[Toshi]

Above is the original window sticker from my new-to-me Land Cruiser, which I found today a bit crumpled but intact in the vehicle's glovebox.

The original owner bought it new in March 2007 and traded it in in February 2014. I don't know how much they got on trade, but assuming it was pretty close to what I paid (and I believe that I did squeeze their margin pretty well, as I grabbed it for nearly $5,000 under NADA retail valuation!) then it illustrates how much expensive vehicles depreciate in actual terms. $40,000+ over 7 years, yowza!

The window sticker is not only notable for the initial price and its quite horrid mileage but also because it illustrates a few options I didn't even know existed, such as "Simulated Molded Dash by Acculaser" (?) and the chrome exhaust tip. All of the important stuff was speced by the original owner, including AHC/AVS, the side airbags, and navi.

Anyway, to cut this rambling short, I'm glad that the original owner took the big depreciation hit. Over the next 7 years I anticipate depreciation of about $2k/year on average, which is much more palatable than $6k!

 

[dump]

Micropenis!

I am certainly not internally consistent, I admit.

I figure moving to Denver is as good of an excuse to buy a Land Cruiser as I'm apt to encounter, plus some of its characteristics are those I like in general: good visibility, smooth power train, and a reputation for reliability. I'll offset my carbon then who'll be the wiser?

Fair enough... at least I know what to expect now... anything!

How does the LC drive? Every SUV I've driven felt comfortable but suffered in the driving experience dept – that is heavy, sluggish, had body-roll in the corners and a generally feeling of disconnectedness.

edit: congrats on the new ride!

 

[Toshi]

It drives like you'd expect from a large, top of the line Toyota, basically.

It's wide, soft (at least when the suspension is set to the Comfort side of the dial--it's adjustable), and sits high on tires with tall, mushy sidewalls. On the other hand, outward visibility and glass area are unparalleled, the corners of the hood are well defined, the turning radius is small given its girth, and the drivetrain is both well polished around town and punchy when passing or merging is in order.

It's not a sports car and doesn't encourage one to squeal the tires on off-ramps, but isn't nearly the whale that, say, the Suburban I rented in November is. It feels like a relaxed athlete in hiking boots rather than a couch potato.

 

[gastro]

Is the AVS of the Land Bruiser similar to the variable rate swaybars on the KDSS 5th gen 4 runners? I have one of the latter (characterized by Toshi earlier as a "tin can" I believe, haha) and it turns significantly better than the non-KDSS equipped SR5's - agreed it's no M3, but it's certainly got the best road handling characteristics of any SUV I've driven.

 

[Toshi]

AVS/AHC on my end-of-run LC 100 is the height adjustable load leveling airbag system as also found on later LX 470s and all LX 570s. Most LC 100s prior to 2006 didn't have AVS/AHC.

KDSS is a non-airbag hydraulic cross-linked system, I believe, a different beast.

As for how these systems work, here's RTI geekery from yours truly back in 2012, which I just updated with a non-AVS/AHC LC 100 data point: https://plus.google.com/+ToshiClark/posts/4UjKS2hBWR9

573 - 2006 Toyota Land Cruiser with AHC/AVS
542 - 2008 Toyota Land Cruiser with KDSS
539 - 1998 Toyota Land Cruiser with neither KDSS nor AHC/AVS
538 - 2009 Lexus LX 570 with Adaptive Variable Suspension
519 - 2004 Lexus GX 470 with KDSS
491 - 2010 Toyota 4Runner Trail Edition with KDSS
435 - 2011 Lexus GX 460 with KDSS
428 - 2003 Lexus GX 470 without KDSS
400 - 2009 Toyota Sequoia

Draw your own conclusions. Note that I did not buy a Sequoia, GX 470 without KDSS, or GX 460. I would have been happy with a 4Runner Trail Edition, Tonka toy interior plastics and all, if I had a bit more headroom and the glass area was bigger. My LC 100 suits me well in those regards.

 

[gastro]

My limited offroad needs (muddy ruts & seasonal roads) were well satisfied by my prior 4runners in stock trim (1st, 2nd, & 3rd gen) so RTI was never on my radar, but those data are interesting nonetheless - I never would have suspected the bigger Yotas were so much more capable in that regard. IMO the biggest benefit of KDSS is the drastic reduction in understeer.

