[Toshi]

As promised I also replaced all the yellow zip ties with black ones. Much less ugly. I’ll see about snapping a photo of the set up tomorrow if I can be arsed to dig out my big camera and some lighting.

Didn't bust out the big camera (thus the lack of background blur), but here she is:

The battery pack is annoyingly large, but the controller is tiny (on top of the front part of the rack) and the geared rear hub motor is both tiny and super unobtrusive in person: it's basically silent.

 

[Toshi]

so, bicycling?

I was forced to do this "bicycling" thing unassisted today. Torque sensing BB broke this morning, but I had a throttle as a backup and used that +/- hand contortions due to how I mounted it. Then on the ride home the little computer brain that integrates the torque sensor output, etc. and sends the controller its marching orders failed.

I therefore had to ride a 45 lb bike home. The geared hub actually freewheels without much resistance so it wasn't too bad at all. Interestingly per Strava I put out 178W of power over that ride, which involved minimal use of the electric bits before they shat the bed (since slightly downhill coming home). Recall that I also had put out 178W on my ride in yesterday (ed: 187W, close) with assist on top of that. I am consistent, apparently.

CN: Karma is a bitch.

 

[Toshi]

Although the ultimate chances of me ending up in an actual 993 are slim for any number of practical concerns as Nick alludes to, this maybe-a-Porsche exercise is nonetheless useful outside of daydreaming about 911s, per se.

The motorcycle whimsy shows I'd give up all niceties for small size and rawness. The 993 fantasy is just a less extreme 4 wheeled version of the same idea, only with a magically-not-depreciating-asset twist to it--pay up front but not later. Driving my spunky little Volvo around has reminded me that I do like actually driving now and then.

The no-car-at-all thought experiment shows that having a small 2+2 for day to day use + large vehicle rental backup might just fly in my household.

The covered parking garage angle* shows that off road chops for the worst parking lot scenarios (like the 18" fresh parking lot that I got stuck in this past month) can be reasonably avoided without staying home.

just get the wrx, man. or the golf r. hell, if you need to be different, a grand cherokee srt8 or a caddy cts-v or something. porsche is just dumb if it’s you have to get an old one and it’s simply for the “porsche” of it.

This is relevant to my interests. I’d rock a 911 Allroad, if you will.

Going back to my earlier moments of sanity (as quoted above) when I have acknowledged that me actually ending up with a 911 is unlikely: What with soon to be 3 kids, a full time job, performing music on the side, biking, and skiing I'm unlikely to pick up autocross again in the next few decades.

:aintnobodygottimeforthat.gif:

I'm also not going to be an asshat and bomb around doing "canyon runs" or whatever the euphemism is for being borderline reckless on local twisty roads. Way too many road cyclists and motorcyclists for that.

So I don't actually "need" a corner carver, in as much as any of this is a need rather than a flight of fancy. Instead what the 911 idea represents is really these values distilled down:

- practicality, albeit just enough (AWD, 2+2, hitch, big glass area)
- +/- non-depreciating asset depending on gen
- small outward package
- driver-focused, both in the sense of physical layout and in that it's explicitly set aside as a personal toy first and foremost

One needn't go down the Porsche route to satisfy the above, clearly.

In other news Volvo still hasn't gotten back to me re the lease fuck-up. Last I heard from them was on 7/12, where the message was passed on to Volvo Car Financial Services. On Monday I'll get another temp tag from the DMV... my wasted hours are adding up.

 

[Toshi]

CO possible electric-types (@Pesqueeb @stoney ):

http://xcelenergyconnect.com/nissan-leaf-rebate-colorado/

$3k Xcel rebate for CO Xcel customers. Example of how this plays out for a base S model from Tynan's pricing, stacking with the CO state and Federal tax credits:

Something to think about: Subaru replacement?

 

[Pesqueeb]

CO possible electric-types (@Pesqueeb @stoney ):

http://xcelenergyconnect.com/nissan-leaf-rebate-colorado/

$3k Xcel rebate for CO Xcel customers. Example of how this plays out for a base S model from Tynan's pricing, stacking with the CO state and Federal tax credits:

Something to think about: Subaru replacement?

Not an xcel customer.

Plus, I'm still waiting for this.

