Holy crap is it raining.

[Aqua Letifer]

Made a pact with myself to keep up the biking, no matter the weather. But holy crap, I am soaking.

Took the ebike out, however, because (1) fenders and (2) my speed can keep me up with traffic up hills. Gives drivers with reduced visibility more time to see me.

I said fuck it and wore swim trunks. Glad I did. Should've also gone with goggles.

[Jolly]

Be careful. Lots of fender benders in a good rain and you don't have quite the steel around you that the cars have.

[Aqua Letifer]

@jolly said in Holy crap is it raining.:

Be careful. Lots of fender benders in a good rain and you don't have quite the steel around you that the cars have.

Yep, that's definitely a thing. Got 2 things going for me, though: I have a bad-weather route I follow to minimize the risk, and in the rain, you slide further. Less need for skin-grafting.

[taiwan_girl]

@aqua-letifer said in Holy crap is it raining.:

Took the ebike out

How do those work? Do you have to pedal at all, or do they just assist you?

[Aqua Letifer]

@taiwan_girl said in Holy crap is it raining.:

@aqua-letifer said in Holy crap is it raining.:

Took the ebike out

How do those work? Do you have to pedal at all, or do they just assist you?

In the U.S., there are different classes.

Type 1 is a pedal-assist (you still have to pedal) with a top speed of 20 mph.
Type 2 has a throttle option. (No pedaling necessarily needed.)
Type 3 is a pedal-assist (you still have to pedal) with a top speed of 28 mph.

It's a very different kind of riding experience. It's not akin to traditional bikes or motorcycles.

First of all, you do pedal. A lot. eBikes are still a consistent workout. But what you do is get the bike up to its maximum speed, and just stay there. So on my type 1, whether you're going uphill or flat, you're going 20 mph.

Second, what they do is diminish maximum effort—no more wrenching at 3 mph to go up the steepest climbs. What this does is make your effort much more consistent, a bit like using a stationary bike. This allows you to go much farther without being a total mess by the time you arrive to your destination. So, it's a good option for commuting.

Third, weight no longer matters. At all. All weight does is affect how much battery power you use over the course of your ride, which isn't very much anyway. So hauling a ton of stuff on your bike becomes no big deal. So again, this is great for commuting.

[taiwan_girl]

@aqua-letifer Sounds very cool! Thanks!!