making it ideal for riding on studded tires. Even the unmaintained trails were decent enough to build up a bit of speed. Happy to report that, so far, I've managed to lose only three studs since installing the tires over two months ago. In summary, I couldn't have asked for a better day…and the forecast is much the same for the coming week. Yipee!!

 

[Prairie Dog]

So...what flavor did you get?

Yes, please enlighten us, David. Inquiring foodie minds want to know. I hope that it was chocolate semifreddo with raspberry coulis!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

For anyone interested:

• In the morning, I wrote a private message to Specialized Warsaw on FB asking for their advice re my Vado front-wheel-hub-bearings
• At 10:59 a.m., the guy from the store messaged back. He could see no problem to fix the wheel (note: He was an hour ahead of the store opening time!)
• I had to drive my car to bring the wheel to Specialized Brand Store Warsaw (reluctantly but was out of options)
• Young mechanic instantly dismantled the bearing covers, measured the bearing and invited me to the sales desk.
• In five minutes, I had the Service Booking (a pro-forma invoice) in my hands and the guy invited me to come for the repaired wheel on the next day. Yes, they had proper bearings in stock. Yes, the original bearings had been worn out.

That's a service! Young people, polite, willing to serve you, no issues, fast, full of smiles. I'm telling you: If I ever happen to buy another e-bike that must be a Specialized! By the way, the store carried the same goggles I use (100% Accuri OTG), and the young mechanic proudly said he owned the same. "Costly but worth its money!"

FYI, two bearings cost around US$29, and labour cost was US$16.

 

[Art Deco]

For anyone interested:

SNIP]
That's a service! Young people, polite, willing to serve you, no issues, fast, full of smiles. I'm telling you: If I ever happen to buy another e-bike that must be a Specialized! By the way, the store carried the same goggles I use (100% Accuri OTG), and the young mechanic proudly said he owned the same. "Costly but worth its money!"

View attachment 75943
FYI, two bearings cost around US$29, and labour cost was US$16.

Exactly the way a bike shop should work.

 

[PatriciaK]

For anyone interested:

• In the morning, I wrote a private message to Specialized Warsaw on FB asking for their advice re my Vado front-wheel-hub-bearings
• At 10:59 a.m., the guy from the store messaged back. He could see no problem to fix the wheel (note: He was an hour ahead of the store opening time!)
• I had to drive my car to bring the wheel to Specialized Brand Store Warsaw (reluctantly but was out of options)
• Young mechanic instantly dismantled the bearing covers, measured the bearing and invited me to the sales desk.
• In five minutes, I had the Service Booking (a pro-forma invoice) in my hands and the guy invited me to come for the repaired wheel on the next day. Yes, they had proper bearings in stock. Yes, the original bearings had been worn out.

That's a service! Young people, polite, willing to serve you, no issues, fast, full of smiles. I'm telling you: If I ever happen to buy another e-bike that must be a Specialized! By the way, the store carried the same goggles I use (100% Accuri OTG), and the young mechanic proudly said he owned the same. "Costly but worth its money!"

View attachment 75943
FYI, two bearings cost around US$29, and labour cost was US$16.

Another example of why having a GOOD LBS needs to be part of the calculation when considering which bike to purchase!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Another example of why having a GOOD LBS needs to be part of the calculation when considering which bike to purchase!

It's valid for all LBS, yet the Specialized Brand Store Warsaw has been the first one I could see where e-bikes have been given the preference. The whole collection of Turbo and S-Works e-bikes in the front of the store! Because, you see, any roadie knows the value of the Specialized trad bikes but the Warsaw boys have found out where the money really is

They have got Turbo Levo, Kenevo, Vado, Vado SL, Como, Levo SL, and Creo SL as well as S-Works Levo and Creo. Several e-bikes are for demo. No other Warsaw store is able to demo Specialized e-bikes!

7:39 p.m.: The Specialized guy calls me and tells me my wheel is ready to be collected. How nice of him! We'll have the Epiphany holiday on the January 6th. The wheel is to be collected before the holiday!

 

[PatriciaK]

I have to say I'm very jealous reading about and seeing the FABulous photos of folks' first rides in 2021!

I'm sitting here in western Washington State, watching storm after storm move through, lashing trees and dumping rain - i haven't been on my bike since riding home from the shop before Christmas!

Husband took it out a few days ago, and said he was nearly blown off it several times - that's way too much wind for me to manage!

I'll just have to keep enviously following those lucky enough to be riding, and keep fingers crossed for our traditional mid-January storm break .

 

[PatriciaK]

Our rainy, gray harbor, full of logs kicked up off the beaches by recent windy storms

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Pat, I really sympathise with you...

 

[PatriciaK]

Pat, I really sympathise with you...

Stefan, you're an iron man out there!

 

[Clueless]

Sorry..., but I just had to ride again

 

[Twin Valley]

Finally, got 2021 underway for biking, close to 40 km around our country residence and didn't see anybody on any of the roads and trails - our countryside continues the mix of brown grass with snow blotches - couldn't help thinking about David's Aussie postings complete with the ice cream truck - but it was great to get outside with the bike and continue to enjoy our above normal January temps, thought I would throw in a picture of our ongoing family hockey matches on our backyard ice rink with the fire and moon providing some light