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Category: cycling

Keep Electric Motorbikes Off The Trails: Do Your Part

Published August 16, 2014

On Friday I had an encounter with an electric motorbike rider at Stony Creek Metropark. The result was somewhat good, with him leaving the park without riding (due to my threatening to call the police on him), but it took a lot of mental energy on my part to stay topical, impersonal, and yet pointed so the goal (preventing him from riding) was accomplished in a safe and legal manner. It would have been better if he’d understood why riding an electric motorbike on mountain bike trails is a bad thing, but he didn’t seem to. Either I didn’t explain it well enough, or he didn’t care.

Much of the mountain bike trail access that we currently enjoy is specifically because we are a human powered user group. It was a huge battle in the 80s, 90s, and early 00s for mountain bikes to be seen as a legitimate user group, but thankfully in Michigan we have mostly won and are seen as fair, equal users in great part because riders are moving under their own power.

Bringing electric motorbikes onto the trails, under the guise of “electric mountain bikes”, puts that at risk. The worst case is a blanket ban because park staff doesn’t have a practical way differentiate between electric motorbikes and pedaled mountain bikes entering the trails, so it becomes foot traffic only.  (Hell, many people — cyclists or not — would look at this guy’s bike and not realize it’s motorized…)  That’d be awful, and not something that we can risk via inaction. That’s why we, the mountain biking community along with other trail users, need to work to curb this kind of behavior.

Richard Cunningham over at Pinkbike explains this very eloquently in much greater depth, in a piece titled A Secret Trail and an Argument Against E-Bikes.

After giving this a day of thought about what went right in the confrontation and what could have done better, I distilled them into a list. Here’s my DOs and DON’Ts for what to do when you encounter someone at a mountain bike trail riding an electric motorbike:

DON’T presume that the rider already knows they aren’t allowed to ride their motorbike on mountain bike trails. With the explosion in electric motorbike availability there is a fair chance that the rider simply doesn’t know any better.

DO consistently use the term “electric motorbike” and not “electric mountain bike”. Despite being based on a bicycle design, having a motor makes it a motorbike and maintaining this point is crucial.

DO inform the rider that they have a motorbike which is not permitted on trails designed for human power use only.

DO remain polite and calm, but direct.

DO inform the rider that you maintain and/or use the trails and have a vested interest in them.

DO inform the rider that using a motorbike on trails designed for human powered use threatens trail access.

DON’T simply use “because it is illegal” as your main argument, this frequently falls on deaf ears. Appeal to trail access.

DON’T engage in discussion about motor assist vs. throttle control, total power output, impact to trail surface, physical ability, etc. Debating nuance will weaken your message and wear you down. A vehicle that is powered by anything other than a human is a motorized vehicle and should not be on the trails.

DON’T act in a threatening manner nor physically contact the rider nor his/her motorbike.

DO call the police or the land manager (park office, parks and recreation department, etc) if you see the user riding their motorbike on the trails anyway. Inform them that someone is riding a motorbike on the trails then wait around for the police.

DON’T be afraid to call the local police instead of confronting the rider yourself. That’s their job: enforcing laws, such as those which already prohibit the use of motorbikes on trails.

DO keep your distance. Close enough to be conversational, but far enough away to maintain your safety and appear unthreatening to the rider.

DO remember that you don’t have the legal authority to stop the motorbike rider, but you do have the moral authority to engage, educate, and report.

I would prefer that an rider realize why riding a motorbike on mountain bike trails is a bad idea and stop of their own volition. Unfortunately, as was illustrated to me yesterday, some people just don’t understand or won’t care and refuse to change until threatened with a penalty.

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Human Power or GTFO

Published August 16, 2014

A few years back on the regular Stony Creek Wednesday Night Group Ride someone with a rather curious bike joined us. It very customized hard tail fitted with an electric hub motor and battery pack and the owner was proudly showing it off, explaining how he built it and uses it because he doesn’t like riding up hills. Many of the group gave him a hard time about it being motorized, but he headed out with us anyway. During the ride I was behind him a few times and saw him spinning his rear wheel up climbs while he wasn’t pedaling and mentioned to him how that’s not cool.

Mountain bike trails are built for human power, and ever since that day I’d hoped to run into him again and advise him to stay off of the trails on his motorbike. Since that group ride I’d see him a couple time per year, sometimes on trails† and others when returning to the parking lot, but was never able to successfully engage him in a conversation… until yesterday.

