Folding Rad Family Fotos - Sackville, NB

[John Rose]

Our first Rad ride together was today. We had a warm spell with rain and lots of wind, which cleared the snow and ice off the nearby (only 230 meters away) trail, a former railbed.
Weather conditions were: temperature +1^oC, wind SSW 19 km/h gusting 31, mostly clear.

Right: my wife's RadMini ST2, which we had bought from a friend for CAD$1200 in early September, I think. The previous owner had only 10 km on the odometer.
Left: my RadExpand 5, brand-new, arrived Dec 6. The rear rack-top bag was one I found on one of our long-unused acoustic bikes. The straps did not fit, hence the bungee cords for now. I'm going to extend the strap with 3 inches of webbing salvaged from a broken folding camp chair and re-sew the velcro strips 3" along the new end.

[John Rose]

Note the old-school clown horn on my RE5. Black to match the other furniture on the handlebar.

I replaced the wingnut with a proper nut and bolt.
I wanted something that was more likely to be heard inside a car than the demure little "ding-ding!" from the bell.

When I was trying them out in Walmart (because each had a different tone and pitch) I heard somebody a few aisle away call out "Honk-honk!" in reply.

[handlebar]

That was me honking at a darned pedestrian in the next aisle. With all the shoppers I've accidentally knocked down in that store, I wonder why the management hasn't put rear view mirrors on shopping carts. I wouldn't ride in that store without a mirror to be sure no hornless cart is passing me when I turn left. Safety first, I say. 

[John Rose]

... I wouldn't ride in that store without a mirror to be sure no hornless cart is passing me when I turn left. Safety first, I say. 

I don't suppose you're one of these guys, are you?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KP8xzTxIRWE (only 30 seconds long)

[JimInPT]

That was me honking at a darned pedestrian in the next aisle.

Nice display spoiler-fin there, man.  I betcha get another 1-2 mph on the top end as a result.

[handlebar]

Nice display spoiler-fin there, man.  I betcha get another 1-2 mph on the top end as a result.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Terront

How about the bottom photo, Charles Terront winning the 1891 Paris-Brest-Paris race, 8 hours ahead of second place, riding for Humber and Michelin. Most credit his pneumatic tires. Others credit the bike, with the seating pioneered by the Rover 6 years earlier, which allowed him to pedal 743 miles in overdrive. I'm sure you saw immediately that it was the pneumatic device under his top tube. I tried mounting mine that way, but taking my feet off the pedals to honk with my knees meant that there was no net gain from honking. I need a bigger horn!

[John Rose]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Terront

The brake (top illustration, bottom photo) is kinda' dodgy.
It looks like it mashes down on top of the tire, and there's only the front one.

[handlebar]

I believe it rolled against the tire. Rims weren't smooth and even enough for caliper brakes.

Starting in the 1870s, Augustus Pope had his lawyers buy up any patents that might apply to bicycles. He also purchased bikes from England in order to patent what he saw. It was bogus, but fear of costly litigation inhibited American producers from making better stuff. In fact, the big factories paid Pope a license fee of $10 ( a week's wages ) for each bike they produced.

Starting about 1900, some American bikes had coaster brakes. Litigation couldn't stop them because there were different ways of implementing them. A rear brake couldn't stop you nearly as fast as a front brake, and on a hill, a coaster brake could overheat and leave you on your own. In their catalog, the Wright Brothers claimed to manufacture bikes from scratch. In fact, their shop wasn't equipped to make anything but coaster brakes. They were smugglers, bringing stuff in through Toronto.

[John Rose]

Oh, hey, I got "Bikes On Bridge" pix today.
We put them in the back of the CRV and drove 32 km to Baie Verte. Parked the car and rode the bikes up to Port Elgin and back. All of 12.33 km round trip. Sadly, the rail-to-trail trail was icy and rutted by ATVs, so we stayed on the paved side roads. Except for the part of the trail that went over a river. Had to go on that for the photo op.

It should be a much nicer ride next summer when the trail is dry, but I think the better plan would be to park the car in Port Elgin, ride south to Baie Verte and stop for a snack at a lovely restaurant there, and then ride back.
Today being Christmas Day, nothing was open of course, but at least the traffic was very light.

[handlebar]

Oh, hey, I got "Bikes On Bridge" pix today.
We put them in the back of the CRV and drove 32 km to Baie Verte. Parked the car and rode the bikes up to Port Elgin and back. All of 12.33 km round trip. Sadly, the rail-to-trail trail was icy and rutted by ATVs, so we stayed on the paved side roads. Except for the part of the trail that went over a river. Had to go on that for the photo op.

AI would have made it easier to get those photos. Instead of packing your bikes in the car, ask them to meet you at Baie Verte. When you come to the icy part, dismount and use your smart phone to direct them up the trail. They'll still be learning, so remind them to put their kick stands down when they park on the bridge.

I'll have to email Customer Support and ask if it's available for the Radrunner 1.

[John Rose]

AI would have made it easier to get those photos. ...
I'll have to email Customer Support and ask if it's available for the Radrunner 1.

You might have better luck at Boston Dynamics. Ask for a mini-Atlas that can ride a bike.

[handlebar]

I almost bought one. With such a light driver, I could gear my bike to outrun the cops. With so little weight, I'll bet it could roll over stop sticks without a puncture, and the robot could hop off and chase K9 units. I put one in my cart, but then they wanted me to click an "agree" box for their terms and conditions. It took 45 minutes to read their terms. One line was a deal breaker: "Must be used in compliance with the law."

I wonder if there's an AI robot company with a "wink and a nod" policy.

[John Rose]

RadExpand 5 bike, at the Wheaton Covered Bridge in Sackville, NB.
Temperature was -10^oC, wind NW 19 km/h.
I had reduced the tire pressure from 30 to 20 psi and this dirt road felt a lot smoother than I remembered from an earlier ride.

[Oops. facebook likes to change the URLs on you, so hot-linked pix are gone from here.]

Seriously considering getting or fabricating some handlebar mitts. Maybe just regular mitts, so I can still see the LEDs.

[Ddaybc]

Nice picture of the covered bridge. I like those.
I have a set of Rad handlebar mitts on my RW4. They work very well and have allowed me to use light mechanics gloves while riding. I haven't rode in -10 degree weather though.
I can't feel the left handlebar buttons with the gloves on so I just leave the PAS at default level 1. Shifting is pretty straightforward as the upshift button and the downshift lever are easy to feel. If I do eventually ride in actual cold weather and I have to use winter gloves it might be a challenge. I guess I'll find out later this winter.

[John Rose]

First ride trying out the LCD Display Upgrade for the Rad Expand 5. I found a little bridge along the way.
Temperature was a balmy +8^oC, wind South at 20 kph.



I was disappointed to see that the LCD dims when you look at it through polarized sunglasses, but cranking up the backlight level helped. They should be able to make one that has the polarization angle 90^o from how it is now, since sunglasses are all polarized to the same angle.