Semi-Recumbent Recycled-Parts Cargo eBike: "CrazyBike2"

[amberwolf]

Oh, forgot to post:



Grocery shopping was a success. I try not to splurge on sweets and stuff, but sometimes a deal is good enough, when I know I can stretch what I get across a long enough while to be worth it, or save it for the occasional special treat. Last time I was there I found a bag of Fuze raspberry tea sweetener (good for 3 gallons) for a buck, cuz it had a hole in it and was in a ziploc. I think they were $3 or $4 each for the undamaged ones, and that was probably a discount, too, but too rich for me. Turned out to be good stuff to add to my regular suntea for a little change up. This time I found them clearing out both raspberry and southern-style Fuze bags (same size as before) for 79 cents each, so I got six of each kind. Was a little disheartened when at the register the cashier said that on the 14th, for their 14th anniversary, they had had them for only *14* cents each. Wish I'd known, but I guess I missed it--they didnt' send out an email notice for that sale (I get weekly specials emails from them, though). For that, I would have ridden down there by pedal bike. I dunno what these bags cost normally, but it was a good bargain for me.

Then I found a couple big cans of tomatoes, whcih I like better than the fresh ones cuz these have more flavor than anything I find locally, even when there's nothing added to them. $1.50 for one gallon-sized can cuz it was dented, and $2.49 for the other. I think they call them "No. 10" size cans. Get these in little 10oz or less cans and they can cost this much or more, and this size can is like 10 times that size! Just freeze or refrigerate what you don't use immediately, and it's a huge savings.

I also like sesame oil in a fair number of dishes, especially things wtih ramen or when i make certain chicken and rice dishes, etc. But it is expensive, so I don't make those versions very often. They had the brand I like best (Dynasty) in the big bottle for only $2.49 each, so I got four; they'll last me quite a while even if I use it generously. I'd've gotten lots more but like any nut/seed oil, it can go rancid and then it's useless. At Safeway, it's like $7-8 a bottle even on the very best sales, and usually closer to $10-11! So you see why I don't get it very often.

They had corn on the cob still unshucked for $4 a box of 48 ears. That's a good deal; locally it's nearly a dollar an ear sometimes, maybe half that if I'm lucky. So I don't get fresh corn, pretty much ever, even though I love corn on the cob. The fun part is shucking it, especially with dogs around. They dont' even seem to know why they like playing with the bits, but they want in on the action when they see you tearing the leaves off, so I toss them the leaves/silk/stems as I shuck, and they have great fun with them. Hachi was rolling in the pile on the back porch, crawling under the stuff as i tossed it there, and having a ball.

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Then there's these cheap pre-made frozen burritos, just need reheating (though they taste a lot better if you fry them up, I usually just microwave them at work for quick cheap lunches). Sometimes they ahve them real cheap, like 10 or 20 cents each, this time they were 25 cents each for the small ones, and 33 cents for the bigger fancier ones, so I bought almost 50 of the small ones and a couple dozen of the bigger ones, which should just about last me till my next big shopping trip down there. Safewy carries one fo the same brands, the bigger ones, for about $1.25 each. Not worth it at that price, but at 3/$1, definitely.

[Solcar]

I've been buying pretty much unshucked corn on the cob lately.

Sesame seed oil has a nice flavor. I saw bottle on sale a while back and decided to get it since it is a source of the linoleic omega 6 fatty acid we supposedly need.

I almost destroyed my rear rim yesterday as I was coasting downhill to enter the sidewalk. I thought better of trying to stay on the pavement as a car was passing on the street and I got the fear that my wheel would slip on some gravel and I would slide under the car wheels. So as I was cutting the corner across the grass i noticed a ginormous gap between the grass and the sidewalk above. I lifted up on the handlebars like normal but then threw my weight forward to lighten up the rear. The impact, that was so great that I actually felt the bike stop for a fraction of a second, nonetheless gave me a vision of a badly warped and flatted rim, but to my relief, the emergency maneuver worked. I think, if I had had the extra weight of the assist stuff on that bike, things would have turned out bad. i still have to make sure that it didn't get a leak from the inner tube getting pinched, though.

[amberwolf]

It is very very wet tonight, and nice and cool, compared to our recent weather, whcih has simply had cowardly clouds threatening from the horizon, skirting the city but too fearful to cover it and drown us.

Just before 9pm, the wind picked up so much that it rattled the roof of the building, then rain began so hard it sounded like hail, and lighting coudl be seen indirectly, brightening the sky momentarily now and then.

Not long after, it died down, but close to 930pm and time to actually leave work and ride CrazyBike2 home, it got even windier and rained even harder, with lightning directly overhead and all around, thunder cacophoning only a second or two behind at most (with some only instants after the flash, virtually simultaneous).

