Over50's Charger Chronicles
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Over50
Well-Known Member
Well, I only have a couple of hundred miles on the bike and my bike mechanic skills are less than rudimentary. Everything feels fine with it and I don't notice any pulling to the left or right when riding. I initially had some disc brake rubbing which I had adjusted at my LBS right after unpacking the bike. I'll put it up on a stand this weekend and see if I notice any wobble in the wheels. On the 1 day I commuted to work, there was an odd noise that surfaced and lasted for about 1 mile before it disappeared. I had just made a left turn and a noise started that sounded like the front disc brake area - same I had adjusted. After about a mile the noise was gone. It hasn't surfaced again. Hopefully I can get my Origen8 pedals soon and I'll ask my LBS to also give the rims a check. I need to spend a good amount of time with Youtube learning to check the rims and spokes.
For visibility I recommend you the lumos helmet. I have it and more than once cars have approached me to congratulate on the solution (I live in NL). The best part for me: brake lights (you brake it increases intensity thanks to inertia sensor), and blinker lights (this ones you have to activate). It costs a bit more than tape, but safety first. Picture above
https://lumoshelmet.co/
Over50
Well-Known Member
That's cool! I'm going to read up on the Lumos. I guess I didn't realize when I looked at it before that it had blinkers and brake light functions (or maybe I was looking at a different brand). Looks like a great commuter helmet for people like me (preferred work departure time is before 6am - still dark out).
I commute by bike three days a week for about 55 min, so a bit less then six hours a week. If I use the helmet in blinking mode I just need to charge it once a week, if I put it in fix mode I need to charge it in the middle of the week. I bike through a natural park bike lane half of the way so I barely use the turn signals.
I have to say though that is a no brainer: they delivered the helmet with two cables, so I load at work; and with the phone app you can see at any moment how much battery you have.
I have to say though that is a no brainer: they delivered the helmet with two cables, so I load at work; and with the phone app you can see at any moment how much battery you have.
Over50
Well-Known Member
I didn't see much about the safety rating at their website. Do you know how it ranks or rates in terms of safety? I'm assuming there is set of standards any helmet on the market has to meet? It looks like they offer one size - I assume the fit is highly adjustable?
Over50
Well-Known Member
Successful 2nd commute (barely)! This was a tale of two halves and particularly the impact of wind on battery life.
Inbound starting at 5:40am about 38F and foggy. It was foggy at my house but not so much that I was deterred. I forgot or didn't stop to think that as I drop a bit in grade and get closer to water the fog always gets heavier. There is a part of my commute that passes through an impoverished area that has no street lights. It was pitch black passing the abandoned homes and burned out warehouses and the fog was very thick. It was disorienting. I've driven the route enough to know where all the landmarks are. I also know it is a straight route until close to the end when it starts to curve. In the fog I couldn't identify landmarks and at times the road looked like it was curving when I knew it should be straight. I thought of those sea stories of ships being lost in the fog. I hit a few potholes I otherwise would have avoided. I used Tour mode more but also slowed down in the worst and foggiest sections. I'm not sure if my otherwise good lighting made matters worse by being too bright. A bit delayed vs my prior commute but I arrived safe and sound with a reading of 40 miles remaining in Eco mode. I thought: "I'm going to really enjoy speeding home in Tour mode".
Outbound starting about 6:30pm and about 48F. But the light 5mph tailwind I had inbound had become a 20mph headwind outbound. Now for you veteran ebikers, 20mph is probably a piece of cake. For me, it was a killer. My normal easy cruising speed of 16 mph in Eco became 12 mph with effort. Sometimes with the heavier wind gusts it dropped to 9 mph. I stopped twice to rest and drink water. Half way into the return trip (9 miles approximately) the battery reading had dropped to 19 miles remaining (vs 40 starting out). So the battery life was being cut in half as I halved my commute. This turned out largely true for the next 5 miles (5 off the commute yielded 10 off the life in very rough numbers). So 9 miles cut my life from 40 miles to 19 miles. Another 5 miles cut that to about 8 miles (3 miles from home with a reading of 8 miles left that I was guessing to be 4 miles). This was riding the whole time in Eco mode which really had my heart rate up. I used Tour just twice for very short sections where traffic/stop lights dictated. So much for my thoughts of speeding home in Tour mode. I took a 1 mile shortcut at the end to shave a bit of distance (normally don't take due to heavier traffic). I made it with both battery and body exhausted. It was probably the most rigorous exercise I've had in one session in many years (time to get in better shape)!
The Super Moto X tires are performing well. I had to clean off the bike because I picked up a lot of road salt. I thoroughly reviewed the tires and pulled out several more pieces of glass that were embedded between the treads (but not penetrating the rubber). Also pulled out many pieces of gravel and road salt. No flats (yet).