When getting ready to ride Stony Creek on Friday evening I noticed the vehicle above pull into the parking lot, holding what looked to be an updated version of the electric motorbike that I remembered being shown a few years back. It was the same guy‡. When he headed into the bathroom I took a moment to get clear pictures of his bike and license plate and then waited for him to come out.

At first he seemed a little proud that someone had noticed his bike, but the conversation quickly took an different tone when I asked “that’s an electric motorbike, isn’t it?” and then stated that they aren’t permitted on the mountain bike trails, which are designed for human power use only. The bike owner protested, claiming that he’s “done it for years” and “no one has complained”. He tried to claim that it’s just “electric assist”, but backed off on the last claim when I pointed there is no torque sensor and has a throttle on the handlebar. Other protestations he tried to use were that it’s “quiet”, that he “still gets passed”, he uses it as a “carrot”, and that he pedals “most of the time”.

He kept getting ready for his ride while myself and another guy kept him engaged with questions about his motorbike, and he seemed to be hurrying to get out on the trails, almost braggingly claiming that he hasn’t been caught yet. Phone in hand, park office number in the dialer (which he noticed me dialing), I eventually pointedly told him that if he set out on the trails I’d be calling the park police and waiting for him. It was only after this that he began angrily packing up, calling me a “fucker” for “ruining his ride”. Then I watched him leave, waiting to be sure he didn’t head to one of the other mountain bike trail parking lots.

I hope that this encounter and others reminding him of the same makes him rethink riding his electric motorbike on trails. It was clear that he knew it wasn’t permitted, but he was ready to head out anyway. Only the threat of being caught by an authority figure with the capability to penalize him seemed to be an effective deterrent.

Bicycle companies are starting to sell electric motorbikes, frequently branding them as simple assisted bicycles, diminishing the fact they are still motor vehicles. While they are currently costly items, as prices come down it’s inevitable that we’ll see more and more of these on our trails. I sincerely hope that everyone who cares about human-power-only designated trails — cyclists, hikers, runners, and walkers alike — will do what’s needed to keep these motorbikes away. In this post I present reasons why their presence is a problem and offer suggestions for what to do when you encounter someone with an electric motorbike at mountain bike trails.

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† Encounters include: Him almost hitting me and forcing me off the trail on some of the humps at Clinton River Park Trails, just seconds before I met Phil (for the first time) to whom he’d done the same. Seeing him riding out onto The Overlook at Pontiac Lake on a hot summer day — the top of a climb and just after one of the hardest climbs in the park — without pedaling and looking fresh and unsweaty. In the parking lot at Pontiac Lake where he rolled up to his car without pedaling and seemed to get in his car and drive away quickly when he saw me eyeing him from across the lot. I’ve heard numerous stories of him from others who have also seen him rolling around, not pedaling, under motor power only.

‡ Dark grey Jeep Laredo 4×4, Michigan license plate DCU 3622 (photo), with a black 1UP USA bicycle rack. Owner is a trim / thin Asian guy, medium complexion and short dark hair, about 5’6″, with prescription regular and riding glasses.

His electric motorbike is a heavily modified black Motobecane Fantom Elite DS with white Fox fork and black rear Fox shock. Custom carbon fiber battery holder inside the front triangle, power regulator (the block on the underside of the downtube), and hub motor are the most notable features. Throttle can be seen near the right grip. (High res photo.)

This is legally defined as either a moped or motorcycle as per the Michigan Vehicle Code Act 300 of 1949, section 257.3b. (I feel the differentiation would be whether or not it can exceed 30 MPH on a level surface. The motor is roughly 350W [owner said “something like that” when I asked if it was 350W], which on a flat/level surface in an aero position may be able to reach 30 MPH. Having a hub motor the operator does not need to shift gears to make it work.)

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DT Swiss 36 Point Star Ratchet Upgrade

Published July 18, 2014

I’m really liking the new 35mm wide wheels that I built for the El Mariachi Ti, and I wasn’t looking to upgrade them until I came across someone on the MMBA Forum selling a set of wheels which included both the 36 point star ratchets and the original 18 point items. I emailed him asking if he’d be willing to sell me just the ratchets separately, and he agreed, sending me both the barely-used ratchets (one race) and the special DT Swiss grease for $60, shipped.

For a while I’ve been interested in high-end-high-engagement hubs, but with the normal retail price for these ratchets at around $89 (without the grease) I wasn’t really willing to pay for it. At this price I was willing to give them a chance. Installation was super easy, as DT Swiss freehubs can be disassembled without tools, or really without even removing the cassette. A bit of cleaning to remove the old grease, some of the, pink Hugi grease was applied, and it was all put back together. Spinning the rear wheel makes a much smoother buzzing sound, the higher engagement is obvious on the work stand, and I’m really looking forward to getting out and trying them on trails.

