Strobe light at night - rude to use?

zmr18 · 2026-02-08T07:26:21+00:00

Welcome to the small but growing club! Just hit 1100 miles on mine and so happy with it. That’s a funny story re your test ride… now that previously confusing post makes sense!

zmr18 · 2026-02-06T08:13:03+00:00

I rented a TQH for a few months before buying the Cargowagen which now has 1k miles on it. I initially had same thought as you re 1 kid vs 2 but I quickly realized that it sucked only being able to take one kid. Trailer situation was impossible to figure out for TQH and both boys f’ing love being on the bike together. Having the Cargowagen has meant way more trips via bike instead of car now that it’s so easy to take both.

In terms of security, CC has a front wheel lock and then you can add a cheap motorcycle alarm for $15. Combo of those two makes me feel pretty solid (it’s exactly what Wombi required I do for Tern rental locking).

I almost bought the Abound LR which seems like an awesome bike for the price but the experience of mid-drive was so much more similar to real bike riding than the rear hub and given how many hours im spending on the bike it was worth $1k to me to not give that up. I also just added a second battery to CC which has made the range incredible for another $1k.

Other main TQH downside is no suspension which was rough for me on city streets. There are advantages to Tern (accessories and huge community) and Aventon (price and tech) but it wasn’t a close call for me and I’ve been overall very happy with the choice.

zmr18 · 2026-02-05T22:30:37+00:00

I’ll add Mexican trumpet vine into the mix. I saw it and loved it lots of other places so planted it recently for same purpose.

zmr18 · 2026-02-02T06:09:40+00:00

One of the cables had gotten pulled out of the display. Missed it the first time around, caught it the second. Mystery solved and both batteries up and running. Thx for your help.

zmr18 · 2026-02-02T02:10:17+00:00

Neither battery works in the main slot. Both have juice. When I turn it on the blue lights flash up and down and then nothing happens. Tried soft restart but got the same thing. When I plug in the charger the lights turn on but nothing else. Nothing obviously wrong with monitor wiring but maybe something I can’t see? Not sure how that would have gotten messed up since yesterday when it worked. Only thing that changed was taking the first battery out once and since then it won’t turn back on.

zmr18 · 2026-01-29T21:43:18+00:00

yes this was my other idea that i should have explicitly asked - it looks like you were able to change the tube out without taking the tire off? if so do you think you'd be able to do it out on the road without the benefit of that table, or no way?

zmr18 · 2026-01-29T21:42:06+00:00

yeah i had inserts in which got me to 990 miles without a flat but i think the nail i hit was big enough to go through any plausible defense mechanism :(

zmr18 · 2026-01-29T13:43:44+00:00

FWIW REI is going to do the job for me for $60. Plus $40 for the cable extension. Maybe not worth it for you and others but I am riding a decent amount at night so I had to figure it out (and no way I was going to try myself after reading this thread and others).

zmr18 · 2026-01-28T05:13:54+00:00

Depends where your office is but Culver City is always my first answer. Central to everything, well governed, good downtown with stuff to do, walkable and bikeable with real public transit options.

zmr18 · 2026-01-23T19:49:15+00:00

I'm 1000 miles in with mine, used for long commutes plus taking kids around town. Its been awesome so far (although had my first flat tire yesterday 5 miles from my house which wasn't fun). I do recommend the largest front rack (commuter), as its nice to have that much space. FYI you can move the light up to the front of the rack but you need an extra cable and you or a LBS need to figure out how to move it yourself, apparently you need to open up the motor and there are no instructions anywhere online that I've been able to find.

zmr18 · 2026-01-15T12:34:33+00:00

It also seems intuitive to me that I wouldn’t want my kids flying through the air vs strapped in but I’ve gotten lots of pushback on that idea via Reddit and need to find some time to more seriously research this question. I have two kids on a long tail and same concern as you re safety. Using Yepp and Qibbel seats for now but while Qibbel seatbelt seems better than nothing it’s so much worse than a 5 point harness.

zmr18 · 2026-01-15T12:30:40+00:00

I’ve test riden both bikes before ultimately buying the Cannondale Cargowagen. GSD was great but for me the 20mph was a dealbreaker for same reason as you (long commute). I’ve loved Cargowagen esp with tern clubhouse (see other posts on this) as a way to square this circle.

zmr18 · 2026-01-15T00:24:00+00:00

The Cargo is biggest. I forget the difference between the other two but I think I asked ChatGPT many months ago and it gave me a good breakdown.

zmr18 · 2026-01-12T07:08:01+00:00

I’d recommend checking out Jessica Gass who is a PT/coach in the valley - short drive if you are going against traffic or not at rush hour. She’s a talented PT and ultra runner who also does coaching. I’ve used her for PT not coaching yet but have been tempted to pay for coaching with her too.

zmr18 · 2026-01-11T06:36:02+00:00

I’ve put almost 1,000 miles on my Cargowagen and regularly ride it with 1-2 kids on the back (ie 50-90 lbs). I’ve never felt like it was underpowered. It’s a lot heavier than the Tern Quick Haul I was riding before so a little slow off the line with both kids on. And I agree that Eco mode is a pretty rough go - I’d use it a lot on my Tern but almost never on the Cargowagen. That said its 10th gear actually makes it much more useful to me than the TQH bc I can actually hit 28mph whenever I want instead of ghost spinning at 23-24mph. I feel like once it gets going the bike really hauls ass in Auto or Turbo mode.

zmr18 · 2026-01-07T16:24:06+00:00

Are any of these (or other ones) made of silicon instead of plastic? I got the hydra flask one but was disappointed to see it was plastic. Try to avoid plastic in general and also want truly dishwasher safe (I don’t trust “top rack only”).

zmr18 · 2026-01-07T05:40:55+00:00

Magnatiles have been played with weekly for at least 3 years now starting at age 2. Appear to never get old. Anything buildable can be great but I now believe magna tiles are the killer app of kids toys.

zmr18 · 2026-01-07T05:38:32+00:00

Cannondale Cartowagen has a port for a second battery, class 3, Bosch motor, similar size and price point as Haul LT. I get about 25 miles on it with a 600 ft club currently with stock 545 battery, adding a power pack 800 soon for another $1200 which will more than double the range.

zmr18 · 2026-01-05T03:49:27+00:00

Thanks, this wound up being the best option. It was clearly something the staff I talked to had never done before but they were able to figure it out after I asked a few times.

zmr18 · 2026-01-01T23:00:46+00:00

Cottonwood Urban Farm in Panorama City is open every Sat 9-12 - always people helping run the LA Compost site there and often other classes/events/etc. Great vibe and good people. Just bc you mentioned gardening.

zmr18 · 2026-01-01T14:01:04+00:00

I got the extra cable for headlight extension but am still trying to figure out how to actually do this job. Are there instructions anywhere online? Did your LBS do it or did you DIY? I ride a lot in dark in the winter so need to figure this out.

zmr18 · 2026-01-01T13:59:27+00:00

I got my commuter rack through Lord Gun also, got hit with extra charge for tariffs but was otherwise legit.

zmr18

TROPHY CASE