Error 13

Back on the Metro today due to an Error 13. Essentially on the computer screen everything goes black and you see "13". Now, Hybrid Pedals told me that you sometimes see an Error 5, which is when communication between various components gets disrupted. I'd seen this a couple of times and usually you just flick the brakes quickly and it goes away. Not so this time. Each time I'd flick the brakes the computer would reset, all would seem well for a pedal or two, then back to Error 13. I didn't have much time to futz with stuff at that moment so I pedaled back around the block, put the bike back in the house then hustled off to the Metro.

While at work I did a little googling and it turns out Error 13 is also a communications issue. Apparently the grommets connecting the various electrical wires to the computer can come lose. When I got home I checked tightened them up and took the bike out. Still errors. I then pulled the computer screen off (its removable) and looked at the contacts. There was an oily, vasaline like substance over a couple of the contacts. Cleaned those up and the problem went away. Back on the bike tomorrow.

First couple of weeks with the bike

So I've owned and ridden the Neo Prox for a couple of weeks now (save a couple of weather days) and here's my initial impressions:

The Bike:

• Overall great, but there's a lot to get used to. My muscle memory is based on the Capital Bike Share bikes, which are frickin' tanks (as they should be).  While the Prox is nicely built its just not the same as the rental bike build wise. Those things can take a lot of punishment. Since I just plunked down a wad of money for this bike and am responsible for its care and maintenance I'm not so cavalier when riding it as I could have been on the rental bike.
• The smaller wheels and slightly smaller handlebars means it feels a little more like turning a razor scooter than a bike at times.
• I miss the cruise control on the Path+ (more on that below).
• Because of the design (lower frame, longer handlebar stem that breaks into two) I can feel more flex in the handlebars. Its still pretty solid, and I'm not really worried that I'll do any damage, but what little flex there is takes a little getting used to.
• Brakes are a little mushy.
• Can get too and from work on a single charge.

A little more about this last point. For the first couple of days I was using standard pedal assist as I rode through town on the way to work, and then switching to full throttle control while on the Capital Crescent Trail, much like I did during last summer's test.  On the way home I use standard pedal assist all the way back. In this configuration I get the blinking battery symbol about a half a mile from home, indicating that I'm about out of power. So the battery has been just covering the round trip.

Unfortunately, unlike the Path+ I was using last summer the Prox doesn't have cruise control, which means I have to hold the throttle open the entire half an hour or so that I'm riding. Well, the weather has been especially cold lately andI'm cutting down on the blood circulation to my thumb and index finger when holding throttle open. Even though I have gloves on these fingers go numb in this weather pretty quickly. So lately I've switched from going full throttle to using a higher level of pedal assist on the Capital Crescent Trail; I no longer am holding the throttle, plus the constant pedaling keeps the blood flowing and the body warm & I still get to work without being a sweaty mess. In this configuration I've been doing the round trip and still have a bar or two left on the battery meter.

The Commute:

• The weather's been cold as hell, but the nice thing about biking is I really don't notice it. As long as its not raining cold really isn't that bad.
• I'm consistently hitting just over an hour for the commute. Maybe 5 minutes longer on average than the walk/metro method.

As for the weather my gear is nothing really fancy. My helmet seems to keep my head warm enough, and as for clothes I basically layer up: T-shirt, shirt/sweater, fleece (I have a couple of Old Navy fleeces that were cheap and warm), this cycling jacket in yellow (nowhere near as fancy as the cycling jackets you find in stores, basically a thin wind breaker with some pockets; from China; cheap and effective when worn over the fleece) and these gloves (also from China, also cheap and effective). 

I finally purchase an eBike

Even if the Path+ was too expensive and I ended up not buying it I still kept my eye on the state of eBikes in case something that was cheaper (but not a price of crap) came along. When talking with the Hybrid Pedal guys about bikes I had mentioned the issues with the Path+ (size and price being the biggest) and they had recommended looking at smaller (20 inch wheel) "city bikes," specifically the Easy Motion Neo Prox.

One of the resources I would check into from time to time was Electronic Bike Review and their review for the Easy Motion Neo Prox was very favorable.

The recurring theme of smaller bikes in general is that they're usually full of compromises. Either they're underpowered or their quality isn't as good, but the Prox looked like it was a solid bike that could get the job done. Considering it was about $700 less than the Path+ also helped.

Figuring I needed a pretty good economic case in hand to convince the Wee Lass (and, frankly, myself) that I wasn't dropping $1,700 on a fancy toy I whipped up a quick analysis of what I spend on commuting to and from work.

Assuming that I commute 5 days a week for 48 weeks a year my metro costs, assuming that I took it to and from work, come out to $1,824 annually. But, this hasn't been the norm in the last 6 months, so I looked at best and worse case scenarios metroing in the morning and rental biking it home. Best case scenario assumed I could do the entire trip with both legs under half an hour, so no incurring any additional fees. This knocked my commuting expenses down to $987 annually ($912 metro + $75 annual rental bike fee). Worst case scenario assumed that I went over the half-an-hour grace period on one leg every trip ($1.50 per trip). This brought my annual commuting expense to $1,347. So the payback on the price of the bike was anywhere between 1 to 2 years, depending on how you looked at it.

Luck would have it earlier this month Hybrid Pedals ended up having a sale on the Prox, knocking $200 off of the price which basically sealed the deal.

So that's the story of how I ended up with the bike. My posts going forward will be about using over the next year or so.