Edit:
Last year there was a similar deal that was available to all CO residents on first gen leaf. One could have picked up a S for something like 9G's IIRC.

 

[Pesqueeb]

Didn't bust out the big camera (thus the lack of background blur), but here she is:

The battery pack is annoyingly large, but the controller is tiny (on top of the front part of the rack) and the geared rear hub motor is both tiny and super unobtrusive in person: it's basically silent.

I'll confess to have been putting some thought into converting/buying my commuter even though my fy vay hem work schedule has kept me off it. The all up hill slog on the way home kills my will to live sometimes.

 

[Westy]

I'll confess to have been putting some thought into converting/buying my commuter even though my fy vay hem work schedule has kept me off it. The all up hill slog on the way home kills my will to live sometimes.

Didn't you just get rid of a real motorcycle?

 

[Pesqueeb]

Didn't you just get rid of a real motorcycle?

I still have it, actually. Fell over in the driveway while I was closing the gate going to work last week and now I need to replace a couple lights and a fairing.

 

[Westy]

I still have it, actually. Fell over in the driveway while I was closing the gate going to work last week and now I need to replace a couple lights and a fairing.

How is your deck?

 

[johnbryanpeters]

How is your deck?

Upper.

 

[Pesqueeb]

How is your deck?

Knocked it out probably 10 years ago and put in ///Patio.

 

[Toshi]

In other news Volvo still hasn't gotten back to me re the lease fuck-up. Last I heard from them was on 7/12, where the message was passed on to Volvo Car Financial Services. On Monday I'll get another temp tag from the DMV... my wasted hours are adding up.

Note that they misspelled my name in two unique ways!

Paperwork is supposed to come from the dealer direct to the DMV and is very incomplete. Can’t register it. Can’t extend my temp tag again, which expires on 7/20.

I called my sales guy and asked him to get the finance guy to fix this TODAY.

 

[ALEXIS_DH]

Going
So I don't actually "need" a corner carver, in as much as any of this is a need rather than a flight of fancy. Instead what the 911 idea represents is really these values distilled down:

- practicality, albeit just enough (AWD, 2+2, hitch, big glass area)
- +/- non-depreciating asset depending on gen
- small outward package
- driver-focused, both in the sense of physical layout and in that it's explicitly set aside as a personal toy first and foremost

One needn't go down the Porsche route to satisfy the above, clearly.

thats the recipe for an AMG. fast in the straights, sideways in the corners.

Why I like my C63 better than a comparably priced 911?

The AMG is exciting, a bit scary actually. 911? unless its the turbo ($$$); not so much.
Sound? V8 wins by a mile

Corner carver? pfff, I truly have a beef with this..... I have hit 1.13g on my C63 on P-Zeros on a track (which is the limit of grip, as per my iphone app). and I rarely exceed 0.6g while driving like an asshat in desert highways (.6g on a well designed highway is well over 110mph)... need more than that? slap some michelin sport cup 2s... still, anything over 1g is well, well beyond usable in the streets.

1.1 or 1.15g, is 1-2mph more at apex.... a similar-treadwear 911 is about 1-2 seconds per mile faster than a C63... but the limit of the AMG is so high, even for a skilled and sane driver, that youll never reach outside a racetrack, making it absolutely moot if you dont track regularly.

 

[Toshi]

Yeah, sound does have its appeal, and those AMGs sound nice, at least those from the pre-turbo era.

Re: Volvo they supposedly are mailing off the paperwork today. I'll show up late for work and try my hand again on Friday morning, the day when my temp tag expires.

 

[Toshi]

Probably doing WR Saturday morning. 5010 is back in the shop for another creak hunt.

 

[Toshi]

Cousins. That’s an XC60 R-Design at photographic left, with the exact same 20” wheel/tire package as on my supposedly leased one.

I wonder if the electric XC40 or the PHEV variant will be AWD...

 

[Toshi]

I messed around with the assist levels in the Shimano e-tube app. What a weird interface that is.

