cross-posted from: https://lazysoci.al/post/19204414

Just the other day in regards to the bike made with vape batteries people were saying that homemade electric bikes were dangerous due to the expertise required when dealing with batteries. Electric bikes are fantastic, but your lives are even better.

Interesting design. I wish I could try it.

Ifixit take on current bike/e-bike manufacturers.

I wanted to share my experience with waxing my bike chains.

I was resistant to waxing my chains because it seems that a lot of people felt it was "too much work".

But having to constantly clean black shit off my chains after every ride, then spend time degreasing and re-lubing, I figured I'd try waxing when I got my gravel bike.

Now, thousands of KM later and having converted all three bikes to waxed, there's no way I'd go back. The time saved could be measured in hours per month.

First, the biggest complaint is chain prep. Yeah, regardless if you're waxing or not, you'll need to prep a new chain by removing the factory grease. With waxed, you do this once, and no more worrying about degreasing ever again. Make like easy and get Silca's chain stripper, and it's a 10 minute, one-step process.

Ongoing chain maintenance couldn't be easier. After every ride, give the chain a quick wipe (or not). My chain stays clean, even after a 200 km ride.

And if you ride in wet or dirty conditions? Guess what, you're in for a LOT of work if you lube your chain. With waxed, keep a second (or third) chain ready to go, and you just swap it out (10 seconds of effort). Take the dirty chain, give it a wipe if it's only been wet, or pour boiled water onto it if you want to "reset" the chain to bare metal. Then drop it into the waxing pot for a re-wax. You don't have to stand at the pot, so there's no real time commitment here. I've spent more time completely dirtying large microfiber cloths trying to get my chain "clean" when lubed (hint: it's never clean if you use a wet lube, not without solvents and an ultrasonic cleaner).

For actual immersion wax, I do it every 1000 km (sooner than you need to), and use a drip wax every 200 - 250 km to keep things fresh.

Honestly, wax is easier, cleaner, and takes less time to maintain vs wet lube.

The only downsides? The initial cost to get started. But this is offset by not having to replace chains or other components prematurely. You actually save money in the long-term when using waxed chains.

Some might argue that "you can't run waxed chains in muddy or constantly rainy conditions". Well, at the same time, your wet lube isn't really helping matters in those situations, either. Waxed is still better, and you can swap chains much faster than you can clean the grinding paste from a wet lubed chain.

Who would I not recommend waxed chains to? Someone who rarely uses their bike. Drip lube will be "good enough" in those cases. But anyone else would benefit from waxing their chain.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/29275922

in 1986, mountain bikes were making their mark in Canada, as cyclists swapped out their 10-speeds for more rugged rides. This CBC news segment from The National explores the early days of the mountain biking craze, featuring enthusiasts like Ian K., who traded his Volkswagen-like commuter for an $800 mountain bike, likening it to driving a Porsche. While the trend was just beginning, the piece questions whether mountain biking would remain a luxury niche or become a mainstream activity as prices dropped and mass availability rose. Originally aired on May 26, 1986.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/28022420

I have a wonderful GT Transeo which I have been using for commuting and joy rides.

I'm thinking about upgrading since I did a couple of charity rides and even a race this year as well.

I have been riding road primarily but I'm thinking about gravel or all-road bikes since drivers in my area seem to be getting more... dangerous? If I get gravel then I can either go on bike trails or drive somewhere where there is less car traffic. There's also quite a few gravel events in my area.

I've been eyeing either the Trek Domane, Canyon endurance, or the Giant Revolt. Any other bikes to look into?

Budget - Preferably $1k-$2k USD. I'm okay with going up to $3k if it's worth it. I am not looking to be a pro, just something with a little more arrow and competitive than a hybrid bike 😅. Not afraid of buying used, but the market in my area is terribly non-existent. If I look for used bikes I probably would buy through BuyCycle.com or something.

Have to hold back a bit else i would have a hard time carrying those back. Maybe i should get a cargo bike or something 😅

A US "ultra-endurance" cyclist has claimed a new world record for fastest woman to circumnavigate the globe by bike.

