[Bruno Moore]

So, not to engage in thread necromancy, but between giving tours of the steepest hills on CUA’s campus and meeting with Ross, the founder of Xtracycle…

—The Bosch system rewards high cadence. Ross was pretty explicit about this when I talked to him, and I sure noticed it when taking three mostly ruly kids up the hill towards Marist and Fort Totten. If you spin, the electric motor and its “smart assist” put out the most power, but when mashing, the motor just starts grinding, forcing you to drop gear after gear. IANAEngineer, but I suspect this is a speed vs. torque issue—spin fast, and the motor keeps up, grind and it grinds. Of course, I find out after the fact that you can get smaller cogs for the Bosch system to help keep your cadence up if you live in a hilly area, like…well, five out of DC’s eight wards.

—The hardest part of riding an e-assist bike, IMO, is getting the motor to engage. It’s more of a problem with the Bionx system, IME (I had a very memorable incident while hauling the Bikespace monkey wagon speaker system when my motor went to sleep before I had to climb a short incline, forcing me to walk/haul the bike up the hill because the motor wouldn’t kick on without a couple pedal revolutions—which, given the weight and gearing, I couldn’t actually manage while also keeping the bike upright), but even intuitive assist mechanisms like the Bosch or Faraday take a bit of pedaling to kick in. Normally, that’s not too much of a problem, so long as you remember to keep the gearing low and trust the assist, but when trying to start up at an intersection without loosing your balance, it’s a trick.

—On a not completely related note, it’s much harder to carry adults, especially cyclists, than kids. Kids don’t countersteer or lean into turns; they have the whole “sack of potatoes” thing down. I had to consciously fight my usual cyclist instincts and practice my Zen while in the passenger seat.

[Bruno Moore]

@AFHokie 124144 wrote:

Is anyone running a set up that in addition to lights allows you to charge cell phones, GPS units, etc?

IIRC, Dirt has something like this.

[Bruno Moore]

Having ridden both Bosch bikes (an Edgerunner, a hybrid, and a hunting fatbike [what?]) and Bionix retrofit Edgerunners, I prefer the Bosch, but understand why someone might shy away from it (even aside from cost!) I like the way it works with my biomechanics—the bike feels more responsive, more ready, and more like an extension of myself than a machine I’m trying to control by working the pedals (in other words, more like a bike than a car)—as well as the way the electronics are integrated into the frame and the power of the motor. However, I’m not as much of a fan of the limited gearing (means you’re more dependent on the motor) or the proprietary, perhaps overly integrated, nature of the electronics. It seems a bit Apple Computer-y, like the PowerBook batteries that are specially shaped to the cavities of your laptop but can’t be changed. Oh yeah, and I’ve seen the number on the price tag and am not sure if I can count that high. I know it’s cheaper than a new car, I know it’s more practical than one if you live in the urban core, but…

All opinions are my own, not my employer’s, your milage may vary, battery life dependent on charge frequency and use, etc.

[Bruno Moore]

By the way, if anyone by some chance grabbed an extra/wrong medium shirt from the afterschindig, I somehow got my hands on a small. It fits like a muscle shirt. I’m a @#$% roadie. No muscles. It looks bad. Please, for the good of my friends and coworkers, if I have your shirt and you mine, could we switch?

[Bruno Moore]

Campus bike registration is mostly for students/staff/faculty and probably not visitors/community members—I know I lock up at UMD all the time, and have never registered with DOTS. I think I may be right on the edge of “really should register,” though, given how often I ride and lock up on campus. Might want to call up BikeUMD and ask about that one…

Current SHA predictions on when the resurfacing and reconstruction of Route 1 will start is still very preliminary, much to everyone’s frustration. To say that the city council, university community, and citizens who are paying attention to these sorts of things are Not Happy with SHA’s foot dragging would be something of an understatement—the city missed out on a major federal TIGER grant to underground utilities along Route 1 (which, incidentally, would have allowed more room for bike infrastructure, streetscaping, etc.) because SHA either couldn’t or wouldn’t get its act together before the application deadline.

[Bruno Moore]

As always, my New Mexico zia jersey will be making its appearance. It’s about the best way to meet New Mexicans as well—apparently, the Taos bike shop where I got it is one of two in the state where you can find the “Ride with Enchantment” jersey.

As for the bike…those of you who know about Marianne Kate Bianchi will probably have no trouble at all finding me.

[Bruno Moore]

What Boomer said…and bring a Ziploc bag for your cue sheet. Bring an extra or two for your riding compadres.

If one person flips their cue sheet a few turns early, so much the better—there are a few really quick and complicated turns.