(For future reference/Google indexing, to connect in the first place one holds down the front button on the bike's screen once it's on to get to the setup menu, then select Bluetooth LE by using the left (assist control) buttons to navigate and the front button on the screen to pick choices. Then into the oddly designed app. I also made my access code 123456 in case I forget that from the default 000000. Yes, you all can hack my bike when you see me now. Go ahead. )

Anyway, it didn't have many options. Eco mode is not customizable. Trail mode and Boost mode have low, medium, and high options. I wasn't sure if these were absolute terms (as if setting both to low would make them the same mode). Turns out this is not the case:

I ended up going from the default Trail low Boost high setting to Trail medium and leaving Boost alone. I may dial Boost back later but want to keep it at High at least at first to see how fast I can sprint up Belcher in the foretold self-shuttling usage when riding alone or with another assisted rider-machine combo.

If anyone wants in on this experiment I'm thinking 7 AM at the WR lower lot on Saturday.

 

[Toshi]

Re water fording, a recurrent theme here

https://imgur.com/wCCAHbB

It's like, whoa.

 

[Toshi]

I’m going to return my commuter to stock human-only powered form. Electric DIY bits have been nothing but a headache. Latest is that the torque sensing BB ate its wiring.

:facepalm:

I’ll try to return all that I can, eating the cost of the broken parts, even if much of their failure mode is due to shitty design.

The Sempu appears to have eaten its wires where they go through the BB. Must have been moving relative to the BB shell. That explains that.

CA still doesn't power up with nothing attached to it. Battery -> controller -> CA-DP connector -> CA. There's nothing else in the loop and there's voltage at the CA-DP connector.

In any case I'm done with this. I do not have time to troubleshoot this further. I'll eat the cost of the Sempu (as I may have installed it improperly despite following the cryptic instructions as best as I could) and the PAS_24P (although I installed it by pounding it onto the spindle with that piece of handlebar as per its instructions). I can also use the Handle Bob and Bottle Bob for other builds so will keep those.

Please initiate a return for everything else in order 100012957, the original order for this problematic kit. If you cannot accept such a return please state this in email so that I can go through my credit card company's return policy instead. Thanks.

 

[Toshi]

1) BTC $7300+ today. Eh, @SkaredShtles ?

2) Called Volvo Car Financial Services yet again this afternoon. Still no account matching the vehicle's VIN, so still nothing for me to pay. (I've set aside the last two payments' worth in a money market account in case they come after me after the fact somehow.)

3) Friday morning is the day to try my hand at registering the thing with the supposedly-complete paperwork... I have a sneaking suspicion that it'll still be incomplete.

 

[SkaredShtles]

1) BTC $7300+ today. Eh, @SkaredShtles ?

Please do the needful. NOW! Don't ask me how I know.

 

[Toshi]

Please do the needful. NOW! Don't ask me how I know.

Meh. 8/2 it shall be come hell or high water.

In other news, the Soma Wolverine commuter is now restored to its pedal-only state. My soul is partially saved. It’s amazing how much lighter my nice wheel is (DT 350, XR 331, XT skewer) than the hub motor plus cheap rim with solid steel axle—and that was a light hub motor that I’d picked! The rear pads may or may not be rubbing a bit, but I’ll deal with it.

 

[Toshi]

I did a long loop at WR this morning, antisocial and solo, Boost Mode on all the uphills, Trail Mode in the bottom rock garden and on Mustang/Maverick/Longhorn.

It was quite awesome. Got some overheating, I'm guessing, while climbing past Maverick up to the top of Belcher--wasn't getting full indicated power output, and this seemed to bounce back if I took it easier for a bit. In exchange for pushing myself and it hard I logged a time of 1:18 for the long loop. 1:18. Yeah.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2868923534

I'll link Strava once it imports--something is broken with either Garmin Connect or Strava since Thursday afternooon.

20 minutes and change from the lower lot to the bench. Uphill flow on Mustang. Suspension and tires felt great on the downhill bits. Walk Mode helped out on the uphill push from the creek.



Strava back up: https://www.strava.com/activities/1718593620 . I thought I’d be closer to my PR on the downhill bits, but still decent.

 

[Nick]

20 minutes and change from the lower lot to the bench.

e-doper

 

[jstuhlman]

coffee and bacon, egg, cheese, and toast sammich. then garage cleaning day. maybe a quick ride later if t-storms hold off.