I must disagree with your "Tonka Toy" characterization of the 5th gen interior...Tonkas were much more durable.

 

[Toshi]

What I could potentially do, given even a few hours of spare time here and there, would be to fly an R/C airplane with a first person video setup, such as from Fat Shark: http://www.fatshark.com/ . That could be pretty cool--flying! only without the morbidity/mortality/cost aspects of actually flying.

FPV coolness:

I could get into this.

 

[dump]

It drives like you'd expect from a large, top of the line Toyota, basically.

It's wide, soft (at least when the suspension is set to the Comfort side of the dial--it's adjustable), and sits high on tires with tall, mushy sidewalls. On the other hand, outward visibility and glass area are unparalleled, the corners of the hood are well defined, the turning radius is small given its girth, and the drivetrain is both well polished around town and punchy when passing or merging is in order.

It's not a sports car and doesn't encourage one to squeal the tires on off-ramps, but isn't nearly the whale that, say, the Suburban I rented in November is. It feels like a relaxed athlete in hiking boots rather than a couch potato.

Interesting. I remember that I rode in one a long time ago... recall the visibility was good.
The whale-like ride of a suburban is what I imagine all SUVs to ride like and frankly that's at all right My cousin has a V8 Toureg that feels very spirited.

 

[Toshi]

Things now documented to have been done at Toyota dealers (with oil changes in the interim either in the driveway or at indie shops, I hope!):

3/2012: new air:fuel sensor to fix P0138 code

9/2011: code P0138 first reported but not addressed at this point

P0138 is for the bank 1 (LH) sensor 2 (post-cat) air:fuel sensor relevant to the below:

In my first dose of used-car goodness, my Land Cruiser threw two codes yesterday while literally just driving along. These two codes are P0158 and P2197, which refer to bank 2 (RH side) O2/air:fuel ratio sensors 2 and 1, respectively.

The good news is that the vehicle is still totally driveable, and it's not the usual thing that tends to go wonky around this time, the throttle and accelerator pedal position sensors +/- throttle body.

I'll get the independent shop that's doing the slightly belated 120k service in a month to look into it, so the bad news is it'll cost a few hundred dollars to fix whether it's sensors or some other related issue (cat or exhaust possibly given slightly loud idle while in gear).

 

[Toshi]

http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/Maserati-Ghibli-takes-on-Model-S-2014-04-03

Relevant because:

a) Top Gear!
b) They liked the Tesla
c) I'm test driving a Maserati Ghibli for ****s and giggles tomorrow [ed: make that a week from what-was-tomorrow]
d) I previously test drove a P85 Tesla Model S, so will have an internal reference

 

[DaveW]

if this ever gets scaled up and commercialized successfully.......

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-26934932

 

[Toshi]

It's already been 10 years since the discovery in the lab. I have little faith in these demos unless it's of something that's actually shipping from a commercially viable company.

 

[Toshi]

For the past year and a half or so my household budget has been in the red, to the shade of about $1500 per month. Blame living out on expensive Lawn Guy Land, the expensive process of having and then feeding/clothing/providing assorted crap for Mariko, our expensive cross-country move, that Turner that I built up and then proceeded to be too busy to ride often, and, lately, my two relatively expensive car choices (the LEAF lease, and the Land Cruiser purchase).

I realize I've been living beyond my means a bit, but it's been a deliberate choice made with my position finally finishing up my training in mind.

To make ends meet, as it were, I've been juggling balance transfers between different credit cards with 0% APR for X month offers. Today marked the completion of the final set of transfers that I should need to make: before this last batch of 0% balances comes due I'll be making $texas $colorado (instead of about a fourth of that currently).



Final damage to the pocketbook from these transfer shenanigans: $494.99 in balance transfer fees paid since October 2012, fees that went towards $49,000 in transfers. This $49k figure actually represents about $27k in total debt being moved between various 0% accounts once per year x ~twice, so the effective APR for this loan of sorts is about 1% APR, all said and done.

