Are you doing the full melted wax immersion? And how often do you redo? I’ve thought about it, but it seems like a lot of effort and I can clean and lube my chains fairly quickly.
I don’t have tubeless on my e-bike, but they are large, thick tires and I put sealant in the tubes. I do have a patch and CO2 system in a tailbag, and know how to use them, but I would have to run over a nail or something substantial to get a flat. Not like my road bikes that get flats at a hint of a sliver. My mountain bike has tubes with sealant and I haven’t had a mid-ride flat since (I used to get them before learning about the joys of sealant). Again, all bikes carry the abilities to fix a flat as long as the tire isn’t shredded (had that happen on a long ride - I now replace tires before they are completely shot).
Yes, I had a spare crockpot in the attic, a brand new bike with a clean chain, and a desire to screw around. I live in a dry climate, ideal for wax as I understand it. Once every month or two, I pop the chain off, which takes just a minute since it came with the quick link that just needs a squeeze to pop open. I toss it in the crockpot, turn on the heat, then go have dinner or whatever while the wax melts. Pull the chain out with a coat hanger, wait for it to cool, then it goes right back on the bike.
Timewise, I doubt there’s much savings over traditional lubing. It’s just that all the work gets done at one time and then nothing for the next couple months. Mostly what I like is that the chain is never dirty or greasy, so there’s none of that dark line on my leg or pants, and when I have to take the wheel off or mess with the cassette or something, it’s at most dusty, not oily.
I run road-ish tires, Gravelking Slick Plus+ (yes, there are two plusses in there - infuriating) and while they’re pretty puncture resistant, the filthy state of the local bike lanes meant that flats were inevitable. I didn’t try sealant in the tubes; my bike came with pre-taped wheels so going the whole route was easy. No flats since, although I was losing air for a while due to not tightening the stem very well when I put it on.
On a more e-bike related note, the popularity of them here has exploded. I would guess that I see more e-bikes than traditional bikes now, by a fair margin. And that’s excluding the hundreds of rental e-bike rental docks and bikes all through town. I’m also amazed at the throngs of e-bike riding junior high aged kids that gather downtown. The 13 year old inside me is super jealous.
Thanks for all this good info. Maybe I’ll give waxing a try with my next new chain. I’m definitely going tubeless with any future bikes, particularly my next mountain bike.
If you do go the wax route, the first time is a little more of a project because you have to strip every bit of grease and oil off first, usually by dipping the chain in acetone or something like that. Also, a crockpot is not strictly necessary in that the brand of wax I use (and I am not making this up) comes in a sous vide style bag so you can just drop the whole thing in a pot of boiling water.
I got the bike insured through Markel, which offered a pretty generous package with a low deductible that includes liability and medical coverage. As for the lock, I went with this one;
It certainly feels heavy and sturdy, and certainly wouldn’t be easy to cut through. My boss has given me permission to park my bike inside the store in an employees-only area, so I won’t have to worry about it getting stolen at work.
I decided against a storage rack for now, since the bike is pretty close to the weight limit for the bike racks on the city bus here and I’d like to be able to take the bus to work instead of riding both ways. I found a quality backpack that’s big enough to tote some groceries home from work in and doesn’t add too much weight. After going for an eight-mile ride today it hardly took anything out of me, but I like using my bus ride as time to read the news and the Dope before I start work.
Two cons that I’ve noticed so far - the seat is too thin and not comfortable, and the kickstand doesn’t actually support the weight of the bike - if I try to let it stand just on the kickstand, it falls over. If there’s such a thing as a heavy-duty kickstand that will hold this thing’s weight then I’d like one of those, and I definitely want a wider seat that will better accomodate my oversized posterior.
I’m not knocking your choice of lock; it’s probably as good as anything available and should be a reasonable deterrent. But a determined thief with a battery powered grinder can cut through that in seconds.
Also consider what you lock your bike to. Most bike racks are not made of the hardened steel the lock is made of.
So noted. I’ll just have to make sure I lock it somewhere visible enough to bystanders and hope that nobody happens to be walking along with an angle grinder and decides to have a go at it.
I was going to write that. I am not even sure bystanders would interfere if a thief went at it in broad daylight. Is the bike too heavy to carry inside at work or home?
Is 250W enough power? Maybe having 600W would be better if there are hills around and the bike is heavy.
But then again, no lock will stop a determined thief, particularly if bystanders show no interest in stopping the thief. It’s the old “being chased by a bear” problem. You don’t need a lock good enough to stop the thief, you just need a better lock than the one on the bike next to yours.
Very jealous. My first look at ebikes was in Providence RI. There is an exclusive ebike store there, run by someone who has been selling them forever. Tern is one of the 2 brands he sells. It has a lot of features that make it superior to most ebikes, and it was always designed to be an ebike, not just a regular bike with a motor slapped on.
I have not been able to find the brand in Indiana. The one place listed on Tern’s website as a dealer has never stocked them.
Yeah, it’s a really good quality bike. I’ve been riding mine for four years and it’s still going strong. I’ve tested quite a few e-bikes over the past few years and I’ve never ridden one I liked better. It was a big investment, but I definitely feel I got value for the money (and will continue to for years to come).
