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| What you can't see.. wont hurt you.... |
The bike lane to which I'm referring, might be 6' wide in some places, but it feels like 4' at the best. Going northbound, semi-trucks pass within a couple feet trying to suck you into their lane, to the right a bumpy dirt shoulder and ravine. So it's pretty important to stay in the bike lane. Of course the bike lane disappears altogether in a few spots so watch out for that. Heading south, at least in front of La Conchita town, it almost feels safe due to that extra lane for parking* Going south I pretty much ride in the parking lane even though it's a little bumpy. Once you hit Mussel Shoals it's back to the narrow little path known as the Pacific Coast Bike Route. Here your only chance for survival would be a clean hit that might send you over the 20 foot rock embankment and into the deep blue pacific. I just hope it's not low tide. Seriously it's a beautiful ride, but frightening at the same time. I wouldn't gaze around too much unless you come to a complete stop. There's cracks, potholes, tire shards, drainage grates, glass, just be careful!
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| Syncro... Happier days.. |
The Pacific Coast Bike Route actually begins at the California/Oregon Boarder on Highway 101 and meanders peacefully along, down towards Humboldt County and the Redwoods. Sounds great and might make a good trip some day in the future but for now, the Pacific Coast Bike Route means a run from La Conchita to Rincon on a stretch of the 101 that most people consider to be the Ventura Freeway. Up till last summer my familiarity with the bike route was limited to watching the bikers ride by from the safety of my porch, and making sure I didn't hit any of them on the way into Carp. All that changed during last summers huge Teahpoo Swell... Caught without my van (New Rear CV Joints) I was forced onto the highway, board in my arm, heading north to a spot located down some stairs and to the left. It was a pretty huge swell making it into pretty much every nook and cranny of the coast. I probably hit it up a couple of times by bike before getting the Syncro back.
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| Fun and adventure in a box! |
It was a pretty slow and somewhat brutal ride on the rusty single speed Schwinn cruiser, and I don't recommended trying to negotiate this stretch of highway one handed, while hanging onto a surfboard. But there were some pretty good waves, and it was nice to know I wasn't completely stranded here in LC. Still.. I was stoked to get the van back a couple days later, and I didn't give the Pacific Coast Bike Route another thought till the Syncro suffered a catastrophic engine failure at the end of last year. You can dig back a ways in this very blog to hear my praises for the Subaru 2.2 / EJ22 Engine conversion. Let's just say, I haven't been singing about it the last two months. In fact, I really don't discuss the engine failure, and subsequent search for a replacement, and two month long process at all.
But I will sing you the praises for my new Prodeco G Storm, 24 Volt, 250 Watt, Electric Bicycle. Not having your van for a couple days in the middle of summer is one thing, but losing it mid-winter when Rincon was about to light up is a whole different story. Problem number one. The rusty 'ol cruiser was out of commission due to chain rusting all the way though and breaking. That stuff happens here in a place where bananas grow like weeds, and long low tide beach rides through the salt water all the way to Linden Avenue are possible. That left me with two choices, walking, or riding the classic late 80's Cannondale mountain bike I've owned for 25 years. Well it's not rusty, but it is incredibly uncomfortable, in fact the last time I rode it gave me back spasms for days. The good news was that other right hand point, just south of La Conchita, was working quite nicely during a few of those January swells... Easy walking distance.
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| Prodeco G Storm |
Eventually though I had to get back to my favorite spot, um, just north of here. Yep. So using the dangerous one arm carrying the board, the other hand on the bars approach I learned over the summer, I crossed the railroad tracks and bravely merged on to the Pacific Coast Bike Route, aka Highway 101. Even with gears the Cannondale proved to be far worse than the rusty beach cruiser. The uncomfortable seat, the low handle bars, high center of gravity was sketchy at best, but at least that working brake was on my right hand. Anyway through a combination of biking, walking, and getting a lot of rides from my favorite neighbors Dawn, and Kirk, I didn't miss a single day of surf due to being without a vehicle. I was starting to think hey this is pretty cool not having a car. Enviormentally sound, and saving money too. I would get an occasional ride to town from my kids, or my mom, stock up on food, beer, wine, charcoal, etc... I even had my friend Kim bring me down a crapload of firewood from the Goodland so I was set. Where did I have to go anyway? Nowhere. Nowhere fast. Well I did have to surf, and that was about five mile round trip and my ass was killing me on the Cannondale. Not to mention the ride home after a three hour session. That's when I started thinking electric bike.