I don't recommend pursuing this plan unless you're in a similar situation to mine, as ending up holding the bag without a sufficient source of income to ultimately pay off the balances before interest rates hit the roof would be a Bad Thing. As it is, I will be fine, and am looking forward to finally zeroing out these credit card balances and then attacking the next big pile looming in the distance… our mortgage worth of student loans.

(and then very soon after that begins will come scratching together a down payment on a house! It never ends. I'm certainly not going to wait to pay off student loans before buying a house, as the mortgage interest deduction will be the only one that I'll remain eligible for, among other reasons.)

 

[Toshi]

Our 5th anniversary photo has 100% more mountain man look for me, in honor of our upcoming move to high country.

 

[DaveW]

Gonna need to lose the hippy shirt for that look

 

[Toshi]

I test drove a Maserati Ghibli yesterday, a 2014 S Q4 in Rosso Folgore with the 19" Proteo wheels, if you care about the specifics. I had a good time bull****ting with the salesman, who drives an E46 non-M 3 series so gets a thumbs up from me.

Here are a few high and low points regarding the car itself:

Pros:

- being sold through Ferrari of Seattle has a certain cachet, sharing showroom floor space with a Ferrari FF, a 458 Italia, and a (tremendously long) Quattroporte
- nicely curvy bodywork, with wheelwells filled out nicely by the factory 20" and 21" options
- fantastic bark from the exhaust in Sport mode (flappy valve opens), despite the muffling that the turbo must inherently do
- adjustable pedals + telescoping wheel + requisite power seat + heated steering wheel (just like a Ram Truck that's also a Fiat product, eh?)
- very nice touchpoints with extended leather interior and Alcantara-like headliner
- certainly fast and agile enough for anything a buyer of a $70k+ sedan is apt to ask of their cars on public roads, with amusing huge flappy paddles and a sweet ZF 8-speed gearbox

Cons:

- being sold through a place like Ferrari of Seattle is very much not my style, and probably never will be
- looks pretty dowdy with base 18" or even the equipped 19" wheels on the one I drove as compared to the 20"s on the one on the showroom floor
- exhaust bark turned into drone on constant speed uphills, which got old even during my test drive's duration
- touchpoints are not that impressive without that expensive extra-leather option, with a very awkward thin wood inlay with a raised ridge flanking it on the steering wheel a particular stumbling block
- a la Porsche and BMW, it starts out expensive and only gets worse (much worse) from there: adding in a few options on the configurator quickly turned the "baby Maserati" into a $97k vehicle on the configurator
- tight roofline and fast windshield rake gave it a feel much like a Jaguar XF or Tesla Model S, only without the perceived interior roominess of the Tesla due to a fairly massive center console on the Ghibli

Verdict: I only test drove it because I got a direct mail solicitation to do so (and, no, they didn't pay me, unlike Kia and Chevy in recent months). Was it worth my time and $1.50 in parking meter fees to do so? I'd say so.

I can't really figure out who "should" buy such a car, though. It's certainly not a good deal when optioned out. It's not authentically Italian given that the next-gen Chrysler 300 will share its platform. I haven't driven a Chrysler 300, but I have a feeling that'd be 80% the car for 40% of the price...

 

[dump]

there will only ever be one Ghibli in my life...and that's Studio Ghibli

 

[Toshi]

I rode the e-bike in for the first time in several months today.

The weather finally cleared up a bit, I don't have a rehearsal after work, and I'm at a closer hospital (6 miles each way) than my usual (12 miles). Given that I should be more active if for no other reason than to not suck as much when on mountain bike rides in the future I elected to ride in.

It also helps that doing so saves $7.xx/day in parking and ~$3.50 in gas--funny that even with the Land Cruiser parking is the dominant cost. (With the LEAF it'd cost about $0.25 in electricity, which gets passed onto my mother in law's electric bill rather than to me.)

In any case, the bike worked as it should. I used 35 Wh/mile to average 17 mph, inclusive of time stopped at lights. This is reasonable considering that the route to this hospital includes a decent length climb up a 9% grade road.

