Looking for an e-bike in Lubbock? A few options just popped up

  Electric Mountain Bike ($1750) 

A few used e-bikes showed up on Lubbock Craigslist today (6/12/15), and one is pretty tempting if you have the coins lying around to pay for it. I do not know much about BM E-bikes, so do some researching before you jump in, but this one has a nice list of components - 52 volt mid-drive powertrain, front and rear hydraulic disc brakes, Shimano gear components, Suntour forks, etc. The list is actually pretty impressive and it would be pretty easy to spend more than the $1750 asking price to build your own similar bike. Hmmm... (The other one was an expensive folding bike in Austin.)

In case you are looking for a deal on a new e-bike, I received an email from Genze today and they have a $150 special for Father's Day. I included the promo code in case you want. If you want to learn more about this Genze, check out this older post: A Tale of Two E-bikes and an 80's Movie

This next image came from a Zero email. I liked the slogan so I thought I'd share it with you. (Ok Too Flatters, I guess I am not a very good friend.)

 

May you get cleanly, greenly, and quietly across town with a big ol' EV grin!

A Camaro roars by

It's Saturday morning, and I am sitting outside enjoying a little mandatory wait time. A Camaro roars by. I just finished watching a Robert Lewellyn Fully Charged video about battery life. The video featured a somewhat famous Nissan Leaf. A Harley grumbles by.

I keep listening for a Leaf. 

A noisy Jeep crawls the parking lot, a megaphone on its tailpipe.

We are Americans. It's our God-given right to annoy the crap out of the people around us. A Dodge truck rattles the windows. I know it's our right, but wouldn't be nice if it weren't our choice? if we instead chose to offer our neighbors a little peace, if we chose not to scream "Look at me!" every time we ran an errand?

A Mustang howls by.

Imagine a rustle of Leaves driving by.

Imagine a little more peace.

May it not be hard to imagine.

The (Daymak) Beast has escaped!

Image from Daymak.com

I was having breakfast with a bunch of scooterists a few weeks ago. One guy was telling stories of some pretty amazing scooter exploits. My friend Daniel looked across the table and said, "Where's the pictures? Dude, if there ain't no pictures, it didn't happen!" (Daniel really talks like that.)

I have come to realize that "...it didn't happen" phrase is a new motto for our youtubily-Instagrammatically-driven culture. And it's especially true when we look at new electric things with wheels. And I am very susceptible to the hype. I will run across an article on that new thing, get all excited, and then wait to see the first images posted by real consumers in the real world. Lots of them never materialize. (The e-bike world is currently waiting to see if the Sondors [formerly the Storm] fat-tired e-bike from Kickstarter ever materializes.) I write about a lot of those electric things on this blog.

And I am always excited to share news when those electric things do appear in the consumer wilds.

I had heard nothing about the Daymak Beast in a while, so I did a quick search and found that they have indeed been shipping them to Kickstarter supporters. I even found one of their supporters who posted a video on youtube the day after he received his back in April. While it may not be the greatest video you watch this year - or even today - it is exciting to see that thing is indeed being built and delivered!

The beast ebike by Daymak review (standard model)

If you are still thirsting for Beast video, I also ran across the assembly video for this unholy offspring of an e-bike, a Honda Ruckus, and a solar panel.

Beast Assembly Video (on the Kickstarter page)

May the thing you've been waiting for arrive and be even better than you hoped!

(On a related note, I received a little communication from Superpedestrian about the Copenhagen Wheel this morning - they are apparently going to start shipping this month. If so, I will apologize for referring to their product as "mythical" in yesterday's MH post.)

Copenhagen vs. Flykly Follow-up (Sort of) and my e-bike

In case you ever wondered about the MH blog post stats, these are the all-time greatest hits.

