Ringing Rocks County Park

Last week was Spring Break, which meant a lot of Bike Tours.  For parents, Spring Break must be a nightmare.  Not only are your kids no longer absent from the home, they're also no longer someone else's daytime responsibility.  To make matters worse, the weather has finally shifted from unpredictably cold to manageably warm, meaning severe pangs of guilt for plopping the kid down in front of the TV all day.  As a bicycle tour guide, this means a steady flow of families seeking out a way to keep the kids educationally occupied while also managing to wear them out.  Long bicycle tours in historic cities are great for that.  You should take one sometime.

My only weekday sans-tour group was Thursday, allowing me to tag along with a friend of mine and her two kids for a different but similar sort of Spring Break day trip: day hiking + camping.  Hiking is a spectacular way to wear out children.  They get so excited to be permitted to run around swinging sticks and throwing rocks that they never catch on to the fact that it's all just a clever ruse to get them to put themselves to bed without a fuss.  I don't know, can you pick up that giant rock?  Only one way to find out!  Wow!  You did it!  But I bet you can't carry it all the way to the end of the trail...

So Thursday morning, with education and exhaustion in mind, we set out for Ringing Rocks County Park in Upper Black Eddy, an imaginary town in Bucks County (home to fabulous Ringing Rocks Jewelry).  What is/are Ringing Rocks?  Great question.  Ringing Rocks County Park is a small, 128-acre park that is home to a giant rock river unlike any other rock river that I know of, though my knowledge of rock rivers is fairly limited as I can only think of two local rivers of rocks: Hickory Run and Hawk Mountain.

Plenty of places for kids to hurt themselves.

Regardless of my limited rock river knowledge, I do know that Ringing Rocks is special.  Not so much in size or composition, but in that its rocks, when struck by a hammer, can produce chimes similar to that of a bell.  The other rock fields I know of definitely cannot do that.  Observe:

Now, only about a third of those rocks make sounds, and each of those rocks has its own pitch.  As far as I could tell, pitch was entirely unrelated to rock size, as smaller rocks sometimes possessed the deepest tones and vice versa.  And as far as scientists can tell, there's nothing special about these rocks, as they appear to be made up of the same iron and aluminum mixture as most of the rocks in the general area.  The do have a bit of a rusty color to them, though, so for the sake of a lack of empirical evidence, let's just say it's the iron that does it.  In any case, as it's impossible to tell which rocks will ring based solely on appearance, the only way to properly appreciate the park is to jump from boulder to boulder striking them with a hammer.  What kid wouldn't want to visit this park?  Not only do you get to run and climb over giant rocks, you get to hit them with hammers making different bell tones.

After taking a fair amount of swings, and the ten-year-old breaking a hammer, we made our way down the rocky path to a nameless offshoot of the Delaware River.  While only a shallow creek this early in the season, the giant boulders along the wide river bed let us know how powerfully the water could flow during the wet season.  Tired of the precarious boulder balancing act, especially with the added difficulty of maintaining rocky footing while holding hands with a five-year-old that wanted nothing more than to run off on her own even though she would most definitely face-plant if allowed to do so, we hopped off of the rocky path and out onto the slimy river bed.  From there it was onward and upward past a series of small water falls and flowing puddles until eventually we reached the big mama waterfall.

We maintained a positive waterfalls to human-falls ratio.  Not too shabby.

Not particularly spectacular in April, it was nice to be able to stroll around underneath it without worry of death.  If you'd like a more spectacular waterfall experience, I'd recommend Ricketts Glen.  Regardless of its magnificence, a waterfall was still a bonus after all the rock hammering.  Also, the top of the 30' waterfall is, for all I's and P's, the end of the loop that started at the ringing rocks.  Only a few miles in total, Ringing Rocks is an easy day for adults, but a real workout for the kiddos with all of the boulder scrambling and slime navigating.  I'd recommend Ringing Rocks to any parents in the Philly area with kids under 15.  There's even a nearby, family-friendly campground if you'd like to extend your vacation by a day so as to include a visit to nearby Nockamixon State Park.  Also, if you go on an April 13th of any year, all Wawa coffee is free (and there are more than a few Wawas on the way up), so like, maybe go then?

Pamper Camper: Community Acupuncture

After beating yourself up on the road day after day, there's no reason to not pamper yourself a bit.  In any decent sized town, one can easily find massages (Chinatown), saunas, and/or hot tubs (hotels or gyms with free-trials).  Each of those is a great way to thank your muscles for all the hard work they do, as well as get them ready for the next few hundred miles.  That said, there is another affordable, effective, and readily available option out there for relaxation and recuperation: Acupuncture.