I might do this a few more times during the remaining two weeks at this hospital, and possibly during the subsequent three weeks at another reasonably close facility. This latter facility is not at the top of a hill, but is a bit further (7.4 miles each way). There's also free car parking there, though, which kind of shifts the mental balance...

 

[Toshi]

Denver: Upscale Subaru and Tesla snobbery.

Her car: Used Volvo XC70 (! thus "upscale Subaru") until August 2015, then Tesla Model X
My car: LEAF until August 2015, then I'd inherit the Volvo, and then in 2016 the light rail would open

Well, this didn't go as planned above, clearly.

So now we have her LEAF, on lease through August 2015, and my Land Cruiser, which I hope to keep indefinitely. She still doesn't want to drive it routinely, would still prefer an electric (even given Denver's dirty electricity--we'd plan on going solar when a house is purchased), and it's looking more likely that we'll end up with 2 kids rather than the plans for 3 that were floated here and there.

Therefore maybe neither a minivan (on the practical end of the spectrum) or a Model X (on the extravagant end) will be necessary... hmm. More on that after a light rail discursion:

It also looks like we're going to end up in a different neighborhood in Denver altogether, not at all near the I-225/Nine Mile station that I was eyeing before. However, our proposed destination neighborhood, Stapleton, is similarly supposed to get hooked up to the light rail system in 2016. It'd make for a commute consisting of a short bike spin to the local station, a single station hop, a transfer, and then one or two more stops on the second light rail line followed by another short bike ride to my actual building.

It may not prove preferable to driving if the distance is as short as I think it is, but it could be nice. Plus, if I'm going to be writing papers non-stop having some aspect of protected time where I can put fingers to keyboard without distraction from work or from family might be similarly nice.

Central Park to Peoria

Peoria to Fitzsimons or Colfax, not sure which will end up closer

 

[Toshi]

So now we have her LEAF, on lease through August 2015, and my Land Cruiser, which I hope to keep indefinitely. She still doesn't want to drive it routinely, would still prefer an electric (even given Denver's dirty electricity--we'd plan on going solar when a house is purchased), and it's looking more likely that we'll end up with 2 kids rather than the plans for 3 that were floated here and there.

Therefore maybe neither a minivan (on the practical end of the spectrum) or a Model X (on the extravagant end) will be necessary... hmm.

Getting back to the above:

- LEAF is too small, both in cargo volume behind the rear seat and in rear seat room itself, noting that Mariko will be in a rear facing seat until she's 40 lbs if I have my way, which will be a long, long time
- Model X is going to be an extravagance that would be tough to justify while we still have student loans (lots of 'em!) and a (future) mortgage
- RAV4 EV isn't supported outside of California and has proven to be unreliable, which is a fatal double whammy
- Highlander PHEV still is vaporware outside of Japan, and the gas part of the powertrain would be redundant given that we'd take my Land Cruiser on road trips preferentially

Therefore... a Mercedes?! Meet the Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive, for which pricing and final specs were finally announced recently:

Relevant details:

- sub-$29k base price after Federal and Colorado state tax credits
- 38.x" rear legroom reportedly (LEAF is 31.4" iirc!)
- 174 hp, 250 ft-lbs of torque, and a corresponding sub-8 sec 0-60 mph time
- 28 kWh battery, sourced from Tesla along with the battery, inverter, and controller
- nationwide availability planned in "early 2015", which implies nationwide dealer support
- no CHAdeMO, but a 10 kW power on-board charger, a la the non-dual charger Model S and the RAV4 EV, unsurprisingly

It could work. Or I could come up with another harebrained idea next month. Stranger things have happened before.

 

[Toshi]

[O]ur proposed destination neighborhood, Stapleton, is similarly supposed to get hooked up to the light rail system in 2016. It'd make for a commute consisting of a short bike spin to the local station, a single station hop, a transfer, and then one or two more stops on the second light rail line followed by another short bike ride to my actual building.

It may not prove preferable to driving if the distance is as short as I think it is, but it could be nice. Plus, if I'm going to be writing papers non-stop having some aspect of protected time where I can put fingers to keyboard without distraction from work or from family might be similarly nice.

