Bike accessories

How do I…

…find a place on my bike to put my Quad-Lock [linkie] iPhone mount when there is no regular tubular surface on the handlebars or stem?

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Wheel full 70px I plan to use my iPhone 6 Plus as a cycling computer during my ride.  To this and I have bought one of those nifty Quad-Lock cases which allows the phone to be securely mounted to a corresponding Quad-Lock handlebar mount.   You just simply position the phone over the mount 45° from the up-and-down or sideways position, press, and twist it into place.   There is a locking system on the mount that makes it virtually impossible for the phone to come off during a ride.  It is the best handlebar mounting system for a smart phone that I have seen, and I think I looked at most of them.

Wheel full 70px So after thinking about it for a while I went out and bought a piece of 1 inch PVC pipe, which I trimmed to about 6 inches long. I attached the Quad-Lock mount to it with two zip ties.  Then I drilled two sets of holes on the other side of the pipe from the mount the corresponded to the spacing of the supports for my Ortlieb handlebar bag.  I inserted two more zip ties into the holes,  leaving me with this.

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Wheel full 70px Attaching those zip ties to the handlebar bag supports fixed my new Quad-Lock mount bar quite securely.

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Wheel full 70px So now I have an iPhone dashboard for my bike!

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To-Do List 0.3

Wheel full 70pxCome tomorrow I’m two weeks away from leaving for Florida.  I’ve made huge progress on the to-do list, which was last updated here a month ago [linkie].

Green are done. Red are urgent need to do.

Physical Health

  • ADDED: Medical data tag/device/bracelet
  • ADDED: Update will and Advance Directives
  • Dietitian – UPDATE: Appointment 6/21/16 UPDATE 2: Done
  • Endocrinologist – UPDATE: On wait list UPDATE 2: Done
  • GP – UPDATE: Done
    • heatstroke?
    • salt tablets?
    • chafing
    • muscle pains
    • numbness
  • ADDED: Cardio Stress Test on 7/6/16
  • Dentist – UPDATE: Appointment for cleaning and exam on 7/11/16
  • Meds – UPDATE: In progress
    • Refills for meds that will run out
    • ADDED: Copies of current prescriptions from CVS
    • ADDED: Containers
  • Sunblock
  • ADDED: Sunglasses
  • First Aid Kit
    • ADDED: Blood Glucose meter and supplies –  UPDATE: Done
    • ADDED: Glycogon –  UPDATE: Done
    • ADDED: Rescue inhaler –  UPDATE: Done
    • ADDED: Aloe lotion
    • ADDED: Triple Antibiotic Ointment
    • ADDED: Zinc Oxide creme
    • ADDED: Hydrocortisone
    • ADDED: Vitamin “I”
    • ADDED: Disinfecting Wipes
  • Personal care items

Bicycle equipment

  • Added: Pedals – UPDATE: Done

Bicycle clothing, outerwear and shoes

  • Pants and shorts
  • Shirts
  • Outerwear
  • Rain gear
  • Socks and underwear – UPDATE: Socks done
  • Bicycling shoes – UPDATE: Done
  • Gloves – UPDATE: Done
  • ADDED: Headband – UPDATE: Done
  • ADDED: Skullcap – UPDATE: Done

Other clothing

  • Street clothes, ADDED: underwear and socks
  • Street shoes

Camping gear

  • Tent – UPDATE: Done
  • Tent “footprint” – UPDATE: Done
  • Sleeping bag – UPDATE: Done
  • Thermarest round pad – UPDATE: Done
  • Small USB flashlight

Other gear

  • Goggles – UPDATE: Moved to “Should I?” section
  • Helmet – UPDATE: Done
  • Helmet mirror

Routing

  • RidewithGPS
    • Finalize routing – UPDATE: Done
    • ID bike shops along route – UPDATE: In progress
    • ID lodging/campgrounds along route – UPDATE: In progress
    • ID Warmshowers locations along route – UPDATE: In progress
    • ID bike organizations/clubs along route
      • ADDED: Contact and provide routing info and tentative dates in area/request feedback DO ASAP
    • ADDED: ID Target stores along route
    • ADDED: ID CVS Pharmacies along route
    • Cue sheets
      • Print and laminate – ? Note: Are these necessary?- duplicates cue sheets on iPhone – UPDATE: Deleted, not going to do

