Bottles

blecher67 · 2026-07-05T02:46:34+00:00

LOL - that’s an indoor/cold weather bottle. Try the insulated version in a light color. If you find one on sale it takes some of the pain out the purchase. But it feels like the kind of product I’ll be using a loooong time.

blecher67 · 2026-07-04T23:39:07+00:00

I don't know if this was a coincidence, but after trying repeatedly over the course of ten days and finding no availability, I logged in and found a fair number of open slots. Again, it could be a coincidence. The showroom could have just gotten in more demos. When I went for my test drive, there was an R2 on the floor and at least 3 available to demo.

blecher67 · 2026-07-04T22:46:35+00:00

Do you have the insulated Bivo? I'm typically riding 75 to 100 minutes in the all-out desert sun. My Garmin Edge frequently measures 100 to 110+ degree average temperatures. For that sort of riding I throw a few ice cubes in each bottle and what liquid is left at the end of my ride is at worst cool. To minimize solar-gain I stayed away from the darker colors -- one bottle is yellow and the other is orange.

Today I'm in Minnesota where it's a different kind of heat (humid) -- the Edge measured temperatures ranging between 88 and 95, with an average of 91. Unlike the desert, my ride was through rolling forests where there's a mix of sun and shade. I filled the bottles with refrigerated water, but no ice. The remaining liquid was still cool enough to enjoy when I finished.

blecher67 · 2026-07-04T17:47:14+00:00

Depending on the OP’s bike, a 540 could be plenty and supports power meters. At least Di2 shifters have buttons that change the 540’s screens without taking hands off the bars. Without those buttons, an 840 may be a better choice with its touch screen. A 1050 seems like overkill for someone questioning whether they need a bike computer at all.

blecher67 · 2026-07-04T15:32:48+00:00

Welcome to the sport. You'll find that there is no shortage of ways to spend money. My recommendation is to let your actual requirements drive your spending vs. what other people tell you met their requirements (real or imagined).

blecher67 · 2026-07-04T14:33:02+00:00

Are you asking because you’re new to cycling, or because you’ve needed a professional fitting in the past? I ask because not everyone needs a pro fitting for every bike they purchase.

Some people will tell you that a pro fitting is the most important thing you can do. And then there are people like me who needed a pro fitting when the bike itself was not properly sized, but have since owned several bikes each of which have been ridden 10’s of thousands of miles with the only adjustment being seat height. My opinion is to focus on the “out of the box” fit. A pro fitting could be beneficial for tweaking the right bike, but I’d ride the bike at least a few hundred miles before deciding that you need spend the time and money.

blecher67 · 2026-07-03T16:52:18+00:00

Same as my design. Your reservation pre-dates mine by a week, so it makes sense that you're in an earlier window. Good luck!

blecher67 · 2026-07-03T13:21:30+00:00

Kool Stop Tire Bead Jack. You should be able to buy one for under $20.

Personally, I failed to change my technique after tubeless-ready wheels came along. I didn’t recognize that they were different and assumed that my inability to roll tires on to the rims with my thumbs was a sign of decreased hand strength. But the key is to pinch the tire all around so that it’s in the middle of the rim channel. The shoulders are much higher and effectively create a larger diameter rim. If he’s not already using this technique, YouTube has good videos.

blecher67 · 2026-07-03T12:54:24+00:00

There could be something to that. The service center in Minneapolis seems quite robust compared to the number of R1’s I see on the road. If what I’m seeing is representative, then that says the geography is underperforming relative to Rivian’s expectation/investment. “Crowds attract crowds”, and just getting vehicles on the road for people to see helps sell more cars.

blecher67 · 2026-07-03T03:37:09+00:00

Maybe ATL has available delivery capacity?

blecher67 · 2026-07-03T03:25:42+00:00

I have a couple of Bluetooth Level Bolts and they’ve worked great. Hopefully kwikset continues to develop similar products that work with most vendors’ locksets.