Now I just hope they don’t spoil me…

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Wide Wheels for Salsa El Mariachi Ti

Published July 11, 2014

Ever since building some 30mm wide Salsa Semi rims for my single speed I’ve been enamored with wider (but not quite fatbike width) rims on normal mountain bikes. I feel that so long as the tire remains ~20% wider than the rim itself the benefits are great: more sidewall support, less tire roll when cornering, and higher volume of air all while rolling resistance seems the same. I recently played with building up a Velocity Dually-based front wheel for the El Mariachi Ti. At 45mm wide it made a 2.4″ Schwalbe Racing Ralph about 63mm wide and felt great to ride, but the heavy rim was noticeable. For me the holy grail would have been a wide wheelset that isn’t any heavier than a more-typical XC set, like the Shimano XT / Stan’s NoTubes Arch EX set that came with the El Mariachi Ti.

With the recent XT freehub failure I got to thinking seriously about new wheels, and after a few months of trawling eBay I found myself with all the parts needed to build up just what I wanted at a sane price: 35mm wide carbon fiber rims from China, high-quality hubs from Switzerland, tires from Germany, and spokes from… wherever spokes come from.

At the same time I was able to switch to a 142×12 rear through axle, which is something I’d been wanting to do for a while, since I’m quite fond of the positive engagement and installed-straight-or-not-installed-at-all nature of a through axle. They can’t become skewed like a traditional quick releases which can be a bit skewed.

In the end they came out great, and even though I only have an hour and a half of riding on them, I’m quite content. Read more about the build below the fold…

Continue readingWide Wheels for Salsa El Mariachi Ti
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2014 Lumberjack 100: Finished

Published June 24, 2014

When the day came to begin the training plan leading up to Lumberjack 100 and do an LTHR test, I balked. I set out to do the test, was having a very bad day, quit, and went home. Then, within the week, I decided that I didn’t want to follow the training plan, sold my entry, and changed my plans so that I’d instead head up to ride the NCT, volunteer, and hang out at the race. Since I liked how riding a lot last year made me feel I still tried to ride a bunch, doing the Fun Promotions 6 Hours of Stony Creek race and a bunch of fun/long rides, but I had no intention of doing anything more at Lumberjack than riding one lap as a course marshall and then hanging out. The obligation of following such a plan for a third year was too much.

Without the stress of months of goal-oriented training before the race I wasn’t stressed about the weather, a training routine, or any of the other usual pre-race things.

Fast forward to early June, after I’d put in a number of long rides, and my friend Nick began teasing me that I was going to purchase an entry anyway, just to get one at a discount. I had no intention of doing so, but then a friend of mine informed me he wasn’t going to use his entry, making me an offer I couldn’t refuse. That was it, I figured I’d give the race a go. I simply planned on heading up to the race, giving it my best, and seeing how it went. If I dropped out after a lap and sat around for six hours drinking beer watching others finish, that’d be fine. If I rolled in at twelve hours, that’d be fine as well. I just wanted to have fun on what I feel is one of the most beautiful trails in the state. I headed up to my reserved cabin at Camp Mana-Pine on Thursday afternoon, got settled in, and Danielle and Roxie joined me on Friday evening.

The day before the race was a constant downpour, but with the sandy soil in the area it ended up being a blessing. I lined up mid-pack at the start, filtering back to the last third by the time we reached the single track. This worked out well, as the trail was well packed by riders in front of me, and my position even resulted in my meeting the person I’d sold my entry to. Sylvia and I rode a good bit of the first half of the course together before parting ways on one of the climbs. Save for a bit of slowness at the start and my being really impressed at the backwards course layout (I like it a lot more) the first lap was quite uneventful until the end. While I really enjoyed the backwards route, it meant that the last five miles involved some of the most frustrating climbing, and in the midst of this on lap one I started to think about quitting. Then, after the long/fast downhill back to the start, I suddenly felt good. I refilled my pack, grabbed some more bottles, and set off.

Laps two and three were also great, with my race alternating between extended periods of riding alone and being with people, most of whom were great to chat with. By this time Danielle had reached the aid station so I was able to stop briefly, see her and give her a kiss, then carry on. At one point I was riding along with a single speed guy (#89) from AUXILIARY Design & Advertising when I slightly overshot a downhill sandy corner (just after Porn Ridge) on lap three fell over. Thankfully it was no big deal, and I was able to get up and carry on without any problems. I rode away from him on a road section, but he passed me when I stopped to pee,  and I didn’t see him again until the end where he had finished 50 seconds faster than me — probably right about the time I was standing at the side of the course.

