01 CAt Man Do

So far I've ridden the Trek Conduit in several short / light rain scenarios without any problems. Actually I've been trying to test it in a harder rain but I'm only willing to do this if I'm close to home ( just in case some unforeseen electrical issue crop up unexpectedly. ) I figure better to check this before doing any road trips with the bike as I would hate to have to pedal the bike any kind of distance without any e-assist especially during a heavy downpour. Saturday I had the chance to ride during a downpour but before I could get dressed for the storm the small rain cell quickly passed before I was ready. By the time I was on my bike there was only the gentlest of light rain.

The ride I had today had a small bit of light rain. It was so light that I really didn't need to use any rain gear. In warm weather rain gear almost isn't necessary as long as you aren't riding in a torrent. No torrent was on the radar today, just a bunch of small fast moving mini-cells. Only a few of those had the yellow that indicates a med-to-hard rain and none of those were passing through where I live. I'm really Jonesing for a decent road trip. If it would only stop raining on weekends. Still haven't gotten a MTB ride in this summer cause every time I plan one it is either raining, had rained or threatening to rain and I do not like riding muddy trails or in the woods if a heavy storm is approaching ( or simply too close by for comfort ).

I have another week of vacation coming up in a couple weeks and yes, I actually am praying for some dry ( and not terribly hot ) weather. I did a google search for "reverse Indian Rain dance". To my surprise there is such a thing and not just by Indians. Who would of thought.

01 CAt Man Do

Dang it! I must of prayed too hard. No rain the entire week...however, after four lovely but somewhat warm days I ended up getting more than I wanted. By mid-week the temperature got so hot that is was too hot to ride even at night ( although I did try ). Anyway, five days of excessive heat can be quite annoying and actually worse than dealing with rain. Last night ( my final day off ) temps had dropped a bit and so decided to take a ride around midnight. That said I was tentative and so kept the ride short and close to home. After I got back I realized that I could of rode longer but decided not to go back outside.

I did realize something last night while I was riding. When it's extremely hot ( even at night ) I have to remind myself that I'm riding an ebike. I don't have to keep it in the eco mode ( which is what I usually do, even on the hills ). Nope last night I had an epiphany...."Not every ride has to be about getting a work out". If it's too hot, go ahead and use that "Normal mode" on that short or long moderate climb. With that in mind that is what I did last night. Sure did make the ride easier which of course kept me much cooler.

I also noticed something else while using the "Normal" ( mid-level assist )....when you drop back down to eco it will almost always feel like you have no assist going. I finally figured out "why that is so". The motorized assist is designed to sense cadence. In order to eliminate that feel of pedaling a tank you need to immediately drop down 2-3 gears after you drop back into eco mode. When you do this the motor senses your new pedaling cadence and then begins to assist again. You lose some speed while doing this but this is how it works with the Shimano Step system. This is also true when tackling a steep hill in normal mode. If you start slowing you need to down shift so the motor does more of the work or use a higher assist level. Takes getting use to but once you get used to it, it makes things so much easier.

01 CAt Man Do

After finishing a week of covering a graveyard shift I was more than a little tired today. Turned out to be a nice day for a ride too but I was just too tired to try to get a day ride in. After about 10:00pm I decided I was woke enough to try to get a nice ride in. Not more than a quarter mile from my home I saw some flashes in the sky which gave me pause. ( was rain in the area? ) After I started seeing some more flashes I stopped to check the weather app on my phone. Sho-nuff, a small line of storms was headed my way. I could of decided to go back home but judging from the app I figured if I kept it down to a short 5er,6er I might make it back before it started to rain.

It was such a nice night for a ride it was hard to limit the ride. Nevertheless when I came to the spot where I had to choose, I decided it would be best to cut the ride short. ( the sound of thunder in the distance will do that to ya. )
Now if I had kept it to a five or six miler I would of made it back but no, I was doing what would turn out to be a short 8 miler. About 3 miles from my home I started to see the first drops. I could of put on all the rain gear I had with me at that moment but since it was just a light drizzle I stopped and slipped on the micro-fiber rain shorts and left the rain jacket in the rack box.

With less than two miles to go the thunder got louder and the rain began to come down harder. I decided it was time to put on the rain jacket. Word to the wise, never zipper the jacket when storing it inside something on your bike. Took me much longer than necessary to put that jacket on because of the zipper and the Velcro fasteners. No sooner had I got the jacket on it really started to pour. I sure am glad the Trek Conduit comes with a kickstand because that made a big difference when I had to make a sudden garment change. The rain gear seemed to do it's thing but I noticed that my upper legs were still getting a little wet even though I had the rain shorts on before it really started to pour. I suppose some of that was because even if you have rain shorts on, some water still gets blown up and under the looser shorts. Because of that about 8" of my riding shorts had got a little wet. No water in the crotch area or on my butt so I suppose they did a half decent job. My REI rain jacket performed like a champ ( with hood under the helmet ) my upper body was bone dry. Now my shoes of course got soaked. Really wished I had checked the weather before I left or I would of put my rain booties on. I don't usually bring those with me but only because they are so hard to put on unless you have a chair to set on. Going forward I think I'll start bringing those because sometimes I do pass places that have something I can sit on. Without the booties my feet got soaked within minutes. Not to mention my hands got soaked as well. I really need some lightweight waterproof gloves. Might have to check out the local REI and see if they have something affordable that also fit.

The bike itself held up real good and no issues with the e-assist. Thank God for that! Turned out I only had to ride maybe five minutes in the downpour but it seemed like 15 minutes. Didn't bring the goggles I bought on Amazon but it really didn't matter because the hood on my jacket has a nice brim that help keep most of the rain off my glasses ( and I was riding quite fast too ).

01 CAt Man Do

Well, I guess it was going to happen sooner or later but last night it finally did. I pulled a muscle on my back while moving the bike. Actually it was all my fault. When I leave my Condo I have to go down a flight of stairs. Not a problem...usually. I took the bike down and when I got to the bottom I realized I had forgotten to put the main light on the bike. Not one to take chances I carried the bike back up to the next level where I live. When inside real quick to get the light ( no problem, took only seconds ) but when I came back out I faced a dilemma. The bike was turned the wrong way and there was very little space to work with while sitting in the stairway short level area. . Not thinking I stupidly chose to pick the bike up and lift it over my head and then twirl the bike around. Wrong thing for me to do! I felt the twinge on the left side of my upper back almost immediately. I knew right away that it wasn't going to take long for the pain to kick in. I still got my ride in but two hours after I got home the pain started up. God I hate when I do stupid stuff like trying to pick up a 50 lb. bike over my head and twirl it around. Thankfully the generic Naproxen Sodium I have is taking care of the pain but it also means I have to take it easy on my back for at least a week or so. Need I say, I'm never going to do that again.... ( Note: This is what happens when your mind makes a promise that your body can't keep , especially when in your mid-60's )

2old

Sorry to hear about your misfortune, but don't feel like the Lone Ranger; we've been there.

HorizDropPlz

I recently bought a moxey seat post and tried to use a rubber spring booster like another user on this forum suggested & I even picked the softest of 3 different brands of rubber coil spring boosters but it's not moving at all. I even used 1/2" hole saw to try and make it work and it's not moving. I serviced all the pivot's and they're good.
What can I use for an elastomer?

Im going to post more details on that thread. This was the 1st thread that came up when I searched for the Moxie seat post (actually spelled Moxey I believe)

thanks for any help... need for this to work. The bike it's going on takes a 25.4mm seat post.

I guess I can't post a pic yet?