Inbound starting at 5:40am about 38F and foggy. It was foggy at my house but not so much that I was deterred. I forgot or didn't stop to think that as I drop a bit in grade and get closer to water the fog always gets heavier. There is a part of my commute that passes through an impoverished area that has no street lights. It was pitch black passing the abandoned homes and burned out warehouses and the fog was very thick. It was disorienting. I've driven the route enough to know where all the landmarks are. I also know it is a straight route until close to the end when it starts to curve. In the fog I couldn't identify landmarks and at times the road looked like it was curving when I knew it should be straight. I thought of those sea stories of ships being lost in the fog. I hit a few potholes I otherwise would have avoided. I used Tour mode more but also slowed down in the worst and foggiest sections. I'm not sure if my otherwise good lighting made matters worse by being too bright. A bit delayed vs my prior commute but I arrived safe and sound with a reading of 40 miles remaining in Eco mode. I thought: "I'm going to really enjoy speeding home in Tour mode".
Outbound starting about 6:30pm and about 48F. But the light 5mph tailwind I had inbound had become a 20mph headwind outbound. Now for you veteran ebikers, 20mph is probably a piece of cake. For me, it was a killer. My normal easy cruising speed of 16 mph in Eco became 12 mph with effort. Sometimes with the heavier wind gusts it dropped to 9 mph. I stopped twice to rest and drink water. Half way into the return trip (9 miles approximately) the battery reading had dropped to 19 miles remaining (vs 40 starting out). So the battery life was being cut in half as I halved my commute. This turned out largely true for the next 5 miles (5 off the commute yielded 10 off the life in very rough numbers). So 9 miles cut my life from 40 miles to 19 miles. Another 5 miles cut that to about 8 miles (3 miles from home with a reading of 8 miles left that I was guessing to be 4 miles). This was riding the whole time in Eco mode which really had my heart rate up. I used Tour just twice for very short sections where traffic/stop lights dictated. So much for my thoughts of speeding home in Tour mode. I took a 1 mile shortcut at the end to shave a bit of distance (normally don't take due to heavier traffic). I made it with both battery and body exhausted. It was probably the most rigorous exercise I've had in one session in many years (time to get in better shape)!
The Super Moto X tires are performing well. I had to clean off the bike because I picked up a lot of road salt. I thoroughly reviewed the tires and pulled out several more pieces of glass that were embedded between the treads (but not penetrating the rubber). Also pulled out many pieces of gravel and road salt. No flats (yet).
Over50
Well-Known Member
I managed to commute to work twice this past week on the Riese and Muller Charger. I'm trying to figure out my Garmin Virb Ultra 30. I purchased several bike mounts but none have worked very well. Part of the problem is the tapering and angling of the Charger's handlebars. Since I wasn't able to mount to the bike with much success, I tried a harness I found on Amazon. It allows for various positions on the torso. I made a video of one of my return trips with the camera mounted at about my sternum. I'm not very experienced with video editing so this will be a bit crude. There also might be a slight out of sync between the GPS data and the video as I haven't figured out how to exactly sync those files. My trip was about 1:22 minutes so I sped the video to 1.25x and edited out red light sitting and condensed some longer straight-aways to end up with 38 minutes of urban commute footage. The beginning is getting out of downtown Detroit. About 1/3rd in to the middle is some tough neighborhoods with abandoned and burned out buildings that I pass through. Feel free to offer suggestions/critiques of my video and commuting/riding skills (where I fully admit to being a novice in both areas):
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Over50
Well-Known Member
My last two commutes I used Tour mode a lot more coming home. Recently, Chris at Propel was able to hook me up with the compact Bosch charger which I left at work. My prior commutes I did in one battery charge but I had to use Eco upwards of 80% of the time. Then after I experienced the 20mph headwind I described above on a return trip I figured I needed to charge at work. So these two commutes I only gave it an hour and fifteen minutes of extra juice in the afternoon and that gave me more than enough battery to do the return trip with probably 50/50 Eco and Tour. With a 10mph headwind using Tour is a lung and leg saver. Honestly that 16-18 mile return trip (dependent on exact route) is a piece of cake when I can rely on Tour mode for at least 1/2 of the trip. I probably hit Sport and Turbo just a couple of times for very short bursts where I needed to catch a green light.
If you found any other bike mounts that work pretty well let me know. So far the two or three I've tried haven't worked very well. That mount point on my chest seemed to work ok but I do need to adjust the angle up a bit. There probably isn't any need to show the handlebars since I have the GPS data overlaid.
Saratoga Dave
Well-Known Member
Personally, I like the angle with the handlebars showing. It sort of keeps you visually tied to the fact that we're on a bike here. Nice job!
Over50
Well-Known Member
I made a short clip of a few highlights from my 2 bike commutes this week: notables are Dancing Man at 2:20 and shortly after Dancing Man I narrowly escaped my first collision when I locked up my brakes and just missed a skateboarder. Dancing Man is out every day dancing for hours in the bike lane.