The light rail may prove to be totally superfluous, especially if we stay in the east side of Stapleton, where our just-confirmed rental house is located. My commute will be all of 2.3 miles each way on flat ground: 7 minutes by car, 13 minutes by bike per Google Maps.



We'll see how excited I am about biking once I see the layout of the streets and experience both scorching heat and snow on the ground, but I like the looks of it.

 

[Toshi]

In my first dose of used-car goodness, my Land Cruiser threw two codes yesterday while literally just driving along. These two codes are P0158 and P2197, which refer to bank 2 (RH side) O2/air:fuel ratio sensors 2 and 1, respectively.

I'll get the independent shop that's doing the slightly belated 120k service in a month to look into it

i´d replace the transfer case/diffs oils.

An update on the above, a month later as promised:

I got the slightly overdue 120k service performed today at a local independent shop, Arrows Automotive. Assuming they did what they said they'd do, I approve highly of them.

http://www.arrowsautomotive.com/

Said 120k mile service included transfer case and diff fluid changes as per Alexis's comment, spark plug replacement, and air filter replacement. I didn't have the oil changed since the dealer I bought the car from had a documented oil change with synthetic in February. This 120k mile service ex oil change through Arrows ran $511 + tax, which is very reasonable given what I was quoted by several other places.

It also turns out that the air:fuel sensor implicated by the codes thrown as in my quoted post above needed replacement, which added another $315 + tax to the toll on the wallet. This price wasn't as screaming good as the 120k service, as it basically reflects MSRP on the OEM sensor + $100 in labor, but it's not terrible, either. They also suggested that the front wheel bearings may be on their last legs, so I'll probably have them replace them as a measure of prudence prior to my cross-Rockies towing adventure in July.

Now to see if having two functional air:fuel sensors will improve my dismal-as-expected fuel economy, or whether that's just the nature of the beast.

<-- thumbs up for not having a lit CEL, especially as having said CEL apparently caused the traction control and stability control systems to be inactivated, too.

 

[Toshi]

The Turner frame, its associated fork, and some other parts are up for auction on eBay with 1 cent starting bids and no reserve price!

Turner RFX/6 Pack frame (L), Fox Float RC2 160 mm fork, Cane Creek 40 headset, + seats, seatpost, etc.: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=111345417666

Shimano XT Hollowtech II FC-M785 cranks in oddball 165 mm length, 38/26t rings: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=111345402304

Two Continental Trail King 2.4" x 26" UST foldable tires: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=111345396746

It just wasn't jiving for me with the trails here. In particular, uphill grinding climbs such as the ones from today's ride in Rat Pac/Pack out in Cle Elum have been just killing me with the bike's weight, the not-so-short 26 x 36t granny gear, the bulbous tires, the short cranks, and the wander caused by the tall non-TALAS fork and short stem (which in turn was necessitated by the frame being a bit too long for me).

I'm going to keep my wheelset, brakes, and drivetrain ex crankset, and maybe go stoney style with a more sane 120-140 mm trail bike setup in the future (or maybe a hardtail again?). I'll sell the stuff above now and repurchase and build up after getting in at least a few rides on my crappy current 29er out in Denver.

 

[dump]

It just wasn't jiving for me with the trails here. In particular, uphill grinding climbs such as the ones from today's ride in Rat Pac/Pack out in Cle Elum have been just killing me with the bike's weight, the not-so-short 26 x 36t granny gear, the bulbous tires, the short cranks, and the wander caused by the tall non-TALAS fork and short stem (which in turn was necessitated by the frame being a bit too long for me).

I'm going to keep my wheelset, brakes, and drivetrain ex crankset, and maybe go stoney style with a more sane 120-140 mm trail bike setup in the future (or maybe a hardtail again?). I'll sell the stuff above now and repurchase and build up after getting in at least a few rides on my crappy current 29er out in Denver.

Yeah, you gotta be strong to ride that sucker. A lighter bike will help for sure, but you're moving to Denver... where there elevation and mountains.
I'd recommend a shorter travel bike or hardtail until you're feeling like the bike is holding you back. Your 29er might do the trick.

 

[Nick]

... or hardtail ...

whoa. let's not get crazy now.