The runaway post for this blog is unquestionably the Copenhagen Wheel vs. Fykly post. Almost a year after being published, it still gets multiple visits each day. I don't know if anyone is actually reading it, but readers all over the planet click on it every day. In the post I asked myself a series of questions, which I will now try to answer, even the rhetorical ones. (Bear with me, I do have a reason for doing this.)

Who can I call to pick me up?
My wife told me she would have happily done so.

How committed am I to this National Bike Challenge thing?
Apparently, pretty snagging committed - I am still at it.

Whose idea was this anyway?
Some stupid MH writer thought he could become leaner and greener by riding a bike to work.

When are the FlyKly and the Copenhagen Wheel shipping?
The Flykly apparently started shipping in January (2015) and Superpedestrian is still taking Copenhagen Wheel pre-orders and hoping to ship this spring (which is now).

Is this what fall and winter are going to be like?
They were pretty rough, snagit!

Does Cinnabon deliver to moving targets?
Believe it or not, they don't even deliver to non-moving targets.

Is it time to order an electric bike kit?
I thought it was. I sold the undependable electric motorcycle and used a tiny portion to order a kit.

When are the FlyKly and the Copenhagen Wheel shipping?
See answer above.

Should I look for a job closer to home?
Nope, I like my job and love the people!

Isn't "telecommute" a beautiful word?
It really is - four-syllables bookeneded by a "t" sound....

Why is that woman in the Tahoe laughing at me?
I don't know, but they are still laughing.

Does this mountain bike tire make my butt look bigger?
It did. I finally invested in a skinnier tire, and the old caboose looks much more petite now.

When are the FlyKly and the Copenhagen Wheel shipping?
See answer above again.

Which one should I buy?
These days, I would probably lean toward the GeoOrbital wheel, but it's not shipping yet either.

Will I spend the whole winter waiting for a wheel that ships "this fall"?
Indeed, I would have.

Should I just spend the money on a lesser bike kit that is currently available?
I did that. I built a really cool bike, but it was not easy and required a fair amount of trial and error. Learn more below.

Which of them should I buy????!!!!!
Probably neither.

So, let's talk about the one I did buy. I went to Green Bike Kit and ordered their 36 volt 250-350W rear geared hub motor kit on a 26" wheel. By the time it made it from China to my house, I had about $550 tied up in the conversion kit.

Ain't she pretty?

 

It took a while to install it, and I eventually figured out that the PAS system was incompatible with the bottom bracket on my fairly standard mountain bike, and the LED meter really needed the PAS sytem in order to work effectively. And 250-350W really means 250W and that's really not enough power to get a fat boy like me around. So, I ordered this controller, did away with the PAS setup and LED meter, and now I have a very usable electric bicycle that is capable of hauling me and my petite-looking caboose, but I have to pedal a lot to make any impressive progress.

(FYI, the only other physical problem I have encountered is that the connector between the charger and the bottle battery is very poor and needs to wedged into place in order to charge the battery.)

Overall, I am (mostly) happy with the quality of the components, but I do not think it is suitable for a novice installer or anyone without a fairly strong knowledge of bikes, e-bikes, or electronics. (I overestimated my own knowledge and skills on this choice.) The installation instructions are terrible, generic, and incomplete, and the company representatives tried hard to answer all questions, but the language barrier proved to be a substantial one. (I wish I had spent a few hundred more at a place that could answer questions and offer advice on the initial purchase.)

The sad part is that I almost never ride it. After participating in the National Bike Challenge last year, I found myself a lot stronger and more capable of riding in adverse conditions. (And, the NBC has no category for e-bike miles.) Also, I really like not having to charge the non-electric bike. I also like being less worried about weather and theft with the standard bike.

The true beauty of a standard bicycle is the simplicity. I am healthy enough to ride a regular bike and my commute is not overwhelmingly long (10 miles round trip), so I built an e-bike I do not really need. And it gathers dust as I get stronger.

E-bikes encourage more cycling, research says

E-bikes have a definite list of virtues, but not everyone needs one. (I blame it all on the National Bike Challenge!) And I am really glad that I did not pre-order a Copenhagen Wheel way back when I first started drooling over them.