 

[Nick]

coffee and bacon, egg, cheese, and toast sammich. then garage cleaning day. maybe a quick ride later if t-storms hold off.

um, sir? I believe the GMT is that way ------------------>

 

[jstuhlman]

um, sir? I believe the GMT is that way ------------------>

no, dammit...i really wanted toshi to know what i was up to today!!!















ok, yeah, i hadn’t had coffee yet and got confused.

 

[Westy]

Big coffee in hand, large turd in the chanber and ready to fire.

 

[Toshi]

Big coffee in hand, large turd in the chanber and ready to fire.

Bowel status update acknowledged. Carry on

 

[Westy]

Bowel status update acknowledged. Carry on

It was a pretty spectacular dump. In and out in seconds.

 

[Toshi]

It was a pretty spectacular dump. In and out in seconds.

The ones that impress me the most are those that come out with such force that they end up evenly coating the whole bowl. Physics ‘n shit.

 

[Toshi]

Idea of the day: my regular work days start at 8. Potentially I could ride a short loop at WR starting at 6, be back at the lot before 7, work by 8...

 

[Toshi]

e-doper

The official segment time (as I defined it—have to define segments anew, only applicable to e-bike categorized activities) was 19:59. There’s someone who’s done it quicker on an e-bike, too! (Which is not that surprising given my relaxed climbing pace as a base.)

Car thought of the day:

Expensive, but kind of like 993 money. Realistically I’d probably be just fine with an XC40 BEV (which is known to be in the pipeline along with a PHEV), as long as it has AWD. Must have my precious AWD…

 

[Toshi]

Rental car review: 2018(?) Ford Transit XLT. Enterprise at OTH, 19k on the clock.

(No minivans available here in Coos Bay despite my reservation, so they gave me the keys to a 15 passenger Transit instead.)

Pros:

- great visibility
- backup camera
- shoulder belts built into seats
- can pick up whole hitchhiking scout troop in one fell swoop

Cons:

- really needs running boards
- why do dual folding side doors still exist instead of a large, ideally powered sliding door?
- RWD big van packaging with their high floors remains atrocious
- telescoping wheel still far away, and I hardly am a t rex

 

[Toshi]

In case you all were wondering whether Volvo Car Financial Services has an account for me, rest assured that they still do not as of this morning.

(I’m socking the amount of the would-be payments away in a money market account but am hopeful that I’ll not be on the hook for them as recompense for to be at least 4 DMV visits and many a minute wasted calling Volvo to check up proactively.)

 

[Toshi]

This was fun. Kids loved it. Out on the dunes for an hour.

 

[Toshi]

 

[Toshi]

Got blood test results in today from cell free DNA, where they separate out maternal and fetal DNA. Normal number of chromosomes 13, 18, 21. Two X chromosomes: it’ll be a third baby girl for me.

I am ok with this.

(Still pre-Facebook news until we see her Seattle extended family in person this weekend.)

 

[Toshi]

A Mr. Money Mustache article relevant to my interests and wants: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2018/07/25/the-twenty-dollar-swim/

“Has the cost per swim really been that high?”, I asked [my sister].

“Every jump into that pool has cost almost twenty bucks, if you average it out.” she replied.

... [math] So the final number is about 18 bucks per person per swim, just as my sister claimed.

“We had a great time visiting the Smiths in their ski house last weekend – LET’S GET ONE OURSELVES!” – sure, as long as you are ready to devote your financial life to the activity and the activity is worth $890.00 per night you actually spend there.

“I’m thinking of springing for the $9000 long-range battery in my upcoming Tesla Model 3 order” – this one strikes straight at my own heart, because I crave a long range Model 3 myself. But even for a serious roadtripper, this works out to $125 per hour of charging time that you manage to avoid.

“I live in an area with snowy winters, so I need all-wheel-drive” since we already learned that all-wheel-drive does not make you safer, the only time it actually helps you is when it prevents you from being stuck. But this could work out to between $50 and $500 per time the AWD actually gets you out of a bind.

I'll circle back to this post and revisit his math/assumptions later tonight.

 

[Toshi]

Looks like I neglected to circle back to that post. Perhaps later today.

BTC is at $8.25k at the moment. Perhaps it shall hit $10k again by my 8/2 sell date!