E-Bikes

[olbriar]

It has remained pretty darn windy for bike riding but I rode yesterday and today anyway. I don't know what I'm going to do when it becomes bitter cold. I have been in a lousy mood and haven't slept well without riding. Maybe a Y or similar fitness center for the few months that riding outside is out of the question is in my future. I logged 29 miles today to put me over the 1,500 mark on the new bike. I wish everyone could find something that was beneficial to their health and enjoy as much as I'm enjoying riding my bike.

The wind calmed down this afternoon so I geared up and went riding again. I just got started and the wind was back and really ripping. I went ahead and rode another twenty six miles. The wind takes some of the fun out of riding but it's not miserable with some assist. I logged 55 miles today.

 

[olbriar]

I took a short ride today. It was short because I had a flat at the furthest distance from home of my loop. So much for only having half as much slime in the tube as recommended by other riders. I aired the tire up and put the bike in race mode and rode home as fast as possible. It wasn't flat but low when I got home so I think the slime was trying to work. I ordered some more slime and will add another 8oz to each tire and see if that is the fix. If not, I'll have to pull the rear tire and patch or replace the tube. At least I made it home. That's my third flat in my 2,700+ miles on an e-bike. Naturally, all three have been rear tire flats.

 

[olbriar]

I went to my shed late this afternoon to see if I could see the culprit for my fat. The tire was just as I left it yesterday. It needs air but was still rideable. I scrutinized the tire and found a small spot of slime on it. I guess the slime finally found the hole and fixed my flat. My ordered slime is due tomorrow. I'll add another 8oz to each tire, top off the low rear tire, and take it for a short ride to evenly distribute the slime in the tubes. If it holds pressure I'll likely take it for a longer ride.

 

[olbriar]

It's been nearly a week since I rode around the block to distribute the additional slime. The weather has been lousy the entire time. Strong winds from the North with temps barely getting out of the forties at best is not desirable riding weather. Today started out cool but it warmed into the low seventies this afternoon with a South wind. I was itching to ride even though it was a bit breezy. I logged 40 miles today and never had a bit of problem with my slimed puncture. It felt great to be riding again and I'm happy with my slime.

 

[olbriar]

I didn't get to ride Wednesday but I rode 22 miles yesterday and 49 today. Today was one of those rare days where the temp was in the mid 80's with just a very slight South breeze. I ran short of daylight or I'd have logged more miles today. It was perfect riding weather and though it was Friday, there were a number of people out enjoying the day. There were more walkers than riders but I met and passed a number of cyclists. I'm happy to report that I've logged 111 miles since my last flat and the slime is doing it's thing. I've not lost any psi since I reslimed my flat tire.

 

[olbriar]

I realized just how important a torque sensor on an e-bike is today. I was riding from one town to another and everything seemed normal. When I got into town, I had to slow down at each intersection to make certain there wasn't a car approaching on the side street. The bike was extremely sluggish to accelerate. At first I thought I had another flat. I stopped and checked and then tried to accelerate again. It was still sluggish. I tried the throttle and it was responsive. I then checked the brakes to be certain they weren't engaged. Still sluggish. Lastly I checked the electric cable to the torque sensor. It had come unplugged. I plugged it back in and all was good.

The torque sensor detects the pressure you apply to the pedals. The more pressure you apply, the more assistance it supplies. Without a torque sensor, and a lot of e-bikes are without, it's up to the rider to muscle that heavy bike into motion until the bike is moving fast enough that the cadence sensor starts assisting.

I didn't get the time to ride as much as I had planned today. I have a good friend in town for a B-29 convention. His father served as pilot of a Superfortress during WWII and he and many are carrying on the legacy they left. He had a short window so we met him at a sports bar and had some beers and snacks. I went riding as soon as I got home and rode until dark. My planned fifty plus mile ride today turned into only thirty nine. It was a beautiful day and a shame I didn't get in a full ride. It was really good to see my friend again however.

 

[olbriar]

I managed a 21 mile loop today during the early football games. It was a fantastic day to be riding but I was the only person out. I hope that they know that cold weather is just around the corner. It's best not to let a day like today slip by without a ride. I hope that it's decent tomorrow. A cold front is in the forecast with rain predicted for most of next week.

 

[olbriar]

I'm going into withdrawal with the recent weather spoiling chance of riding. It stopped raining finally and warmed up nicely but it's way windy today. Bummer!

 

[olbriar]

Cold weather and rain has me sitting at home and wishing for bike weather. I'm hoping that across the winter months there will be some bargains on bikes and accessories. I don't need another bike but I sure want a bike rack.

 

[DonB]

Cold weather and rain has me sitting at home and wishing for bike weather. I'm hoping that across the winter months there will be some bargains on bikes and accessories. I don't need another bike but I sure want a bike rack.

Did you finally sell your spare bike, or do you still have it. ?

 

[olbriar]

Did you finally sell your spare bike, or do you still have it. ?

