aquaratza

Rule 5 as in Velominati rule 5?

/me clicks Follow

W2W is a big money-spinner. I'm sure it will return in full force. I looked at this photo and my first thought was "where are their masks?!" hahahahahhaa

Very sad. The last W2W was awesome (except for the luxury tents ) My bike didn't appreciate the mud, but it was huge fun

ah okay cool, was just wondering

Cool photos ChrisF. "uhm ja .... LOTS of videos on EMBN about which motor is best .... typically around 80 to 90 N.m torque." I've seen that number of 90 N.m. a fair bit, even on older Specialized bikes (2017). I would expect to see efficiency as the big improvement (it probably is as the power conditioning roughly moves in step with computer advancements). "I realised I had 13 minutes to get off the Traverse !!" I've been in that same situation, but at the Dairy Shed at Conties ahahahaha. I climbed parallel to the Black Rhino trail and exited Oatlands with 2 minutes to spare whooops . I had to go over the hill as my home was on the other side. Very interesting @ motors. Do you know if the firmware update made transitions smoother? @Power meter: eish, I should have said power meter as in a normal bicycle power meter (tells you how many watts you are producing). This is useful because power meters are a good absolute reference as to whether or not you're getting stronger and more efficient (when in context with HR). I currently use spider-based power meters that log to my bicycle computer. Does your Giant integrate with your bicycle computer? If so what kind of metrics do you see? "must admit, I have wondered about the "limits" .... if you de-restrict it, how far can you go, how fast can you go (well this one is easy as you spin out at 40'ish...), more importantly, if you GUN it, how long will the motor last ..... not lessons I want to learn on a new bike, after voiding the warranty ....." *Generally* stuff like this has a sweet spot, where it's very efficient. Usually there's an efficiency loss outside of the nominal operating range, exacerbated by temperature increases. Less of an issue on trails but drag also increases at a non-linear rate with speed, which is why aerodynamics on the trail aren't that important but are hugely important in road cycling. Driving an eBike above the speed limit would chow battery faster by virtue of disproportionately increased drag, increased heating on the switching components, etc. I assume, I don't know

Yes haha. It seems to be a different sport to a degree due to the nuances associated with battery management (on longer rides). Greater than 250w assistance continuously over 2 hours is a serious advantage, but naturally not competitively permissible/useful. My friend used 60% (!!!) of his 750Wh battery on our first ride together (3 hours), which pleased me greatly. That's 150W of continuous assistance. I remember watching people during the MTB Challenge cruising up the hills at silly speeds. I *also* remember passing some eBikes where it seemed like the riders had run out of battery haha. The skills asymmetry is often obvious at single-track obstructions (particularly during the last Houw Hoek Tour). Maybe @ keeping up with the Jones. You raise a valid point. I guess I don't want to be in a position where I miss out, whether due to not feeling well or simply being incapable due to not having assistance. It's a dangerous debate to get into but there's at least one person in our informal group who rides a normal bike who thinks that eBikes are the future. He may just be paving the way for himself . I think eBikes are fundamentally different to normal bikes, so I don't think they'll replace normal bikes entirely, but I can also see a potential future where they do largely replace normal bikes. Who knows. One could say there's honour in doing it yourself, but is that enough? I think it'd just be useful to have the option of an eBike. On more reflection I think, for me, getting something older will probably be a fun hacking project and be sufficiently assistive to level the field, not to mention relatively cheap. It doesn't have to perform wildly, just adequately and I'll put in the rest.

Awesome, I'm sure you'll enjoy it It's still a great computer. I had mine for a while and it largely retained its value when I sold it.