 

[Toshi]

In other news, I swear I wrote up a long-ass post about the latest car-thought for me (post-LEAF-lease, which I would inherit if Jessica gets a Sienna AWD): the 2015 Chevrolet Impala CNG.

Pricing was announced today and I ran the numbers. Using Denver CNG and gas prices as a reference, payback time for the CNG option is over 250,000 miles*!

(* There is a generous tax credit in Colorado for which CNG bi-fuel vehicles are eligible. With said tax credit payback time is still over 100,000 miles!)

:nononocat:

 

[dump]

whoa. let's not get crazy now.

You should sell toshi your sovereign

 

[Toshi]

Nothing better to highlight the shape/lack of shape one is in than life/disability insurance physical exam and blood draw. Here's how I stand as of this snapshot in my life:

Bad:

- BMI 33.2, so I am solidly and officially in the obese range (which starts at 30).

This means that I am fat even after accounting for that I am built wide, in the sense that I have a long and broad torso that's especially out of proportion to my shortness. In med school I volunteered to do pulmonary function tests in front of our group as part of learning about the same, and I have an expected-for-a-6'+-man lung volume--handy in a trumpet player, eh? Similarly, my measured expiratory chest circumference of 40" per these two insurance examiners (Saturday and Tuesday--two brokers, two quote processes) is literally off the chart for admittedly non-fat Army recruits from way back when:

Whoops, now that I read that title these data were from recruits with mitral stenosis, who might have been more sickly and frail than the typical humans even of that era. Whatever. Point still stands.

- LDL of 167, and total cholesterol of 240. These are a bit high, but are not bad, IMO, when viewed in relation to the HDL as below. We'll see if I get dinged for them by the insurance companies, though--probably, since they have every incentive to do so...

Good:

- HDL of 54. Men should be over 40, and higher is better. The ratio of HDL to total cholesterol and ratio of LDL to HDL are better predictors of coronary artery disease than LDL or cholesterol alone (see ref if morbidly curious). This high HDL figure means those ratios are normal, so hopefully that'll kick me down into a lower risk group than would be implied by, say, BMI and LDL alone.

- Normal triglycerides of 93, which is more reflective of what I ate in the 24 hours before the exam than anything.

- Liver, kidneys, etc. all look in tip-top shape. No fatty liver for me, thanks.

- Normal fasting glucose of 87, and normal measure of last-few-weeks glucose. I don't have a family history of diabetes and have always measured normal, in spite of fatness, which is typically a DM 2 risk factor.

- Normal albumin level of 4.6. Low albumin is seen in chronically ill people, and malnourished people. I guess I'm not malnourished!

- Normal blood pressure, and "resting" pulse of 60 despite not actually being measured while resting.

Update: I also was tested 3 days later (same lab, different paramedical outfit, for different insurance brokers for similar purposes). Story is much the same, only with minor differences:
- total cholesterol 228 instead of 240
- HDL 52 instead of of 54
- LDL of 161 instead of 167
- fasting glucose stone cold normal, 87 both times

 

[Toshi]

I'm in a selling mood! I dismantled my electric bike after a typically rainy commute today and am parting it out on eBay:

eZee/ebikes.ca 48V 10Ah LiMn battery plus associated charger: http://www.ebay.com/itm/111349132221?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649

Infineon/ebikes.ca 24-48V 35A electric bicycle motor controller: http://www.ebay.com/itm/111349135532?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649

ebikes.ca/Grin Cyclery CycleAnalyst 2.0 computer/wizard-brain: http://www.ebay.com/itm/111349138052?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649

Custom steel 26" rigid fork with torque arm, as made by RM's own buildyourown: http://www.ebay.com/itm/111349140010?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649

Shimano Nexus 7 internally geared rear hub and associated shifter, built up in a wheel with an Alex DC19 rim: http://www.ebay.com/itm/111349151233?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649

 

[dump]

Woo! sell sell!

 

[Toshi]

The astute reader will note that the front hub motor/wheel is not listed for auction. This is because I think that there's something wrong with it, and because it's so ridiculously heavy that I'd have to list it with a crazy-high shipping price.