Lael Wilcox took 108 days, 12 hours and 12 minutes to cycle 29,169km (18,125 miles), starting and ending in Chicago.

She beat the 2018 record held by Jenny Graham, from Scotland, whose journey took 124 days 11 hours.

Wilcox, 38, of Alaska, set off on 28 May, crossing 21 countries on four continents before arriving back in Chicago around 21:00 local time (02:00 GMT) on Wednesday.

Now that I have beat it, I am just going to focus on getting my first century ride in before the weather gets shitty.

Salivating for mid-block crosswalks, more armored bike lanes, daylit intersections, and more on the west coast, too.

Before the advent of fossil fuel-powered transport, travellers crawled across the surface of the planet slowly. The world, back then, was bigger; getting anywhere at all was an adventure in itself. Today, the world is small. I can live my life in London, UK, and still attend family events in Sweden, where I'm from, several times a year. I can have my cake and eat it.

That is, if it weren't for one thing: the climate. The emissions released by aeroplanes mean flying in them is among the most carbon-intensive things most people are likely to ever do. Trying to avoid these emissions, I have experimented with ferry and train travel between the UK and Sweden for over a decade. But plane is almost always the cheapest option. So what about cycling?

[...]

But not all environmental benefits are measurable in emission units. "The bigger picture takeaway [with a long-distance ride] would be getting the conversation in people's minds," Yanocha says. "You would automatically think 'oh, I'm just going to fly', [but] actually you could do this on a bike."

Cycling helps us appreciate nature, says Brandi Horton, vice president of communication at the US non-profit Rails to Trails Conservancy. "When you're zooming around in your car or you're on the train or you're on a plane, you are not going slow enough to notice what lives [around] you. When you're off the highway... you suddenly see something entirely different

I'm thinking about commuting by bike from home to my french classes, but the thought of my bike being stolen worries me and I'd like to hear your opinion.

I think that Onguard's Pitbull 8003 U lock would be good enough for my current situation, since my class only lasts about an hour and my bike would be inside the school.

I paid around $450 for my bike years ago, it's an aluminium road bike with shimano sora shifts. Would you say that it could eye catching?

I'd be glad to hear your thoughts!

Another win for older tech?

I doubt these will take off. They do look cool Af while shifting imo

Ok, so here's my problem.

I own quite a few padded shorts, ranging from $30 - $250 (bibs), and they feel great for the first 2-3 hours, then I get really uncomfortable in them. Not pain, but quite uncomfortable.

I was able to ride 200km wearing only compression shorts with no padding, but I think I got lucky.

Regular shorts/underwear always have issues because of the seams, so they aren't viable.

I heard that triathlon shorts are lightly padded, so they may offer a nice in-between.

Does anyone wear them? How do they compare to traditional cycling shorts?

Yesterday i finally whip up the courage to try commuting with bike, i planned the 40km round trip to visit my mom and go grocery shopping on the way back,, planned the route with as much residential street as possible, and that was a fun experience! While there's a lot of "woah, ebike"(where i live a proper ebike is rare, even though mine is converted) and "you travel from that small town? That's insane!" from stranger, what's not fun is the ride on some stretch of the road.

I live in a small town outside the city, a lot of the road going out of the town is pretty much 1 lane each way, no cycling facility for the whole country(Malaysia), the road shoulder is narrow to non-existent(the line is basically bordering between road and grass/dirt) if not filled with potholes/cracks/sketchy road maintenance/bump made by tree root, and motorist often driving very fast even on narrow road. Luckily more often than not they does give me a lot of space when they're passing(thanks to motorcycle culture), but those who don't is very discouraging for the whole experience, mostly it's the one riding moped that pass me too close for comfort with 30/50kmph faster than me(no thanks to motorcycle culture).

I planned to do it often, first by doing a no-car sunday, then slowly switch to commuting to work(also 40km round trip), and eventually cut down car use to only just a day or two a week or only on long distance travel, but this experience kinda made me second guess the whole plan. It's also quite tiring, i can still feel the fatigue today.

So how did you guys that do the commute able to keep going? Any advice on that end?

also works on downtube