Travel to JAX and final pre-ride

  • Pre-ride lodging/camping in JAX
    • Research
    • Reservations
  • ID JAX bicycle shop: Done- Zen Cog
    • Arrange assembly of bike in JAX
    • Added: Bike to ZenCog via Bikeflights – UPDATE: Done
  • Air travel ANC to Florida UPDATE: On 7/18-19/16 to JAX
    • ADDED: Make reservation DO ASAP – UPDATE: Done
  • ground travel Orlando airport to Zen Cog on 7/19/16

Tool kit and spare parts

  • tire bars – UPDATE: Done
  • hex wrenches – UPDATE: Done
  • spoke wrench – UPDATE: Done
  • Extra tubes – UPDATE: Done
  • Extra tire – UPDATE: Done
  • Extra spokes – UPDATE: Done
  • spoke nipples – UPDATE: Done
  • Quicklink
  • inflation gauge
  • patch kit
  • chain lube
  • ADDED: Zip ties (misc sizes)
  • ADDED: Duct tape roll
  • ADDED: Friction tape roll
  • ADDED: rip-stop nylon repair kit
  • ADDED: machine oil
  • ADDED: “100 mile an hour” cord
  • ADDED: Chainbreaker tool

Misc Accessories

  • iPhone Quadlock case – UPDATE: Done
  • ADDED: iPhone Quadlock wet weather “poncho” – UPDATE: Done
  • Scosche cardio monitor – UPDATE: Done
  • ADDED: USB Hi-Capacity rechargeable batteries – UPDATE: Done
  • ADDED: Bad Elf Pro GPS – UPDATE: Done
  • ADDED: Hi-Amp 110 volt USB charger – UPDATE: Done
  • ADDED: Cadence sensor

Photography

  • Handlebar bag camera Canon “M” Series w/ lenses – UPDATE: Done
  • Flexible tripod – UPDATE: Done
  • Canon “M” Series remote shutter release – UPDATE: Done
  • iPhone Quadlock case tripod connector – UPDATE: Done
  • iPhone remote shutter release – UPDATE: Done
  • iPhone Sandisk card upload cable UPDATE: Done
  • USB camera battery recharger- UPDATE: Done

Handlebar stuff

  • Handlebar bag (part of bike purchase)
  • ADDED: iPhone Quadlock handlebar mount – UPDATE: Done
  • ADDED: Bar ends – UPDATE: Done
  • Handlebar tape – UPDATE: Deleted, not going to use
  • iPhone card upload cable – UPDATE: Done

Frame stuff

  • Frame mount pump – UPDATE: Done
  • Water bottles and cages – UPDATE: Done

Bike protection

  • Lock – UPDATE: Done
  • Security cable – UPDATE: Done

“Should I?”

  • Handlebar speaker? – UPDATE: Yes, done
  • Strava? – UPDATE: Yes, done
  • Solar panel? – UPDATE: Yes, done
  • Bounce box?
  • AAA?
  • Camelback?
  • GoPro?
  • ADDED: Goggles?
  • ADDED: Voice-activated recorder?
  • ADDED: “b2b” business cards with web address?

Budget

  • Spreadsheet – UPDATE: In progress

Miscellaneous

  • Upgrade iPhone data plan for iPhone – UPDATE: Done
  • ADDED: Theft, Accident and UIM Insurance
  • ADDED: Assorted zip-lock baggies
  • ADDED: Collapsible cup
  • ADDED: Plastic clothespins
  • ADDED: “b2b” pennant
  • Alaska “b2b” license plate

Wheel full 70pxIf I haven’t affirmatively decided to do any of the remaining “Should I?” items by this coming Friday, the 8th, they will fall off the list.  I may regret that, but you can’t do (or carry) everything.  Your continued input is greatly appreciated.  I plan to update the list weekly from this point on, and daily once I’m in Florida.

David Edgren

 

One Point Two One Gigawatts…

Great Scott 800px

Wheel full 70pxWell, not quite.  While I am looking for a bit of onboard power on my bike, it’s kind of impractical to be tethered to one of these.

Chief Joseph Dam 800px

Chief Joseph Dam, Columbia River, Washington* – Image credit: Wikimedia

Wheel full 70pxA few posts ago I wrote that my ride was not going to be about how many tech gadgets I could bring with me [linkie]. I have to admit that I’ve found there’s a fine line, though, between bringing just what you need and going full Navin Johnson.