A few of those flashes made all the building and street lighting go out for a moment, and caused a few intersections to go to flashing reds instead of operating normally. (I presume they do this if they can't get instructions from the traffic computers, or something?)

Thankfully it had been quite hot all day, so it was only about 75-80F air temperatures, so that my completely and totally drenched self didnt' freeze on the way home, with all the 10-20MPH swirling winds plus my own 20MPH slipstream as I rode unsuccesfully between droplets. (more as if I aimed to catch every single one, from the feel of it)

It would have actually been really nice if it werent' for the crosswinds, which made it very hard to keep the bike on the road sometimes, and would have been impossible to ride against on a normal upright bike--I'd've been tossed to the pavement many times on any other bike of mine. Was kinda fun to beat the challenge, espeically since there was very little traffic, and I managed to get every light green on the way home, so I only had to stop for the actual stop signs, of which there are few, and being the only person at the intersection in most of those cases, could start right back up and go again.


Having 4KW of power on the rear wheel and a slicker tire than the knobby I had on it previously, I was able to actually spin out the rear wheel on a couple of startups, when on old worn pavement, and I also had it spin out once while accelerating into a turn--that took a little wiggling and braking/throttling to sneak out of a skidding crash, but I managed it....fortunately there was no other traffic because I had to end up in the far traffic lane before I could get straightened up again.

Should've known better than to try making that corner at any speed in the wet, as the pavement is worn smooth with just asphalt and no chipseal/anything to keep water from making a planing surface--nothing for the tire to grab with water over it, and the oil from the road surface making it worse.

Nothing on the bike failed from the wet, at least not yet. I think there is water in the circuit breaker switch, though, because even when off, the Cycle Analyst's LED backlight is *just* barely lit up, unless I unplug the main battery connector (an SB50 from the big experimental ammocan pack).

Rain was blowing around so much that it was pretty much pointless to have the fenders; I got soaked everywhere (had to actually dump water out of my shoes! squishsquishsquishsquishsquish) just from splattering rain and windblown gusts of droplets. Water was actually streaming out of the open-topped rightside cargo pod when I pulled the bike into the front room, though it doesnt' seem to have gotten into any of hte other compartments on the bike that have lids.

But I made it home only wet from the rain. The dogs were really happy to see me, as none of htem really likes thunder, only Hachi not really caring about it, and Loki being totaly terrified of it, and Nana very distressed, with Fred not liking it but tolerating it.

None would go outside to go potty, though, until after they ate and had no real choice anymore...I went out with them so they coudl do their stuff, with the door closed behind us so we had to stay out until they were all done--otherwise I know somebody will wind up saving it and doing it in the house later. They were all huddled up around me while I made my own dinner, Hachi holding her "new" toy (from work on clearance for a dime!) that she has taken to treating like a puppy of her very own. She protects it from everyone else, and only grudgingly lets me even touch it or pick it up.

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During all this time, the lightning was more frequent and brighter, thunder closer and louder, with one of them so loud it knocked all the rest of the glass out of that window I fell thru a couple weeks back (and still ahve not gotten the chance and materials to fix). The dogs ALL ran from that one, to hide in the bedroom. It also was so close that it made the lights go out for a few seconds, although several strikes had made them blink for less than a second already, and several more after that, too. If he hadn't just gone minutes before, Loki would've wet himself like he usually does.


Thunder has died down now, but it is still raining pretty hard/steadily, a bit more than two hours later. We need it, and I like it. Is less than 75F outside, cooler than it has been even at night for weeks, I think. Humid, though, of course, so it feels more like 80, when not actually in the rain.

House is nice and cool inside, though, down to 80F already, with all the windows/doors open.


Some pics as of two hours ago, front yard/street and then backyard. Hard to tell but the water in the street (whcih has no drainage) is almost up to the edge of the curb. I would guess it's a 4" curb, and it's probably a thumb's width below that. Couldn't get the camera to focus on it at all thru a clear baggie (to keep it from getting wet) so no pic of that. Ground in back is already so soaked the dogs can't easily walk on the dirt (now swampy mud) areas without slipping and sliding. Hachi tried to rescue some of her "toys" (sticks, balls, rocks, etc) but gave up after some of the thunderbooms scared the other dogs inside.

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[Solcar]

What an endearing personality Hachi has. Great recounting of an interesting evening. Reminds me of the two lightning strikes here that destroyed some electronics, seemingly attributable to an antenna set-up and a network link to the neighbor's house. Here there was apparently such a weird lightning attractor that one strike must have been a large out-of-the-blue bolt which obliterated the overnight silence, leaving a scorched circuit board in my TV, and much other stuff destroyed by its electromagnetic pulse, and my ears ringing for hours afterward.

