Coffee to go - part two

A while back, I did a write-up on a coffee mug I was using for commuting. A year later, I am on my second mug.

The first one broke because I never did get around to making it fit tighter in the bottle cage. I was coming down a hill and hit a rather bumpy area. The original bottle bounced around and popped out of the cage. The stainless steel part was intact, but the plastic lid was in pieces.

If fixed that problem. Version 2.0 is fixed up with an old bicycle tube and electrical tape. Surprisingly, all the mug needed was the little bit of thickness under the rubber grip. I added the tube down the sides so that the rattle would not drive me bonkers.

So far, this setup has held up very well. I have used it every day since the weather has turned cold without a problem.

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SmartLock

I found an interesting lock while playing around on the internet this morning.

SmartLock is a cable lock that has cores of compressed air and liquid running through its body. If cut, the liquids spray out over the perpetrator, his tools, the bike and the scene of the crime. A bike that has been stolen will be covered in coloured dye (the dye renders the bike undesirable and therefore unsellable) as well as transluscent Smartwater - an invisible forensic property marking liquid.

I like the idea. You can see a video of it in action here.

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OHM's portable charger

I have been seeing OHM's newest charger on a few gadget websites. The idea behind this is that you put some rare earth magnets on your rear rim and a dynamo under your seat. Viola! Instant power for your iPod, cell phone or whatever rechargeable device you have.

It's a great idea, but I have some serious doubts about how well it work. I'm no engineer, so I could be way off base here. I'm sure someone will correct me if I am.

I currently have a pair of Reelights. I love the lights, but they were kind of a pain to install. Here's why... the lights needed to be really close to the magnets for them to work. Try holding rare earth magnets a few millimeters away from something and you will understand what was so hard. (The hint is to screw the lights on to the bracket until they are almost tight, then align the lights and magnets.)

If the light and the magnet were about a half inch apart, there would be no light. There just was not enough power created to light two LEDs.

Now imagine your read rim and your seat. I think they are a bit more than a half-inch apart. If the power to light two LEDs is not enough at a half-inch, do you really think an iPod could be charged with a gap of a couple of inches?

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Road ID Review

About a week ago, my wife called me and asked that I pick up some milk on my way home.  When arrived home without the milk, she went through the roof.  Not because of the milk, but because of my reason.  I had left my wallet at home.  

She "strongly suggested" that I find some sort of ID to wear while I am on the bike.  (If you are married, you already know that there is very little difference between something being strongly suggested and being forced to do something.)  I have seen the link to Road ID on several sites, so I decided to check it out.

I looked around and ended up ordering one.  It showed up in the mail today.  I have to say that it is everything it claims to be.  I ordered the Fixx ID, which is the dog tag version. 

The nice thing about this is you can order a picture on the opposite side of the ID.  I looked at all of the biking ones, and they were all racers.  I'm not a racer, so I was not interested in that.  I would have loved to see a touring cyclist loaded with panniers humping it up a hill.  

Instead, I picked this graphic, titled "Location Earth."  I guess this is supposed to help me find my way back home if I am ever abducted by little green men.  

I'll be honest, I am a little worried about wearing this around my neck.  If an alien knows that we have kicked Pluto out of the list of planets and misreads this, I may end up on a different planet.  

One of the nice things about Road ID is that they offer coupons to whoever orders from them.  Here's my Road ID coupon:

ThanksRick366267

It's only good for 20 uses until 5/23/08.  I cannot promise that it will work for you.

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Xtracycle upgrades and pictures

To the left, you will see my most recent upgrade (?) to the Xtracycle.  It's not the GPS, look lower.  It's those fancy 1980s friction shifters.  

The original bike had no rear brake.  I had forgotten why I had done that.  It turned out that the wheel was so out of true that I could not get the brake to fit.  I bought a rear brake, trued the wheel, and go ready to hook the cables up.  Then I found out I was missing a nut that kept the cable from popping out.  I guess that sort of thing was important.

So, I went searching for another set.  The bike originally had the integrated index shifter and brake lever.  The problems was that I could not find what I needed (7-speed rear) in my price range.  Then, I looked through my box of various bike parts.  I found an old friction shifter.  I installed it and went for a ride.  The 20-year-old shift lever crumbled in my hand while I shifted.  But, it worked.  I went to Jenson USA and ordered the friction shifters and cheapest brake levers I could find.  

It took about about a day to get used to them.  "Do I push up to upshift or downshift?" But now I can find the gear I want without too much thinking.

A while back, I bragged about what the Xtracycle carried on its maiden voyage.  Sunday is shopping day, so I loaded it up once again.  This time, I took pictures.  

I won't give the entire list of what was carried, but it was a lot.  Both sides looked like this.  

Forgive the plastic bags.  Item number 5 on my to-do list was to change the filter on the fish tank.  Number 7 was clean up the dog crap in the back yard.  I hate the plastic bags as much as anyone else, but occasionally, they serve a purpose.  

Money not spent on gas:  $38.43

CO2 not released into the atmosphere:  241.56 pounds

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Cheap Blinky Light

One of my favorite stores in the world is Tractor Supply Company. This store is simply amazing. Where else can you find 50 pounds of dog food for 20 bucks? My 80 gallon rain barrels cost me a total of $40 at TSC. So when I went to get some bird seed, it is only normal to look around for some fun things.