May you find the green transportation that serves you best - I will endeavor to keep making mistakes on your behalf.

Get Ready for Fresh Veggies in Lubbock!

It's coming!

A friend of mine is part of a long-term cancer study, and she occasionally gets a really big questionnaire to fill out. One sobering part of the questionnaire is the sheer volume of questions about a person's diet. There are lots of questions that deal with fresh/processed, mass market/organic, etc. It serves as a strong reminder that we should all be very aware of the foods we are shoving down our throats, especially if you couple that idea with all the studies of the health benefits/cancer-fighting benefits of eating fresh vegetables. So, snagit!, get out there and start eating fresh veggies!

Yep, you know I am going somewhere with this - we are just 17 days away from the opening round of the Lubbock Downtown Farmers Market. The first one this year is Saturday, June 20th. Remember, nothing can be sold before 9 and most of the really good stuff is sold by 10:30.

And for those of you who whine about living in a lame city (i.e. me yesterday), the farmers market is one of those things that helps hold the lameness at bay, so get out there, have a good time, support your neighbors, and support your health. I sincerely hope to see you there!

May you be the change you wish to see in the world!

Lubbock makes another green list, %$#@! (Minipost)

This one is a list of places where it's great to own an electric car. Once, again, I clicked on the article expecting to see Lubbock nowhere in sight, but there it was toward the bottom of the page.

10 Best Cities in the U.S. to Own an Electric Car

Sure enough, the author also included the five worst cities in which to own own an electric vehicle, and there we are at number 4, snagit all to Midland!

Of course, I do choose to live in a town that actively discourages renewable energy, offers decreasing levels of recycling, has only one semi-public charging station (at the Nissan dealership), and has a mayor who considers cycling to be a niche issue, so this should come as no surprise.

Keith, I may need a sustainably brewed beer. (Oh well, at least we are not in Denton, Texas where the people who democratically voted to ban fracking are being arrested by the people who passed a bill to ban the act of banning fracking. Maybe it's time to ban the people who ban banning.)

May you find yourself on a good list somewhere without having to move.

Lubbock on a Bike: May Wrap-up and Commuter Nirvana

It started like a Monday. The brain was rather foggy. I had to go back a few times for the things I forgot. The legs were a little foggy too as I started for work. But I crossed Indiana Avenue with no hesitation. Very little traffic. I pedaled on through the neighborhood.

The fog cleared away enough for me to realize that the day had come. I have looked forward to this day for months. I had marked my calendar for this day. The kids are out of school! The stressed out mothers swirling and swarming to and from the schools, they were not on the streets. I casually pedaled to work feeling less stress, less mortal fear, and a sense of peace. The streets are safe(r) again.

If you have been looking for the nerve to ride your bike to work in the morning, now is the time! Commuter nirvana! Get your butt out there!

No red circle on the 23rd - but it was a great day in Waxahachie, TX!

National Bike Challenge/National Bike Month: I survived May, and the rain did not stop me. It did definitely slow me down, though. There were thirty-one days in May, and I rode a bike on thirty of those. Sure, I only logged 102 miles for the month, but it still feels like an accomplishment.

Okay, enough of me bragging. Now, let me invite you - please try riding if:

you want to lose some weight,
you want to strengthen your heart,
you want to lower your blood pressure,
you want to live longer,
you want more optimism,
you want cleaner air,
you want to save money,
your doctor told you to lose weight,
you want encouragement to eat better,
you want encouragement to drink less,
you want to be an obnoxious blogger,
you want to enjoy your commute,
you want a sense of accomplishment,
you want a better look at the world around you,
you want to be a nosy neighbor inconspicuously,
or if you want to find a selfish way to selflessly work at making the world a healthy place for generations to come.

By the way, the first week will be rough, but anything worthwhile requires a little work. You will be glad you did.

May June be a great month for you!