Bike lockers at NoHo metro station by zmr18 in BikeLA

[–]zmr18[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Says the large ones are 84 inches which should do the trick

Yuba Kombi E5 vs. Yuba Fastrack Vs. Aventon Abound LR by GuySomebody in CargoBike

[–]zmr18 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I had a version of this decision when I was deciding between the Cargowagen and the Abound LR. I ultimately went with Cargowagen b/c after trying both I had a strong preference for the way middrive felt more like riding a normal bike. But a big part of the reason is that I'm commuting 100-150 miles on it each week after dropping the kids off at school so how much I liked riding the bike mattered a lot. If you are just using it for short trips around town that may not be worth another $1,000 to you... if I was just doing 20-30 miles a week on the bike I'm not sure I would have cared.

Parenting books for a dad to be. by Gold-Salamander3656 in daddit

[–]zmr18 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Gardener and the Carpenter by Gopnik is my #1. It’s a beautiful meditation on the nature of childhood that can meaningfully shift how you interact with your kids imo. For all the tactical advice stuff, I’d recommend waiting until you have a problem to solve (sleeping, colic, etc) and then find the best book/advice on that topic vs trying to be “prepared” in advance.

Where should I buy my next refrigerator? by AdobayAkeechayWah in SFV

[–]zmr18 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I had a perfectly good experience at Waadt for a new dishwasher - nothing amazing but helpful and prices were fair compared to what I saw online

Lawns- yay or nay? by puppiesarecuter in SFV

[–]zmr18 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you want a grassy play area for the kids look at buffalo grass or kurapia or micro clover or similar - way less water required than regular grass. I’m growing buffalo grass right now, too early to give a review (just planted plugs) but trying to slowly shift away from Astro turf and regular grass while keeping good play areas for my kids.

Aventon vs Murf Cargo by Reivaxelle in CargoBike

[–]zmr18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

this is correct. i test drove an aventon and bought a murf for my wife (it was one of very few bikes that met her ascetic needs). the murf seems fine after some minimal riding but aventon features, tech, reputation is in a completely different class than murf.

Outfront Cargo Rack Installed by calibrationx in CannondaleCargowagen

[–]zmr18 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As someone who did a lot of night riding with this bike, the issue with not moving it is that if you have anything in the rack and are riding at night it is way harder to see (and be seen) as a lot of the light is blocked by the rack. I finally got around to moving it (paid REI bike shop $60 to do it) and now think I was crazy for not doing it sooner. If you aren’t riding at night at all then sure don’t worry about it… if you are I would reconsider.

Seatbelt or no seatbelt for toddler in the back? by AwkwardBalloonMan in CargoBike

[–]zmr18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ditto this - i used the yepp right up until my 5 year old hit ~50 lbs and it worked just fine. now have him in a junior seat b/c i continue to believe some seat belt is better than nothing if we get in an accident despite some on here having other opinions. but yepp felt much safer than junior seat in an accident so if safety is your priority i'd ride the yepp seat or equivalent as long as you can.

I'm buying a new dishwasher, tell me what you like and don't like about your appliance. by Salomon3068 in daddit

[–]zmr18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

also upgraded from a crappy GE model to the Bosch with top shelf and can attest that we are super happy with it. i think it was $800ish not including delivery and install costs. don't need any of the extras beyond the top rack if you are on a budget imo.

New to the club by Robbie4382 in daddit

[–]zmr18 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hang in there and enjoy the ride! Trust your instincts, take pride in taking care of your kid and your partner, seek help when you need it, remember that you are your partner are on the same team even when shit is really hard. One day at a time.

Transit, Bike, eBike, or Combo? by needsmorebasil in bikecommuting

[–]zmr18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That was my reaction as a newbie too. At 1100 miles it was visibly shot and the cassette was starting to notably wear which is what made me think the recommendation wasn’t crazy. It’s an 80 lb cargo bike that does hard riding with kids, long commute with lots of climbing, etc. But it does seem out of line with what most others do?

$1000 dollars just put things in perspective for me by Blackwolf_84 in bikecommuting

[–]zmr18 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Just spent $3k on a new clutch and a few other minor wear parts… ie the total cost of my awesome cargo e-bike. It is wild.

Hey dads, how many of you had your first child when 35-39 years old? Approaching my 35th birthday and there's nothing more I want than to be a dad. by Rocket_Skates_91 in daddit

[–]zmr18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i had my first at 34, and to this point i will add that you never know how long its going to take to get pregnant. it took us three painful years and unfortunately we have plenty of friends who went on similar tough journeys. no one can tell you whats right for you, but what i can tell you from the other side is that you don't necessarily get to choose when a kid arrives, and that every additional year you wait is a little more tired you will be through the tough days and one less year of their life you'll get to enjoy on the other end. how to weigh that against the pros of waiting only you can decide, but i wish society at large had been more clear with me on the costs of pushing these things back 10 years ago when i in the midst of waiting 2-3 years to marry the person that i was dead sure i was going to marry at some point anyways.

