April 13, 2019
New Gadgets
We’re taking the Seavo again this year. Last year we only had the bike three days before we left on our trip, so we had several ‘new bike’ shakedown and fit issues. It took us about a week on the road before we got everything adjusted, but there were some things that we couldn’t fix on the road – the primary one being Jeanna’s seat. The original seat pan was too deep and hit the back of her legs. In addition, the seat was so low that she couldn’t see anything towards the front except my back. With the help of the good folks at RANS, both issues have been resolved. RANS sent us a new seat pan and pad that they had shaved down and Jeanna found a piece of foam which I shaped and added as a booster seat. It looks a little weird, but she is comfortable and can see, so she is a happy stoker!
I also added a few new gadgets to the bike over the winter. We both have new Garmin Edge 1030’s, thanks to my dumping the bike this spring and knocking off and breaking my Garmin. Along with the new Garmin’s, I bought tethers for them. At least, if we dump the bike again, the computers should be safe.
| Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Along with the new Garmin’s, we purchased a Garmin RTL510 which is a rear taillight and radar. The radar is surprisingly useful. For each car it detects, it displays a dot on the side of our Garmin screen. The dots progress to the top of the screen as the car gets nearer and then disappears when it passes. No longer does Jeanna have to constantly call out “Car Back”. Another nice thing about this unit is that it displays the information on both our Garmin’s, so we have built in redundancy. For those interested, here’s a link to see the unit in action: https://youtu.be/KVkzmf7Opls
| Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Another gadget I procured this winter was Quark’s Tyrewiz, which is a Bluetooth enabled remote tire pressure monitoring system. This truly is a gadget, but I love it. I’m a bit anal about checking the tire pressure each day. No longer do I have to get out the tire gauge, kneel down to take off the valve cover, unscrew the valve cap and then try to get a good reading on the gauge. Now all I have to do is turn my Garmin on and spin the wheels. LIFE IS GOOD!! 😊 On surprising thing I have learned since installing these is how much the tire pressure varies during a ride. When going from shade (cooler pavement) to sunlight ( warmer pavement) I have noticed up to a 5 PSI difference. (I don’t know if that’s really important, but it is entertaining to see)
| Heart | 2 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Finally, here is a homemade gadget to help me change a flat on the front tire. Due to the geometry of a recumbent, you can't remove the front tire and rest the bike on the front fork, so with a little PVC and some dowels I created a fork stand. I looks crude, but it works!!
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 6 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 4 |
5 years ago
5 years ago
Have a great and safe trip 2019 and we’re looking forward to meet you somewhere in Canada 🇨🇦
I was totally “flabbergasted” to see your new gadgets very ingenious!
Cheers!
Jacques and Lise
5 years ago
5 years ago
5 years ago
5 years ago
5 years ago