[amberwolf]

I've been lucky, wiht little ever damaged by lightning--but I also unplug critical things during such storms if I am home, or if I can do so before I leave for work or wherever and I know a storm is likely. Refrigerators I can't unplug except when I'm there, and not for long; most other things I can do so easily (and a lot of things I leave unplugged when I am not using them anyway, some because I've had dogs chew cords and some because they have vampire drains but are too heavy power users to go thru X10 switches, like the microwave and computer stuff).


CrazyBike2 survived the wetness and dried out fine, working perfectly normal today.


No further wet rides or challenges, just a few sprinkles in the afternoon while I was at work, but no real rain today or tonight, not expecting any either. Just hot-ish and muggy. Here's hoping for it to clear up tonight so heat can get out, and let the humidity drop as it condenses out of hte air. Probably wont', but I can wish.

[BikeFanatic]

Light rain is nice but I hate when my shoes fill up with water! that is the worst.

On the other hand Hachi is so damn cute what a picture!So proud of the new toy!

[The fingers]

Nearby lightning strikes always tend to ramp the electric experience up a notch!

[amberwolf]

Water-filled shoes are gross...worse than stepping in a wet spot on carpet in dry socks, and having a pretty good idea of what the wet might be.

Lightning is kinda fun to ride around under, during a storm, but I would be upset if it came down and tried to charge my batteries.


Yesterday's sprinkles and humidity turned into a storm just as bad as the one I rode home in, but it took until almost 2am to do it. Power blinked a few times, and went out for a few minutes once. Hachi was sligthly perturbed, but the rest of them were all crowded around me hoping I would save them from the terrible noises and flashing lights. (even thru my foam-sheet-filled and thick-black-blanket-covered windows, lightning could sometimes be seen, especially during the power outage).

I'd forgotten that I had left the 12V lighting pack charging on the 55V Sorenson lab PSU, back in the utility room, but both came thru the storm unharmed. I did remember to unplug the charger for the bike's traction pack.

Window AC unit froze over it's inside coils many times, requiring manually turning it off and waiting for the ice to melt, and turning it back on, even on minimum setting. Why dont' these things have a sensor for this? I've had this problem with every one of them I've ever used, regardless of age or technology or manufacturer or other fancy features. The only way I have found to mitigate it is to take the thermostat sensor tube off it's little plastic standoff, where it normally measures intake air temperature, and make something that holds it against the actual metal of the inside coils, so that if they get cold enough to form ice the thermostat will turn the compressor off.

But this also means that even on max-cool setting, it doesn't stay on long enough to actually cool off the room a lot, and it creeps up past 85F unreasonably quickly, even when it's raining outside and is reading 75F or less air temperatures out there. I thnk that if it kept rainign for several hours, it would cool off the ground and house roof/walls enough to fix the problem, but it doesn't usually keep going hard enough for more than an hour or two, which barely takes 10-15 degrees off the solid masses' temperatures. Then the humidity in the air prevents those from radiating much heat, or letting evaporation do it, just refracting/reflecting it back to them, I think. . Another problem is that the rain is usually not that cool to start with, as you can quite comfortably stand in it even at 2am. Like a shower just after the hot water has really begun to run out, really.


Anyhow...no other bike-related news today yet. Had offered to fix a broken wire problem for antoher member here in Phoenix, but he has managed to fix it himself, so the day is now back to house-chores. I already went out and "nuked" all the thousands of sprouting goathead weeds, using the electric weedeater because I can't keep bending down and pulling htem out (or crawling on the ground for the entire yard, cuz they're EVERYWHERE). So the yard kinda looks like someone practiced golfing their drive-shots on it. By tomorrow, there will be hundreds or thousands more of them, and then each day after that, too. I usually wait 2-3 days between doing this after rains, once right after when the worst crop comes up, then 2-3 days and then another 2-3 days after that. I can't wait longer than that or they get so big so fast that they have already made goathead thorn seeds, which tear up the dogs' feet.

Even with the weedeater it takes at least an hour to do it, and I usually miss hundreds of tiny ones still below the regular grass blades, and those get huge by the next couple of days. Somteims I have to nuke them early, and then still go back a day or two later to do the next round.

Goatheads suck.

[texaspyro]

Iced up coils almost always means it's low on Freon...

[amberwolf]

If that's what's wrong, then every unit (even brand new) I've ever had is low on freon. While possible, it isn't likely, with the new ones (three of the six I have had). I'm not sure if I have a way to check--I have one of those automotive gauge/refill kits for the new style refrigerants, used to convert the older compressors to the new stuff. Not sure if it can measure these window units, or even if they ahve a service "port" to do that. Might be completely sealed up.

