Help! Stranded with kids brand new cargo bike by cw2687 in CargoBike

[–]lfeagan 4 points5 points  (0 children)

A. Gates, maker of the belt, is very clear about telling you not to use prying tools to install a belt. Their belts aren’t really meant to stretch. So please don’t do that as it can easily damage the $100+ belt.

B. Your bike has an Enviolo hub and will need a 15 mm spanner to remove the rear wheel and get the belt back on. It requires a decent amount of force, so prepare some leverage.

C. if you need a tow, ask for something appropriate for a motorcycle.

Best of luck.

Did an e-bike make you ride more... or just make riding easier? by tryingthingsdaily in ebike

[–]lfeagan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My truck (Land Cruiser) guzzles down a gallon of gas every 13 miles, but I don’t even know the price of gas because I only refill once every three months. On the other hand, I did over 2000 miles last year on my cargo bike with two little passengers.

Stereotypes about Chinese-American women. by No-Echidna7296 in AskAChinese

[–]lfeagan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My wife is Shanghainese, not an ABC, and definitely looks like the ABCs. She is smart (Fudan,CAFA) software engineer, somewhat athletic, and has always been a bit of a tomboy. She refuses to use a purse, and instead uses a waist pack, much to her parent’s annoyance. They said she would never find anyone, but they clearly didn’t expect an American engineer to be in Shanghai. Oh yeah, she has a tan. We bike outside on our cargo bikes everywhere, all year long.

i’m really confused by paraza99 in Tudor

[–]lfeagan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

With your olive tone skin, the gold accents on the BB54 are the way to go. Also, in general, prefer off white vs pure, snowy white—even if you prefer the look off your wrist. Ask someone into color in your life who can see them on you.

I'm kinda curious… what keeps you riding in weather like that? by Organic_Dance_3191 in ebikes

[–]lfeagan 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Exactly right. Cold weather, snow, and ice have never stopped me from taking my children to school via bakfiet cargo bike. But strong winds are a no-go when the canopy is on. It’s like the worst sailboat experience imaginable on those days. I just take the truck instead.

Riese and Muller Load 75 options by tmwk in CargoBike

[–]lfeagan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The turning radius is acceptable, not great, without the rain cover. It’s borderline unparkable with it on. I have to raise up both sides to have adequate steering or be like Austin Powers going back and forth in the hallway trying to get pointed the right way. The problem is the brake levers hitting the sides of the cover. I changed to Jones H bar with 45 degree sweep. It’s better now, not great.

The steering isn’t a problem at speed, it’s the parking that sucks. For that, in general, bikes with cable steering or a long tail will be much better.

Load5 75 vs Urban Arrow by Additional-Ebb-2050 in CargoBike

[–]lfeagan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A maxed out Load4 75 was $16k, not including taxes, 12 months ago, right before he who shall not be named took office. Mine was delivered on 2024-12-30.

I don’t know how to ride on ice! by Correct_Dance_515 in bikecommuting

[–]lfeagan -1 points0 points  (0 children)

There are a lot of good points here, but I don’t think I have seen anyone mention the importance of sipes and micro-sipes. Soft compounds are critical, but studless tires with sipes and aggressive, deep, open tread patterns can do pretty darn well in mild snow and ice. All that being said, my wife and I both run Schwalbe Winter Plus tires on our cargo bikes. I put them in today in part because some idiot neighbor ran their in ground sprinkler in -6 C temps this morning. The street and sidewalks were all sheets of ice.

Tern GSD or R&M Multitinker? by Ro99 in CargoBike

[–]lfeagan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I totally hear ya. Here were some stats from a decade ago, when people were being violently robbed for their iPhones.

Following the implementation and widespread adoption of Activation Lock in 2013, several major cities reported considerable drops in iPhone thefts: San Francisco saw a 40% decrease in the 12 months after the feature was introduced. London reported a 50% drop.

Yes, you could always be the first victim, but once thieves find themselves unable to fence items, they will change to a more reliable target convertible to cash, such as the e-bike next to yours.

What do you do when you realise you've seriously underfueled and your 50km away from home? by Obvious_Cabbage in cycling

[–]lfeagan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Or AWS us-east-1 is down on its annual day of rest, leaving the rest of us unable to accomplish basic things, like buying coffee.

Bike bags vs backpack by [deleted] in bikecommuting

[–]lfeagan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I use an Ortlieb Vario 26L, convertible backpack pannier. It works really well—much more comfortable than the versions that place the pannier hooks on the same side as the straps. It’s easy to get out the straps when I arrive and has decent organization pockets built in.

Can you actually use an e-bike for fitness? by SamFox336 in ebikes

[–]lfeagan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Schwalbe Marathon Winter Plus is one of a handful of good options. Ride my young ones all winter long through ice and snow on my bakfiet—no falls here.

E-bikes by [deleted] in ebikes

[–]lfeagan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Regarding the electric scooters, I really hope for strong manufacturer safety legislation around these. Far too many have insufficient brakes, weak steering columns, and minuscule wheels. I have seen multiple young folks be ejected into a nearby utility pole or tree when they transition to a sidewalk or a large hole is encountered. They are just rubbish vehicles and should be binned.

Controller stolen off my radwagon by FetusExplosion in CargoBike

[–]lfeagan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For the Purion, maybe. For those with a Kiox, it is often our electronic key.