The past few days there have been intermittent stumbles, if you will, feeling as if it wasn't firing on all cylinders, er, I mean "inducing electrical currents through all poles in the proper order." My bet is that a Hall sensor has gone bad due to the rust/water infiltration issues endemic to Seattle. I already dealt with this twice before: once before on a previous hub motor (tried to replace Hall sensor, failed, then reverted to a controller that didn't rely on the Hall sensors), and earlier this year for this very same replacement hub motor (whole extravaganza with acid washes and scouring the damn rotor and stator for hours).

In any case, I'm mentally done with the e-bike. My remaining rotations in Seattle either have free parking or are not amenable to a commute with a potentially unreliable e-bike, and in Denver my commute will be 2.3 miles on flat ground.

I did save my most excellent Tubus tubular cro-mo rack and the heavy-as-all-getout but useful center stand for future use. For Denver non-car commute duty I could take the 29er (and secretly hope it gets stolen) but then I'd have to deal with securing the wheels and seatpost each time, or I could maybe set up a simple single speed rig... time to scour bikesdirect.com, methinks.

 

[Toshi]

I did save my most excellent Tubus tubular cro-mo rack and the heavy-as-all-getout but useful center stand for future use. For Denver non-car commute duty I could take the 29er (and secretly hope it gets stolen) but then I'd have to deal with securing the wheels and seatpost each time, or I could maybe set up a simple single speed rig... time to scour bikesdirect.com, methinks.

Such a rig would allow me to reuse neither of the above parts (26" wheel specific Tubus rack or that heavy center stand), but something just looks very right about this Raleigh Furley:

Other thoughts, noting that I think I'd like to go singlespeed and clean this time around (no internally geared hubs, in particular!):

Trek District S is too self-conscious/hipster in its look.

Breezer Beltway. Sounds nicer on paper than it looks, a belt drive disc braked single speed urban bike. I'll have to look into more of these belt drive options on Gates' site. Just one, ok, two more before I sign off for the night:

Budnitz No. 1 and 2. Beautiful. Really expensive. Titanium! Not sure why this last image isn't working, go figure.

 

[dump]

That Raleigh does look very nice. It has rear rack mounts too.

If you have the cash for a Budnitz there are so many more interesting ways to spend it.
fyi: http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.ca/2012/10/simplicity-money-fixes-everything.html

 

[Toshi]

That Raleigh does look very nice. It has rear rack mounts too.

If you have the cash for a Budnitz there are so many more interesting ways to spend it.
fyi: http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.ca/2012/10/simplicity-money-fixes-everything.html

Heh, nice Bike Snob NYC review. I think I'd ceased to read all of his posts by that point. Excellent. Anyway, that's not seriously on the table but it's an interesting and certainly beautifully styled and shot bike.

Indeed, I think it'll be hard to justify a dedicated commuter itself given that I have the 29er, as Shared Skittles pointed out on Google+:

As part of my continuing garage clean-out I migrated most of the good drivetrain bits from the now-ex-Turner build to the 29er. It's a bit overkill to have a more or less complete XT 10 speed group on a bike that I bought on clearance for $605 and has an accordingly **** fork and wheelset, but the XT bits were what I had lying around, and it's better to use 'em rather than stick them in a bin because they're not well matched.

I figure that I'll ride the now-Frankensteined 29er on the trails here, will perhaps commute in a time or three to work here when I have time to kill and quads to spare, will commute on it to work in Denver regularly given the short route, and will ride it on the trails in Denver until I get my financial life well sorted out. Perhaps next spring I can build up a nice-all-around trail rig after figuring out what's the ticket given both the Colorado trails and my decreasing risk tolerance (what with family, career, etc.).

I definitely noticed that there were trail features on last weekend's ride that I am perfectly capable of riding, but passed up because of the downside risk not outweighing the rush anymore (e.g. 18 inch wide nicely constructed bridge… over a 10 or so foot mini ravine. Nope.).

 

[ALEXIS_DH]

Pricing was announced today and I ran the numbers. Using Denver CNG and gas prices as a reference, payback time for the CNG option is over 250,000 miles*!

(* There is a generous tax credit in Colorado for which CNG bi-fuel vehicles are eligible. With said tax credit payback time is still over 100,000 miles!)