I don't need this 800px

Wheel full 70pxBut I do want bright reliable LED lights front and rear without the hassle of carrying extra batteries and keeping up with them and enough auxiliary power to recharge small electronic devices, like my iPhone and Bad Elf GPS unit [linkie] on the fly.  So I added to my bike build one of Schmidt’s P-238 filled hubs.

Peter Schmidt Generator 800px

…heh, just kidding about the plutonium part…

Wheel full 70pxYou can read real facts (and probably more than you ever wanted to know) about the Schmidt dynamo hubs here [linkie].  The big thing for me is that the hub sounds bulletproof.  I just need it to last about ten weeks without any issues.  It sounds, though, like it will still be functioning after I’m not.

Wheel full 70pxTo pull off power to charge electronics I had one of these included in the build.

The Plug 800px

Wheel full 70pxYes, it’s an honest-to-gosh USB port on a bicycle.  Swiss-made, too, by a company called Supernova.  There’s more information here [linkie].  The little rubber cap hanging open in the photo covers the port, which delivers cleanly regulated 5 volt power at 500 milliamps.  That just happens to be the spec power for USB 2.  The only catch is that I have to be riding at least 12 kilometers/about eight miles per hour.  Something about “engaging the flux capacitor,” probably.

Wheel full 70pxBut enough about tech.  In the next post we’ll talk about why my ride is different from this guy’s [linkie], and how I intend to keep it that way.

David Edgren

* I have to admit that having the bike built in the Pacific Northwest, where pretty much everything runs off hydro power, put me in a “if they can do it, I can do it too” frame of mind. I love wild rivers as much as the next guy, but the hydro dams up here are, by and large, magnificent pieces of civil engineering.

To-Do List 0.2

Wheel full 70pxThe second cut at the to-do list, now in better order.  These remain items that involve accomplishing something between now and July 25th.  As before, the ones followed by a question mark are things I need to research/make decisions about. Your input on these is particularly appreciated.

Green are done.  Red are urgent need to do.

Physical Health

  • Dietitian – UPDATE: Appointment 6/21/16
  • Endocrinologist – UPDATE: On wait list
  • Dentist
  • GP
    • heatstroke?
    • salt tablets?
    • chafing
    • muscle pains
    • numbness
  • Meds
    • ADDED: Refills?
  • Sunblock
  • First aid kit
  • Personal care items

Bicycle clothing, outerwear and shoes

  • Bicycling shoes
  • Socks and underwear
  • Pants and shorts
  • Shirts
  • Outerwear
  • Rain gear
  • Gloves

Other clothing

  • Street clothes, ADDED: underwear and socks
  • Street shoes

Camping gear

  • Tent
  • Sleeping bag
  • ADDED: Ground pad
  • ADDED: Small flashlight

Other gear

  • Goggles
  • Helmet
    • Helmet mirror

Routing

  • RidewithGPS
    • Finalize routing
    • ID bike shops along route
    • ID lodging/campgrounds along route
    • ADDED: ID bike organizations/clubs along route
      • ADDED: Contact and provide routing info and tentative dates in area/request feedback  DO ASAP
    • Cue sheets
      • Print and laminate ADDED: ? Note: Are these necessary?- duplicates cue sheets on iPhone

Travel to JAX and final pre-ride

  • ID JAX bicycle shop UPDATE: Done- Zen Cog
    • Arrange assembly of bike in JAX
  • Air travel ANC to Florida UPDATE: On 7/22/16 to JAX
    • ADDED: Make reservation DO ASAP
  • Ground travel airport/lodging to Zen Cog
  • Pre-ride lodging/camping in JAX

Tool kit and spare parts

  • tire bars
  • inflation gauge
  • patch kit
  • hex wrenches
  • spoke wrench
  • Quicklink
  • Chain lube
  • Extra tubes (part of bike purchase)
  • Extra tire (part of bike purchase)
  • Extra spokes (part of bike purchase)
  • spoke nipples

Misc Accessories

  • ADDED: iPhone Quadlock case on hand
  • Quadlock cardio monitor ADDED: Ordered/received

Photography

  • Handlebar bag camera UPDATE: Canon “M” Series w/ lenses on hand
  • ADDED: Flexible tripod
  • ADDED: iPhone Quadlock case tripod connector on hand
  • ADDED: iPhone remote shutter release on hand
  • iPhone card upload cable UPDATE: On hand

Handlebar stuff

  • Handlebar bag (part of bike purchase)
  • iPhone Quadlock stem/handlebar mount ADDED: Ordered/received
  • ADDED: Bar ends (part of bike purchase)
  • Handlebar tape
  • iPhone card upload cable UPDATE: On hand

Frame stuff

  • Frame mount pump
  • Water bottle(s) (part of bike purchase)

Bike protection

  • Lock(s)
  • ADDED: Security cable

“Should I?”