I'm pretty sure that what is wrong is that the very humid outside air is able to carry away so much heat from the exhaust coils that the inside coils get well below freezing, so that the very high humidity in the inside air freezes onto the coils, and the airflow thru the coils simply isn't high enough to carry the water thru before it does so.

When it isn't humid or rainy, this sort of thing doesn't usually happen. The exception is if it gets very cold outside (below 50-60F) then it carries away heat well, too, and the same thing can happen.

In a regular HVAC system like for hte whole house, it doesn't usually occur, although I have had it happen on very humid rainy days, just not to the extent or as often as it does with the little window units.

[amberwolf]

Couldn't sleep, and Hachi and Nana are both all excited about something I can't figure out, so while I was up to keep an eye on them running in and out, I started to go thru the boxes from BikeFanatic. I'd actually sorted the stuff into two boxes a few days back (actually maybe it's been a couple weeks, I'm just not sure).

First thing I looked thru was a box with some RC charging stuff, heatshrink, connectors, caps, a throttle and a couple of controllers, and a Ping charger, as well as a damaged CA and Turnigy Watt meter.

The first controller is a Crystalyte 72V sensorless 12FET, which has a note that it had seemed to cause shuddering/cogging and then poppped, and probably didn't work. I powered it on via the CA on CrazyBike2, and noted no unusual current draw, just a minimal amount indicating it was probably not a dead short and the lowvoltage stuff probably was working.

I then hooked it to the 9C clone from Ohzee, and was able to easily spin the motor by hand, with power on or off on the controller. So it probably doesnt' ahve any shorted FETs. I measured the FETs with a meter (the one with the flaky display I fixed, from Oatnet, as it was handy), and found no problems.

So I pulled the throttle out of the box, and checked the label on the controller, hooked it up to the proper connector as marked (4-pin female), and tried it out--no go, no result at all. No change in current thru the CA, either.

I started to measure the throttle input at the PCB, and found the throttle wires werent' even connected properly to the PCB in the first place.

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The only things hooked to the SP pin were a wire from the ebrake connector (3 pin female), and a wire from the cruise control connecor (5-pin male with only 4 pins in it). The throttle connector does not have but two wires hooked up at all, one of them (white) going to the main ground pad where the battery comes in, and one (orange) going to a 5V pad.

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Since I wanted to test it, I just cut the cruise connector off and wired into those wires temporarily for the throttle connector, afer cutting the two wires that were hooked up out of it.

This worked fine, and the controller appears to work normally now. I presume that BikeFanatic was using it with a cruse control or PAS (as it does have that connector, too), or with some other throttle that only uses 3 pins and hooked to what is labelled as the ebrake connector.

I haven't tested it under any great load, only using a glove to slow the motor's rim some, up to about 250W on the CA, for a few seconds at a time (glove gets hot).

So, now I know that Ohzee's motor works now, and that this controller should work ok, perhaps I'll install them both on CrazyBike2 and stick my modified front motor back on the front fork, and try out 2-wheel drive. Probalby not; bike is heavy enough as it is, and I would have to make clamping torque arms or dropouts for the front fork.... But tempting.



I took a poke around the DP CA, which doesn't power on when hooked up t the Crystalyte's CA connector. It does get battery voltage at the proper input pins, but no voltage at two of teh main transistor pins, with 9.9V at the other pin via a resistor/zener. There is power at one side of the input diode, not at the other, so I suspect the diode is bad. SMT stuff so I can barely see it much less work on it at the moment.


But I do now have some glasses to see with: A friend changed prescriptions, and gave me his old bifocals to use for the frame (whcih fit my lenses, more or less). As it turns out, I can use the lower lenses to see very clearly close up on PCB stuff. Not sure the top part is right for my eyes, as some things seem odd, but it might just be because I've had my current prescription for more than a decade, I think, and it definitely needs updating, if I had money for that. At least I can use these for electronics work, if nothing else. I will try them for regular walkign/riding a littel bit, and "see" if they work for me.

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I haven't looked at the TWM yet, other than to verify it doesn't power on (is probably the regulator chip).


Took a peek at the RC chargers, a pair of Turnigy Accucel 6 units, each of a slightly different version. One of them has half the screen, on the right, not working. Since the other does work, in theory I can still set the bad one up by using both menus and buttons identically, but right now both are set to 6s max out which is what I would use anyway for most stuff.

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There are also some extra plugs including clips to hook them up to SLA for input power.

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For now, I will probably begin using the still-ok unit as a 3s charger for my lighting pack, so I don't have to take it off the bike and to the Sorenson in the utility room.



The heatshrink should be very useful, as it is more of the small stuff that I didnt' have any mroe of, but needed. There are also zip ties, includign stainless steel ones.

