Friday News And Views

 E-Bike Advocates Get Feathers Ruffled By Cowell Accident Coverage:

Over the last weekend, media personality Simon Cowell was injured during "testing of an e-bike", as reported by various media outlets. Apparently the famous judge of singing talent is doing well after a surgery to help him recover from a 'broken back'. So, that's good news at least.

However; many in the bike community were aghast that non-endemic media were, and still are, referring to the vehicle Cowell suffered his injuries on as being an 'electric bicycle'. The vehicle in question, pictured here, is a high-powered electric driven, two-wheeled contraption that looks all the world like a motocross bike. But it can be pedaled. 

Long ago, when I first started covering these HPC's here, (Hybrid Powered Cycles, as I call them), I stated that, "motor + bicycle = motorcycle". The advocates of the HPC's back then said, "Oh no, no, no! This is a 'bicycle' because it can be pedaled!" Then the whole argument about assisted pedaling vs non-assisted pedaling came about. Followed by the "Class" system and the laws drawn up to regulate HPC's, which, for the bicycle nerds, was enough to settle this debate about these being 'motorcycles' once and for all. 

But, as I have often stated, the general public doesn't see things that way. To wit: The Cowell incident. This is a great example of someone with a lot of disposable income looking to have something above the 'pedestrian', low-powered HPC options available under the umbrella of the "Class System" which the HPC advocates say are 'electric bikes'. Essentially, Cowell was on what amounts to an exotic car. An exotic 'e-bike', but the electrified bicycle folks cried foul at that designation. These same advocates argue that the thing Cowell was using is, for all intents and purposes, a motorcycle. Yes- and so is anything with two wheels and a motor. But the bike nerds are not seeing it the way almost everyone else does. 

Bicycling industry observer and opinion writer, Rick Vosper agrees, in a recent Tweet saying, "Be that as it may, that "not-an-ebike" is giving "real" ebikes some serious bad press. And we ignore it—or quibble over designations— at our peril."

And the beat goes on...... 

This social media post shows wind damage from a satellite view.

Derecho Damage Reports Coming In:

 With Monday's derecho event, Eastern Iowa has been buzzing with recovery efforts, and a lot of things have come to light that will affect us for the foreseeable future here. 

My next door neighbor is self-employed and a handyman, so he's been down to Cedar Rapids now for three straight days with his chainsaw helping out residents there to clear downed trees and limbs. He posted a short video and the devastation to the area is widespread and severe. I saw estimations that claimed Category 2 hurricane force winds swept through the area for up to two hours.  

People in Cedar Rapids were particularly hard hit. Thursday they still had no power, no capability to call 911, no GPS in the area, and anything needing kept cold or frozen was beginning to, or already had, spoiled. 

This has caused widespread damage to crops as well, as you can see from the satellite view I posted here which I grabbed off a social media post shared Wednesday. Flattened corn is basically good for nothing but silage, and loses all its value to farmers. Obviously, that's a big, big deal. Loss of trees and damages to properties will be into the millions of dollars and this area will not recover for several years. I remember the derecho that swept through about ten years ago now and it took a few years for things to get back to looking 100% normal again out in the country. This most recent derecho was even more widespread and devastating than that one was. 

You know, I do that "Barns For Jason" thing as a fun way to document barns in the country, but this is a piece of Americana, and of Iowa's rural agricultural history, that is quickly disappearing. This newest derecho probably hastened that by a factor of ten in the areas that it struck. Just one of the many issues that this recent weather event has caused. The fallout from this event will be far reaching in its effects. 

But for now, my immediate concern is that this recovery effort is successful and swift. Cedar Rapids has been battered into submission twice now since 2008's massive flooding and now this wind event, all on top of 2020. My heart goes out to those folks and I am proud of Iowans like my neighbor who have stepped up to lend a helping hand.  

Easton Drops Gravel Dropper Post:

Dropper posts for gravel? Yes. I have tried it and it is a good thing, but........ (There always is a 'but') Are the downsides of a dropper post worth it? That's the real question here. 

Here is the thing- You can descend faster, even on a roller, by dropping the post and getting lower. If you are doing a timed event, that's free speed and time savings. All you have to do is plant your rumpus in the saddle, push the button/lever, and Wheeeeee! Free speed. No effort required. 

Maybe you live out West, or maybe out East, and you have the types of trails/roads that are pretty steep. A little bit of dropper post action might make all the difference there. I get that. A dropper post on the ATRB (Remember yesterday's post?) might be just what the doctor ordered. 

Now the thing here is that dropper posts come with penalties, or compromises, if you want to be kind. Weight is one. Yep- plan on at least doubling the weight of a nice carbon post. Probably more when you consider the lever, wire, and housing involved. Oh, and complexity is increased along with maintenance issues at some point. (Ever do maintenance on a standard post? No? I thought so) 

Obviously, these posts are expensive too. Very high end carbon posts can approach the prices of these droppers, but again- those are lighter and require zero maintenance. Now think about saddle bags. You can get one made for a dropper, but they are few and far between. There are literally thousands of seat bag choices for a standard post. 

And how much would you actually use the darn thing? There maybe is the number one reason not to buy in. But if you do, the Easton post has 50mm of drop, comes in 27.2mm and an overall length of 350mm or 400mm. The post retails for $239.99.  The site for the page on this post is here.

That's it for this week! Have a great weekend!