  • Camelback?
  • Strava?
  • Solar panel?
  • Bounce box?
  • AAA?
  • Handlebar speaker?
  • GoPro?

Budget

  • Spreadsheet

Miscellaneous

  • Upgrade data plan ADDED: for iPhone

 

Wheel full 70pxThis is the first effort to organize this list. The next iteration will take into account comments and suggestions made thus far.  As before, if you see anything I am missing or an item you want to give me input on or about, please comment below.

It’s Not about the Tech

Wheel full 70pxI’ve been looking at the great comments that have been made on the “to-do” list thread as the train I am currently riding traverses the Great Plains in northern North Dakota and it crossed my mind emphatically that my focus during this ride will not be on the gadgets that I would be taking with me.  In other words, I don’t intend to ride for 4,000+ miles watching the screen of my handlebar-mounted iPhone.  I’m not going on the ride for that. If that was the point, I could do the same ride by sitting on my stationary bike at home for about 500 hours over 10 weeks or so. Either way, I’d never see this.

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Now, we can argue the merits of whether that is worth seeing or not, but hey… I’m the one doing the pedaling.

Wheel full 70pxAnd don’t get me wrong.  The tech is great.  On my first long distance bike rides I packed a bunch of paper maps, a North Face tent with shock-corded 1/2 inch/1.25 cm aluminium poles that I had to bungee to the frame, a brass Svea pressurized white gas backpacker stove, a fuel flask, a candle lantern (remember those?) and a bunch of stuff that probably all together weighed more than my bike.  Unless I was at an intersection or a landmark I never really knew where I was. If I broke down out in the boonies I had no way to call for help. My finicky little fork mounted generator- the kind that had a little roller that needed to press just right on the side of the tire- made just enough electricity to power a dim to the point of useless front and rear light. Bike helmets as we know them today pretty much didn’t even exist. But I rode anyway, and took some really great trips.

Wheel full 70pxSo for a modest investment, I’ll be outfitted on this trip with stuff I couldn’t have even dreamed up in 1970. But no matter how good it all is, no matter how amazing, it isn’t what the ride is about. That’s how you’ll know me if I happen to pass by. I’ll be the guy with my head up, looking around, and making the most out of crossing the country at about 10 miles an hour.

David Edgren

To-Do List 0.1

Wheel full 70pxA first cut at a to-do list, in no particular order.  These are all items that involve accomplishing something between now and July 25th.  The ones followed by question marks are things I need to research/make decisions about.

  • Dietitian
  • Endocrinologist
  • Dentist
  • Bicycling shoes
  • Socks and underwear
  • Pants and shorts
  • Shirts and outerwear
  • Rain gear
  • Tent
  • Sleeping bag
  • Meds
  • Strava?
  • Data plan upgrade
  • Solar panel?
  • RidewithGPS
    • Finalize routing
    • ID bike shops along route
    • ID lodging/campgrounds along route
  • Cue sheets
    • Print and laminate
  • Bounce box?
  • Street clothes
  • Street shoes
  • ID JAX bicycle shop
    • Arrange assembly of bike in JAX
  • Air travel ANC to Florida
  • Ground travel airport to JAX
  • Pre-ride lodging/camping in JAX
  • AAA?
  • iPhone Quadlock stem/handlebar mount
  • Quadlock cardio monitor
  • Camera
    • iPhone card upload cable
  • Sunblock
  • First aid kit
  • Personal care items
  • GP
    • heatstroke?
    • salt tablets?
    • chafing
    • muscle pains
    • numbness
  • Goggles?
  • Helmet
  • Handlebar mirror
  • Handlebar tape
  • Handlebar speaker?
  • Gloves
  • Camelback?
  • Frame mount pump
  • Water bottle(s)
  • Lock(s)
  • Quicklink
  • Chain lube
  • Extra tubes
  • Extra tire
  • Tools
    • tire bars
    • inflation gauge
    • patch kit
    • hex wrenches

Future iterations of this list will become increasingly sophisticated.  If you see anything I am missing or an item you want to give me input on or about, please comment below.