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I hope it is safe to say that I am done riding the slush mobile this winter. If so, what's the verdict on the studded tires?
I am convinced they help . . . some, although the Innova ones I bought are useless because the studs are "high carbon steel" rather than carbide, which is something completely different (harder). By the end of the winter the rear studs were ground down smooth, probably more slippery than no studs at all. Next winter I'll invest in some good carbide stud tires.
And did they prevent falls? I'd like to say yes, they prevented 23 falls, but how can I know that? What I do know is that I fell once this winter with the studs. I didn't fall last winter without studs. Hm. I do think the studs help, as long as I continue to ride defensively. (I fell because I hit an ice rut; there was nothing for the studs to grab onto.)
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Bike Friday New World Tourist, more
The 1.5", 100 psi tires roll nicely, and are well suited both to road riding and bike path riding.
Folding and transport are as easy as advertised. During our Arizona trip, there was no problem checking it as luggage in its suitcase, although the suitcase developed a crack in one corner. (I have patched it with epoxy, but I suspect I'll need to reinforce it with glass cloth/epoxy.) Each day, I rode 20 miles before breakfast then did a quick fold and popped the bike in the trunk of the rental car for the day.
Only two comments during my week of riding: From a newspaper seller on a corner in Tucson: "Doesn't it roll slower with the small wheels?" And from three teenagers in Tucson as I rode by: "What the fuck?"
Other details:
Drop bars (quite wide, split at the stem to allow for disassembly when transporting), bar-end shifters, Shimano Deore hubs, Nashbar fat bear trap pedals (really nice--wide platform, grippy, cheap; not stylish, but very nice to ride), Tektro linear-pull brakes with interrupter levers in addition to the normal levers (all Tektro). Brooks B.17 saddle, but with a memory foam cover (more about that later, in case anyone is interested in my butt boils, and who wouldn't be?)
Friday, April 1, 2011
Novatec Dyno-Hub
I didn't have a good reason for this other than boredom and the desire to tinker; my Princeton Tec headlamp and blinky work very well—really, the headlamp works better than any light I've ever fixed to the handlebars.
Nonetheless, I had the itch. My touring/commuting Trek has lights (B&M Lumotec Oval halogen headlight) and a B&M sidewall generator. The halogen headlight is nice (but the beam pattern is blotchy bright rather than uniform), but the sidewall generator only works when it's dry. When the tire gets wet, the generator slips. One solution is to put on a wire roller, but who wants to be tinkering with the generator every time it rains? (The wire roller would chew up the sidewall if left on for long.)
So I broke down and bought the Novatec generator hub from Velo Orange for $35. Dirt cheap, and probably almost worth the very little I paid. But I had a spare rim, tire (a nice Schwalbe Marathon that I haven't been able to use on my defective Velocity Synergy rim) and tube lying around. I bought cheap spokes from Niagara, and built up the wheel. (That's always fun.) So for $55 I got a generator wheel.
And how does it work? Actually, the rolling part is surprisingly good. Everyone moans and groans about hubs that aren't Schmidts, how the rolling resistance will ruin your life, but quite frankly, although I can tell the difference when I switch the light on and off, mostly I would never know it's there. The bike rolls fast, I don't feel like I'm working any harder, and why should a little resistance bother me? It's like the difference between a 3 mph headwindwind and a 3.5 mph headwind. Sure, there's a difference, but not much of one.
The big problem with the Novatec hub is its efficiency. It's not very. It really doesn't put out enough juice to power the halogen headlight at full brightness. The sidewall generator puts out much more power.
I hope the solution is to swap in an LED headlight (I ordered a cheap one from Peter White for $23), which requires much less power to hit its stride. We'll see.
Even with the new headlight, my investment isn't too big. I will then have a bottle generator and light that I could put on the slush mobile.
But I like the idea of having my main workhorse bike have reliable lights all the time, even when I want to jump on it and go to the store at 3 am for some MD 20/20.
Update: Installed the DLumotec Oval. It does reach full intensity with the Novatec hub, but full intensity isn't particularly intense. But that's not the dynamo's fault. It's probably about as intense as the halogen light (different beam color and pattern, of course), but I will continue to use my EOS headlamp, which is dramatically brighter, in addition. The DLumotec will be good as an emergency light and when I don't want to fiddle with the strap-on headlamp; and the always on taillight will be good to have.
Nonetheless, I had the itch. My touring/commuting Trek has lights (B&M Lumotec Oval halogen headlight) and a B&M sidewall generator. The halogen headlight is nice (but the beam pattern is blotchy bright rather than uniform), but the sidewall generator only works when it's dry. When the tire gets wet, the generator slips. One solution is to put on a wire roller, but who wants to be tinkering with the generator every time it rains? (The wire roller would chew up the sidewall if left on for long.)
So I broke down and bought the Novatec generator hub from Velo Orange for $35. Dirt cheap, and probably almost worth the very little I paid. But I had a spare rim, tire (a nice Schwalbe Marathon that I haven't been able to use on my defective Velocity Synergy rim) and tube lying around. I bought cheap spokes from Niagara, and built up the wheel. (That's always fun.) So for $55 I got a generator wheel.
And how does it work? Actually, the rolling part is surprisingly good. Everyone moans and groans about hubs that aren't Schmidts, how the rolling resistance will ruin your life, but quite frankly, although I can tell the difference when I switch the light on and off, mostly I would never know it's there. The bike rolls fast, I don't feel like I'm working any harder, and why should a little resistance bother me? It's like the difference between a 3 mph headwindwind and a 3.5 mph headwind. Sure, there's a difference, but not much of one.
The big problem with the Novatec hub is its efficiency. It's not very. It really doesn't put out enough juice to power the halogen headlight at full brightness. The sidewall generator puts out much more power.
I hope the solution is to swap in an LED headlight (I ordered a cheap one from Peter White for $23), which requires much less power to hit its stride. We'll see.
Even with the new headlight, my investment isn't too big. I will then have a bottle generator and light that I could put on the slush mobile.
But I like the idea of having my main workhorse bike have reliable lights all the time, even when I want to jump on it and go to the store at 3 am for some MD 20/20.
Update: Installed the DLumotec Oval. It does reach full intensity with the Novatec hub, but full intensity isn't particularly intense. But that's not the dynamo's fault. It's probably about as intense as the halogen light (different beam color and pattern, of course), but I will continue to use my EOS headlamp, which is dramatically brighter, in addition. The DLumotec will be good as an emergency light and when I don't want to fiddle with the strap-on headlamp; and the always on taillight will be good to have.
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