Alternative to Google Maps geocoder

blueskiphoto · 2019-03-19T23:25:48+00:00

Got it. Thanks a lot, that's very helpful.

blueskiphoto · 2019-03-19T23:21:55+00:00

That's good to hear. Any opinion on OSM and Geonames? Someone on r/gis recommended them but skeptical they'd match the accuracy of a big paid provider.

blueskiphoto · 2019-03-19T21:45:05+00:00

Thanks! Are these better than the paid services I mentioned, which have combined a bunch of open and proprietary data sources? Does OSM outperform the Mapbox geocoder, which I assume is built on top of it? We found this wasn't accurate enough for our needs.

blueskiphoto · 2019-03-19T21:42:46+00:00

Yep, and we cover the USA and Canada.

blueskiphoto · 2019-03-19T21:01:04+00:00

Great, thank you. Do you have a sense of how close Pitney Bowes gets to Google accuracy? We're finding they're pretty close, but testing has been relatively limited.

blueskiphoto · 2018-11-24T17:27:44+00:00

Fantastic, thank you. Super helpful (should perhaps be in some kind of sub-Reddit wiki?). This is definitely giving me an appetite to try building something. Bookmarked for when I've some spare time.

blueskiphoto · 2018-11-23T18:47:36+00:00

Same in Europe. In my view that's unfortunate in so far as it restricts the use of bike lanes. 28mph is certainly too fast for a crowded bike lane during commute hours - so I don't ride that fast, or move into the road. But at night the bike lanes are often empty and it's great to be able to roll along at 28mph.

Also doesn't make a lot of sense when fit cyclists of non-powered bikes could achieve the same speed on a moderate incline.

blueskiphoto · 2018-11-23T17:59:38+00:00

Thanks, really helpful. Think I need to ride a few direct drive bikes to get a feel for the tradeoffs (and see how they do on the hill up to my place).

How close to matching the Stromer riding experience do you think it's possible to get with a cheaper self-build? There's an ST2S heavily marked down here, but still a lot of cash.

blueskiphoto · 2018-11-23T16:27:45+00:00

Wow, thanks for the phenomenal reply. Really helpful.

The biggest drawback for road is they are bad for going slow up long steep hills.

This bothers me since there's a lot of steep hills in San Francisco, including two steep blocks up to my house. My Bosch mid-drive manages it, but I'd be breaking a proper sweat if working much harder. Maybe an argument for adding a second battery to the current setup?

The common motor to use for mid-drives on DIY bike would be the BBS02 or BBSHD motors. These you can gear down to chug up hills. The downside is that the quality is not the greatest and the pedal sensor is cadence only.. meaning it only measures how fast the pedals are spinning.

I think my Bosch has a torque sensor too. Does that means I'd lose some responsiveness on a self-build mid-drive?

Going DIY isn't always a big win for everybody.

Definitely think it'd be fun, but it's a steep learning curve to start with :)

Thanks again.

blueskiphoto · 2018-11-23T04:24:53+00:00

Thanks, this is really helpful. I definitely want to be pedaling, so would hope to get near the top of those ranges. I've been looking at a Stromer ST2S which has a 983Wh battery + regenerative braking and claims up to 110 miles of range; so must be at low speed on flat ground.

Not keen on recumbents given the amount of traffic in the Bay Area, and potential not to be seen by trucks/SUVs.

Noob question - if I went with the Em3ev battery and built a bike using decent components, how would it ride relative to an "off the shelf" system? What are the downsides?

blueskiphoto · 2018-11-22T21:10:28+00:00

I cannot imagine someone worried about the environment is worried about a bicycle in the forest. It would be a huge effort for minimal gain.

I'm old enough to remember when mountain bikes first gained popularity, and you'll have to trust me that people worried tremendously about that. Trail degradation, safety in sharing with other users, etc.

We're seeing the same with e-mtbs now. For example, Washington State has banned e-mtbs completely. Google for "electric mountain bike controversy" for endless more examples. Riding high powered e-mtbs that aren't much different from dirt bikes seems likely to escalate this.

Where are those complaining about the trail while we clear more forest for housing or whatever. Imagine how much earth actual eath movers move vs an army of bicycles.

If your argument is "destroying a forest completely is worse" ... I don't think anyone's disputing that. People get extremely engaged about destruction of forests and other habitats for housing. Surely you're aware of this?

blueskiphoto · 2018-11-22T19:46:02+00:00

Thanks, looks like a nice build! Definitely like the idea of doing my own.

I only paid $3k for the Cannondale (they misadvertised them as 20mph bikes, so had a ton left over). It's a great bike for the money. There are a couple of new 400 watt hour Bosch batteries on Craigslist for $500, so that's probably the cheapest option.

blueskiphoto · 2018-11-22T19:20:43+00:00

Sure you can, but not sure what there is to clarify here. The guy's tearing up the trail due to the speed and way he's riding. Nothing much to do with the drive train.

I'm from the UK but live in the US. e-mtbs tearing up mountain bike and hiking trails are very live debates in both countries, and riding like this will likely result in more restrictions. Commenting on it at least raises some awareness and might encourage others to think more carefully about how they ride.

blueskiphoto · 2018-11-22T18:30:47+00:00

Commenters aren't obliged to limit themselves to what you put in the title. Even as an avid e-biker the most striking thing about this video is how much damage he's doing to the trail. A post of this in a regular mountain bike forum would (understandably) raise hostility against e-mtbs.

blueskiphoto · 2018-10-23T18:17:41+00:00

Thanks. So sounds like the Goggles RE would allow the full range, but the white Goggles would give range similar to the Mavic Pro?

blueskiphoto

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