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Some 100V 1000uf "HUG" caps, should be useful for fixing or upgrading controllers (along with the ones Bigmoose sent, and some others on a dead-parts-scavenged controller Methods sent me some time back in a box of stuff). Some resistors, too.


A very useful bag includes some new and used Anderson PP45s as well as various HK bullets, new and used. Was wanting to use PP45s for hall connectors recently, but didn't have neough for both motors and controllers, so this will let me do this, which will fix the problems I've had repeatedly with JST hall connectors.

There was also a little voltage checker for up to 6s; seems to work ok, and shoudl be useful. I can carry it in a toolbag for balance checking packs on the roadside, if I run into pakc problems for any reason.

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The ohter box...taht one has a real goodie: A complete Kepler drive! It needs some work, some reassembly, but I will try to find time to get it going and put it on Nishik-E until I get the TongXin middrive designed and built.

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Haven't really looked at ti much yet so I don't have too much to say, but once I read up on the instructions and stuff that BikeFanatic sent, I will make some more posts over on the Nishik-E thread.


There were also a coupld of 26" innertubes, one of which is already on CB2, and a shock pump, whcih works way better on the Manitou airshock that's on the Fusin Test Bike than any of hte othe rpumsps or compressors I have tried so far.

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[Solcar]

On the last window AC unit I had used I adjusted the thermostat trim screws for temp and hysteresis on its thermostat because the way the compressor cycles doesn't suit me well. It took trial and error because I wasn't sure which ones were which. That caused it to tend to ice up the evaporator, but at least the unit was then able to do more of what I needed. The AC unit I have now uses a thermistor as the sensor and I got that compressor to stay on easier just by placing a resistor that gets hot in front of it when the unit is on. I had/have to be paying some attention when running the units now because I have fallen asleep and awoken to them having ice-blocked evaporators. Eventually the ice can get thick enough to actually stop the fan which is a bad thing.

When I was a lot younger I had the chance to get the radial keratotomy eye surgery that was available in those days. That got my eyes farsighted and from then on I could use reading glasses which was a better way to go than having to use concave-lensed glasses for nearsightedness. For one thing, at least reading glasses can be gotten from the store (and not expensive). For really close work, I have even worn a second pair of reading glasses in front of a first pair.

That Kepler drive is interesting!

[amberwolf]

Interesting yes, but apparently not nearly as easy to install as one might expect.

So far out of three bike frames, I haven't found one that would allow a proper install while still having the seat at a height I can live with. On the frame I wanted to put it on, the Nishik-E, it wont' even reach the tire! I have a lot of other frames to go thru, but the Schwinn Sierra, Nishiki Pinnacle, and Trek 800 all either require compromises I don't want to do or wont' work at all without custom-making a place to mount it to (i.e., not on the seatpost/seattube where it's meant to go).

Somehow I expected it to be easier.

See the Nishiki thread for details so far.
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=33246&p=629232#p629232

[Solcar]

I'm still tinkering with my own version of friction drive and still plan to mount it far to the rear at the tail end of the luggage rack, attached to the rack, even. That gives extra room for adjustment of the mechanism operation and will keep the debris pulled off the tire by the drive roller behind and away from the rider, far back in the general backward air flow. As things stand, I am planning to try it with the drive roller very small like you suggested a while ago, and see if it gets enough grip without too much loss.

I have been working on the through-the-gears set-up and after I increased the speed reduction and torque output so much, I can't roll the bike backward anymore. I'm very uncomfortable with that. If I can go with the friction drive, that should remove several pounds of weight, too.

[amberwolf]

That was one of the problems iwth CB2's powerchair/chaindrive: rolling the bike backwards was VERY HARD, especially in (I think) lower gears. Cant'r emember for sure whcih was was harder now.

With the first motor I had a clutch on the gearbox I could let out to disconnect the motor from it, but the first gearbox stage was still connected to the chain, so it was still not as easy as it should be. The second motor had no clutch, so it was even harder.



Tonight I got a number of comments on the bike. A new "buffalo wings" place opened up across the street from where I work, and had sent out coupons for 6 free wings, no purchase necessary, so I figured it'd be worth trying them out, and to see if they delivered/etc., so that if others at work wanted to use them for lunch they could (eating out is way too expensive for me to do more than once in a blue moon, or less). So I went over there after work, and on the way while at a turn, some poeple in the crosswalk were staring at the bike, and a couple o fthem said "cool bike!" and were tkaing pics of it with their phones; I think if it wasn't the middle of an intersection they would ahve stopped to talk.