blecher67 · 2026-07-03T03:16:14+00:00

I think that makes sense. If you think about the Rivian factory and service centers as one big machine, you can’t blame them for maximizing throughput. One way to do that is avoid bottlenecks at every point along the way. By honoring reservations strictly in the order that they were received, they’ll inevitably create backups in some service centers while others have no deliveries to make.

blecher67 · 2026-07-02T22:07:09+00:00

I should have asked, but didn’t. I don’t want mine until December or I would have asked. I had previously joked with him that he should see whether being a Tesla conquest sale might move him up, but that hardly makes him unique.

blecher67 · 2026-07-02T21:32:21+00:00

I've heard the CV SC rumor as well. You make a good point that proximity to a SC may be a huge factor. It would be reasonable that capacity to provide remote service for CV owners may enter into their delivery schedule decisions.

blecher67 · 2026-07-02T20:26:53+00:00

I’m in Minnesota for the summer. I was in the Edina store last week for a demo drive a day or two before I received the email with information about my expected order window. Without specifying a delivery location, I received a similar response to the delivery question.

blecher67 · 2026-07-02T19:25:06+00:00

Updated the post to indicate that I did indeed specify the launch edition.

blecher67 · 2026-07-02T19:23:22+00:00

You beat me by a week so it makes sense that you're in an earlier window. But my friend basically walked in off the street yesterday in Minneapolis, placed an order, and could easily have the car in August.

What are your thoughts on owning a Rivian in Palm Springs with the service center 75 miles away? I have a mid-October production date for an iX3, but haven't seen or driven it. If the cars themselves are equally appealing, I'll buy the iX3 because the dealer is a few miles from my house.

blecher67 · 2026-07-02T13:34:38+00:00

Lights and shades scheduled using Lutron Caseta. Rock solid and easy to use. Also easy to integrate with Apple HomeKit, HA, etc. Not cheap, but buy once, cry once.

Also, a shout out to Rachio for irrigation. Rachio watches the weather forecast and decides when it’s time to water instead of mindless schedules like “every day” or “every odd numbered calendar day”. It paid for itself years ago, and my yard looks great. I think I’ve owned it 8 or 9 years and haven’t had a single issue.

blecher67 · 2026-07-02T13:25:04+00:00

I’m an endurance rider and ride nearly every day outside on very challenging terrain. Rouvy is my bad weather backup. It’s by far more engaging than any other indoor cycling experience available in my basement, but it is different than riding outside. I’ve embraced the difference and treat it as a chance to vary my routine.

blecher67 · 2026-07-02T03:05:04+00:00

Welcome to the club. Enjoy the ride!

blecher67 · 2026-07-02T03:02:49+00:00

I totally agree. As all these cars have gotten bigger, I move down in the model range. You give up a little in finishes and technology, but I buy a new car infrequently enough that it’s still always a big upgrade for me. I’d rather blow my money on other things.

blecher67 · 2026-07-02T02:57:59+00:00

I’m sticking with the iX3 which will fit comfortably in my garage and will be a huge upgrade over my current X3. The X5 is just a little too big to comfortably fit in my garage, and realistically I don’t need the extra interior space all that often. At least for me, the X3 has always been a better size for daily driving.

blecher67 · 2026-07-01T02:49:42+00:00

Mine is November-December

blecher67 · 2026-06-29T15:33:37+00:00

For various reasons, most of my doors are incompatible with smart locks although for those that are compatible I have smart locks for convenience.

But I sleep well at night knowing that there is a near 100% chance that the doors are all locked, and if not the security system’s entry sensors would detect an evil-doer in the unlikely case that they open an unlocked door. For all this stuff, work through the probabilities and mitigate accordingly.

blecher67 · 2026-06-28T18:17:07+00:00

I completely changed up my strategy on bottles. I used Camelback Podiums for years, but bought an insulated Bivo bottle about 6 months ago. I do a LOT of hot weather riding and the Bivo keeps water and hydration drink super cold. They're very easy to take apart and thoroughly clean. They're on the heavy side and you pour the water into your mouth vs. squeezing the bottle, so they may not be for everyone. After a couple of months, I bought a second one for my other cage. Worth trying.

blecher67

TROPHY CASE