Most people have not had acupuncture.  For many, the thought of having needles shoved into their skin is just too painful, unnerving, or uncomfortable.  For others, it's too new-agey/hippie for their Western sensibilities.  For the rest, though, it's too expensive to try, sometimes costing over $100 for a treatment.  If you are in the first group, I assure you that the needles do not hurt, as they're extremely thin and are not put very far into the skin.  If you're in the second group, you're probably a lost cause.  Your stubbornness, which is likely rooted in fear of the unknown, is only going to make you miss out on positive experiences in life.  If you're in the last group, then at $15 per session, Community Acupuncture (CA) is exactly what you've been waiting for.

Photo Courtesy of West Philly Community Acupunture

You're probably thinking two things now: 1) What is Community Acupuncture, and 2) Why is it so cheap?  CA is a type of acupuncture that's done in a open, group setting, rather than in private rooms.  Since it requires less space to treat more people, costs are considerably lower, which means they can afford to offer sliding scale pricing based on what you feel you can pay ($15-$50).  Boom.  Asked, answered.

Now you're probably wondering about the "group" aspect of CA centers.  Are you imagining a bunch of naked people laying on rows of tables in a warehouse?  Like an upside down morgue?  Stop thinking that.  That's gross.  No, there are a couple ways the CA could be set up, but none of them involve group nudity (that I know of).  The center I go to is West Philly Community Acupuncture, so I'll use them as an example in the style of a guided meditation:

You're riding your bicycle in West Philly, careful to not ride into the tracks of the 11 Trolley.  When you reach 4636 Woodland Ave, adjacent to the Four Worlds Bakery, you lock your bike to the nearest sign post.  Mmm... that bread smells good, but do you know what you want even more than a fresh loaf of sourdough?  Acupuncture.  Bypassing a glutenous destiny, you open the front door to West Philly Community Acupuncture and are met with a friendly greeting.  Yes, you would like a treatment.  Yes, it is your first time.  No, you're not gluten intolerant, you just didn't have time to stop.  Yes, $15 seems reasonable.  You pay.  After filling out your first-timer paperwork, Sarah asks you what you would like to treat today.  You had read their FAQ earlier in the meditation, and tell her that you have sore muscles from riding your bicycle.  She says she can help with that.  You take off your shoes and follow her to the treatment room.  As the door opens, you're met with warm air and gentle hum of white noise machines.  Throughout the room are recliners in the reclined position with bodies reclining in those comfortably upholstered cradles.  Everyone's eyes are closed, either sound asleep or deep in meditation.  Sarah takes you to a vacant chair and you sit down.  She pulls the lever on the right side of the chair.  You are now one of the reclining bodies.  She begins placing needles in various parts of your body.  Your hands, your arms, your legs, your ears, the top of your head, and finally, one between your eyebrows/middle of your unibrow.  You didn't feel any pain as they went in, but that last one tingled a little and you can still feel it.  Stop focusing on it.  Think about something else, like pickles.  Why do they even make bread and butter pickles?  Who eats them.  Wait, why are you thinking about pickles?  You can't remember.  Good.  Sarah asks if you would like a blanket.  Of course you would.  Who wouldn't want a blanket.  She lays one on your legs and one on your upper body.  She really meant blankets when she said blanket.  Sarah leaves you to go check on one of the other bodies.  You look at the clock.  3pm.  You close your eyes for a moment and look back at the clock.  3:05pm.  How did that happen?  You close your eyes again.  3:15pm.  Time is warping.  Your mind melts into your body and your body melts into the recliner.  You are one with the recliner.  The recliner is one with the universe.  It is 3:30pm.  Your muscles are no longer sore, but only because you no longer have muscles.  Your muscles have been reduced from fibers to cells to atoms.  Atoms are mostly empty space.  You are empty space.  It is 3:45pm.  Pain cannot exist in empty space.  Nothing can exist in empty space.  But you exist in and as empty space.  It is 4:00pm.  Bodies are missing.  People have left.  Chairs are empty.  Your new neighbor looks to be asleep.  Maybe they are dissolving into the upholstered nothingness that is the universe.  You open your eyes wide and suddenly wake up.  You wiggle your fingers, then rotate your wrists.  Your atoms have recombined and as they had done so, they made slight changes in your configuration.  Your muscles are no longer sore.  The sore atoms are elsewhere in the universe, replaced by willing and able atoms.  They are ready to ride a bicycle.  You are ready to ride your bicycle.  Sarah walks into the room.  You make eye contact.  There is no talking, only eye contact.  She removes your needles and tells you to take your time.  You do.  Your brain atoms are still reconfiguring.  You take off your blanket and walk out of the treatment room.  You drink a cup of water and say goodbye.  There is talking in this room, but only at a reasonable volume.  Your bicycle is still locked outside.  The bakery is closed.  You decide to get a Banh Mi at Fu Wah instead.  You've chosen well.