On my way into the parking lot, a guy in a truck was leaving, and he turned around and came back in behind me, and pulled up to the curb as I parked it over by some other bicycles. The security guard there said something I couldn't quite catch over the loud music coming from inside, but it sounded generally positive, and he asked if he could take pics... The guy int eh truck stared at the bike for a while as I locked it up, and then got out to look at it; it was too loud to talk so I just pointed at the Endless Sphere "bumper sticker" from Spinningmagnets, and said "go here to read about it". Maybe he will.

When I finally got the food (about 30 minutes later--really really busy and loud in there--I would NEVER be able to dine there even with earplugs, and will probably never go back for any reason mainly because of the horrible din, among other things), there were several people around the bike talking about it and taking pics. One of them was another bike rider with a gas engine on his rear rack, the others were other customers and an employee on break (I'm guessing). Still way too loud to talk, so I pointed at the bumper sticker, got ready, and rode off; I did notice as I started up (without pedalling, and using WOT) that a few of the watchers' eyes got big and googly; I don't think they were expecting it to accelerate that fast.

The guy on the gas bike just stared; I've seen him around now and then, once roadside fixing someting on his drivetrain, but he refused any help at the time and was really grumpy-sounding. Now he was looking like maybe he wanted wahtever I was using.


On the way back to work (so I could take the menu to them, and see if my coworkers wanted to try a wing) I passed a police car that had stopped a car, and was blockign the turn lane I pass by on the way there; one officer was just leaning back on his car while the other was on the radio with the driver of the other car. The relaxing officer just waved at me when I glanced over as I passed, and gave me thumbs up (presumably for my lighting, as I have had them do that before and also thank me for the lighting).

When I left work to finally go home, a customer came out as I was just about to ride off, and I waited for him to go past before I moved out on to the parking spaces to ride away. He said something about "I guess that's the hot rod" and I said "something like that", and he paused to watch as I rode off, again using no pedalling and WOT, and I heard his "WOW" as I sped away.

It's not really awe-inspiring acceleration, but as junky as this think looks, and big and clunky, it takes off pretty good with the power it has right now.

[Solcar]

That was an interesting number of good feedbacks. I think people are surprised because they have conditioning to think in terms of the low torque of gas engines when taking off from a stop.

[amberwolf]

It was a very unusually high number, too; I might normally have one person that I hear, or notice looking, on any particular commute. On longer rides or rides with no specific purpose (and so are not time-constrained), I get more, but that is because I am usually riding more where pedestrians or drivers that are not intent on their destination are at, as well as me having more attention to spend on off-road/path information sources as I ride, and sometimes because I am riding slower as I havent' a time constraint to get to work or back home.

Most of it was because of the huge crowds at the wings place for it's grand opening, though I do wish it had been quiet enough to talk without yelling so I could've answered questions instead of seeming rude.


At Safeway when I park outside the north entrance (locking up to the only thing there usable for that, a no parking sign ) isntead of the south where the bike rack is, I almost always get at least one interested person when I am parking, and usually several as I load up more groceries than some people put in their cars.



Last night I used the Accucel 6s charger successfully to charge the 3s lighting pack, although I forgot to turn off the capacity limit and the timeout limit, so I had to restart it to finish the charge as it is much more than 5Ah. However, I still had to take the pack out of the bike's side pod, as the balance extension lead I used (the two that came with the Accucels, in series) didnt' work and the charger errored at startup and read cell 1 as 0V, cell2 as 1.3V, and cell3 as 5.1V. I knew that had to be wrong, but I still felt a tiny little panic when I saw that reading, and checked with a DMM and it was fine at 3.9V on each cell. So I had to connect directly from the pack balance lead to the charger, until I can figure out why the extension didn't work.





(Note: the south entrance is closed after 8pm, until 11pm when the whole store closes, although it doesnt' really make much sense for them to do that. There is mroe traffic thru the south entrance, and it has better security cameras on both the inside and the outside, and the south entrance has the bank/ATM inside as well as the customer service desk for the store; lots of places to see/catch/stop potential thieves, whereas the north entrance has none of those, and is harder to see for the cashiers and baggers and such, too. I asked about it a few times, and no one knows why they close that entrance vs the north one, but even the store manager is not willing to change it. Also note that prior to a a few years ago, they didn't close either entrance until final closing, and evne now they get at least one person every so often knocking on the closed doors that someone has to go over and wave them around to the north side; I usually hear this at least once on each shopping trip I do at that time of night. They do have 8.5" x 11" signs saying that entrance is closed/locked after 8pm, but apparently few people can read).