Just after setting out at on lap three I noticed that I’d done fairly consistent 3:20 laps, and found that if I pushed a little bit I just might, maybe, be able to do a sub-10 hour Lumberjack. Having not finished in 2012 and done 11:03 in 2013, cutting more than an hour off my best time would feel great, so I went for it. I ended up coming in at 9:51:41 and didn’t get lapped by the leaders. My specific lap times were 3:18:05, 3:25:11, 3:08:26, but the first and second lap times both include the time spent in the pit area, because this was before the lap crossing. (According to these times I technically was lapped by the leaders, but I was at the tent after my second lap and watched Christian Tanguy finish, so I don’t consider that a lapping. After my second lap I took time to lube my chain, so this extended that lap even further. I suspect that my laps were otherwise pretty consistent.)

I’m really glad I didn’t get lapped. While it’s not really disheartening for me (those guys are seriously fast), I didn’t want to get in the way. At one point near the end of my second lap I saw Jorden Wakeley’s dad along the trail a few miles before the end and asked him how the leaders were doing. He let me know that they were about ten minutes back, so I began constantly checking behind me to see where they were. With the long/fast downhill at the end, the last thing I wanted to was be in their way during some manner of sprint. But, it didn’t happen and that was great.

Not long after half-way through the race my Garmin Edge 510 once again had issues, losing ANT+ connectivity just as had happened back on May 4th. I took this as a bit of a challenge and went rode, making sure I felt like I was pushing, but not too hard. RPE, I guess. This had done well for me at recent Barry-Roubaix and Iceman races, so I figured I’d give it a go here, and it worked. I finished, I was happy with my time, and I was sore but felt good at the end. This race was (again) the hardest thing I’ve ever done physically, to the point at which I’ve now got some manner of cold/flu that likely set in with a weakened immune system. Still, I loved it.

I really don’t know if I’ll do the race again next year. This year I loved it, but I loved it because it wasn’t the obligation it had been in years past: it was something I went and did because it’s fun and great and hard. I got to hang out with friends before, during, and after the race, I met a bunch of great new people, and I got to spend a day outdoors doing something I love surrounded by beautiful northern Michigan forest. Ideally next year will be the same, but maybe it won’t. I’m hoping to keep riding hard and do even better next year, but who knows what’ll happen… As long as I keep having fun I’ll be happy.

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Shimano XT Freehub (Y3CZ98040) Failure Analysis

Published June 8, 2014

The failure of the Shimano XT freehub (Y3CZ98040) on the El Mariachi Ti was frustrating, so I wanted to understand what really went wrong. As far as I can tell, the root cause† is a freehub shell that cracked, allowing at least one bearing to become displaced and work its way into the ratchet mechanism. This caused the symptom of the freehub being extremely hard to turn, moving with very solid, thunking sound when forced.

No preventative maintenance would have caught this, and without inspecting the freehub regularly for hairline cracks (a really difficult task) I wouldn’t have known this problem was starting.

The evidence for this is as follows, with photographs:

  1. The freehub shell was cracked, which I found when trying to disassemble it. I ended up breaking it in two pieces to get it apart, and there are two visible fractures where it broke: a bright, clean one from breaking it apart today, and an oxidized one from the original failure. (Photos: Oxidized break, new/clean break.)
  2. All of the pawls are intact and with sharp edges. (Photo)
  3. There is a worn groove next to the bearing race, but just beyond a lip, which leads back to a recess along the center of the pawl mechanism. I suspect this is where one of the small bearings which came loose worked its way towards the ratchet. (Photo)
  4. There are rounded, ball bearing sized witness marks in the fixed tooth part of the ratchet mechanism in a location which correlates to where the ball bearing is thought to have settled after settling in the recess. (Photo) There are other, smaller witness marks which make me suspect that even more bearings worked their way into the pawls once the failure really took hold. This could explain how I noticed the failure briefly a couple of times before the hub completely locked.

This aligns with problems reported here on MTBR, and this post from that thread states that Shimano has changed the design and heat treating to address this.

In order to disassemble the freehub I first tried fashioning a tool (flat piece of steel about 29mm wide, 4mm thick, and at least 20mm long: photo) to unscrew it. This didn’t work because I did not have a tool for holding the Shimano splined end, but it spread open the crack enough for me to see what the problem was. I then clamped it in a vice, used a screwdriver to break it open, and then used a wrench and a screwdriver to pry the pawl-holding part of the ratchet mechanism out.