Wasn't that great???  Don't you feel revitalized?  Like your mind and body have been reset and you can conquer a Vietnamese hoagie?  I told you it would be wonderful, and have I ever let you down.  There was no question mark at the end of that last sentence because there was no doubt in either of our minds.

Ok, just a little bit more about the CA.  Each center is individually owned, but they are all a part of the People's Organization for Community Acupuncture (POCA).  As such, they must adhere to certain POCA guidelines, which ensures that they must maintain certain standards.  If they don't, POCA will look into any problems/complaints and make sure they're resolved.  This also keeps the price down, as POCA sets the sliding-scale fee limits.  This also means that POCA can keep track of which centers are where and make a handy map for tracking them down throughout the United States.  There are so many (provided you don't live in an armpit of a state)!

Anyway, if you find yourself worn down in a city that has a CA center, do yourself a favor and stop in for a treatment.  Even if it doesn't magically fix your broken-down wreck of a body, it will at least make you feel really good for a few more miles.  Sometimes that's the best we can hope for.

New Helmet: Nutcase Constellations

Back in October, my helmet was stolen.  Well, my whole bicycle got stolen, and my helmet happened to be locked to the bike, so it was stolen too.  Had the Kensington Trash stolen any other helmet of mine, it probably wouldn't have been as big of a deal.  But it was my Nutcase Superstar helmet, a helmet that is no longer manufactured and appears to be available nowhere on internet.  I had gotten it in 2013 at the Philly Bike Expo and had loved it since Day 1.  In fact, here's a photo of me loving my Superstar:

That's a nice looking helmet.  I really miss it.

Isn't it beautiful?  It's an Evel Knievel pattern, and I have received more random compliments for that helmet than any other item I own (and I have a really cool piece of polished polychromatic jasper).  That's an old picture, too, as by October 2016, it had faux-rhinestone stars placed in the middle of each white star, making it even better.  A helmet like that, a helmet so awesome to behold, a helmet so fun to wear (look at that face) can't just be replaced.  Or can it?

The answer is yes, it can be, but not by just any old helmet.  I already had an 'any old helmet' for MTB, and I didn't need another one.  No, it had to be replaced by an equally rad helmet (or at least one really close).  But who could make such a rad helmet?  The obvious, Occam's Razor answer was Nutcase.  They had made the original awesome helmet, so if anyone could make the new awesome helmet, it was them.

Disclaimer:  This may sound like a shameless plug for Nutcase, and it kind of is.  When I got my Superstar in 2013, it was at the Nutcase booth on the Philly Bike Expo convention floor.  It was at that booth that I met Miriam and Chris from Nutcase, two of the nicest people you could ever meet (at a bike expo or not).  Over the years, we've kept in touch (including swinging by their fun HQ in Portland) and they've continued to be awesome people .  Their products are great and their team is great, so I am completely Nutcase biased.

Anyway, a few days ago I received an email that the newest Nutcase models were released, and that's when I knew I had my replacement.  Behold... Constellations:

Click here for a way better picture of Constellations.

Woah...  Now that's a pretty helmet!  It's covered in (eponymous) constellations and has a sparkling black finish.  Way more elegant than my old Superstar, but just as awesome.  Even more awesome was the fact that the ear pad inserts from my Superstar fit perfectly in Constellations.  Anyone that rides all winter and doesn't have ear pads is doing themselves a disservice, as they are fuzzy lobe-warmers.  Also, anyone that's having trouble reading a non-plural proper noun ending in an 'S', I'm with you.

Most importantly, while stopped into Bicycle Revolutions to show Travis, one of the mechanics said, "Nice helmet."  Looks like Constellations is going to pick up right where Superstar left off.  Couldn't have picked a better helmet to carry the torch.