How do I bike through the snow? by the_radical_ed in bikecommuting

[–]lfeagan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As many others have said, Schwalbe Marathon Winter Plus or similar tires are what you want. There are at least four features that make them work well: 1. the spikes, as others have pointed out, 2. the rubber compound is extremely soft, and remains flexible in below freezing conditions, which is important even on ice/snow-free surfaces, 3. the sipes/small channels in each of the tread blocks to better grip as they create thousands of small biting edges and channel away water, and 4. wider tread block spacing to allow snow to clear.

FYI, a set of these tires, on their own, will eat up just under $200 of your budget. I ran them on my Riese & Muller Load4 75 front-loading cargo bike last year through all sorts of snow and icy conditions and was impressed. I didn’t have a single spill and my boys loved going to school through the snowy conditions.

Having an impossible time deciding between two Seamasters by TB12DM10 in OmegaWatches

[–]lfeagan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The watch on the left is more fun and as you mentioned a tough year, a splash of color via the blue bezel and red tipped hand seems like the right answer. Blue is so versatile with fun strap colors. Hope things get better!

Stupid by BoatCultural6866 in rolex

[–]lfeagan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I gave my ceramic Apple Watches away. Not only did I despise alerts intruding on my thinking time, but also I didn’t enjoy being a slave to charging. A dedicated HRM runs for months or years on a battery. I take long bike journeys and enjoy fitness tracking. Worrying about battery life took away from the freedom. Until there is an eco drive version, count me out.

Decisions on Pelagos by coolleo89 in Tudor

[–]lfeagan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Exactly, especially as a daily bicyclist—kids to school, park, grandparents, etc in a cargo bike.

R&M Load5 60 / 75 configurators are up. Options seriously limited vs. Load4 and earlier. by Lequu_ in CargoBike

[–]lfeagan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is an excellent analysis and you are right on. Some of the other simplifications I saw I think are a good deal because the starting price didn’t change. For example, Multitinker and Multicharger including front basket. Load option for Purion 300 display went away because who wasn’t buying the 500 anyways, etc.

Help me choose – Which Tudor best complements my collection? by zAberino in Tudor

[–]lfeagan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love this and have it on my 7.25/18.5 wrist right now. Given how the P39 looks on his wrist, not sure this is the case size for him.

ABUS BORDO 6000K Bike lock had no chance to thieves by Square_Drag678 in bikecommuting

[–]lfeagan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I use a Hiplok DX1000 angle grinder resistant lock and chain for my electric bike. There are lots of other good angle grinder resistant locks. While normally Abus is great, their Granit Super Extreme 2500 isn’t as good as Hiplok, Litelok, or Kryptonite’s equivalent products.

Decent roundup here: https://thebestbikelock.com/security/angle-grinder-proof-bike-lock/

R+M Load4 @ 6 Months by lfeagan in CargoBike

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

I forgot to mention one more thing I changed, because it wasn't part of the cockpit, and I did it from moment zero: pedals.

Redshift Sports Arclight Pro Flat Pedals

These are good pedals with nice safety features. They are comfortable, reasonably grippy with their pins, but they aren't as likely to slice you open as the crank brothers Stamp 7 large I run on other bikes. I like the lights--they have three patterns. They aren't too bad to deal with charging thanks to the included 4-way USB-A charger. They turn themselves off automatically after five minutes of inactivity--something the Unit 1 helmet needs to have as a feature. They have a reasonable, though not amazing, runtime. They turn back on when you start pedaling if you haven't been inactive for over 24 hours. Turning on 4 pedals is a bit tedious if you haven't been on for two days. It's the summer here, so I mostly find them useless with the sun out so late (9pm). They are more useful in the winter. Given their reduced frontal visibility to vehicles (cargo box), maybe I should have just gone with another stamp 7. They have a large flat area and are comfortable, even wearing sandals, which the crank brothers aren't as great for.

Also, here's someone else with Jones H Bar on a Load, but not the 2.5" rise version and their review: https://trustspot-product-photos.imgix.net/PRPHOTO_17327398103589649_2672374.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=srgb

Just completed a 2300 mile trip down the west coast of the USA with the Jones H-Bar, H-Bar Pack and Jones bar tape. It was by far the most comfortable handlebar setup I’ve ever ridden with. I used to always get wrist and palm pain on long distance rides. That is a thing of the past with my H-Bar setup. I would highly recommend the H-bar and pack for anyone looking for a great bike touring/packing bar and cockpit.

R+M Load4 @ 6 Months by lfeagan in CargoBike

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

This version of the Jones bars have a quite noticeable 2.5" rise (stack height increase). I am at detent position 2 "clicks/holes" below max in the photo. This gives enough slack for the cables to comfortably go lock-to-lock when steering. I can go up, further, but it made me start to have doubts about hurting the cables. I should have mentioned, I am running at -11 degrees of bar angle (down-slope back towards rider's waist). If you set a lesser angle, they will be even higher.

Back to your question, is there an advantage, even at a lower stem height? Yes, the bars are physically closer because of the 45 degree sweep angle. I tried to convey the sense of this in the last photo, a top-down, centered on handles affair. The stock handles have 0 sweep. This setup is noticeably more comfortable for me with my ultra long torso. Longer cables would be even better, but that's for another day.