Hey ChrisF Thank you for the in-depth post. I read it all Very useful insights regarding the motors; how similar are the Yamaha and Bosch motors in terms of performance? What kind of advancements have been made in the last 3-4 years in the motor technology? Does your bike behave like a power meter (does it tell you how much power you're outputting)? I'm not set on Specialized, it's just what I know. I like the look of the Giant Trance and it's definitely an option. You've raised some great points. It's funny you mentioning speed cut out. I outrun my friend on the downhill (Vissershok outside Hillcrest) because his bike abruptly stops assisting at 32 km/h I think. Such fun ahaha. But I'm not in it for speed, happy with the existing assistance levels, although I am also an avid "hacker" and taking it apart would be fun - one of the benefits of getting something out of warranty . The cheap Chinese aftermarket kits are super programmable but a bit bleh. "yes, you will get some interesting remarks along the trails .... it is part of owning an ebike. Mostly I make sure to pass people slowly, and great them .... minimal issues this way." I've been on the analog end of this, although haven't made remarks. I always greet people anyway. I've been in instances where I've put in everything to stop someone overtaking me and when they eventually do I realise it's an eBike ahahahaha. I also vividly remember being overtaken by eBikes during the MTB Challenge in February. I may come back with some more questions. Your bike looks great, nice colour, I know that route well. Thanks again!

haha yeah, that's a concern . I ride with a group of friends on normal bikes regularly and I am stronger than all of them - an eBike would be counterproductive there. I don't think an eBike would go down well in that group

Help me understand? I ride for fitness and social. I'm not planning on getting rid of my existing bike, I just figure I should have the option of joining eBike rides and be able to keep up.

I had a Bolt and then upgraded to the Roam. I don't think it was a good upgrade. I now have a Garmin unit, but I still like the Bolt a lot (my partner uses it): Regarding for the Bolt->Roam upgrade: - You barely notice the colour screen - Wahoo doesn't use it in any meaningful way. It felt like an after-thought. The marketing makes it look like neon but in reality it's very dull. - The buttons on the Roam are worse than the Bolt. - Navigation is better on the Roam, but in practice I didn't use it. I used navigation on my Bolt in Sydney and that worked well (the route came from the Wahoo app on my phone). - I found the Roam's display to be less readable in sunlight compared to the Bolt. - The Roam is a larger unit and more easily damaged (Bolt's display is recessed). - Wahoo's marketing for the Roam was very dodgy as they published images of the device that made the display look bigger than it was. There's a lot of excess bezel space around the display on the Roam. So yes, if I could go back I would have stuck with the Bolt. The Bolt is amazing - but if you get the Roam for a good price, why not?

I recently discovered an old friend had moved into my area. He's always been an avid cyclist, so we've been getting together for some awesome rides around Durbanville. He has both a *normal* bike and a very high-spec Specialized eBike. When he's on a *normal* bike the ride is long and decent and comfortable for me... but when he's on his eBike, even with it on the eco mode, it's a hard workout. This isn't bad, in fact it's great, but I'm not always capable of doing that kind of ride and part of me thinks that perhaps it's time for an eBike. I don't expect him to ride his normal bike (if you've got it, flaunt it) and I feel like the time is coming where if I want to ride with people I may need to have the option of an eBike. There's no way I'd be able to keep up with an eBike if the rider went for it. My multiple personalities don't all agree that an eBike is a good idea, but that's a whole story on its own. In the Specialized range, a reasonable crossover of price/value seems to be the non-SL aluminium Turbo Levo. They've got 500Wh batteries, which seems substantial, especially if combined with an addon water-bottle battery, something *like* this one from the classifieds: https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/dual-suspension-mountain-e-bikes/419663/2020-specialized-turbo-levo The one above is bleh though because it is fitted with a SRAM NX 11 speed (!?) cassette, which seems crazy. So the question is: - If I currently ride a carbon fibre dual-suspension normal bike (around 13kg in weight, I'm around 89 kg = 103 kg all up) and can produce 250w comfortably and continuously, would a Specialized Alu eBike (non-SL) level the field when riding with other eBikes? A 250w eBike at maximum output, plus 250w from me is 500w over two hours, which is decent, but that's going into extra weight: Alu non-SL is ~21kg, so all up weight of 110kg aka extra 100% power at an extra 10% of the weight. And then there's also the question of second-hand vs new; one seems to save around R 20k on the latest bikes if you go second-hand. But I think this kills the warranty? I suppose this is about accessibility and leveling the playing field. Thanks!