Shutter Precision - Round 2

My replacement Shutter Precision PV-8 hub (💩) came in about two weeks ago, and Kyler graciously rebuilt my wheel for me.  Same rim, same spokes, new nips, new hub.  It's a solid build, but I am genuinely concerned about the durability of this hub.  The last one made it fewer than 100 miles before it crapped out, so I'm not sure how many miles I'll have to put on it before I trust it enough to head out on tour.  At least 1,000?

When I told a Shutter Precision sales rep about the issue, they told me that the issue I experienced had a 1 in 10,000 chance of happening, so if their numbers are to be trusted, the chances of two complete breakdowns in a row should be 1 in 100,000,000.  I really wish I could say a 0.00000001 chance of breakdown is reassuring, but it's not.

Here's what I think is going to happen, I think it's going to breakdown in the middle of nowhere and it's going to be a disaster.  I'm going to be a week into a three week tour, somewhere in the Kootenai National Forest, no bicycle shops for miles, riding just after sunset when my hub gives out.

• Scenario 1: Outside of civilization; only the electrics fail. - Fine, I can still ride, I just won't be lit up any more.  No worries, what's the worst that could happen?  Oh, right, I could be flattened by a tractor trailer hauling ass down Route 2 on their way to drop a bunch of grass fed, free range, angus steaks off at a resort hotel inside Glacier National Park.  Maybe I don't get flattened.  Maybe the trucks see me because of all the reflectors on my panniers (very possible, as Ortliebs panniers have high night visibility) and they don't run me over.  Great, but now that I'm no longer lit up, I no longer appear to be a vehicle to the mountain lions that litter the mountainside.  That's right, the only thing that had been differentiating me from a potential woodland meal was my super bright LED headlight.  Now that it's disabled, I'm just a funny shaped, oddly moving mule deer that is potentially more delicious.  Only one way to find out.  Outcome: Death

The mountain lions are hiding in the trees.

• Scenario 2: Outside of civilization; the hub stops spinning. - Now what?  Walk my way to the Troy Bike Shop?  This is as bad as Scenario 1 for both trucks and lions.  That means I'll have to hitch a ride with someone nice enough to pick me up in the middle of the night.  Oh, here's a nice person driving up in a rusty, old truck.  Well, hello sir.  Why yes, I am heading to Troy.  Thank you for the ride!  And then maybe the authorities will find what's left of my body a month later, buried in a shallow grave along the Kootenay River or maybe the rocks will slip loose and I'll float up to the top of Flathead Lake.  In either case, that nice old man is going to be extra warm next winter when he's wearing his me-skin jacket.  Same outcome: Death


• Scenario 3: In civilization - With this scenario, if either the electrics fail or the hub stops spinning, the hub will need to be replaced (if the electrics go, the rest of the hub is on its way out soon).  I have a few options here.  If I'm not in a hurry I could overpay a shop to order a new hub and rebuild using my existing rim.  Another other option is to have them build one from what they have in stock, also expensive, but not as nice.  The worst option would be to buy a pre-built wheel that would be good enough to get me to civilization but would have to be replaced once I made it home.  Outcome: Bank Death or a Junk Wheel

Shutter Precision has already let me know that they don't care about bank death, but will they care about real death?  Would anyone boycott them if Shutter Precision is the reason I end up eaten by a family of mountain lions?  How am I supposed to trust a company that doesn't care if I'm eaten by lions?

If this hub fails and I don't die, I'm going to put a bad product review on every website that let's me.  I'll be leaving Shutter Precision reviews everywhere from the bottom of YouTube videos about LARPing to Yelp pages for Mexican restaurants in Philly.  I have free time.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople: ★★★★★

Have you seen Hunt for the Wilderpeople?  The movie with Dr. Grant from Jurassic Park, except he's a lot older, a kiwi, and not the terrifying doctor from Event Horizon?  No link was included to that last movie because it is absolutely terrifying and even just Google searching the words "Event Horizon" has damned me to a week of nightmares.  I saw Event Horizon in theater with my uncle, and the two of us were equally terrified, even though he was a grown man and I was old enough to know movies aren't real.  The scene in the air duct?  Are you kidding me?  That same uncle and I also cried at the end of the Travolta movie, Phenomenon.  That terminal brain cancer?  Are you kidding me?  I'd like to think that hiding my eyes in terror and/or wiping tears away from them are simply signs that I'm getting lost in the story and suspending my disbelief.  I know that there is neither a hellish dimension full of demons that latch onto blackhole traveling ships, nor a cancer that causes hyperintelligence and telekinesis.