These days when I start thinking about buying something expensive, it's a painful, mentally exhausting trip through the web searching for honest reviews, best prices, and hopefully, eventually, coming to the right decision. Honestly I wish I had a car to get out there and test some of the bikes I had looked into, but I didn't.. Haha. Besides that the e-bike field is complex, and fast changing, and mostly very expensive. I would say 2k is more like the average for something decent. There was a Prodeco Dealer in Santa Barbara but he was out of stock so I didn't feel too bad when I pulled the trigger and bought it direct from Prodeco Technologies. Everyone seemed to be waiting on the new 2012 Phantom Model with 500 Watts of power but that would have end up running another $400-$500. Not to mention no one could accurately say when they would be able to get me one. So I opted for the 2011 G-Storm with 250 Watt Motor. Total cost. $900.00 delivered to my door with free shipping.
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| 250 Watt Hub.. Is that enough? |
First off, I did do a lot of research, and the main consensus on the Prodeco bikes was very high quality, assembled in the US, and not in stock!
Here is a link if you want exact details on specs and components. For the purpose of my review I'll stick to why it works for me. I haven't really been involved in bikes since the aforementioned late eighties Cannondale, so I don't know much about the latest components anyway. However what I do know is I was immediatly pleased upon opening the box. This bike does not disappoint, sealed cartridge bearings (think rusty crusier), disc brakes (it needs them), quick disconnect motor (for changing flats), and a pretty damn comfy seat (a must) Still the most important considerations for me were, price, weight, and compatibility, with the
Carver Surf Rack, a company out of Hawaii. The G Storm well, it also looks pretty sleek, folds in half, and is ready to ride almost immediately out of the box.
The weight was a big issue for me and while it is not really that light at 46lbs, it is light enough for me to wrangle down the rocks to the beach, enabling me to access the complex tunnel system here in La Conchita. This tunnel system is extremely important if there is too much traffic, and is in fact, the only way to access town if you can't cross the highway safely. I couldn't imagine trying to haul one of those sleek eBikes that look like scooters down those rocks. Compatibility with the Carver Surf Rack was huge, and by the way those racks are hands down the best available period. Freeway tested! The racks are lightweight, low profile, and easy to remove if you need to. Way better than the old upright style that stick up out the back and flop around in the wind. Believe me I was tired of boards flopping around on Highway 101. I didn't think much about the folding aspect but have already used it a few times. It rules. I also like the LI ION LifePo4 Battery which is good for about 2000 charges vs only 500 for the stander Lithium Type. The two year warranty is not bad either.
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| Maiden Voyage.. Butterfly Beach. |
They say the range is 15 to 25 miles on a charge but that figure definitely varies depending on use. I'm not sure it would last 15 miles without peddle assist, but trust me, the peddling is a piece-o-cake. My first test ride was going to be La Conchita to Santa Barbara for a special showing of
Minds in the Water at the Film Festival. I had no idea if the bike, or myself would make it, but my friend, aka ex-wife had promised me a ride back, a free ticket, and I really wanted to see this movie. So that was it. I filled the water bottle and took off at 9:15am arriving at Butterfly Beach in under forty-five minutes, averaging about 15 MPH. Pretty stoked. 15 MPH might not seem that fast, it might not even be an accurate figure sense I have nothing to track it, but I can assure you it goes way faster than I'm used to going, and fast enough to make some serious road bikers wonder what you're doing behind them. I continued on to
Surf 'n Wear's Beach House to check availability on the Carver surf rack I wanted, and stoked.. They had it, with discount too. Thanks Jeremy. Overall I went about 20 miles that day, still had plenty of juice left in the battery, and hadn't even broken a sweat.