It's a special kind of "suffering" that feels good, feels like you've achieved something and over time you see the positive effects of it, whether it's weight loss, putting on muscle, being able to go places you couldn't previously, not being left behind in groups... It's also a social gateway because you can tell when someone else also suffers the same way and suffering with friends is a memorable way of spending time. My friends often reminisce about shared suffering. Constructive suffering

Gravel bikes don't appear to be hugely popular in Cape Town/Northern Suburbs (TMTB club territory). There are some *gravel* roads on the outskirts of Durbanville (Spes Bona, Malanshoogte as examples), they are very pretty. I think gravel bikes are a compromise, which works well for some people (like me), who are familiar with MTBs but find pure road riding interesting but a bit scary. Gravel bikes offer something in between, but I think a road bike would be more performant and an MTB would be more flexible... so I'd probably just buy two bikes haha. Road riding would be awesome if there were less cars ????

Today at Contermanskloof (top of Oatlands). No photographic treatment #nofilter. Meerendal a few days ago. Joyous to ride through ???? MOAR FLOWERS

Can you post a photo of the battery compartment?

Power meters consist, largely, of solid state components (static in nature). The only thing that isn't solid state is the strain gauge, which flexes with force (and in the process changes resistance). The old magnetic sensor (reed switch) is also not solid state. The above means that if your power meter isn't showing up on your computer it is mostly likely that it isn't getting power. So the first step, apart from replacing the battery, would be to check that the electronics are powered. You can do that with a multimeter and disassembling the device. If the device is receiving power and still isn't broadcasting then the problem may not be viable to repair. Probably easier said than done, I just checked one of mine and isn't obvious how to open it, but I think I remember seeing some screws on the side that faces the bike.

Great that you got it working ms6395. The Quarq's are well built and work nicely. I have two of them

I'm just curious, what power meter is it? You believe it's the battery because it doesn't show up at all when you scan for it? or it functions intermittently? It takes a CR2032 battery?

That FB thread is a real cesspool - scary to think those people control large chunks of metal, often moving at high speed. Smells like "community justice" ala Louis Theroux in Johannesburg. Burn him.

I bought a Polar OH1 a while back. The device needed a firmware update, but the desktop software (the only way to update it) refused to recognise the device because the "serial number is invalid". Polar gave me the run around, telling me to reboot my PC, even though the log files clearly indicated an error from their servers. I took it back. I generally use a Wahoo Tickr X (built in memory, dual ANT/BT). Works nicely. The Garmin soft strap units are also decent.

I was hunting for a bike for my partner. I eventually found one for a decent price near JHB (I'm in the Western Cape). I can't remember where the seller was based but it was a 2 hour drive for him to the airport. I had some spare air miles, so I flew up to OR Tambo and flew back with the bike. It's black. In retrospect the time wastage probably wasn't worth it. Did I mention it was black? haha

In the case of G-Pay I doubt Garmin has your credit card details; they'll be stored in the Trusted Platform Module/crypto processor in your watch rather than on Garmin's servers. The same technique is used on Samsung phones, among others.

I've had both people up-country and abroad (Thailand and Singapore) giving me kudos. Their profiles were religious in nature, so I figured that may have been related. One of them (from KZN) consistently gave me kudos on every ride I did for around a year (I didn't reciprocate). There have also been women I ride occasionally with someone local who started the interaction by giving me kudos. He saw my ride on the Tygerberg MTB Club group - so Strava has netted me at least one cycling "buddy". If I pass someone on a ride who's friendly I'll often go to the flybyes function and give them kudos.