That said, I enjoy going to the movies.  So much so, that when I had some free time in Asheville, I took a ride down to the Fine Arts Theatre on Biltmore Ave (not helpful since everything is named Biltmore down there) just to see what was playing.  You know it's fancy because they switched up the 'e' and the 'r'.  When I saw Sam Neill on the poster, I figured Wilderpeople had to be good, and holy crap was it great!

http://wilderpeople.film/#tumblr

The premise is that Sam Neill's wife (Aunt Bella) takes in a troubled youth (Ricky) in a last ditch effort to save him from himself.  Hec (Neill) is not keen on the idea, as he does not like people, especially children.  The only person he likes is Bella, and that's enough for Ricky to get to stay.  In fact, if not for Bella, Hec would be more than content to live in the woods for the rest of his life and never see another person again.

Bella and Hec live in the middle of rolling hills and lush green forest, a few hours drive from civilization.  There they are self-sufficient and live off the land.  Ricky is from the city and wants to be a rapper.  He has no idea how to survive in the wilderness nor does he have any interest in learning how.  What a setup for ensuing hijinks!

Cut to... Ricky and Hec hiding from authorities in the woods for a few months.  Not just the police, but local hunters eager to get a reward for catching them.  Watching that little city boy learn to live in the woods?  Watching that cranky old man learn to live with a child?  Watching bumbling authorities try to bring them in while the rest of the country cheers them on?  It all makes for a very enjoyable movie.  I highly recommend it.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople: ★★★★★

Hippie Review: Thai Crystal Deodorant

Before getting started, I just wanted to say that if I were you, I would be skeptical too.  Even knowing me, as I am myself, I am still a bit skeptical of what I'm about to write.  But Thai Crystal hippie deodorant actually works.  I've been wearing it a few months now, and I even took it on tour with me over the summer.  To be completely honest, and I was pleasantly surprised by the results.

Stop judging me.

I stopped wearing deodorant a few months ago.  May or June, I can't remember which.  In any case, as an Old Spice lifer, it was a big move.  I started with regular, grandfather scent back in the 90's, moved onto High Endurance when it was first released, and had my body odor firmly banished by Red Zone in the mid 2000's.  Swagger, Denali, Showtime... I've used and loved them all.  Sure, I've tried some other deodorants along the way, most notably gel deodorant in its early days, which required a five minute dry time, but I always ended up back at Old Spice.  And over the years I'd received many a compliment for my armpit cologne, even in some of the sweatiest times.  Old Spice had never let me down.

But during all that time, I was hiding a secret.  A secret that I didn't dare expose to the world.  A secret that I'm finally strong enough to share now that I'm out of that abusive deodorant relationship.  My armpits... were irritated.  My armpits were always red and irritated, which having been that way since I first used deodorant, I assumed that was just how deodorant works.  It just figured it was a trade-off we all made.  Pleasant armpit odor in exchange for unpleasant armpit discomfort. 

And then my upstairs neighbor got on Team Thai Crystal, vouched for it, and recommended it to me.  Credit where due, I did not venture out into the new age wilds on my own.  I quit Old Spice cold turkey, and since kicking the habit, I couldn't be happier.  After a few days, my armpits were completely free of all irritation, and I'm never going back.  You probably have questions, so here goes:

• What is it?  It's a stick of mineral salts.  That is literally all the label says it is, mineral salts.  
• How does it work?  I have no idea.  All I know is the salts kill the desire to make stink.
• How do I use it?  Get it wet, rub it on, let your pits dry for a ten seconds or so.
• Does it have an odor of its own?  No, it does not.
• Will it kill existing odor?  No, was your pits with soap and water (or a baby wipe) before rubbing it on.
• Does it prevent sweating?  No, you'll still sweat the same, which is probably good for your poor clogged pores.
• Does it only work on armpits?  No, it apparently also works on feet.  So says the label.
• How much does it cost?  I think I paid about $7 at the local co-op
• How long does it last?  I'm at most halfway through my stick after 8 months, even with improper use.  Always wipe it dry with a towel after you use it to make it last longer.  Also, it comes in a durable plastic container that's easy to take on the road.
• Is it hypoallergenic?  Yes.
• Will it stain clothing?  No.
• Are you being paid to promote this?  Why?  Are you offering?

Anyway, I took it on tour and it did a great job of keeping me presentable, even while riding in sweltering Southern heat.  It didn't keep me odor free (I got stanky by the end of a long day), but no deodorants do that (I always get stanky by the end of a long day).  It kept me stink free for a long time, but the only way to really stay stink free is to wear antimicrobial clothing.  Even if the stink-causing bacteria can't make their stink in your pits, they'll still be able to make it in your clothes.  If you're a clean person that washes their armpits every day, then this should work for you.  You can't just slap on a new coat in the morning and expect it to fix everything.