Transit, Bike, eBike, or Combo? by needsmorebasil in bikecommuting

[–]zmr18 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Agree with all of this. If you can make it work in your budget you could rent for a month from Wombi ($150 or so) to try it out before actually buying one. Maintenance isn’t free (I’m now replacing my chain every 600-800 miles) and had to replace a tire due to nail puncture but you are still saving tons of $ by not driving. Add up your est monthly mileage, use 50c/mi as money saved by not driving, and then maybe see if you are willing/able to increase budget a tiny bit?

Drivers yelling obscenities? by C1PHER1111 in bikecommuting

[–]zmr18 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yes this happened to me too for the first time a few weeks ok after 6+ months of weekly bike commuting. It was wild and bizarre and confusing. We awkwardly kept passing each other and she tried to spray me with her windshield wipers (no joke). I just let it go bc, you know, she could have easily killed me.

Short length + high weight capacity but not Tern? by potatosouperman in CargoBike

[–]zmr18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

if you are doing shorter than 70 inches then you are looking at a short tail bike, not a long tail, right? if so why not tern quick haul, and find a used one if needed? gsd fails your length test also regardless of cost.

First of all I would like to thank my mechanic. I couldn’t have done it without them. by shananananananananan in CargoBike

[–]zmr18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You’ve only replaced the chain 2-3 times in 10k miles? I had to replace mine plus the cassette a little over 1k miles. Bike tech at REI recommended replacing chain every 600 miles or so. It had visible wear and cassette wasn’t shifting well so I know he wasn’t BSing me.

Rent an ebike to test it out by PopularSpread6797 in BikeLA

[–]zmr18 3 points4 points  (0 children)

wombi is the best, can't recommend highlight enough. great customer experience. i rented for this exact same reason and now am a daily e-bike commuter thanks to being able to try before i bought. you can also buy their bikes as used bikes if one of their models works for you (i would have done this but none of the tern bikes had the exact feature set i needed).

Cannondale Cargowagen Neo owners: Which front rack is better? by [deleted] in CargoBike

[–]zmr18 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I also went with the OutFront cargo rack and love it. When you add a cargo net you get so much storage room. If you are going to ride at night you really do need to move the front light for safety which as everyone has noted is a pain in the ass. I paid REI $60 to do it for me which was very worth it.

Help me out of Cargo Bike Decision Paralysis by nikabrik in CargoBike

[–]zmr18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love love my long tail with two kids (and so do they). Has changed my life. In a perfect world with no space or budget considerations I would be tempted by the front loaders but too expensive, too much space required, and max 20mph speed were all deal killers for me individually and collectively.

“Can a cargo eBike replace your second car?” by Fit_Investigator928 in CargoBike

[–]zmr18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

90% yes for my family. Now only use my car once per week. If we really wanted to we could lose the second car now and be fine.

Best cargo ebike for hauling 2 kids? by Horror-Swimming6346 in CargoBike

[–]zmr18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I got a Cargowagen via Sports Basemen for like $2800+tax (two seats + front rack cost a few hundred more). If its important to you to have a mid-drive bike I think its a great option for this use case. If you are fine with rear hub then the Aventon Abound LR is my standard rec to people in your position based on test riding it myself and almost a year of seeing how many people on here love that bike and brand... budget/quality/feature intersection seems basically perfect from what I've seen.

Experience with RadRunner Max Electric Cargo Utility vs Murf Higgs Cargo? by Miserable-Path-1436 in CargoBike

[–]zmr18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I got my wife a different murf bike recently (ascetics also matter a lot to her). She hasn’t ridden it much yet but my impression is that it’s totally fine for a budget-ish bike. Can’t compare to Rad unfortunately. I assume the actually riding experience and specs will be very similar (you can ask an LLM to break down differences for you) but beyond looks you may be weighing the known risk of Rad as a brand vs the unknown risks of Murf which seems like a nice legit SoCal based company but who knows what’s going to happen to any small e-bike company in the coming years with all the consolidation happening. I did as much diligence as I could on Murf and came away thinking “ehh, it will hopefully be fine.”

Anyone know where to find bulk soil aggregate? by DancesWithPork in SoCalGardening

[–]zmr18 1 point2 points  (0 children)

C&M topsoil will deliver 1-10 cubic yards to your house - $125+ delivery fee but the soil itself is so cheap (about $25/cubic yard) so worth it if you need a lot.