2 Wheels Maybe

[A new minipost series - it seems like every week I'm tempted by a new bike that just came out, but I don't find time for a full post - so let's go mini!!!!!] I've been a big fan of Monday Motorbikes since April of 2015 (when they were still called Bolt Motorbikes).Through each generation of the M-1, I 've watched the bike grow more impressive (and less expensive) and as a plethora of new e-mopeds have become available lately, Monday has kept pace by upgrading the original, by launching a step-thru model in 2019 - the Gateway , and this week they have announced a new top-tank model - the Anza! (Woohoo! This thing is cool and pretty darned affordable!) Find it on the Monday Motorbikes site I love that they've taken the old Puch-Magnum-style frame and adapted it to be a lightweight hardtail e-bike with a rear hub motor. Where the original was more of a motorcycle with pedals, this one is better equipped to compete with newcomer e-mopeds like the RadRunner, the Ju...

So, let's talk turn-key klunker again. After spending a year riding and upgrading a (pseudo) klunker, it's become my favorite type of bike. The old HuffKlunk morphed into my favorite mountain-BMX-short-distance commuter, and it's the easiest bike for a grab-and-go ride. Surprisingly, it's also one of the lightest and most comfortable bikes I've owned. So, now I keep an eye out for klunker news and...guess what - a new one popped up this week - the Schwinn Rumbler. And it's down in my almost-willing-to-spend-that-on-a-bike price range. Schwinn Rumbler (at City Grounds) The few specs I found Schwinn Rumbler (Blue) While the thing is gorgeous, I have one concern - it looks pretty small. (My legs like bigger bikes.) I can only find it on the City Grounds site and on eBay (where it costs a lot more). There are no photos of it next to anything for reference. It's not even listed on the Schwinn website. But I love the look and the BMX components and retro straight-...

So the kid was turning twelve in the early part of July and we had been wanting him to have an ebike so he can keep up on our family e-bike rides. Before e-bikes were so popular, you could buy this at department stores! The Mongoose CX450 was a pretty cool bike - 15mph, 18 mile range, full suspension, front disc brake - sweet! After looking around for a bit (during a time when almost no bikes were available for purchase) we decided it was time to build one. A few years back I bought a Mongoose CX450 that had been stripped of its electric drivetrain. So I pulled it out of storage and got to work. Not our bike, but identical (I didn't take a before pic)     My first attempt at getting it together was to add a brushed motor like the original setup for the bike but I struggled to come up with a suitable bracket to hold the motor. Being a man with a welder and welding skills would have made it possible, but that's not me these days. So I came up with a Plan B - a brushless hu...

Black Tea -  they didn't hook me with the name, but the price, the stats, and the simplicity - goodness... The BlackTea website I'm blaming this one on Greg and Micah. Greg's been talking to me about converting an old Allstate Puch Saber to electric and Micah Toll already ordered a BlackTea citing non-buyers-regret from the Onyx launch. Just like Greg and I had been discussing - 72 volts and 3000 watts seem to be the sweet spot for small electric motorcycles. It should be able to cruise easily at 45mph and have a 35-mile range on just one battery. (BlackTea gives the option for a second battery to double the range.) It's been an ongoing discussion around here - a smallish electric electric scrambler. It was a growing flame in my project list that really heated up with the Fly Free Smart campaign . Back in the early 1970s, little gas-powered scramblers were everywhere and they were great fun and very economical transportation. From Honda to Hodaka , dozens of co...

Be still my heart! (a Benno Carry On Spotted this week at DFC Cycles ) Longtail cargo bikes - for years I've been watching but have never seen one in the Hub City. But this month I've run across two, real, honest-to-goodness, longtail cargo bikes here in Lubbock. For cargo bike dorks this is exciting stuff! Even more exciting to me is that the two cargo bikes I've seen have been two at the top of my most-wanted-bikes list - the Benno Carry On and the Radwagon. Rad Power Bikes Radwagon (Version 3) The Radwagon has appealed to me since its release and has consistently represented the best cargo bike deal out there. While there are nicer bikes out there with higher quality components, the $1500-$1600 Radwagon continues to be the most impressive bang for the buck - and Rad Power has done a great job of being consistent in their deliveries, service, and customer satisfaction.  For dorks (like me) who are always questing for ways to get out of the car and get...

May 1 is downright magical here at the Mesquite Hugger desk. It's an anniversary. Joining the National Bike Challenge on May 1, 2014 was my start to bicycle commuting. You can read the post here . So here I am seven years later in a very different life and still thrilled to have the month and the challenge roll around again. Honestly, I was scared to start. I had a sedentary lifestyle and a body shape to match. And I viewed Lubbock traffic as a suicide run for anyone not in a car. But I was overweight, high blood-pressured, and wanting to save the world. And the bicycle seemed like a great tool for tackling all those issues. So I got up the nerve to try it. And I'm truly thankful I did. I've learned that life is better on a bike. I'm in much better shape than I was seven years ago. I like the town I live in better and I've discovered a lot of beauty I had not noticed. I have more stamina. I look forward to going places for the ride as much as the desti...

A downside of working from home (please don't throw things at the screen) is that I miss my work commute. Yes, I know it sounds a bit loony, but I actually enjoy my commute to work on the electric (and sometimes non-electric) bike. I don't miss the driving days, but those 3-4 days per week endcapped by five miles of riding, mmm, good stuff! Life is better on a bike! Intimidation - this little broken bridge - my nemesis! A handful of blocks away from home is a park with a natural wildlife habitat, so I've been taking quick nature breaks. In under ten minutes I can be sitting in a quiet place with no walls or windows and the most obnoxious neighbors are the red-winged blackbirds. After more than three decades here, there are days I get tired of Lubbock, but little breaks like this, bike rides and bird watching and all the little details - I come to realize that it's not the place so much as the approach to the place.  A little bigger tha...