Shut up. Hows it ride? Well.. I would describe it being similar to a Prius. The electricity gets you going then the motor kicks in. You being the the motor. It takes off effortlessly and gets up to top speed quickly, you can't help but peddle along. In town, parking lots etc, I just sort of putt around in e-mode, or a combination of the two, but once you're moving at top speed it's easy to contribute your own power. It's pretty much like coasting. No sweat. Literally. I even beat my ex-wife to the theater. When she did get there, I folded it up, and fit it nicely into her bio-diesel powered Jetta wagon. Yep, I have come along way since flicking cigarettes out of my Toyota Landcrusier environmentally speaking. Hows it working for surfing? Like I said the rack works perfectly and allows for fin first placement so I don't look like a kook. It's pretty funny to get behind these serious road bikers and actually keep up with them just cruising along in a comfortable upright position, surfboard, backpack, just flying down the rode, fin first, and getting 1200 miles to the gallon.
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| Keep it green. You'll go farther. |
Other notes: The handlebar throttle gage is supposed to show how much charge is left on the battery. Actually what it does is more important. It shows how much drain you are putting on the battery. i.e. Go full throttle with no peddling even on a full charge and you'll see it drop into the red. But if you put even the slightest effort into peddling you'll will save a lot of drain on the battery. I found the gearing to be just about perfect for the 250 Watt Motor, with the motor topping out and leaving some extra room for speed by peddling harder. Any hills I have hit have been a breeze as well by just shifting down accordingly. Out of the box I found the Disc Brakes needing a minor adjustment which was easy to do myself. Also the derailer was out alignment by one gear, missing the lowest possible gear. I found this was easy to fuck up on my own and I am now out of alignment on two gears instead of just one, and planning to see bike mechanic soon. Still like I said. It rides like a Prius. Lots of torque off the line and I have never used those two gears even on the steepest of hills.
Warranty... I went on a strictly pleasure ride south to Ventura a few days ago and hit an especially bumpy, potholed, stretch of the Pacific Coast Bike Route when sudden the battery broke loose at full speed. I thought, oh shit. (the bike is heavy, and while you could make it anywhere under human power, the motor make its easy) So shit, I heard the battery bouncing along the pavement behind me, and didn't know what to expect as far as damage. Turned out the male connection to the battery cracked. Thankfully it fit back into place and I rode home, and have continued to ride it while waiting on the replacement part. So all good.. I would say very satisfied.
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| Two year warranty.. Yeah! |
What to expect... A comfortable bike, that with a little peddling, and no sweat, will have you and a surfboard, moving along at road bike speed in a hurry. Quality components, functional features, and two year warranty. What not to expect.. Sitting back on the throttle and blazing along at 20MPH (eBike speed limit) without peddling. Blazing up hills at 20MPH even if you do peddle. What I think.. In my limited knowedge I think this is the best of both worlds. If you want a bit of a work out you can get it. If not, lazily peddling along with the electric assist will get you where you want to go without worry. What to watch out for when converting from a driver to a biker. Drivers!!! Plus, try not to forget everything like me. So far I have forgotten my wallet twice in route to town, and yesterday, jeez. I was all the way to Rincon before I realized I didn't have my wetsuit. After riding back I thought briefly about hopping in the van. (Yes, after two full months without a vehicle I got it back last Thursday) Then thought the better of it. After a surf, I came home and realized I missed the postman and had to ride into town to get my mortgage in the mail on time. I put some serious consideration into driving the van, but hit the El Camino Real for the third time that day. . ** I'm going to have to talk about the parking/bike path situation another day but let's just say I'm in favor of the new bike lane.
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| Don't let transportation get in the way of your destination. |