I still have my original bike. My one buyer flaked out on me and I've made zero attempts to sell it since. I have plans to purchase a bike rack this winter and the few that will accommodate my bike are designed to haul two bikes. I plan to transport both bikes to Oklahoma in April where my son and I have booked lodgings to view the total eclipse the 8th. He is bringing his two bikes as well and we plan to ride around the area and take in the sights from our bikes. It should prove fun even if it's cloudy and we don't have perfect sky for the event. A sudden offer for my old bike would change those plans but I don't anticipate one. The bike isn't eating anything and having its battery as a spare has proved to be a great accessory for the new bike. If I should sell the bike, I would use the revenue to purchase another battery.

 

[DonB]

I still have my original bike. My one buyer flaked out on me and I've made zero attempts to sell it since. I have plans to purchase a bike rack this winter and the few that will accommodate my bike are designed to haul two bikes. I plan to transport both bikes to Oklahoma in April where my son and I have booked lodgings to view the total eclipse the 8th. He is bringing his two bikes as well and we plan to ride around the area and take in the sights from our bikes. It should prove fun even if it's cloudy and we don't have perfect sky for the event. A sudden offer for my old bike would change those plans but I don't anticipate one. The bike isn't eating anything and having its battery as a spare has proved to be a great accessory for the new bike. If I should sell the bike, I would use the revenue to purchase another battery.

Post it on Craigslist and sell only at your price. if you sell so be it, if not you have the backup, LOL

 

[olbriar]

It's been warming up as the week went along and today was pretty nice. I would have went riding but I had a golf date with my son. Tomorrow I ride! Tomorrow is supposed to be in the high sixties like today but with less wind. Count me in for some bike time. I'm more than a little ready.

 

[olbriar]

It was nice again this afternoon. Just a little cooler but also less wind. I only rode 21 miles today. After all, Sunday is football. I suspect that's the reason I only saw one other cyclist. It was too nice of a day to just sit.

 

[olbriar]

I only had one lawn to mow so today I went riding. It was as warm as yesterday with zero wind. No wind in Kansas is a rarity. I logged 41 miles this afternoon and enjoyed every minute I was on the bike.

 

[olbriar]

I rode again yesterday. The weather was a bit windy but the temp was in the low eighties. With the forecast of cooler weather the rest of the week I rode until I was getting low on battery. The current temp is only 55 with a North wind so I'm glad I rode 46 miles yesterday. I did see another E-bike rider yesterday. I've seen this school age boy riding once before. He was riding a smaller bike without fenders. His bike has a small battery so I'm sure it's limited on the miles it can travel. School had just let out so I assume he was on his way home. He crossed my path on a residential street and I went around the block in hopes of seeing him and perhaps talking bikes with him. I couldn't find him. It's fun to see another E-bike on the road and I hope to see more in the future.

Though I was riding mid afternoon on a week day I did see two other riders in my travels. Both were older gents like me that were out to enjoy the warm weather. I'm afraid that the riding windows will be limited now until spring. Good on them for enjoying what's left of ideal biking weather.

 

[olbriar]

It was fun riding today but only because I love riding. I was the only person I saw on a bike today. It was cooler by far and very windy from the North. I only rode my old 21 mile loop and called it a day.
I log my miles and keep notes just for fun and took the total miles on the bike and divided it by the 111 days of ownership and I have averaged riding 17.18 miles every day. My goal was was 20 miles so I've fallen short. My second goal was to reach 2k miles on the bike this year. I'll exceed that unless the weather really takes a turn for the worse. I only lack 80 miles of exceeding that goal. I'm having fun, feeling better, and have lost weight. That's the ultimate goal.

 

[olbriar]

I met two riders today though the day turned out half decent. There was just a fair breeze from the SE to deal with and the temps were in the low sixties. I had something odd happen today. I rode my same old 21 mile loop which consists of two round trips to the next town South and back. I can only assume that the problem I encountered today was due to my last ride that was cooler by far and windy. I noticed I was getting alarmingly low on battery a bit short of mid way to the next town my second time around. I put the bike in its lowest assist level and almost made it back to my town before totally running out of battery. I was able to ride the last five miles without any assistance. I will say that the bike is not designed to pedal without some assistance. It was doable and I'll not fear running out of battery in the future. Running out of battery wasn't fun and was not good for the battery. I hope that it was a weather factor that drained my battery so quickly. Less than forty miles on a charge is alarming.

 

[olbriar]

The weather was lousy yesterday but I got to ride today. I rode 44 miles and would have rode more but I encountered a flat. I aired it up and rode home. I'll see tomorrow if it held air or needs a patch.
I met and passed a number of riders today. It was a nice day to be out riding. I saw two other E-bikes today. One was a full size bike like mine. It looked like a nice bike. The other bike I caught up with and passed. I had followed him for a half a mile and noticed he wasn't pedaling at all. It was an older rider that I would guess to be my age. He was enjoying the day and was doing zero effort to do so.

