Hairy Posted March 4, 2021 Share What a lovely commute In the words of a FORMER commuter, one Mr HAIRY : #ItsOnlyWater Nice thick mist, or was that a light drizzle this morning ....I was telling the wife that I am really missing the commuting and I really need to get back in a routine of at least getting a ride in before work ... now I just find myself sitting working on away at my desk stupidly early. I think the regular exercising routine from commuting a few times a weeks does wonders for my metabolic rate ..... Sadly also have 2 kg of lockdown that is hanging about, despite eating right for a while now .... need to get back into regular commuting.2kg's ... now I have that to loose in multiples ........... thank you Covid (And me being too pathetic to get my act together again)! cat-i 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted March 4, 2021 Share I was telling the wife that I am really missing the commuting and I really need to get back in a routine of at least getting a ride in before work ... now I just find myself sitting working on away at my desk stupidly early. 2kg's ... now I have that to loose in multiples ........... thank you Covid (And me being too pathetic to get my act together again)! GLAD I was using my step-counter at the start of lockdown. Got the shock of my life when I relised the home-office thing meant I was walking less than 500m a day !! Started walking in the back yard when taking cell calls .... Home-office must have been my most productive period ever. Also the worst for my health ... cat-i and Hairy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted March 30, 2021 Share Two wheels are just SO much better than being stuck in traffic .... The Ouzo, mecheng89, DJR and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted April 23, 2021 Share A load box WORKS on a commuter. Not having a back-pack on and resultant sweating back is fantastic And this time round the box was made to "click" into place, then bolted down with one centre bolt. Swapping out the commute box for the weekend spare battery holder is quicker than filling the water bottles. Hairy, Zebra and DJuice 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted April 23, 2021 Share A load box WORKS on a commuter. 20210423_064436.jpg Not having a back-pack on and resultant sweating back is fantastic And this time round the box was made to "click" into place, then bolted down with one centre bolt. Swapping out the commute box for the weekend spare battery holder is quicker than filling the water bottles. How has that bike been treating you now that you must have put a few km on her? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted April 23, 2021 Share GLAD I made the purchase. With a good couple of office days I have been able to use it over the last two weeks. Also did a nice Sunday ride with it. Hairy as a "commuter" it is so handy to be able to use a bit more assist in the morning, making sure I get to work without being drenched in sweat. Actually added 2km to this morning's ride just because it was such a lekka morning to RIDE .... In the afternoon I have a bit more fun, and get more of a workout in. I am still new to the longer tar rides over the weekend. Thus far the bike has truly impressed me with this, and now that the spare battery is off my back I look forward to riding out to Philladelphia for a morning coffee .... Some technical thoughts (been having a BLAST in the workshop ) .... Totally different to the Giant full suspension. Not just the suspension, but more specifically the power assist at different settings. Took a bit of getting used to. Suspension - GLAD I went with the suspension fork. Basic as it is, you can see the 75mm travel it used during a typical commute. No ways my wrists would have survived with a rigid, not with the condition of our roads .... Brakes - Tektro brakes SUCK The weight of an ebike (not my belly ), downhills, and traffic ... nope, I want brakes that WORK when the situation requires it !! I tried a set of "Avalanche hydraulic brakes" .... basically rebranded Tektro brakes, marginally better performance. Then went for proper Deore M6100 brakes. Single finger operation, and you can modulate the braking as needed ... super nice Was a bit of fun making the older 8 speed shifter work with the new era brake levers .... Water bottles - dont really need much water for the commute, but plan on using two full sized bottled during longer road rides. The original upright bottle mount inside the frame does not have enough height for a full sized bottle .... ended up making a bracket to angle the bottle above and in line with the battery. Works nicely. The second bottle was always going to be behind the seat - - - stealing the toolbag's space. Found a nice bottle holder with a bottom mounted toolbag at CWC. Then the fun started to mount this .... low enough so that the toolbag rests on the frame (chain stay protection on the frame), and angled so that the bottle can be removed easily. The angled plastic spacers finally got the dimensions right .. this took many many hours in the garage to get right. One week later the bottom spacer broke .... I have made a nice new bracket using the now available dimensions, paint should be properly hardened by now and will be fitted this weekend. Should really add this toolbag is actually small !! Ooops ... almost landed in the school-fees-box .... I had to shorten the Woolf Tooth tool and the tire lever to get it to fit in the toolbag. (grinding 15mm off a brand new tool is not a nice feeling ....) Also had to buy the thinner Specialized spare tube as a standard tube left zero space for any tools. Carrier - using the standard carrier for both the extra battery during the weekend