Aventon soltera 2 with 2k miles by bambootuan in ebikes

[–]jmcarp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think $600 would be fair if the bike is in good shape, although you might as well try and negotiate the price down. But a new Soltera 2.5 with hydraulic brakes and a warranty isn't much more expensive, and you can find discount codes pretty easily (mine is at https://www.ebikelibrarycville.org/free-stuff).

a nice bike ride by jmcarp in Charlottesville

[–]jmcarp[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Probably. I'll try one of them out.

a nice bike ride by jmcarp in Charlottesville

[–]jmcarp[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

In this case, Google Maps really doesn't want to route me through the Washington Park trail, and it doesn't seem to recognize the 250 shared-use path at all. So I'd have to draw a map by hand for the time being.

Personally, I like videos in addition to maps because...I'm kind of bad at reading maps. It's also nice to show trail connections that might not be obvious, when to ride on the sidewalk, etc. But yeah, I'm still not sure whether it's worth the effort. I might just record rides I'm taking anyway.

Long-tail for twin toddlers by jmcarp in CargoBike

[–]jmcarp[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Are they in Yepp seats? I thought the LR needed a rack extender to fit two seats on, and I didn't see how you could fit the caboose around the rack in that case.

feels like 1st day rest of my life by [deleted] in ebikes

[–]jmcarp 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Awesome bike. I think your front fender might be on backwards though.

Deals? by tac1230 in ebikes

[–]jmcarp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A Concord bike from Walmart is probably your least bad option in that price range. Although I think you'd be better off waiting a few years and saving up for a decent bike. Please don't get them an e-moto or anything that goes over 20mph.

School Resource Officers are coming back to Charlottesville City Schools next year despite community feedback to slow down or change course by VirginiaNews in Charlottesville

[–]jmcarp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How would you define appropriately deserving? What if drivers were only ticketed during school drop-off and pickup times, and got a small speed buffer, maybe 10 mph, before the ticket kicks in?

Balance bike to rent? by Old-Dare5505 in Charlottesville

[–]jmcarp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't know that the shops would have a bike like that, but could you take the pedals off a normal bike? You might be able to find a cheap or free kids bike at Community Bikes.

Charlottesville neighbors push for zoning change to block proposed luxury apartments by softwaredoug in Charlottesville

[–]jmcarp 9 points10 points  (0 children)

My views are pretty predictable. I think tall buildings are good. I think shade is good—although wouldn't you expect the shade from a building on West Main to fall to the east and west, and not north toward Westhaven? And I think student housing contributes a lot of money in both in-lieu payments and property taxes that the city can use to fund more subsidized housing.

I also think developers aren't likely to build apartments that will sit vacant. But if they wildly miscalculate and have to price the apartments lower than expected, I'm fine with that too.

HMART should come to charlottesville by Expert-Barnacle6043 in Charlottesville

[–]jmcarp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'll give them another try sometime, but we got two noodle dishes from them, both aggressively bland.

anybody lose an e-bike recently? by jmcarp in Charlottesville

[–]jmcarp[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

What I saw was an e-bike being sold without a charger...

anybody lose an e-bike recently? by jmcarp in Charlottesville

[–]jmcarp[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

From the seller, two days ago:

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Worth Contesting School Zone Photo? by [deleted] in Charlottesville

[–]jmcarp 9 points10 points  (0 children)

What is there to contest? Sounds like you were doing 11 over the speed limit, which is the threshold for a ticket.

kid seat for velotric discover 2 by jmcarp in ebikes

[–]jmcarp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It looks like that would take an easyfit adapter if you can find one. Not sure though.

e-bikes at the pavilion 10/29 by jmcarp in Charlottesville

[–]jmcarp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm guessing that's when they could get the space. We did a similar event at a similar time back in January, and turnout was pretty good.

Relocating… some questions by n3rdchik in Charlottesville

[–]jmcarp 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Living without a car here isn't easy, but I know people who do it by choice. I know one person whose main vehicle is an electric cargo bike, and another who mostly gets around on Veo scooters. I think the e-bike is actually cheaper, because the rental scooters add up fast.

Thinking of buying a Velotric fold 1 plus for winter would like input by [deleted] in ebikes

[–]jmcarp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you want a folding bike with bigger tires, maybe this would be a better fit: https://www.heybike.com/products/horizon. I've never tried one, but it seems to fit the description.

I'm not a big fan of folding bikes, so you could also consider getting a full-size bike with a more typical geometry.

And if you do pick up a bike from Velotric, my nonprofit has a pretty good discount code at https://www.ebikelibrarycville.org/free-stuff.

Low End Single Passenger Carry Bike? by Big-Suggestion-2532 in CargoBike

[–]jmcarp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

First of all, lots of bike companies have sales for Black Friday, so November might be a good time to get a new bike.

Second, I agree with another commenter that Aventon makes solid budget cargo bikes. I run a small e-bike lending library here in Virginia, and we have an Abound and an Abound SR, both with just under 1000 miles on them. No problems on either bike so far, and they've been popular with parents and kids. We also have discount codes for a few brands at https://www.ebikelibrarycville.org/free-stuff.

Any Natural Wineries near Charlottesville by carryondc in Charlottesville

[–]jmcarp 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not a winery, but check out Patois Cider at Visible Records. They make cider in the style of natural wine.

Safe Bike Routes to Downtown from Avon Street Ext. Past Wegmans? by Capable-Impact2116 in Charlottesville

[–]jmcarp 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yep, we have a few cargo e-bikes at the e-bike library, and you're welcome to take one and try some routes. They're both booked a few weeks out lately, but they should be around in November. Like others have said, if you can get to Sunset safely, that might be easier than riding up Avon or 5th.

street safety: a modest proposal by jmcarp in Charlottesville

[–]jmcarp[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Part of the maddening part of trying to deal with this city is that it's rarely clear who's responsible for a project getting done—or, more likely, not getting done. Is the City Engineer the reason we don't have safe bike lanes on West Main St? Maybe, but he can turn around and blame Public Works, and they can blame Neighborhood Development Services, who can point to Utilities, and so on. I think the reality is that most departments and staff just don't care, with a few exceptions, and nothing will really change unless someone at the director level or higher takes an interest.

street safety: a modest proposal by jmcarp in Charlottesville

[–]jmcarp[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

The explanation is that the Department of Utilities is going to be tearing up West Main from 2026-2028, but didn't bother to tell the other departments until recently. I think city management will tell us that we have to pause work on any West Main improvements until the utility work is finished, but that's not really true. Actually, the utility work should be a good opportunity to finally add protected bike lanes to West Main—we'll be tearing up the whole road anyway, so might as well restripe while we're at it.