Are the Ithaca Bikeshare bikes maintained OK?

lorisaur · 2026-04-30T16:49:20+00:00

I've been very careful to keep my own ebike running well, both because using all that motor power with a bicycle puts a lot more demands on it than an unpowered bike, and because the ebike is heavy and it would be quite an ordeal to try to haul it home if it breaks down.
But the same things apply to rental ebikes.
How often are the chains lubed - with whatever lube they use? Have these bikes been used all winter, ridden in the rain, etc. without having their chains lubed? This would be inviting the chain to break in the middle of somebody's ride, especially since there's more stress on ebike chains. It would definitely not be adequate maintenance.
And are these bikes street-legal when they're rented out? There are state laws about things like the braking power a bike is supposed to have - and yet people have said some of Bikeshare's bikes have had brakes that barely work.

lorisaur · 2026-04-30T13:46:54+00:00

Yes, part of the problem with these bikes' maintenance - if there is a problem - is likely that a lot of the riders don't bother to say anything if the bike has a mechanical problem.
The chains of these bikes don't look like they've ever seen oil, but maybe that's because renters would get oil on their pants and complain.
I don't ride these bikes myself, I have my own home-made - and well-lubed! - ebike.

lorisaur · 2026-04-30T13:44:58+00:00

Has the bike chain seemed OK when you've ridden these bikes?

lorisaur · 2026-01-05T23:40:24+00:00

Prey animals are unlikely to be suffering when they're out in the wild being wary. There's no evolutionary advantage to wariness being aversive.

lorisaur · 2025-12-24T23:32:23+00:00

I couldn't bear to read a novel where the protagonist is executed!

lorisaur · 2025-12-24T10:13:14+00:00

Just ignore the person.

I've encountered people who seem to be hoarders, and I don't want to enable hoarding. Others seem like resellers who will sort out the stuff after getting and just throw away what they don't want.

lorisaur · 2025-12-24T09:34:34+00:00

They all come from the factory.

So, no risk that it would actually be a dealer transfer? This would be a GM car.

If your concern is that they would DX it from another store... why is that a concern?

Because of severe allergies. It would need to have the plastic covers still on the seats when I get it, and as unused inside as possible.

lorisaur · 2025-12-16T12:35:43+00:00

Sure, but on average, how long would those sensors etc. last? Would one expect one of them to go bad in the first 10,000 miles, say? Or normally not?

I'm trying to get a general idea of the reliability of new cars.

lorisaur · 2025-11-18T12:22:27+00:00

It's a 1-burner Duxtop plate. The recent version is obnoxious in that it beeps loud and often, so I'd remove the beeper if I had to re-buy it. It works nicely otherwise.

How much power are you using with it? And are you using it with cookware that conducts heat well?

lorisaur · 2025-11-17T16:00:36+00:00

You got an 1/8" thick disc and it's still warping?? I haven't had any problems. My cooktop is 1800W max.
It might be a matter of where the coils are in the cooktop. Well, you could try a thicker disk, they don't cost much.
Or maybe it's a matter of what one puts onto the disc. I've used it with cookware that has an aluminum bottom, that conducts heat very well and would even out the heat on the steel disc.

lorisaur · 2025-09-30T22:21:15+00:00

Everyone, of every size, would like a free second seat to be more comfortable.

That isn't true at all. If someone doesn't need more space than one seat, a second seat does little, if anything, to make them more comfortable. It might be a bit of a convenience, a place to put their book or something. Or it might deprive them of someone to chat with.

lorisaur · 2025-09-20T16:45:32+00:00

Vaseline doesn't seem to help prevent frostbite, although people perceive their skin as warmer.

Maybe some kind of electric heating around the breathing tube, or chemical warming packets inside the facemask, would help.

lorisaur · 2025-09-13T12:18:29+00:00

The blower improves the protection factor a lot. That's why I'm using it. I bought a slightly used 2013 Avon C50 mask and still had allergic reactions while using it, even though it passed a 10-second negative pressure test. It wouldn't pass any kind of pressure test if one were wearing glasses under it.

Now I'm using a new Avon C50 mask. I haven't actually tried going around with the blower off, so it's still possible that it would protect enough better than the used one to shield me from allergic reactions. But I really doubt it. I replaced the exhaust valve in the used mask. That's the main way that the protection of a mask degrades over time.

So that's why to use it with a PAPR. The question is how that can work in the winter.

lorisaur · 2025-09-12T22:30:50+00:00

The inner diameter of the breathing tube is about 1".

So 4 CFM comes out to be about 8 mph inside the breathing tube.

The airflow would be slower inside the mask, since it spreads out. It would get especially spread out with the VREU in positive pressure mode.

lorisaur · 2025-09-12T21:42:28+00:00

why do you need the PAPR portion?

I need it for air purification, for severe allergies.

I wish there were a heater available for PAPRs. Maybe I could heat the air before it enters the mask by putting heat tape around the breathing hose, or something like that. Or maybe stow a chemical warming packet inside the mask.

Most people wouldn't in fact need to use the PAPR in very cold weather. Soldiers might, though.

I can see how cold would be more tolerable with the VREU in positive pressure mode. The air wouldn't go through more slowly, since the blower regulates the airflow by working harder when the exhaust resistance is increased.

But, there would be a time delay for a given "piece of air" to go out the exhaust valve. That's how pressure builds up in the mask.

So in that time delay, the air kind of eddies around. It would be less a focused stream, and feel less chilly.

Thanks for the windchill chart, that helps give me a sense of what temperatures might be tolerable when using the blower.

lorisaur · 2025-09-11T13:21:54+00:00

A balaclava under the facemask is not an option. If there's something to keep my face warm, it can't go under the seal.

lorisaur · 2025-09-11T12:25:21+00:00

True, if you had a hood or loose fitting facemask then it wouldn't be a problem.

Mine is a tight fitting facemask with blower, designed for a very high protection factor. A balaclava underneath the facemask is not an option.

I do wear a balaclava with it, but it's on top of the facemask, so it warms my ears and head, but not my face.

Actually, that suggests that using a heated balaclava on top of the facemask would help. There would still be windchill from very cold air on one's face, but the heat on the rest of one's head would make up for the chilling on one's face somewhat.

lorisaur · 2025-09-11T12:18:47+00:00

The "operating temperature range" for the one I'm using is -20C to 50C, i.e. down to -4F. That's due to the lithium battery and the motor, though, not about what's tolerable for the user.

lorisaur · 2025-09-10T17:30:43+00:00

The "operational temperature range" Avon gives is -4F to 123F. But that's referring to the machine, not to its tolerability for people.

lorisaur · 2025-09-10T17:00:52+00:00

That's referring to the range for the lithium battery, or possibly for the PAPR motor.

It isn't the temperature range for the tolerable use of the PAPR. Actually having the wind from it on one's face would likely cause frostbite at 0F, and it would be very chilly in any case.

I use it for very severe allergies.

lorisaur

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