and for the "commuter box" during the week made for a nice design challenge. Or at least making these such that it is fit for purpose and could be swopped out in seconds. For the battery carrier I also wanted to protect it against the backing sun, without going to big, bulky, heavy or impractical for swopping out the battery mid-ride. Will take some pics of this during the weekend. Cables - Ouch ! ugly cock-pit ... WAY too many wires. Redoing the brakes we used the opportunity to also shorten the gear selector cable, allowing for perfectly parallel cables up front. Then re-routed the electrical cables again and again until things cleaned up as much as possible. Mark got in some "cable wrap", so I bought some of this to finish off this little project. Actually now looks "normal" Gearing - the 8-speed setup works well enough with the e-assist. Yet I find I use more assist than on the Giant purely because of the lack of a granny gear .... not an issue for the short rides. May possibly be an issue on long rides with serious climbs .... Wont be changing this now. I still have a brand new 9-speed setup at home, from when I upgraded Maritz's Titan to 11-speed. Ride comfort - on the first ride it felt very "harsh" .... now feeling good. Strange how quickly we adjust to the feel of a new bike. Certainly want to experiment with the tire pressures to find that "right pressure" for comfort vs drag on longer rides. Battery charger - the Giant has a 6A charger, which also means my spare inverter in the garage cant power this from my small PV system. The Darrvin has a 2A charger .... will be trying the inverter on this shortly .... would be a nice bonus to go off-grid with this. The smaller charger also means it takes a lot longer to charge .... USB port - The battery on the Darrvin comes with a USB output. May be handy if the Garmin needs a bit of juice on longer rides .... EddieV and Hairy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted April 23, 2021 Share GLAD I made the purchase. With a good couple of office days I have been able to use it over the last two weeks. Also did a nice Sunday ride with it. Hairy as a "commuter" it is so handy to be able to use a bit more assist in the morning, making sure I get to work without being drenched in sweat. Actually added 2km to this morning's ride just because it was such a lekka morning to RIDE .... In the afternoon I have a bit more fun, and get more of a workout in. I am still new to the longer tar rides over the weekend. Thus far the bike has truly impressed me with this, and now that the spare battery is off my back I look forward to riding out to Philladelphia for a morning coffee .... Some technical thoughts (been having a BLAST in the workshop ) .... Totally different to the Giant full suspension. Not just the suspension, but more specifically the power assist at different settings. Took a bit of getting used to. Suspension - GLAD I went with the suspension fork. Basic as it is, you can see the 75mm travel it used during a typical commute. No ways my wrists would have survived with a rigid, not with the condition of our roads .... Brakes - Tektro brakes SUCK The weight of an ebike (not my belly ), downhills, and traffic ... nope, I want brakes that WORK when the situation requires it !! I tried a set of "Avalanche hydraulic brakes" .... basically rebranded Tektro brakes, marginally better performance. Then went for proper Deore M6100 brakes. Single finger operation, and you can modulate the braking as needed ... super nice Was a bit of fun making the older 8 speed shifter work with the new era brake levers .... Water bottles - dont really need much water for the commute, but plan on using two full sized bottled during longer road rides. The original upright bottle mount inside the frame does not have enough height for a full sized bottle .... ended up making a bracket to angle the bottle above and in line with the battery. Works nicely. The second bottle was always going to be behind the seat - - - stealing the toolbag's space. Found a nice bottle holder with a bottom mounted toolbag at CWC. Then the fun started to mount this .... low enough so that the toolbag rests on the frame (chain stay protection on the frame), and angled so that the bottle can be removed easily. The angled plastic spacers finally got the dimensions right .. this took many many hours in the garage to get right. One week later the bottom spacer broke .... I have made a nice new bracket using the now available dimensions, paint should be properly hardened by now and will be fitted this weekend. Should really add this toolbag is actually small !! Ooops ... almost landed in the school-fees-box .... I had to shorten the Woolf Tooth tool and the tire lever to get it to fit in the toolbag. (grinding 15mm off a brand new tool is not a nice feeling ....) Also had to buy the thinner Specialized spare tube as a standard tube left zero space for any tools. Carrier - using the standard carrier for both the extra battery during the weekend and for the "commuter box" during the week made for a nice design challenge. Or at least making these such that it is fit for purpose and could be swopped out in seconds. For the battery carrier I also wanted to protect it against the backing sun, without going to big, bulky, heavy or impractical for swopping out the battery mid-ride. Will take some pics of this during the weekend. Cables - Ouch ! ugly cock-pit ... WAY too many wires. Redoing the brakes we used the opportunity to also shorten the gear selector cable, allowing for perfectly parallel cables up front. Then re-routed the electrical cables again and again until things cleaned up as much as possible. Mark got in some "cable wrap", so I bought some of