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Riverside Laker
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Riverside Laker
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PostTue May 12, 2020 3:39 pm 
Cyclopath wrote:
Garmin battery has been draining extra quickly in bike mode since I got the radar
Which Garmin?

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Cyclopath
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PostTue May 12, 2020 4:39 pm 
Fenix 6X. The battery is good for 52 hours of every second GPS so it's not a terrible thing to go through it a little faster on the bike. I haven't done more than 2 hours at a time since last August due to an injury, but it's clearing up and I'm looking forward to longer rides. Still won't be a real problem.

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Tom
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PostTue May 12, 2020 4:48 pm 
The new Specialized Turbo Vado SL looks real interesting for a lighter ebike. Love the color scheme. https://electricbikereview.com/specialized/turbo-vado-sl-4-0-eq/

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Opus
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PostWed May 13, 2020 8:01 am 
Wow, that looks really nice. 15 lbs lighter than my 2018 Vado! Will be interesting to hear how well the small motor handles hills. The old bike has 3x the torque and in low gear I can ride up any hill I've tried, even Queen Anne ave. Honestly at that price it's tempting to sell my Vado 5.0 for one of these. But I'll wait for some real-world reviews first.

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Cyclopath
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PostWed May 13, 2020 11:22 am 
Garmin just released the 3rd iteration of their radar. Hence the sale. It looks like there isn't really much reason to want v3 if you already have v2. Sounds like the main improvements are it now includes Bluetooth in case you want to use your phone as a head unit, and you can turn the brightness down if you're riding in a paceline. https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2020/05/garmin-rtl515-rvr315-cycling-radar-review.html/amp

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Riverside Laker
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PostWed May 13, 2020 3:41 pm 
Yeah, now we know why the Varia 2nd gen was on sale. But the new features aren't important to me as I ride solo these days! Also I don't use a phone. I can see why your watch might eat batteries using the radar detector. It probably has a smaller battery than my Wahoo Bolt.

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treeswarper
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PostWed May 13, 2020 4:52 pm 

What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
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treeswarper
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PostFri May 15, 2020 7:37 am 
Oregon E bikes posted this on facebook-- It's a lightweight adventure machine! OEB customer Amy got out for a little Mother's Day bikepacking on her new BMC Alpenchallenge Amp Cross LTD. Her report: the battery lasted more than 4000 ft vertical over 30 miles, fully loaded with camping gear! And did we mention it's only 33 pounds?

What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
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treeswarper
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PostFri May 15, 2020 9:13 am 
How long will the battery last?

What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
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Cyclopath
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PostFri May 15, 2020 11:00 pm 
Cyclopath wrote:
Anyone in here using Di2? I have a battery to give away. It's the one that comes with the previous generation Ultegra group, fits in the seat tube, and doesn't have the brains to drive synchronous shifting. It's never been used, and is good for 1,000 to 1,500 miles per charge. Get in touch if you'd like it.
This has found a new home. smile.gif

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Frango
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PostThu May 21, 2020 1:07 pm 
So I have a question - I’m a total newb at the whole ebike thing. However, I’m thinking I might want one - mostly for commuting to/from the hospital I work at (about 5-6 miles each way) but also for possible backpacking adventures that include defunct forest service roads - likely up to 10 miles each way on those. I don’t want wildly expensive, and am willing to sacrifice speed for price - class 2 is fine. As much fun as it would be to get a top of the line bike with all the bells and whistles, that just isn’t in the budget. Finally, I don’t want a box of parts I have to put together. I’m fine with some small amount of building (I’m fluent in Ikea lol), but don’t want a project - I want ready to go. Any suggestions?

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Tom
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PostThu May 21, 2020 1:37 pm 
What's your budget? The least expensive ebikes are rear hubs (motor in rear wheel). They work great on flats and moderate hills, but can overheat on sustained hills and may not have enough gearing and torque for steeper hills. I'm not sure if they would be a reasonable choice for bikepacking but someone with a Rad bike can probably chime in on how they found performance on hills. There are 2 kinds of rear hub as well, you would probably want the geared version for hills. https://www.radpowerbikes.com/blogs/the-scenic-route/know-your-motor-direct-drive-vs-geared-hub I personally prefer mid drives (motor between the pedals so you can leverage the bike's gearing on hills) but they tend to be more expensive. Pricing usually starts around $2K. I still have 2 medium BH Rebel Lites that I picked up for NWHikers in February that I am selling at cost for under $1K. Not sure if they would work for true biikepacking as that usually involves lots of racks and bags. I think you could add a rear rack but not much room to attach bags. Battery life will be an issue for extended bikepacking trips. https://www.crazylennysebikes.com/shop/rebel-29-lite-pw-2/ https://www.crazylennysebikes.com/shop/bh-rebel-27-5-lite-pw/ Elevation and weight are not friendly on batteries no matter what bike you buy. That also tends to be the highest cost item on cheaper bikes.

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treeswarper
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PostThu May 21, 2020 3:36 pm 
My experience with rear hub has been the Rad mini and from what I understand, and I don't understand much about torque, they have a lot. My friend and I have ridden them up a sustained 15% grade. Mine did not overheat, her bike had some problems which after many phone calls, have been resolved. I was riding on trails in Idaho and due to my lack of skill, I did stall out--not overheat but failed to get a good run at the hills and ended up running alongside the bike while working the throttle. The bike'll kinda help pull you up the hill that way. I've read where the mini has more torque than the other Rads so maybe it isn't a good comparison. There is no comparison between the mini and my mid drive Gazelle. The Gazelle takes a lot more work (pedaling) to go up the steep hill in town. The mini will buzz right up the hill, but not the Gazelle. It takes a bit of practice to hit the sweet spot with E-bikes. Be sure to try one out before buying. The bike shop where I got the Gazelle, was in Hood River and they had a very good hill with switchbacks to try bikes out on.

What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
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Tom
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PostThu May 21, 2020 4:54 pm 
There are 2 versions of hub motors, per the Rad link above which indicates which of their bikes have what version. Direct drive offers regenerative braking but no gears, and relies on brute force to get you up hills. The geared hub does better on hills, but at the cost of motor longevity and no regenerative braking. Did you find your rear hub has enough low end torque / finesse to navigate challenging roads at lower speed? I note you seem to ride your mid drive much more since getting it.

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treeswarper
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treeswarper
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PostThu May 21, 2020 6:07 pm 
The mid drive is much more comfortable for me to ride. No numb hands, no feeling beat up and feels and rides like a nice, regular bike. I'm not sure about challenging. We were on our way up Lone Frank Pass and it was quite rough. My friend's mini conked out and I was a little bit glad because it was hard to ride on. We've ridden on loose sand and were glad for the fat tires on the Curlew rail trail. That's about all I can say. I will admit that the throttle can come in handy to get some instant power when needed. I took it up a Port Blakely logging road that was surfaced with large, pit run rock. Going up was OK coming down? I walked the bike down in a few spots. It was steep and rocky.

What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
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