On a side note, I just want to bring up something a friend of mine was telling me about a few months back.  Mostly, standard deodorants just mask your scent with a strong scent of their own.  Masking your own scent rather than just slowing down its amplification can be a real problem, and can even lead to divorce.  Read that article, it will give you second thoughts before you slather yourself in Axe body spray.

In closing, I give Thai Crystal Deodorant two thumbs up.

Piece of Shit Hub: Shutter Precision PV-8 (Updated Review)

Well... a little more than a month after I posted about how much I loved my new Shutter Precision PV-8 hub, I had to make a warranty claim.  After fewer than 100 miles of usage, my hub stopped spinning smoothly and started generating less than 30mV of electricity.  For those that aren't up on dynamo hubs, the PV-8 is supposed to put out 3V, an industry standard.  Those 3V can then power my headlight and taillight without issue.  I can even add a USB charger into the mix, which slightly dims my lights but keeps them functional.  But after just a few weeks of use, my hub was generating 1/100th of the electricity it was guaranteed for, which couldn't even tickle a mouse if it was hooked straight up to their little mouse nipples.

As for the increased rotational drag, when I spun my wheel in my form, it vibrated the whole bike as it shook to a halt.  With my bike flipped in my living room, once the wheel lost it's initial speed, it shook Bionic Tibor enough to rattle the trinkets and what nots on my book shelf.

Luckily Shutter Precision has a 2-year warranty.  This is all well and good, but they don't have any policy about reimbursing people for costs associated with replacing a hub.  Here's what it takes:

1. Unlace the wheel. ($)
2. Mail the hub back. ($)
3. Wait...
4. Build new wheel.  Two options for that:
• Reuse the spokes - Different mechanics have different opinions on this.  Some say that once a spoke's been tensioned it shouldn't be recycled. ($)
• Use new spokes - Dollar a spoke?  C'mon... ($$)
5. Re-tape the rim. ($)

With parts, labor, and shipping, that can easily cost over $100.  The PV-8 is a $100 hub.  To get this fixed with a replacement hub is basically the same cost of buying another hub.  Shutter Precision said they were sorry about the hub failing, but that they only replace the hub.  So this tells me that while Shutter Precision is at fault, they believe that burden of replacement should be on the customer.  They make a crappy product and the customer gets to pay extra for that crappy product.

In summary, you probably don't want to buy a Shutter Precision hub.  They are not very good.

Philly Pedals Repost: Review - Sinewave Revolution

Note: This post was originally written for PhillyPedals.com and can be found here.

Sinewave Cycles Revolution 
Photo courtesy of Sinewave Cycles

Dynamo, aka “generator,” hubs are a great way to power bicycle electronics. You never have to worry about carrying spare batteries for your lights, and if paired with a dynamo USB charger, you’ll never have to worry about keeping your smartphone/GPS charged. The problem I’ve found with dynamo USB chargers, though, is that the reliable models are not modestly priced, and the modestly priced models are not reliable. Enter Sinewave Cycles(formerly Brite-Bike Labs) of Cambridge, Mass.

At the Philadelphia Bicycle Expo, I was lucky enough to meet Dave Dean, the resident electrical engineer at Sinewave. I told him about the frustrations I had with the effectiveness (rather, lack thereof) of low-priced USB chargers, and then he told me about the Revolution. It’s a no-frills dynamo USB charger that is as functionally effective as it is solidly built, all at a very reasonable price. My old USB charger struggled to charge my phone, even with the wireless network disabled; the Revolution boasted “best in class” efficiency. My old USB charger burned out on a long downhill (Rabbit Ears Pass); the Revolution has high speed overload protection. My old USB charger was corroded after a few rainy rides; the Revolution has a gold-plated USB connector so it won’t corrode, and it’s 100% waterproof, so rain is no issue. On top of all that, it also has a one-year warranty on materials and manufacturing.

