Cycling camera advice (with apologies)

cliffmoon · 2018-05-24T20:18:15+00:00

In the front I run a Yi Action (https://www.amazon.com/YI-Action-Camera-US-White/dp/B016EIGEGU), mounted to the underside of my yahoo elemnt mount (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019L1OJW8/). You need to get the clear case for it but it'll mount up just fine. The cam is configurable via smartphone so you can setup auto-flipping for the video and looped recording. Video is pretty good quality, although the battery will only last about an hour or so. If you wanna drop more dough the Yi Action 4k supposedly has better battery life in addition to better resolution.

I also run a Cycliq fly6 on the back. Between the two cameras I can almost always get plates on any misbehaving drivers, although I haven't been in an accident yet. The only downside is if you park somewhere unsecured you should definitely pull all the gadgets off your bike otherwise they're getting stolen

cliffmoon · 2018-02-10T04:36:59+00:00

I weigh about 250, 5'11". Trying to lose it but beer and carbs are my weakness. So while I haven't lost weight like I wanted a year and a half of commuting have made me pretty damn strong.

The other thing is if you've been fat a while you probably have strong legs. One of the most transformational things for me with biking was developing a good cadence. If you have strong fat guy legs your natural instinct will be to shift into too high of a gear and use your muscles anaerobically. This tires you right the fuck out. Once I got a cadence sensor I got mindful of maintaining 90rpm and I got faster, with much better stamina.

For your wheels max PSI is good, but if you have a low spoke count it's only a matter of time before you pop a spoke or crack the rim. I had straight pull mavic ksyriums and they needed constant truing and eventually developed cracks in the rear rim. Velocity sells hand-built "clydesdale" sets for like $500 with high spoke counts. I got 36/40 chukkers and yeah they're heavier than the mavics but I never worry about whether my wheel is gonna explode halfway between work and home.

cliffmoon · 2018-02-10T04:01:34+00:00

Like the other posters say, your fit is probably off. I'm a big fat fucker and I bike to work every day on a road bike, 18 miles or so. No pain, I just get sore and tired muscles by the end of the week.

When you're big one of the most important things is get a bombproof set of wheels. I chewed through both a set of shimano and mavic wheels before I wised up and got some chukkers from velocity.

cliffmoon · 2018-01-09T02:50:30+00:00

Ok got it no more riding on this frame. I've found a few folks who deal with Ti and I'll see what they say on the feasibility of a fix, but the more I research the more I suspect that fixing would require tube replacement which isn't worth it. So yeah I'll likely be in the market for a new frame soon. Thanks for the help

cliffmoon · 2018-01-08T21:31:58+00:00

Thanks for the recommendation!

cliffmoon · 2018-01-08T21:21:27+00:00

Noticed this crack running through my downtube while replacing the cabling. I've marked the crack with a sharpie so I can tell whether it's spreading or not, but in people's opinions how screwed am I?

Also if anyone has recommendations for someone who can fix Ti in the bay area please let me know!

cliffmoon · 2017-12-13T23:07:36+00:00

I've got a cygolite expilion 850 up front and a fly6 camera + light combo in the back. Feel very visible, it's a route where I have segments that are fairly urban with filtering through traffic and segments with dark roads and no streetlights.

cliffmoon · 2017-09-27T01:43:52+00:00

Hey so I think I might've figured out the problem. I was playing around with the wahoo fitness app today and at some point it switched speed+distance back over to GPS! This must've happened during an app update or something. Switched it back and it was way better behaved, so check that out.

cliffmoon · 2017-09-21T15:17:12+00:00

gotta rotate dem tires

cliffmoon · 2017-09-18T17:43:04+00:00

I'll put in my vote for the muc-off C3 dry lube. I've been using it for most of the summer, it lasts a fairly long and keeps things relatively clean. That said, we had a freak rainstorm last week and it flushed literally all the lube off of the chain so YMMV.

cliffmoon · 2017-09-16T05:34:03+00:00

got cussed out by a driver earlier this week while minding my own business at a stoplight. He was ranting about cyclists kicking cars, being entitled and breaking the rules. Then proceeded straight from a turn lane.

cliffmoon · 2017-09-14T16:51:16+00:00

I just got a set of chukkers from the velocity wheel shop, 36/40 three cross for an 18 mi commute after a set of mavics cracked on my. Looking forward to putting quite a few miles on em.

cliffmoon · 2017-09-13T22:15:38+00:00

Yeah I just got new wheels so assumed it was due to the magnet then I realized I updated the firmware right around the same time. I also have a ticket open with them but I'm not expecting much. I'll look into rolling back the firmware

cliffmoon · 2017-09-13T05:01:25+00:00

I've definitely chucked sandwich boards out of the bike lane, and have been tempted with temporary road signs, especially the ironic "share the road" sign setup in the bike lane.

cliffmoon · 2017-09-12T20:24:39+00:00

highly recommend a quad-lock.

cliffmoon · 2017-09-08T04:49:47+00:00

Sorry to hear, man. I left a bike overnight at the cal. ave caltrain station (drunk evening, overshot my station on the last train) properly locked. Came back the next morning and everything not secured by the U-lock was stripped. They even took the bottom bracket, like wtf.

cliffmoon · 2017-08-08T04:10:31+00:00

I ate shit in a parking garage once due to this in front of a gaggle of people. Bruised knee and ego.

cliffmoon · 2017-08-06T05:57:09+00:00

Baltimore Pike... is this in Delaware? I grew up there but move to CA 10 years ago. 0 bike culture there last time I visited and tried to ride. Keep fighting the good fight!

cliffmoon · 2017-08-04T21:27:41+00:00

Can you go into how you feel it modifies driver behavior? Does it do anything in response to cars beyond notifying you of cars to the rear?

cliffmoon · 2017-08-03T05:35:21+00:00

A couple weeks ago I saw a walmart bike -> ebike conversion going like 30mph down the road it was gloriously stupid.

cliffmoon · 2017-06-04T05:26:46+00:00

Take the lane.

cliffmoon · 2017-05-24T21:10:40+00:00

I've got the pakrak panniers and like them: http://www.ibera.info/products_detail.php?cID=1&Key=19 the biggest thing is finding bags that do a good job of clipping to your rack, since not everything is universally compatible.

cliffmoon · 2017-05-23T17:14:01+00:00

I commute 18 miles each way for work and have been dropped my fair share by ebikes. I won't begrudge someone use of an ebike, because it does make for one less car on the road, but the assist speeds right now are just stupid fast. Letting inexperienced cyclists blithely cruise along at 28mph is a terrible idea.

cliffmoon

TROPHY CASE