A year 'Bent

My First Ride on Rover I, Panama City Beach, FL: Dec 29, 2015

It's been almost exactly a year since Rover I arrived in that big box. It has been and continues to be a wonderful adventure. No matter the weather or location, that first roll down the street everyday puts a big, stupid grin on my face. And in spite of my wife's initial insistence, not one close encounter of the auto kind. The twice I did flop it over were minor stupidity and only cost a bit of skin.

Rover I was stolen after a month and about 8-900 km, but after a week of mourning and raging, I ordered Rover II and got on with my life. Never did see hide nor hair of Rover I since, but hope whoever now has it found the 'Bent experience as exciting as I have.

Rover II has been a really great trike. I've tried and will continue to add mods for enhancing the triking ride, but I can't think of one reason to abandon Rover II in favour of another. It has been super reliable and has never left me stranded on the road.

Maintenance and repairs have been minimal, With over 5300 km on the odometer, I have worn out a set of tires (replaced with Big Apples + one rear lug for the snow). I changed the 11T sprocket because I wore it out from continuous use in high gear before I put on the 24" rear wheel. I think the chain has pretty much had it, but has never broken and I have a replacement I will put on when/if I go e-assist. I have a set of replacement brake pads for the Alhonga disks, but last I checked the old ones are still fine and working well. So other than tightening a few nuts, bolts, spokes, and lubing the king pins, etc., All systems are go!

E-assist is still planned.Don't want a hotrod but I need the extra oomph to help me up those really ugly hills and extend my range on the gravel roads. The problem is legislation and availability of a legal, durable, reasonable cost kit. There are several that will do the job, but all have a sticking point someplace in the whole conundrum. Canada has enacted really short-sighted rules specifying '500W Max, stamped and certified by the manufacturer that it cannot be altered': obviously written by a bureaucrat because it cannot be met or enforced. Each prov/ state I may want to visit has another set of rules or none at all. Allowed/dis-allowed on MUPS, bike lanes, roadways, signals... the confusion goes on.

Even in Europe where pedelecs face pretty strict rules for speed and power, 'chipping' kits are now readily available to remove power/speed restrictions from the most popular ebikes. These mods are not externally evident and you can bet they work just fine as the same hardware is available at the higher power in other jurisdictions or for off road use.

In the end I will have to make a decision on my own and pioneer. I think one wags definition of a legal e-bike is one that "you can ride by a cop without getting stopped or ticketed. Stay tuned as I may have to start a 'Go fund me' campaign to raise bail.

So the past year has been a great adventure. Due to being 'Bent I am happy, active, and healthy. The weight and blood sugar is being kept at bay and in spite of my wife's insistence otherwise, the budget is not in bad shape either. Probably have about $2000 spent on this hobby so far... How many rounds of golf or gym memberships is that?

So whether I go zooming by you or the more likely scenario, you go zooming by me, smile and GRIN!

Happy New Year

Today, Dec 28, 2016, Dressed for -8C, Osoyoos, BC

Winter is upon us!

At least the temperature is, if not the calendar.

We are wintering in Osoyoos, BC on the BC/WA border which is at the northern end of the Sonora Desert... the rattlesnakes are in hibernation, but the cactus spines are lying in ambush for bike tires. Up until this morning the only snow in evidence was on the tops of the mountains. All that Pineapple Express moisture that slams into the Pacific Northwest drenching Seattle, Portland and Vancouver gets pretty well sucked dry going over the mountains leaving just the odd drip for the interior here.

 An Arctic Outflow played a really dirty trick on us all this week dropping temps here in Osoyoos to -13C at night and a couple days of stiff winds makes one wonder where the summer zephyrs went. Over the mountains to the coast that cold air went turning things white out there in Lotus Land. Here we got a dusting of about a half inch... one centimetre for the metrically inclined.

The Fountain this morning after three nights at -13

Sun shining through the
 Osoyoos Fountain
 when we arrived Nov 12

But this cold and snow hasn't stopped me so far.... only slowed me down and shortened down my ride segments a bit. My wardrobe  has changed a tad. The long johns are permanent now... three new pair for adequate rotation. Socks, sometimes an extra pair, but not always necessary as the WGX Fairing really protects the legs and feet. I have a set of wind pants but haven't really needed to put them on over my jeans yet. On my upper, I have now two fleece hoodies covered with a good windproof breaker

I am still wearing my bike helmet,(with reason...later) but have it lined with my winter hard hat c/w ear flaps. I pull my inside hood up over my helmet as well to keep the draft off the back of my neck. A pair of hd long cuff mitts completes the attire Think I may add a face/neck muffler as my wife demands her wool scarf be returned. The only place I was feeling any cold was on my back and where the metal seat supports were pressing against me. A piece of 2 inch foam 24 x36 " laid on the seat held by a strap wrapped around the seat fixed that
.

The 2" piece of foam that insulates my back and butt FANCY!!. MY riding clothes right where I hung them up in the middle of the kitchen floor

Heading back home from coffee at McDs. I can break the 30 kph limit  no trouble, so I stifle.
The trip back up requires 1,2 and 3rd gears

The Big Apple tires aren't much for tread so a little worried about a couple of steep parts of my route. Spun out on one ramp this morning, but perseverance got me over the top. May throw a knobby on the back to see if that improves things. Keeping the speed down and if its gets too icy may put knobbies on the front or just park Rover II for a while.

Always found the Rover very stable. Only an idiot could flop it over. Let me introduce you to an idiot....ME-  TWICE.

First time just rolling off a curb at a cross walk, barely moving when left wheel dropped 4 inches and right went up a couple and I did not lean. Pride wounded, no injuries, to me or Rover. Trucker that had stopped for me peed herself laughing. Did not learn my lesson  as three days later crossed the street with the sun in my eyes and ran the right wheel up on a 12 inch decorative  boulder and "Flop". Again wounded pride but no other casualties. That's why I've slowed down on my descent of Main St.

In spite of the abuse things have been holding together well on Rover II with well over the 5000km mark on the odometer now. With these hills around Osoyoos I have been running in the 28 tooth front ring most of the time which gives be a top pedaling speed of about 20 kph in 8th.I really need that granny gear in a few spots. Realize this is taking a toll on that 11 t cog, but plan on changing it out in spring. There is so much roll to the streets and paths here there is a lot of coasting. Brakes are working fine, but have a new set of pads to put in when I get a warmer day.

If you follow the switchback it's 27 km to the summit. Me thinks e-assist needed

Have been looking seriously at e-assist options and what I need/want in a mid mount just doesn't seem to be available right now. The Bafang BBS02 doesn't have torques sensorand at 750 watts is illegal in Canada except for off road and off MUP use; the TSDZ2 will do the trick but the blogs are full of inconsistencies on its reliability and quality. The new Bafangs w torque sensor are not yet available and require a different mounting bracket not the standard 68mm BB.There are so many new options coming down the pipe, I think I'll just keep looking for now.

Rover II by a vineyard at foot of Anarchist Mountain. Yes they have wine tasting at the dozens of wineries here!
Call it NAPA North

Besides I'm enjoying the ride and will  leave those steep hills for another day.