Needless to say, I was impressed by the specs, but I wouldn’t be sold until I gave it a try for myself. When a sample arrived on the Philly Pedals doorstep, I was eager to take it for a spin. Here are my test results, as well as some overview information about the rides:

Setup Info

• Phone: LG G2
• Hub: Shimano Alfine
• Concurrent Power Draws: Supernova E3 Pro 2 Headlight, Supernova E3 Taillight
• Installation Time: 5 minutes (less if you don’t have lights to add it to)

Test 1 – West Philadelphia to Aston and back (45 miles)

• Duration: 5 hours
• Starting Battery Charge: 95%
• Final Battery Charge: 86%
• Running Features: Mobile Network, GPS
• Running Applications: Strava, Google Maps, Pandora
• Results: The Revolution requires a constant minimum speed of 3.5 mph for a slow charge, and 9 mph for a normal charge. The first half of this ride involved a lot of stops and starts while riding through Upper Darby and other burby areas. The battery dipped to 81% at its lowest, but after a long stretch of no stop lights, it charged back up to 86%. Worked as described.

Test 2 – Oaks to West Philadelphia (25 miles)

• Duration: 2.5 hours
• Starting Battery Charge: 70%
• Final Battery Charge: 82%
• Running Features: GPS
• Running Applications: Strava, Google Maps, Android Music
• Results: On the ride out, I used all of the same apps and features as I did the day prior, except without having my phone plugged into the charger, and it drained my battery from 100% to 70% in 2.5 hours. Upon reaching Oaks, I plugged my phone into the charger, disabled my mobile network, and then switched from Pandora to locally stored music. Just by disabling the mobile network, I was able to get a 12% positive charge even with frequent stops and starts.

That little box delivers a lot of power, even when installed upside down.

Summary

After two days of riding with this charger, I was sold. It delivered a solid charge when maintaining a constant speed of nine mph, even while running GPS, the mobile network, and a bunch of apps (Test 1). When motion wasn’t constant, it was still able to charge up a phone with ease when the mobile network was disabled (Test 2). Also, please take note that all of this was happening while sharing the electricity from my value-priced hub with a 3.0 amp draw from my lights. There was no need for compromise with this charger; I could have everything running at once.

The Sinewave Revolution will enable you to maintain a full charge while running a GPS-driven ride tracker and streaming audio all day. That kind of performance should appeal to cyclists that enjoys long rides as well as commuters that like to pump up the jam on the way to work. Most importantly, it should appeal to everyone that realizes how important a charged phone can be in a tight spot.

Finally, in Sinewave news, they have just released the Reactor. This sweet baby fits into the top of your steerer tube (the top of your fork), making your bicycle one with the machine. It’s pretty slick.

Sinewave Cycles Reactor 
Photo courtesy of Sinewave Cycles

Shutter Precision: Hate the Hub, Hate the Website

This post has been redacted due to the hub failing after less than 100 miles, which is documented in this updated post.

I think few will disagree that flashing text and autoplay music are two things that just shouldn't be on a website.  That said, I only half hate the Shutter Precision 8 Series Dynamo Hubs webpage.  Unfortunately, the half I dislike is a considerably larger half as it's the half with loudly blaring bagpipes.  What sort of connection does a Taiwanese camera company have to bagpipes?  It reminds me of the Starburst Scottish-Korean commercial, but having now just re-watched that commercial since starting this sentence, I'm not sure I understand exactly what Starburst was going for.  I don't think Korean people with Scottish accents are contradictions as much as they are unexpected.  I guess they were just throwing something out there in the hopes that viewers would meet them half-way.  I will not.  In any case, websites should not be allowed to have loud bagpipe intros unless their URL is something like www.loudbagpipes.com or www.hopeyouhaveyourheadphonesonatwork.com, both of which are currently available.  Don't wait!  Buy those domains while you can!  Use promo code "TROYMUSTACHE" at GoDaddy.com for a 75% discount.  Good until 2020!

Now that the Alfine is dead (R.I.P.), it's time to talk about the new kid on the block.  Not that the Alfine was old (only a little over three years), just that in relation to the current new, it's the old new.  Out with the old new and in with the new new.  And the new new is a Shutter Precision PV-8 Dynamo Hub (I will not be linking the website again as it's a clickable bagpipe minefield).  When researching potential new dynamo hubs, I took a few things into consideration: reliability, durability, efficiency, weight, and price.  I took a look at the different options on the Peter White Cycles website, and it looked like I was going to end up getting another Alfine.  The only hub I would have preferred on their site was a Schmidt, but that at nearly $300, I couldn't currently justify that sort of expense (Do you know how many bicycle tours it would take to make that up?).  Plus, I'd had my old Alfine for 10,000 miles, and as a mid-level dynamo, I was very happy with that number and willing to get a second.  Also, I already knew that the Alfine would work properly with my current electrics, so I wouldn't need to worry about output power or connection type.  

