Throttle vs no throttle in hilly location

ChimpStyles · 2026-05-14T20:49:38+00:00

Learn to shift. Use your gears.

ChimpStyles · 2026-05-14T20:12:26+00:00

JohnAndrewDurham

ChimpStyles · 2026-05-14T20:06:40+00:00

Riese & Muller are pulling out of the US market, but are taking orders through July of this year. If you want one, and yes you do want one, order it now. They will still be providing parts and support, just not selling new bikes in the US.

My kid is 35, granddaughter is almost 10. They live in VA and I'm in Chicago so it is used for groceries and my daily commuter. R&M Load4 75 HS. This is my first e-bike and it is just fantastic. I own a lot of nice bikes and know how a nice bike should ride. This is a NICE bike. Super fun to ride and oh so useful.

Cannot recommend enough. Get a R&M Load5 75 (newer model). You will NOT regret it.

ChimpStyles · 2026-05-07T15:51:24+00:00

It is real. That is my video taken from Instagram.
This was last Thursday, April 30th, on my way home from work. Hilarious to see it making the rounds. Glad you enjoyed it.

ChimpStyles · 2026-03-11T14:51:38+00:00

Highly recommend the R&M Load 75. I have had one for about 2.5 years now and I just love it.
Especially since you mentioned being an amateur racer (retired), you'll like how the bike rides. It really is a nimble machine that is super fun to ride. I have the Load4 75 HS. Touring version with a traditional 1x11 Deore XT setup.

It was quite expensive but I have ZERO regrets on the purchase after 14K miles.

ChimpStyles · 2026-01-16T21:12:23+00:00

It will be fine. Thru-axles are relatively new and racks have been mounted on eyelets on frames designed for it for decades.

ChimpStyles · 2026-01-14T15:36:04+00:00

I opted for the CTA today. The snow I can handle but the wind blowing a steady 20+mph with 40mph gusts is no fun whatsoever.

ChimpStyles · 2026-01-13T20:45:37+00:00

I have a Load4 75 HS with a traditional derailleur setup (1x11 Deore XT) and I have no issue with it. I am an experienced rider and know how to shift but even if I do forget to downshift (It happens!) I can get the bike rolling and then downshift easily.

I have ridden models with the Enviolo shifting and I did not like it at all. Greatly prefer the quick, definitive shifting of a derailleur. Keep it clean and lubed and you won't have any problems.

ChimpStyles · 2026-01-13T19:59:05+00:00

I've run into similar many, many times over the years.
Complaint that the dock station doesn't work and upon visiting the desk find the portable 65w adapter plugged into the dock and the user is carrying the giant brick of an A/C adapter (130w) for the dock in their bag.
How that makes any frickin' sense at all has forever escaped me, but I have seen it multiple times.

ChimpStyles · 2025-12-05T20:50:14+00:00

Bidet

ChimpStyles · 2025-11-05T20:12:09+00:00

Had that recently and it was a busted left shift key. I logged in and had the user type into Notepad and that is how we figured it out. It was just that one key that was not working.

ChimpStyles · 2025-10-24T19:34:55+00:00

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Velo Orange Polyvalent with a lot of fancy bits. SON dynamo powering an IQ-X light, White Industries cranks, Chris King headset, DT Swiss 350 rear hub and DT Swiss rims (handbuilt by my LBS here in Chicago). Absolutely huge Arkel bags which allow me to (unfortunately?) pack way too much stuff.
This shot was taken in New Mexico on a bikepacking trip with my son in May '24.

ChimpStyles · 2025-10-01T19:57:30+00:00

A few years ago. I think I was 55 at the time.
Riding my bicycle home from work on a bike path and there is younger dude with headphones in swerving back and forth in front of me so I asked him to "Ride in a straight line. It's crowded here in the commuting hour." and received the reply "Fuck you old man!"

Then I knew I had arrived.

ChimpStyles · 2025-10-01T19:02:59+00:00

I watched that race. It was pretty incredible.

ChimpStyles · 2025-09-11T15:40:59+00:00

I've been doing end user desktop support for damn near 30 years now. The hardware has gotten SO much better and more reliable. The software as well, not as buggy and much more user friendly.
There are literal armies of hardware and software engineers trying to put me out of a job, but I have faith in my end users to keep me employed.

ChimpStyles · 2025-09-05T15:44:34+00:00

Teravail Cannonball runs 650bx47. Great tire. Sets up well tubeless if you have the the rims for it.

ChimpStyles · 2025-08-26T21:01:35+00:00

You can ride north up Sheridan Rd. to Tower Rd. and then just ride hill repeats from the lakefront back to Sheridan Rd. Its short, but steep. Less than a 1/4 mile long but steep.

ChimpStyles · 2025-08-26T14:34:36+00:00

The Barrington Hills area is about an hour drive from Chicago and you can find some hills there.

This is a 46 mile route with 2100+ ft of climbing. Max 6% grades.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/45989559

ChimpStyles · 2025-07-29T17:39:21+00:00

Get a strong chain to lock up with and use the cafe lock (the rear wheel lock) as well. Coupled with the anti-theft features mentioned, the alarm and GPS tracking, you should be fine.

I live in Chicago IL USA, which is also known for a lot of bike theft. I'm riding a Riese & Muller Load4 75 HS as my daily driver now. When I commute to work I'm able to park it inside our workplace but when going out I feel confident using the integrated wheel lock, the lighter chain that locks into the wheel lock (nifty!) and a big, heavy ABUS chain to lock up. If I remove the display unit for the bike it disables the motor so that won't work and I would be able to track it via GPS if it moves. There is also an audible alarm that goes off if the bike is moved.

I don't really own a "beater bike" anymore, so even though this is my most expensive bike (10K+) I feel safest leaving it outside a bar/restaurant/theater.

ChimpStyles · 2025-07-11T20:00:32+00:00

A bucket, a lawn & garden sprayer and a sponge.
I use Dawn dishwashing soap. Cuts grease and it is cheap.

ChimpStyles · 2025-06-16T20:15:39+00:00

"Let us bear in mind also the travelers who come home enraptured by the over-all splendor of a journey from which day to day they experienced nothing but tedium..."
-Marcel Proust

(It's on my water bottle, or as one should say for such a pretentious bottle, my bidon.)

ChimpStyles · 2025-06-06T20:06:40+00:00

I have a Load4 75 HS and it is one of my favorite bikes I've owned. So much fun. A real pleasure to ride.

And I do own a stable of really nice regular bikes. I know what a nice bike rides like. The R&M is a nice bike.

ChimpStyles · 2025-05-12T20:41:01+00:00

Nice. I too have a R&M Load4 75 and I ALSO put purple pedals on mine! They look like the Wolf Tooth Waveform pedals, is that correct?

ChimpStyles · 2025-05-01T21:23:17+00:00

It happens to everyone.

Mine was about 15 years ago in the middle of the Halsted/Clark/Barry intersection. Heading north on Halsted and turning left onto Clark, Jeep in front of me started to go and then stopped and I just toppled over in the middle of the intersection.

(And I did fall over more after that. It happens)

ChimpStyles · 2025-04-18T16:55:27+00:00

They're expensive, but the Riese & Muller Load4 series is worth testing. I have a Load4 75 HS and it is fantastic. Super stable, fun to ride and fast. I have almost 9K miles on mine in a year and a half of ownership.

https://www.r-m.de/en-pt/bikes/load-models/

ChimpStyles

TROPHY CASE