[amberwolf]

Oh, I also forgot to mention that as I was leaving work the final time, at the 28th Ave southbound light at Peoria, a car that swooped around me and into the lane next to me at the light because I looked like I would be too slow, was very surprised when the light turned green. I hit WOT and pedalled (though more for effect/looks than effective power) and I made it halfway thru the intersection before they even got past the first white line, and I was crossing the crosswalk on the other side before they caught up to me, engine roaring. THey apparently were so upset by this that they didn't pay too much attention to the road ahead, and ended up halfway across the crosswalk of the next red light (metro parkway) before they screeched to a stop. I just coasted up next to them in the right turn lane, then as there was no cross traffic, made my right turn and rode off. A few seconds later whent he light changed, I could hear their tires squealing and engine roaring; I guess I upset them or something.

[Alan B]

Today a car followed me awhile, then passed slowly as I was doing 20+ on a good uphill, and then pulled over and hailed me. His name was Paul and he was quite interested in my bike and wondered where he could get one.

I talked to him a bit and gave him a business card that I had made up special for ebike encounters. Vistaprint.com has "free" business cards that you pay only the shipping, it is about 7 bucks for 250 cards, and right before checkout you can get another 250 for three more dollars, so about ten bucks for 500 cards.

I put my ebike website and endless sphere's URL on the card as well as my email and phone (not sure I should have put the phone though). I'm not doing any business with ebikes, this is just for information. Anyway this is the first time I've given one to a stranger. My ebike website has a couple of articles about how efficient and useful ebikes are, stuff designed for the general public, family and friends.

One thing we could do is to make a run of ES cards that had info but no one's name on them and provide small packets of them to folks. An order of 500 for ten bucks would make ten packs of 50 cards or 20 packs of 25 cards.

[amberwolf]

I keep meaning to print some up, as I ahve a few laser pritners that mostly work, and have bi-weekly access to lots of discarded signage at work that would fit fine in the printer, and just print on the blank backs of them. They're nice glossy thick paper, some even card stock. I'd just have to cut them up afterward.

I have some business card stock around here somewhere, too, intended for inkjet and laser printers, from when CompUSA shutdown.

Like most of my little side-projects, it can only happen when I can find all of the things necessary for it at the same time, *and* when all the devices necessary for it are working at the same time, *and* I actually remember to do it. That makes this less likely to be easy than it might seem.


On another subject, I got my "recognition packet" for 5-year anniversary at work, and now I ahve to choose something from among the 78 items they list. See my dilemma here:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=43276

[amberwolf]

I have started a couple of times to pull the airless tube out of the old front tire from the freecycled bike (where I got the rear 26" one for DayGlo Avenger), but keep getting pulled away. Tonight and last night it has been another bad tooth, this time on the right side in back. Been flaring up for a week or more, intermittently, not really too bad except for hte first day, and now late yesterday thru tonight when it's become almost intolerable at times. It'll stay peaceful for a while with things like Ibuprofen, Excedrin PM, Tylenol 8-hour, etc., then suddenly flare up like an icepick in my face, especially when I start to do strenuous thngs (whcih pulling this tube out of the tire/wheel most definitely is).

Sometimes aspirin held on the tooth itself helps, but earlier tonight that stopped working and actually makes it worse by far. That's very different from previous teeth, where the aspirin worked to kill the nerve and stop the pain completely. I don't understand why the difference this time. There does not appear to be any abcess or infection, just open tooth internals/ nerve that is aggravated by anything too cold or too hot. Cool (but not ice cold) tea without sugar or anything in it seems to work best to calm it, but only while I have the half-mouthful in my mouth swishing around the right side. Once swallowed, it only takes about 15-30 seconds for the throbbing to come back in time with my heartbeat.

Makes it hard to sleep for work, too--much harder than usual, as I still ahve all my usual stress and noise based sleep problems. Been calling around to see who can pull it for cheap, but so far most places won't even give me an estimate on the phone saying I must come in for x-rays (whcih they won't tell me the cost of either). A coworker has referred me to a place she works a second job at that shoudl be able to do it for two monthly payments of $30, which I might be able to deal with, but I haven't been able to get thru to them on the phone yet; i't s always busy in the mornings thru midday; I have to work after taht so dunno about afternoons.

The good thing is I know eventually it will stop on it's own, but that sometimes takes weeks, though usually just days.


Yesterday I noticed that the left cargo pod was wiggly as I hit bumps, and found that the bolt that secures it to the rear dropout's accessory mount had gone missing, along with the spacer that keeps it away from the axle nut. I presume I must've loosened it accidentally in working with the rear wheel at some point, and not tightened it back up.

I started to replace it that night, but I couldn't concentrate or hold the tools right, and gave up for a while. I eventually had to take the cargo pod off to get to it, which isnt' normally necessary, but I just couldnt' work around the pod this time.



While doing that, I also pondered adding some rim brake Vbrake studs to the rear stays (as I have pondered many times), and I think I will end up doing this in the near future.