As always, though, I bounced my ideas off of other bike people before moving forward with a purchase, and this was how I stumbled onto those terrible bagpipes.  Travis (of Bicycle Revolutions) told me about Shutter Precision, saying that while he didn't have much experience with them, he'd heard good things about their capabilities and price point.  I was intrigued but skeptical.  I did some research, and it looked like SP produced an Alfine-priced hub with Schmidt-level weight and efficiency using their own, brand-new, patented technology (Polar Series Alignment Dynamo™).  What was the catch?  As best as I could tell, the big difference was time in market.  Shutter Precision is a very young company compared to Schmidt and Shimano.  Founded in 2007, they've only mass produced hubs since 2009 (Before that, they were a precision camera optics company, but their green-streak pushed them into bicycles.  You can read more about that here.).  They also don't come with a "50,000 miles before service" guarantee like Schmidt, so that definitely knocked the price down a bit.  I didn't need 50,000 miles from my hub, at least not on Bionic Tibor.  I'll go with a fancy Schmidt hub on my next bike, after this blog blows up with six-figure ad revenue and I stop buying my jeans at Marshalls.

Back to the hub and why I think it's the bee's pajamas, here's a review of SP Dynamo Hubs from Bike Touring News, a more reputable source than myself.  I now had my heart set on the SP PV-8 hub, so I ordered a 36-spoke version and impatiently waited.

While I was moving to a brand new hub type, I still wanted to stay with my existing Velocity Dyad rim.  That rim took the same thumping my Alfine had, but lived to tell the tale.  Sort of.  My grand plan was to get the hub and then rebuild using my old rim.  More specifically, I wanted to rebuild it myself under the tutelage of a seasoned wheel builder.  I'm fairly average on a truing stand, at least good enough to get my own wheels to acceptable levels of true, so I figured the next step would be to learn how to build one from scratch.  So when the hub arrived, I scheduled some after-hours shop time with Kyler, and when I brought in my hub and rim, he took one look at my rim and said that building on that rim was a bad idea.  Recognizing the "huh" look on my face, he showed me that the rim's sidewalls had enough brake wear that I had most likely already passed their half-life.  His recommendation was to get a fresh rim rather than to build on an old rim that may need to be rebuilt again sometime soon, possibly in the middle of a tour.

A few days later, I had my brand new hub as well as my brand new rim, and was ready to party.  Round two of the wheel build was much more successful, though not entirely successful.  We went into the shop on the second Tuesday in November, and due to other goings on that night which will remain unnamed, we only had time for him to show me how to properly lace the hub and get started on tensioning and truing.  I wasn't able to finish that night, but I got a solid foundation on wheel building.

It was a solid foundation that I promptly forgot when I went back to the shop on my own a few days later.  That day I made the rookie mistake of being impatient.  While truing in an every-third-spoke pattern, I overly tensioned some spokes, trying to reach ideal tension at a speedy pace rather than at the recommended slow and steady.  Does anyone know what happens to aluminum when you pull it really hard in one direction while holding it in place in the other direction?

After ordering a second new rim, I decided to leave wheel building to the experts, and here is the end result:

Yes, that fender is held on with duct tape and zip ties, but that is not what you should be looking at.  What you should be looking at is that beautiful, new wheel with its fancy hub and durable rim.  What's that you ask?  Are those light and durable double-butted spokes?  No, they're straight gauge.  Stop judging me.

I finally had my new dynamo-hubbed wheel, but that was not the end of the story.  No, because when I brought that wheel home, and I put that wheel on Bionic Tibor, and I wired up the connector, and I secured the connector to the plug on the hub, and I gave that wheel a spin, only my headlight lit up.  My taillight stayed dim as ever, no matter how fast I spun the wheel.  Hoping increased speed might help the flow of electricity (not a thing), I took BT out for a test ride.  On that test ride, my USB charger worked once I gained enough speed (this is normal), but my taillight still stayed off.  

When I got home, I inspected the wire running from my headlight to my taillight.  There were a few nicks in the wire housing, and when I pulled back part of the housing, I could see powdery, blue corrosion on the wires.  I could see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it was still just out of reach.  An hour and four solder-points later, I replaced about a foot and a half of wiring, and - Voila! - the taillight again lit up.  Bionic Tibor is once again whole.  Up next, that guy needs a thorough cleaning, degreasing, re-greasing, and rust-removing.  A bicycle owner's work is never done...