I found one of my favorite non-biking biking accessories about two weeks ago. Here is the Blazer Emergency LED Light. It is an 18 LED blinky. Honestly, it is one hell of a blinky. The package said it is visible for more than one mile. In my tests, I believe it to be true. (My tests are nothing more than asking people, "Can you see me?" If the answer is yes, then I am happy.)

As with adapting any non-cycling item to cycling use, there is always the challenge of making it work. This thing came with two pretty powerful magnets screwed into the back. That's not really much help with an aluminum (oh, the horrors!) frame.

I fixed the problem by finding two old light brackets and a space grip. It's not the prettiest of mounts, but it works.

While this works, I really do not like it. It takes part of the top of my rack away. Personally, I would prefer something that hangs down on my rear rack. That is where the next step comes to mind.

Necessary Options came out with the Real Lite several years ago. They have been a big supporter of bicycle touring. I almost feel a little guilty about pointing this out, but I think the Real Lite and the emergency LED from Tractor Supply are the same thing. The difference is the cost and the mounting hardware. The Real Lite is 39.95. The Blazer light is $21.98. That is almost a $20 savings. I want a bracket that will hang down from my rear rack, so I am thinking this might be the prefect solution. Stay tuned to see if this works.

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Review of Hot Shot Aqua Gloves

I was looking for fishing gear at Dick's a while back when I came across these gloves. It was a few days after deer gun season ended in Ohio, so these were in the clearance bin. I thought these would make perfect cool weather cycling gloves.

The tag said they were waterproof and windproof. They were the obnoxious blaze orange that help prevent hunters from shooting each other. The finger tips have a trigger grip that would be useful for picking up small things while wearing the gloves. They sounded perfect.

I have been wearing these for a while now. They have been great for being seen. In fact, if I have to deal with one more, "Them bright enough for you?" comment, someone might get hurt.
These gloves are also very warm. I have worn these with no other gloves on 25-30 degree rides with no complaints.

The palms are covered with some sort of fake leather. While it was not exactly bike glove padding, it did help with the "grippiness" on the handlebars.

I like these gloves, but they really need some work before I would recommend them to anyone.

First, they are neither waterproof nor windproof. I think they would easily fall into the the water resistant category. I do not want water resistant when I am riding in below freezing temperatures. The windproof claim is also false. In between each of the fingers is a nylon/spandex type material. The orange part and the fake leather parts are completely windproof. Imagine yourself on the drops of a bike. Those areas between your fingers are taking the brunt of the wind. Now imagine it is 30 degrees and your fingers are damp. That could lead to an uncomfortable situation real fast.



This picture shows my big issue with these gloves. After a few weeks of normal use, the cuffs began to separate from the rest of the glove. I will sew the back together before too long, but this is not an acceptable defect in the gloves. I might have overlooked the waterproof/windproof claim, but I should not be sewing them back together after less than a single season of use.

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Coffee to go

One of the more important things about commuting is finding a way to drink coffee on the way. Coffee warms the soul and gives me a little extra boost. No, not really. At this point, it merely prevents the headaches and the shakes.

There are a couple of places that specialize in carrying coffee on a bike, such as Bicycle Coffee Systems, or Soma's bike specific mug and mount. But, I tried to find many of the mugs on the Bicycle Coffee Systems website, but they always seemed to be out of stock. My handlebars are already cluttered with a GPS, light, and a bell, so I have no room for Soma's mug.

After a while of searching, I found this mug from Thermos. It has worked pretty well, so I am ready to write up a review of it.

One of the best things about this mug is that it has a cover for the spout. Commuting can be dirty business. I do not want to be drinking road grime with my coffee. The spout is completely covered. Although it has a little latch to prevent it from unexpectedly popping open, I have found the lid to be quite secure while being easy to open. It can even be opened with full gloves on my hand.

The other amazing thing about this mug is its insulation. This keeps my coffee hot -- not warm -- throughout any commute so far. This mug has even kept my coffee hot when I left it on the bike during church. It was outside in 20-25 degree weather for about an hour and a half. I walked out to hot coffee.

That does not mean this is perfect. The bottle is just a little smaller than my bottle cage so it rattles around like crazy. I have not exactly gotten used to it, but it is better than the alternative -- no coffee. I have been able to reduce the noise by taking the rubber grip and sliding it up just a bit. I have debated with wrapping the bottle with cork wrap to make the fit tighter, but I haven't gotten around to doing it yet.

I also worry about it popping out of the cage because it is not a tight fit. I would have to hit a heck of a bump to make it jump out. It does not mean it is impossible.

This is also designed for cold beverages. That means it has a wide mouth. You will have to be very careful with hot beverages. Crazy hot coffee will burn you. Since I brew my own, I can fix it by dropping in two ice cubes.

You will also have to be careful when washing it. Inside the lid is a blue o-ring. This can fall out. If that happens and you do not notice, you will end up with coffee all over the front of you.

Overall, this mug has worked out great. The downfalls are there, but not enough to make me want to stop using it.

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