The Experience of a Bicycle

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Yes, How about those mid-drives? We need a diversity of contributing voices.
 
I am gen-X. And I recently lost a good Boomer friend, plus her wonderful dog. I invited her and Honey to walk a pro-choice march with me. We would cook together and I would watch her dog when she was away. I repaired her bikes and we would ride together. She would often ride my bikes. Then she started to blame me for things from when before I was born and tried to correct me like a Big Sister. That's when I called it off. My latest bike has a faulty controller. There was more than one issue going on. A whole new motor is required. I loved that dog. But it is worth it not to engage with a corrective big sister type. She is gay and that is all fine, as long as both barrels are not pointed at me as a target. I was not part of that other generation. I wasn't there. Painting people with a brush from the old can of racism and sexism is wrong, when it does not apply now. I was on her side and she pushed me away because of pent up hatred and fear that she couldn't see past.
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It seems that the more that guys on here try to smooth things over, the rougher it gets, (I am not excluding myself). Given enough rope, we are sure to hang ourselves.

I like my mid drive, but I don’t have a lot to compare it to. I am not an expert on the subject. From an engineering perspective, less rotational mass and placing the motor down low and central makes a lot of sense. If the frame is to be designed around the motor unit, there seems to be less spacial restrictions as well. I have heard others complain about broken chains on mid drives, but I check my chain for “stretch” once a month, and so far, my chain is still like new, and the same goes for my wife’s bike. I ride a heavily upgraded Yamaha Cross Core. The output is only 250 watts, (500 peak). The bike is down to 40 pounds and I am at just over 170. Even on a steep climb when I am outputting 250 and the motor is matching me, the total output is still only 500 watts, and it is not a sudden burst, so I am not concerned about the chain, or the drivetrain which has been upgraded to a Shimano 1x11 SLX. To put it into perspective, professional sprinters can produce bursts of more than 2,000 watts, and I have never seen or even heard of one breaking a chain.

The Cross Core feels pretty much like a 1990s mountain bike, and makes me feel more like I did 30 years ago as well. The humble beginnings of the ebike has evolved into all sorts of variants to meet different needs. My needs are not the same as a commuter or a delivery person. Living in rural New Hampshire, an e-bike does not replace a motor vehicle. Our winters are harsh, our terrain is hilly to mountainous and most roads have no bike lanes or even shoulders. My wife and I prefer to ride the back roads, (dirt and paved). We mostly ride for pleasure and exercise, so this bike suits our needs. If I was a commuter, or replacing a motor vehicle, then I would have completely different needs. If I felt the need, (and that day may come), I would have a throttle. If the bike was used as a utility vehicle, then I would definitely want as much power as possible, and probably a throttle to get it up to speed.

I think that there is room on here for all of us without trashing each other. I also think that disabled riders should be allowed certain exemptions and that a class of e-moped should be established for those that require more power or speed. These are just my opinions, and I don’t expect everyone on the forum to agree, and that’s fine. I am far from an expert on the subject of e-bikes and I joined the forum so that I could become more knowledgeable. One of my favorite forum contributors was David Berry, and it appears that he was driven away by the bad manners of a few. It’s Thanksgiving day in the US, so please, lets be thankful for what we have and be nice, at least for a little while, (me included). Who knows, maybe a little tolerance and kindness will catch on.
 
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Every design has a place. I have all three major types. Gear drives, hub drives, mid drives, and both front and rear hubs. I have motors rated at 250W and have had motors rated at over 1500W. Each has a sweet spot and a use. Evangelical one way opinions are a yawn.

Let’s be thankful today for the bike we ride.
 
tomjasz said:
I've heard a few versions of his being gone. Does anyone have the facts? To controversial? please PM?
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I spelled David’s last name incorrectly, (it’s Berry). I said that it “appeared” that this was the case, going by what some had implied. I know that he was going through a bad time and that he was always a great story teller and contributor. The posts that I refer to were conjecture, hence my use of the word appear. I used it as a cautionary tale, not to call anyone out.

These links will tell you as much as I know.

electricbikereview.com

Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

I did 19 miles yesterday. Harvest is going strong in my area of Western Illinois now. The barn of the day pic is a place where the Amish live. The barn probably predates them moving in, the white building on the right is an Amish General Store where they can shop.
electricbikereview.com electricbikereview.com

Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

Thanks, Ian. Not! My number 4 out of 6 charity rides ain't happening according to their Facebook page: Soooo, thanks to Hurricane Ian, who after whalloping Florida to the tune of billions of dollars worth of damage, has now smashed into the mid-Atlantic coast of the US, heading inland and...
electricbikereview.com electricbikereview.com
 
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tomjasz said:
versions of his being gone
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I had to quit for several weeks. Then came back slowly. With mostly private messages. I had picked up an angry stalker. That had to do with repainted bikes. Here is one with Bondo in the serial number. Then a photo from a ride today. Happy US Thanksgiving to all from Petaluma, CA. I admit, it is a staged photo. I was holding the branch in front of the camera to give perspective and a splash of color. I rode for three hours with friends.
 

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I had an experience recently…with a Mature rider and acquaintance. I hadn’t seen him for six months and he stopped by Thanksgiving. He’s 79 and showed me pictures of the first bike he had purchased in 65 years. He’s heard I have an ebike so showed me pictures of his…a BeCool or something like that. 4” fat tire hub drive throttle etc. He’d had great fun with it especially touring Carolina beaches (Hilton Head) where he’s fish most of his life.
Of course I had to bite my tongue being a refined mid-drive kind of guy. He likes the throttle but still rides some for exercise…and is a happy man on it. His complaint is the terrible support…via controller.
His broad smile showing me pictures including his homemade trunk bag (professional looking) dissolved any uppity feelings about the Chinese construction
 
tomjasz said:
They would get run off the MUP here. BTW the Bird rental scooters are not allowed on our MUP. They have a GPS lockout in several parks and the MUP.
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I've been reading about geo fencing in Europe for a couple years, but this is the first I've heard of this in the US. Is this widespread?
 
Mulezen said:
Of course I had to bite my tongue
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This regarding the heavy, fat, hub, throttle bikes. I saw a new post today from a new older ridder and did the same, I bit my tongue. It has got to be a 90# bike. His wife and Dr. don't want him on a motorcycle. He promised, never again. It is like an addict switching brands. It is not my job to be a constipated prude and correct him.
 
J.R. said:
I've been reading about geo fencing in Europe for a couple years, but this is the first I've heard of this in the US. Is this widespread?
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Don’t know. It’s a rule from the City Council to get a permit to place dozens of scooters around town. City of 25,000 and a scooter within 3 city blocks 1500’ apart. 6000 students in addition to 25,000 residents every school year.
 
tomjasz said:
Don’t know. It’s a rule from the City Council to get a permit to place dozens of scooters around town. City of 25,000 and a scooter within 3 city blocks 1500’ apart. 6000 students in addition to 25,000 residents every school year.
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Wow. The head traffic engineer at our city of 60,000 just emailed and wants help obtaining some eBikes for the city and with training. I am house sitting for a couple of days and will talk with him Wednesday. In the mean time he will look into my reputation. A deal fell thru. A huge company was going to set up proprietary charging stations with proprietary bikes for city employee use. It was a huge contract. I would start them small and scalable and non-proprietary. The city has climate goals so I will go with pushing forward the embedded carbon in good existing bikes. Or score them a deal from an LBS for 15 new bikes to convert at 15% off retail. I love those 650b Vidas from Giant.
Oh, a while ago I mentioned that I lost a friend because she wanted to be bossy. She called. That is who I am house sitting for. Her dog is the best.
 
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