This worked pretty well, and after a bit of degreasing I had a clean part. The only downside is the 2.93mm ball bearings used in the hub (photo), which shot/flew/fell all over my workbench and feet when the hub gave way. It’s one of these bearings that worked its way into the ratchet and caused the failure.

† This root cause is only from my perspective. The proper root cause is much deeper than this, perhaps a human or design error that resulted in improper heat treating or sizing of the freehub body, but that’s further than I can reasonably go; something that Shimano would be looking into. Or, as evidenced by the redesign, already did.

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Lubed Mukluk Freehub

Published May 27, 2014

After Saturday’s freehub failure on the El Mariachi Ti I figured I should check up on the freehub in the fatbike. It’s been behaving fine, but as I last lubed it 2+ years ago (and replacement is very expensive) I wanted to be sure everything was fine.

A couple years back Salsa released the video Winterizing The Mukluk Hub in response to too heavy of grease for winter use having been installed by the factory in the freehubs. This would apparently freeze up, cause the pawls to only partially engage, and then break. Pawls aren’t available standalone, so people were left buying replacement freehubs at ~$90/each. Replacing the grease with something lighter was a very good proactive measure, so as soon as I became aware of this (after my first winter of riding the fatbike, but a light winter) I did so with Buzzy’s Slick Honey.

This hub is extremely easy to disassemble, so checking up on the freehub takes little more than removing the wheel, pulling off an endcap, and unscrewing another cap before pulling the freehub off. The cassette doesn’t even have to be removed, although I did so because makes cleaning the freehub itself much easier.

The Slick Honey held up for around 1500 miles, 200+ hours, and an incredibly wide range of conditions. I believe that bike has been ridden in temperatures ranging from 0°F to just over 100°F. Even today, despite being a bit discolored, it still had its familiar texture and was lubricating the pawls as it should. Regardless, I cleaned out the ratchet mechanism and heavily lubricated it before everything went back together. Here’s to another couple of years!

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Failed Fatbike Superlight Tube

Published May 26, 2014

Just about a year ago I switched the fatbike to using Q-Tubes Superlight 26 x 2.4-2.75″ tubes with polyester ribbon rim strips to save weight. This worked, but today I suffered a flat at Poto as a result. It turns out that the place where the tube bulges up through the rim holes has decayed, and these eventually fail to pinholes. I’d patched one a month or two ago, and today’s flat was another.

I’m not sure if the issue is simply from stretching, ozone exposure, UV exposure, or perhaps even the soap used when washing my bike. I mostly suspect UV or ozone, but I don’t know enough about failure modes of this material to say for sure.

I still feel these tubes are the best low cost option for lightening up a fatbike, so I’ll end up ordering a few more, swapping the existing tubes, and going for another year. Even at $20/year in tubes it’s still a lot cheaper than going with some carbon fiber rims. Although, some carbon fiber rims set up tubeless (with the Hope Fatsno hubs picked up in November) would solve a whole bunch of problems at once… They’d just cost a lot.

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Danielle Saves The Day

Published May 24, 2014

84 rides, 2367.44 miles, 213:44:52 is how long the freehub on the Shimano FH-M785 from the Salsa El Mariachi Ti lasted. Today while out on a longish ride (intended to be ~6 hours) with Dana, heading north on Hosner Rd. just north of Drahner (Google Maps), the freehub seized up and the wheel would no longer coast. This happened very briefly last night while riding at River Bends with Danielle, but it was only a gentle tug feeling before it let go again, so I figured it was only transient or something that wouldn’t have been a big deal.

Unfortunately, it was. After acting quirky a couple times over fifteen minutes, and once somewhat badly while riding up Markwood, it went very wrong on the descent from the monastery. Flipping the bike over, it only did this: video. I pulled the wheel, found that it was VERY difficult to advance the freewheel, Dana called her husband Josh (a professional bike wrench) for suggestions, and then I called Danielle for help. She ended up driving out to where we were — about half an hour away — bringing my single speed so I could finish the ride. Sure, it wasn’t great spinning along at 100 – 120 RPM on rail trails and dirt roads, but it worked out pretty well and very surely saved the ride. We were able to do another 54 miles, including some of Bald Mountain South, a full lap of Bloomer, and most of River Bends before calling it a day.

Unfortunately, neither of us had realized just how close we were to doing a century (100 miles). Had I not reset my bike computer during bike changes I would have known to put in another 10 miles… I had plenty of energy and food left, so it wouldn’t have been a problem. Oh well.

Here’s the data for today, as seen in Strava: Part 1: Gears / Part 2: Single Speed.

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