I am also pondering going back to 24" in the front so I can use the airless tube a friend gave me a few posts back, along with my favorite road slicks so far (not counting the ones from Ohzee which may turn out to be my new favorite), that i only have in 24", on the front of CB2. But to do this I must add brake studs to it an inch down from where they are now (for 26") so the Vbrakes will work on the 24" rim. I have the identical 24" wheel to the 26" I have on there now, including disc hub, so I can use disc brakes, but I have already found that the cheap YUS calipers suck, as do their 180mm rotors--the Avid Single-Digit 5 arms and pads for rims are much better and more consistent. So while having the disc might be helpful as an additional braking component, I cannot trust them by themselves and need the rim brakes, too.

Now I am waiting for the painkillers to take effect again, and maybe get a little sleep. Might be able to tackle at least ONE of the things above before I have to go back to work tomorrow late afternoon, if I get enough sleep in a row first.

[Solcar]

I have found some relief for cavities by packing toothpaste onto the bad spot. Teeth are literally such a pain!

[The fingers]

Tea bag works sometimes.

[amberwolf]

Survived another drenching rain and thunder filled ride home from work; not quite as bad lightning-wise as last time, but most definiltye worse on the rain. I was completely and thoroughly soaked in the first mile, and the second one started to get cold as it wasnt' as warm as last time, even though it was earlier in the night by a couple of hours this time.

Bike seems to ahve survived fine, although when this wet the circuit breaker is still definitely allowing some current to pass to the CA's backligth even when off, just enough to barely light it enough to see in the dark room.

Dogs were unhappy (except for Hachi) to go out in the rain, but at least not being terrrified by flashbangs of thunder this time.

Hachi's appetite seems to ahve returned, as she ate all her food out of the bowl without any toppers and only a little encouragement, and then went around licking all the other already-empty bowls of the other three dogs--something she hasn't done in a while.


Yesterday I forgot to post a find, guess I was too tired to remember it. Somebody dumped a whole lot of scrap stuff and junk in front of our dumpster at work; I wish I had had the trailer to haul it home. Lots of it would've been useful, including an under-counter microwave, a countertop convection oven, bunch of galvanized EMT tubing of various lenghts and bends, big tall cheap galvanized tripod stand for a satellite dish, the dish itself, and some computers, etc. All I could fit on the bike at the time was the dish; nothing else coudl be tied to the pods or the bike in a way that would stay on it at the time (all the tubing was too long or bent in ways it wouldn't fit or wouldnt' stay, and would flop around while riding).

By the time I loaded up the trailer to the bike and went back, it was all gone. That's one reason I want to make a better cargo bike.

This is the dish

DSC07231.JPG (64.86 KiB) Viewed 395 times

--it is the same basic dish as one I'd gotten off Freecycle a month or two ago (whcih I thought I'd posted about but I cant' find the post now), except *this* dish has been painted very nicely. The plan with the other one (and this one) is to remodel the transceiver focal point from the one it comes with to one of the many on the web that will work for WiFi. then I can use it to extend my wifi reception for good signals quite a lot farther--some poeple ahve gotten more than a mile out of htem, and I have a few places within that distance I could try to use, including the public library and Peter Piper Pizza, both of whom have free wifi accessible within some short distance of the buildings, but might be reachable with a dish pionted just right. Also a bunch of them in the area I could reach, too, from just home wifi routers--but Id' rather use the ones already open to the public.

If I can reliably connect to multiple sources, I can dump my internet bill. Having two dishes means I can even leave them both hooked up and pointed at different places--on on each input of the router, for instance, so that even if one goes down I still ahve a connection without getting on the roof and reaiming.


The old antenna had a double focal point unit, the new one has only one. Both are the oval antenna, rather than round, complicating the mounting as it has to be put on upside down or on a non-vertical pole.


Teeth are a little better. Teabag helped for one day, then made it worse. Aspirin stopped working, made it worse. Ended up holding a damp towel with icepack on it for about a full day, as the only thing that would work (even tylenol3 w/codeine or darvocet just took some of the constant pulsing away, not the big throbbing or the sharp sudden pains like when drinking or eating anything that was not already exactly at body temperature.

Now all the pain is gone except for the latter, so I just have to make sure anything I eat or drink is adjusted just right for temperature before I consume it, just in case any part of it gets over on the right side of my mouth by accident.

[ddk]

http://www.radiolabs.com/products/anten ... ntenna.php

I haz one of these only with a built-in amplifier... used when I traveled the roads.
excellent for a couple of k's, ok for a couple of miles
@$129.00 it was far cheaper than a big cell phone bill.

http://www.radiolabs.com/products/wirel ... nnectx.php
this is different but would have close to the same range @ 14dB gain.
Their yagi antennas coupled with their high-power amplifiers can reach miles and miles and will overpower closeby systems (probably why they no longer sell the unit I own)