Recchetta

Our local recumbent parts and accessories manufacturer sells some awesome TailSoks & frames. Although I'm not ready to purchase one of their admittedly well-made aluminum-tube based TailSok frames.

TerraCycle recently started making making their TailSoks with retro-reflective fabric, and so that means they're currently clearing out their old inventory of non-reflective soks, for bargain at $39/each.

So, after picking one of their clearance soks... Continue reading "How to make a TailSock frame for less than $10"

An update to my Feburary posting; the airless Kenda inserts are working great.

Yes, I do feel just a little bit slower off-the-line...but...over the past couple of weeks I've realized that I'm no longer scanning the roads for glass, nails & other crap anymore. Only the largish potholes and other uneven surfaces.

Combined with the fact I no longer haul around pumps, tire wedges and patch-kits. Is it worth feeling slightly-slower off-the-line, yet never worrying about flatting again?

Hell yes!

After being stuck in outer-SE Portland, fixing a flat, during a dark freezing midnight downpour...and then solicited from a tweaked-out overweight older man (musta been the bike shorts) :o ...I turned to airless tire solutions; I've always hated flatting, and found it silly that a good chunk of my randonneuring kit was in pumps, tubes, tires and patches. My first venture was ordering one-piece tires from AirFreeTires.com, my first order arrived with no issue, and while the tires were a bit quirky, they were alright. My second order took months, and a series of public/online complaints before arrival. The third order never arrived...and that order was placed in October of 2008.
Continue reading "Experiences with Airless Bike Tires - www.airfreetires.com is just a scam site now"

Yes, in today's world it is still possible to travel over 200 miles on a single gallon of gasoline.

My trip took me from downtown Portland Oregon, into Astoria Oregon, then Seaside, down to Tillamook, and then back into Portland. To get an idea of my average speed, the Portland to Astoria leg took roughly 4 hours...and I pedaled the entire way

My Bike & the route:

View Larger Map

58 miles, 1/4 a gallon, over ~3 hours...WOOT!

The route roughly consisted of... Continue reading "Hi, I'm Gregg, and I'm addicted to ICE... :-)"

It's dirty, but it feels oh-so-good!!

The short-story, is that over the past few months, while the electric setup continues to make progress. Waterproofing the electronics is proving far more challenging than I bargained for. This is the pacific-northwest, so one can hardly ignore the chance of rain! So, with a 300-mile solo ride planned for late June, I needed something better-tested. I swallowed a bit of pride, and as a part of me withered away...the idea of a gas motor was solidified. Only ~$350 + a weekend, and the deed was done...and yea, it works great in the rain, no waterproofing necessary.



I just completed the 1st test ride tonight, and while going /uphill/... Continue reading "Gas...it's so dirty, but oh so much fun!"

I think I finally figured out a decent use for my blog, at least for another six-months or-so.

Lately, I've received a steadily-increasing volume of questions regarding my "simple" electric bike setup. While the wiki details the "final" product...or, more accurately, the project's /current/ state. The design continues to evolve...and improve. There's just not much room for commentary, or quite-simply, folks to ask the questions I value so much (as they help me better-explain details, and force me to think about possible design revisions...and have great ideas themselves!).

So, here it goes... Continue reading "The Recchetta - my eBike project"