Especially if you’re not familiar with the part of town you’re in, as well as in the northwest section, know your next three turns.

Know that it will feel longer and harder than it looks on paper—the navigational challenges, urban riding skills, and series of short, steep hills make parts of it into a grind.

Accept that this is a WABA ride, and that it will therefore rain—this will be my fourth 50 States, and will likely be the fourth time I’ll have been given a good soaking at some point.

Other than Alaska NW, you will curse any avenue whose name begins with “A.”

And if anyone asks you, there are only 48 states with avenues named after them—California Street and Ohio Drive are the outliers.

[Bruno Moore]

It’s not yet a done deal—I know that at least a few CP city council members and several residents are in favor of a CaBi compatible system. The city council meeting is tomorrow; I’ll keep an eye out for how things go, and probably end up talking to Our Friends on the Council. While the Council usually follows the recommendations of its planning staff, this isn’t universally true. If I recall correctly, the city staff’s recommendations were made back when Alta went belly up and a Bixi-style system was not under consideration; we’ll see what the Council decides based on current information.

[Bruno Moore]

Oh yeah, seen that bike in the shop once with its owner. Meant to ask him about it, and those hbars. No confusing it for anything else on the streets.

Also wanted to know how that aluminum frame rides on the street. As the Bianchi rep put it once, “ride it on the streets and you’ll be pissing blood.” Hope that’s not literally the case…

[Bruno Moore]

@mstone 123002 wrote:

So you don’t drive?

Not very often, actually—maybe once a month. At this point, it’s mostly just something I keep around for friends who are moving and offering beer and coffee beans. Certainly don’t watch when the good folks at Rising Sun work their magic.

What about TRP Spyres, or other dual-piston mechanical discs?

[Bruno Moore]

I’m a little skittish about hydro brakes, but that’s mostly because I’m bad about maintenance and a tad wrenchphobic…and every time I see someone bleeding brakes, between the syringe and the pink DOT fluid, it always looks to me like they’re putting the bike to sleep. Great on rental bikes, but don’t want to have to deal with them myself. So of course I’m going to be the guy recommending the Best Damn Mechanical Discs Ever, Bar None over the hydros. Easy adjustment, no mess, great articulation and modulation, no bubbles in the line I’m going to ignore for six months, no vet clinic flashbacks…

[Bruno Moore]

“You HAVE to upgrade to BB7’s.”

There. Have my Spacestaffly duty out of the way.

I’d actually have a look at Paul’s new Klamper. If you think of it as a more refined version of a BB7, you wouldn’t be that far off the mark. More easily adjustable too, even in cold, “in the wild” conditions—those big orange knurls are so you can adjust the pad clearance with gloved fingers, rather than fussy tools. You can even switch out between long pull (MTBish) and short pull (CXish) brake levers if you ever want to put ’em on another bike.

Yeah, they’re pretty cool.

[Bruno Moore]

Not if you want to marshal!

[Bruno Moore]

@PotomacCyclist 121817 wrote:

How is the stress different physically from regular cycling? There’s probably a lot more core activation because you have to keep your balance. Anything else?

What about equipment? I saw some of the big box store models online. I don’t know if I would ride one enough to require a more heavy-duty model/brand.

You might want to have a chat with Ben at Proteus (and yes, they stock unicycles). Brevets, CX, MoCo Epic, Kinetic Sculpture—yeah, he’s done all that and more on a unicycle.

[Bruno Moore]

Sorry to be late to the discussion here—according to my Undiscloseable Sources (yes, I know…), the decision to go with a non-compatible system may be revisited. Part of the problem right now is that CP is, in all truth, pretty far removed from CaBi stations. Yes, there are some in Takoma Park, but you REALLY wouldn’t want to take a CaBi on East-West Highway! The expansion that needs to be planned for is the one up the old streetcar route and the Anacostia Tributary Trails between northeast DC and Hyattsville, which, while it will take several years and a few more infrastructure fights with The Powers that Be, likely will happen. There are already some preliminary plans (again, Sources) for maintenance and upkeep of a de facto separate side system; after all, that’s how the MoCo CaBi “islands,” like up in Rockville, work.

Of course, good luck winning the Hearts and Minds of the majority of CP residents, many of whom moved out here because it’s inexpensive Maryland suburbia and don’t want to see it become an urbanized extension of the city. Already, I hear complaints about how urban things are, and how there’s not enough consideration for homeowners who pay property tax. A bike rental system might be seen as one more concession to the university, renters, and nonresidents.

Tread carefully when lobbying in College Park.

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