Over50
Well-Known Member
Speaking of overheating, I was wondering if it could be heat related. Today's commute is an excellent example. Started in the morning to a chilly 34F. Bike was silent and joyous to ride at 5:30am on a chilly morning. About 9 miles in I would get some intermittent rubbing noise. It didn't persist. Then the ride home after a day's work. Outside temp was about 57F. Bike was silent for first 5 miles or so and then intermittent rubbing to metal on metal grinding. Sometimes the rubbing is barely perceptible and sometimes more perceptible. The metal on metal grinding noise is like nails on a chalk board. When that happens I can hit the brakes and it stops. I have visions of a road biker pulling along side and saying "so you have this nice belt drive bike, why is is making so much noise". Sometimes it happens after a turn. I come out of the turn and the metal grinding noise is evident. Some light taps on the brakes and it can sometimes disappear. I'm not enough of a mechanic to know what's going on or how to fix it. Or maybe I'm just too picky but I sure like the silence of the bike when it isn't making brake noises (silence apart from the motor I mean).
On a prior occasion, I adjusted the back brake myself and it was the first and only time that I was able to do so successfully. I rode about 20 miles with beautiful silence before it started rubbing again. That 20 miles was 16 to work on a chilly morning (total silence) and then 4 miles into the commute home in 60 degree evening temps the noise started.
E-Wheels
Well-Known Member
Sounds like grit and sand getting caught and passing between the pads and disc. If so then there is not much you can do aside from increasing the clearances between the two
Chris Nolte
Well-Known Member
It could be contaminated pads. Disc brakes are sensitive to oil and other contaminants. A trick we do in the shop on occasion is wipe the rotor with alcohol to clean them and take some sand paper to the pads. This can remove any surface imperfections that could be causing the noise. I would also make sure that your axle nuts are tight. They can loosen over time causing slight shifts in the wheel and consequentially changing the clearance in the brake caliper.
Give us a shout if we can help or maybe we can just reimburse you if you bring it to a shop. I feel bad that you're having this trouble.
Give us a shout if we can help or maybe we can just reimburse you if you bring it to a shop. I feel bad that you're having this trouble.
Over50
Well-Known Member
Thanks Chris. That's a very generous and fair offer. But reimbursement isn't necessary. These are complex vehicles and when I purchased I never had the expectation that the bike wouldn't require maintenance. And on the plus side I'm hopefully developing a good relationship with my LBS. Fortunately for me, I'm finding out my LBS has been eager to provide the service work even though I didn't buy the bike from them (only issue is consistency in their work given they have multiple mechanics with varying experience levels). But since about 2007 I have purchased two regular bikes from them as well as multiple accessories and service work so I've already given them a ton of business. In fact, I just paid them to build a wheel and install a dynamo hub on my Spot. Anyway, I'll let them take a shot at the rotor and pad replacement and bleed on the Charger and hope it goes well (and hope I don't regret the decision).
BTW - I was really pleased to see the review that Court posted with your assistance on the Riese and Muller Roadster. I think that might be the first review in English available for that bike. Cool city bike indeed.
Chris Nolte
Well-Known Member
Thanks! Let me know if I can assist in anyway. I really dig the Roadster as well. It's quite stylish. A customer just picked up a black one yesterday and it looks really sharp although I really dig the blue as well.
Over50
Well-Known Member
Cool that a Roadster is finally in the hands of a US customer. Maybe we'll get some feedback here from that owner. I'm pretty interested in that bike as a second commuter at some point in the near future. Maybe you could post something on your assessment of its components and ride quality etc? Court's videos are great but sometimes he doesn't delve too much into the component specs. Shimano Sora (more of a road bike component)? The tires are said to be 'tubeless ready' (how does that work)? Ride position for a long distance commute? etc.
Over50
Well-Known Member
Its my 1,000 mile anniversary! My bike has about 1,050 miles on the odometer and I claim about 1,015 of those. And probably about 750 of the miles are work commuting. My "anniversary" work commute today was definitely eventful but the weather was superb and for the first time I had tailwind going both ways. The eventful parts of the commute involved a loud, scary pop from the motor/crank area (described in another thread) and a young man in a tough neighborhood who jumped up from a bus bench to start screaming obscenities at me as I sat at a red light. The latter was just one more odd thing I've seen commuting through the city of Detroit. At this point I'm really glad I started bike commuting. It's a long tough commute but I always feel better for having done it. And when I leave in the morning and the air is fresh and crisp (56F when I left this morning) with stars in the sky it feels great. In the 1,000+ miles on the e-bike I've also logged about 250 miles on my regular bikes. I'm coming up on a stress test/heart exam in a couple of weeks and I hope to receive good results thanks in part to the miles on the bikes.
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Chris Nolte
Well-Known Member
Congrats! Really glad you have been sharing your experiences here. I hope you have good news on your tests 
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