As I mentioned, my last ride I ran short of battery around ten miles from home and completely out five miles away. In total I put 43 miles on that fully charged battery. I had 43v left on my battery on my return. Today I rode 44 miles and had 47.2v left on the battery when I was done. Both rides were across the same terrain and were ridden in the same level of assist. The only difference between the two rides was the temperature and wind. It was ten degrees cooler and a lot more windy on the quickly drained battery ride. I can't imagine it making that big a difference but it's the only different variable. I'll know more as the temps continue to drop as I get into winter.

 

[olbriar]

I checked my aired up flat this morning and found it had only lost a half pound of pressure. I topped it off and went for a ride. I kept it local to make certain my slime was doing it's job. I only rode 15 miles, stopping ever few miles to check my pressure, then I encountered a catastrophic flat. I tried to pump it up but it wouldn't take air. I was only a couple of blocks from home so I pushed the bike home. I then removed the tire from the bike and pulled out the tube. The outside of the tube was covered in slime. I found four culprits for the flat. I put the old tube I had but it wouldn't hold air either. I ordered two new tubes and I went ahead and ordered a tire liner designed to help protect the new tubes called Mr. Tuffy. Both tubes and tire liner are to be delivered Wednesday. Tomorrow I'll be riding my old bike. I'm actually looking forward to riding that bike again. This week might well be the last of the warm weather and I can't stand to see it wasted while I wait for my repair.
Here is a picture of the major and minor culprits for my flat. I have no idea where the fourth went. It was longer than the two legs of a staple that I wore the head off of but much smaller than the nail.

 

[olbriar]

I put 16 miles on the old bike today. It's amazing what the bigger motor and additional torque sensors do for the new bike. I rode the old bike in race mode to come close to the power I'm accustomed to on the new bike riding in mode 2. Not only does the new bike have more power it's far more responsive. The difference between the two bikes is just about as noticeable as going from a standard bike to an E-bike. I'm not a bit sorry I purchased the upgraded bike.

I'm still waiting on the stuff I ordered to put the new bike back into service. I order tubes and liners. The tubes came early today but the liners are still in transit and supposed to be delivered today. I gave up and went riding and I'm glad I did. It was excellent riding weather today. It is late enough that I'm now hoping my liners show up early tomorrow so I can ride the new bike tomorrow.

Update: I received my Mr. Tuffy tire liners at 8:30 PM. Seems a little late to be delivering but that's okay with me. I managed to get the tire liner installed and the tire mounted. It's not nearly as easy as it looks on YouTube The last trick will be to get the rear wheel mounted in the bike frame. It's not an easy task without a bike stand. A geared bike is difficult enough but with disk brakes it is a chore. Getting the chain on from the derailleur and then feeding the wheel into the frame with the disk between the break pads is a matter of finesse and some luck. I'll be riding tomorrow though it is supposed to be ten degrees colder and windy. Murph's law.

 

[olbriar]

I had to deal with a plumbing issue today but still managed to get my repaired flat mounted on the bike and took it for a ten mile ride. I needed to make certain the derailleur was switching gears as it should. I also needed to make sure that the rear brake was functional. I could confirm the rear hub motor was working by hitting the throttle while rocking the bike up on the kickstand so that the rear tire was off the shed floor. The process of remounting the rear wheel with the derailleur and disk brake is not a fun job! Naturally it was cold and very windy today. Between the weather and my lack of time I didn't get the miles in that I wanted. At least it's ready to ride when the weather improves.

 

[olbriar]

I spent most of the day yesterday at the cabin and missed a great day to ride. Today wasn't nearly as nice as yesterday but it looks like it's going to get worse so I rode today. I met and passed a few riders today that had the same mindset as me, better ride while you can. I rode 30 miles and called it a day. Those miles exceeded my goal of two thousand miles since I got the bike the last week of July. I should have set my goal a bit higher.

 

[AugieTN]

I checked my aired up flat this morning and found it had only lost a half pound of pressure. I topped it off and went for a ride. I kept it local to make certain my slime was doing it's job. I only rode 15 miles, stopping ever few miles to check my pressure, then I encountered a catastrophic flat. I tried to pump it up but it wouldn't take air. I was only a couple of blocks from home so I pushed the bike home. I then removed the tire from the bike and pulled out the tube. The outside of the tube was covered in slime. I found four culprits for the flat. I put the old tube I had but it wouldn't hold air either. I ordered two new tubes and I went ahead and ordered a tire liner designed to help protect the new tubes called Mr. Tuffy. Both tubes and tire liner are to be delivered Wednesday. Tomorrow I'll be riding my old bike. I'm actually looking forward to riding that bike again. This week might well be the last of the warm weather and I can't stand to see it wasted while I wait for my repair.
Here is a picture of the major and minor culprits for my flat. I have no idea where the fourth went. It was longer than the two legs of a staple that I wore the head off of but much smaller than the nail.
View attachment 169674

Could you use these:
Airless Tires - Tannus

 

[olbriar]

Could you use these:
Airless Tires - Tannus

I could and would love to take the worry about a flat miles from home. The Tannus tires are all road bike widths. My bike has fat tires, 26" X 4". Someone posted here a while back about another company using NASA designed airless tires. I hope that they offer tires in my bike's size some day.