this to finish off this little project. Actually now looks "normal" Gearing - the 8-speed setup works well enough with the e-assist. Yet I find I use more assist than on the Giant purely because of the lack of a granny gear .... not an issue for the short rides. May possibly be an issue on long rides with serious climbs .... Wont be changing this now. I still have a brand new 9-speed setup at home, from when I upgraded Maritz's Titan to 11-speed. Ride comfort - on the first ride it felt very "harsh" .... now feeling good. Strange how quickly we adjust to the feel of a new bike. Certainly want to experiment with the tire pressures to find that "right pressure" for comfort vs drag on longer rides. Battery charger - the Giant has a 6A charger, which also means my spare inverter in the garage cant power this from my small PV system. The Darrvin has a 2A charger .... will be trying the inverter on this shortly .... would be a nice bonus to go off-grid with this. The smaller charger also means it takes a lot longer to charge .... USB port - The battery on the Darrvin comes with a USB output. May be handy if the Garmin needs a bit of juice on longer rides .... Awesome .... so a set of CODE Brakes, carbon rims on some Chris King Hubs and an AXS drive train is on the cards then? Vaalhaai 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted April 23, 2021 Share Awesome .... so a set of CODE Brakes, carbon rims on some Chris King Hubs and an AXS drive train is on the cards then?If only .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted May 18, 2021 Share Between school runs in the morning and days when I need the car to travel to work sites my commuting is a rare luxury .... ENJOYED my ride this morning !! Those few minutes on the bike does wonders to raise the body's core temperature. Half the staff are running their heaters this morning, and I have yet to put on my jacket. Did forget that I need the laptop and various items in the car for tomorrow's inspections ... so will look like a pack mule on the bike this afternoon .... Vetplant, Hairy and EddieV 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieV Posted May 19, 2021 Share 20 hours ago, ChrisF said: Between school runs in the morning and days when I need the car to travel to work sites my commuting is a rare luxury .... ENJOYED my ride this morning !! Those few minutes on the bike does wonders to raise the body's core temperature. Half the staff are running their heaters this morning, and I have yet to put on my jacket. Did forget that I need the laptop and various items in the car for tomorrow's inspections ... so will look like a pack mule on the bike this afternoon .... That's always a risk for me ... luckily my work is uploaded/backed-up to the cloud daily, and I have a second laptop at home setup with all the software I need, thus I do not need to ride with my laptop. On the odd occasion when I do need my office laptop, I am also fortunate to have a colleague that stays close-by, thus I just hand it to him, and collect when I get home ???? (I haven't commuted for a while, we are encouraged to work from home still .... I now just ride the Peninsula coastal road to Simon' s Town and back in the mornings before office hours start) .... FOMO runs deep when I read posts about commuting ????... ChrisF and peetwindhoek 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ouzo Posted May 19, 2021 Share 3 minutes ago, EddieV said: .... FOMO runs deep when I read posts about commuting ????... yeah me too. Its harder to motivate myself to getup and do a before work ride in the dark and the cold than it is to motivate commuting to work under teh same conditions. Technically I could still commute, but being 2km from home it doesnt make sense to do a long detour to the office and then try and make do with no shower etc. here when I could rather do a nice long ride before work, have a hot shower at home and then come through to work. EddieV and Bateleur1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildwindfr Posted May 19, 2021 Share I have skipped the last 2 days commute. It has been really misty the last 2 mornings,and I have just not felt like cleaning bike everyday. The mist and dust from 8km gravel, forms a layer of dirt, that gets in everywhere. Here is a pic this morning from the car! ChrisF 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bateleur1 Posted May 19, 2021 Share Although I kinda like riding in fog, I tend to be not so excited to share the road with cars in fog. Always felt more unsafe than normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildwindfr Posted May 20, 2021 Share 19 hours ago, Bateleur1 said: Although I kinda like riding in fog, I tend to be not so excited to share the road with cars in fog. Always felt more unsafe than normal. My biggest issue is the drivetrain wear and then the guys in their Hilux and Rangers bakkies racing past you! Bateleur1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Horn Posted July 16, 2021 Share Never trust cars to stop at traffic lights.Just saw a commuter that had been knocked down at cnr Racecourse & R27 in Milnerton in busy traffic.Hope he is ok Hairy, cfcjim and ChrisF 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted July 16, 2021 Share 35 minutes ago, Bernard Horn said: Never trust cars to stop at traffic lights.Just saw a commuter that had been knocked down at cnr Racecourse & R27 in Milnerton in busy traffic.Hope he is ok 1st rule of commuting, never trust cars 2nd rule of commuting, never trust pedestrians 3rd rule of commuting, never drink bad coffee Bernard Horn, Andrew_Smith, ChrisF and 6 others 8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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