:nononocat:

i have recently replaced my 2007 v6 hyundai santa fe; for a newer 2012 4banger 2wd hyundai santa fe; and converted the thing to LPG (my first experience with LPG as an owner).

there is a small power penalty (not that I really care, considering my 4banger santa fe is ridiculously underpowered as it is); but the savings are pretty awesome. installation was about 1700 US bucks, and the payback is about 15k miles (plus a slight bump in resell value); not bad...

15-galon doughnut-shaped tank; fills up (only can use up to 80%) with under $30 (compared to the $140 fillup for my 20gal gasoline tank); for a great range of 150 miles.

only drawback is the SMELL at the LPG station. jesus; if not careful, even at full service stations; the LPG smell will linger for a good 20 minutes around the cabin if I touch the plug-in nozzle before storing it in the trunk.

 

[DaveW]

Hmm the LPG tanks have to be bolted down with damn nearly permanent fixtures to have a dual fuel system in a car in NZ.
Loved the system I had in my Mitsubish L300 van years ago, flick of a switch on the dash to swap back and forward between petrol and LGP and you can do it on the move with out even stopping the wagon.

 

[Toshi]

If you have the cash for a Budnitz there are so many more interesting ways to spend it.

Perhaps next spring I can build up a nice-all-around trail rig after figuring out what's the ticket given both the Colorado trails and my decreasing risk tolerance (what with family, career, etc.).

Combining these above thoughts:

That's a Moots Rogue RSL 27.5". http://moots.com/our-bike/mtb-26/rogue-rsl-27-5-2/overview/

I know nothing of 27.5" and am not wedded to that particular idea, but I do greatly dig the idea of getting a Moots someday. Given its extreme non-cheapness (near $4k frame alone!) it might wait until after we, say, buy/build a house. The made in Steamboat Springs, Ti, and--crucially--CUSTOM GEOMETRY features are all appealing.

They seem akin in a way to my trumpet maker, Monette (www.monette.net), only without the controversial new-edge designs.




Update: In reality, I'll probably do nothing of the sort and will ride the 29er as is +/- a few new parts here and there. Many other bigger fish to fry in my financial stable before Moots-time.

 

[ALEXIS_DH]

Hmm the LPG tanks have to be bolted down with damn nearly permanent fixtures to have a dual fuel system in a car in NZ.
Loved the system I had in my Mitsubish L300 van years ago, flick of a switch on the dash to swap back and forward between petrol and LGP and you can do it on the move with out even stopping the wagon.

mine has a dual system too. switches automatically from lpg to gasoline if i ever run out of lpg.
but gasoline is so expensive compared to LPG; i doubt I´d ever drive more than 10 miles on gasoline again....

 

[Toshi]

I migrated most of the good drivetrain bits from the now-ex-Turner build to the 29er. It's a bit overkill to have a more or less complete XT 10 speed group on a bike that I bought on clearance for $605 and has an accordingly **** fork and wheelset, but the XT bits were what I had lying around, and it's better to use 'em rather than stick them in a bin because they're not well matched.

I figure that I'll ride the now-Frankensteined 29er on the trails here, will perhaps commute in a time or three to work here when I have time to kill and quads to spare, will commute on it to work in Denver regularly given the short route, and will ride it on the trails in Denver until I get my financial life well sorted out.

A new chain came in today (old one sized for two ring setup was insufficient) and now the Frankensteined 29er is ready for 80 degree non-electrified commute action. It's going to be a painful, slow slog…

 

[Toshi]

A new chain came in today (old one sized for two ring setup was insufficient) and now the Frankensteined 29er is ready for 80 degree non-electrified commute action. It's going to be a painful, slow slog&#8230;

First commuting day:

Brand-spanking 6.5 mile new KMC X10SL chain that I installed last night broke as I was pedaling out of my workplace's parking garage, and I didn't have a chain tool on me. I wasn't in any crazy cross-chain gear combination: middle ring and maybe 2nd or 3rd from biggest cog, iirc. I shall not be re-purchasing another KMC after returning this to amazon--thank you, liberal amazon return policy!