"Poindexter Crow, You're Gone!"
Aug. 29th, 2019 03:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elfsI was reminded today that I am no longer a 90 pound weakling.
I mean, I've always had this image in my head that I am the classic 90 pound weakling. I hated team sports, got beat up in the classic nerd way when I was in middle school, and was always intimidated by the physical size and performative aggressiveness of the football players.
On the other hand, as my mother recently reminded me, I used to climb trees every day for recreation, once had a commute that included a mile-long swim, and rode my bicycle everywhere across two counties and a half-dozen cities. So maybe I wasn't as weak as I thought. I just wasn't as angry as the "strong" guys.
I've been thinking about getting an e-bike. I am getting older, and my right knee is often unhappy with me when I'm out riding my bicycle, mostly to start and when tackling heavy hills; maintaining momentum is not the problem. I've been playing with Omaha's "Rad city" e-bike, since she almost never uses it. While I like it, it's too small for me, and it feels awkward riding a bicycle sized for a woman seven inches shorter than I am. "Rad" is a company that sells fairly inexpensive e-bikes, hub-motored with a removable battery pack, and they're ubiquitous in Seattle. After examining their catalog I decided I wanted the men's size "Rad commuter" model. The commuter model has one extra benefit: naked (without saddlebags or battery pack), it's legal to put on a Metro bus bike-rack.
I went to the Rad showroom to try out the commuter model. I gave one a test ride that affirmed my suspicion that I needed the larger model, and that it would be an excellent solution for my knee pain. I asked the guy if the commuter model could be hook-hung, because the county light rail system has bike hooks rather than racks. "I don't think so. Nobody I know does it." I asked if that was because the bike was so heavy it would distort the front wheel. "No. It's just that the bike is too heavy. That's the lightest one we sell and it's 64 pounds with the battery pack." I picked up the bike I'd just been riding with one hand and curled it until the bar was at my shoulder.
"It's not that heavy," I said.
He kinda stared at me and said, "Not many of my customers can do that."
I still say there's no way that bicycle is 64 pounds. Mid-40s at most. Anyway, I didn't buy it. I promised Omaha I'd give it a few more tests before getting it and, as it turns out, the men's size is sold out, and won't be in the shop for two more weeks anyway.
Entry title explained here.
I mean, I've always had this image in my head that I am the classic 90 pound weakling. I hated team sports, got beat up in the classic nerd way when I was in middle school, and was always intimidated by the physical size and performative aggressiveness of the football players.
On the other hand, as my mother recently reminded me, I used to climb trees every day for recreation, once had a commute that included a mile-long swim, and rode my bicycle everywhere across two counties and a half-dozen cities. So maybe I wasn't as weak as I thought. I just wasn't as angry as the "strong" guys.
I've been thinking about getting an e-bike. I am getting older, and my right knee is often unhappy with me when I'm out riding my bicycle, mostly to start and when tackling heavy hills; maintaining momentum is not the problem. I've been playing with Omaha's "Rad city" e-bike, since she almost never uses it. While I like it, it's too small for me, and it feels awkward riding a bicycle sized for a woman seven inches shorter than I am. "Rad" is a company that sells fairly inexpensive e-bikes, hub-motored with a removable battery pack, and they're ubiquitous in Seattle. After examining their catalog I decided I wanted the men's size "Rad commuter" model. The commuter model has one extra benefit: naked (without saddlebags or battery pack), it's legal to put on a Metro bus bike-rack.
I went to the Rad showroom to try out the commuter model. I gave one a test ride that affirmed my suspicion that I needed the larger model, and that it would be an excellent solution for my knee pain. I asked the guy if the commuter model could be hook-hung, because the county light rail system has bike hooks rather than racks. "I don't think so. Nobody I know does it." I asked if that was because the bike was so heavy it would distort the front wheel. "No. It's just that the bike is too heavy. That's the lightest one we sell and it's 64 pounds with the battery pack." I picked up the bike I'd just been riding with one hand and curled it until the bar was at my shoulder.
"It's not that heavy," I said.
He kinda stared at me and said, "Not many of my customers can do that."
I still say there's no way that bicycle is 64 pounds. Mid-40s at most. Anyway, I didn't buy it. I promised Omaha I'd give it a few more tests before getting it and, as it turns out, the men's size is sold out, and won't be in the shop for two more weeks anyway.
Entry title explained here.
no subject
Date: 2019-08-29 10:38 pm (UTC)Mine's only 46lbs. But it doesn't do the regenerative breaking, so maybe that saves some weight on mine.