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Post by PaulKay on Feb 11, 2019 19:20:17 GMT -5
An interesting thing about these pedal assist schemes is just how complex it is. This Trek bike has 2 or 3 microprocessors. One in the Bosch purion display, and one or two down in the motor casing (the dealer said there was two). A FW update to all three is done periodically by Bosch and you need to bring in the bike to get these updates. When I think about what this technology is doing, it is not that far from a motion control application. I think this bike uses a torque sensor to decide when and how much assistance to provide. So basically a closed loop control system running in real time. So the quality of these bikes would be contingent on well the control system is implemented. I know Bosch is an expert in industrial motion control. So it seems like a natural extension of that expertise. The Bosch system does measure torque, as well as pedal and wheel cadence or rpm’s, over 1000 times a second. The harder you work, the harder the motor works. I have the Class I Bosch system with only 250 watts and 20 mph top speed, vs your 350 watts and 28 mph. Your system may be different, but I find mine has a lag to it. Maybe it’s intentional to make sure the bike doesn’t get away from you. Still, starting from a standstill, it’d be nice if I only had to wait one millisecond before the motor kicked in. I think that may be a feature. I notice little assist from a standstill, but a roation or two on I feel less resistance.
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Post by PaulKay on Feb 8, 2019 11:04:56 GMT -5
It’s funny that I have played guitar for decades and only have a couple songs with actual lyrics. And I have NEVER actually performed either of these in public. They remain in an eternal state of “not ready for prime time”
So I have a great deal of respect for those who can do that prolifically.
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Post by PaulKay on Feb 7, 2019 11:03:06 GMT -5
Why didn’t they just say atonal music was just Jazz.
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Post by PaulKay on Feb 7, 2019 10:59:18 GMT -5
What Pat Donohue calls high maintenance songs.
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Post by PaulKay on Feb 5, 2019 10:55:53 GMT -5
They made the TV series on the designated survivor idea. Reality is whole lot worse.
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Post by PaulKay on Feb 2, 2019 9:30:16 GMT -5
I only have two electric guitars, so it’s a 50/50 choice. 1. Taylor T3/B 2. Fender american elite strat.
I find the strat easier to play so I tend to play it more. The Taylor is nice, but since I play electric so infrequently, it doen’t get near the attention it should.
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Post by PaulKay on Jan 29, 2019 9:52:16 GMT -5
The asymmetry in what sources are considered reliable in today's information wars is remarkable. The right complains -- and has long complained -- about the obvious slant to the national press (rightly so). But rarely dismisses it simply on that basis. Sure, the right will complain about the slant, but always, in the end, ends up discussing the facts and the issues, and not the source. In fact, the right uses the left's sources if for no other reason than that they are the only common sources by which to discuss and debate. And that's because the left dismisses anything that even distantly has the sniff of the right about it. Heck, the left will dismiss anything from the right on the basis of comments in a comment section of an article from the right. The right knows the left far better than the left knows the right. The right lives in the left's information world. The left does everything it can to avoid the right's information world. Huh? If the left were right, the right would leave for the left, while the left left the right right where there were.
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Post by PaulKay on Jan 28, 2019 10:08:04 GMT -5
True or not, absinthe seems to have a certain halo/reputation... Well only absinthe any evidence to the contrary.
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Post by PaulKay on Jan 27, 2019 9:40:29 GMT -5
Good question. Having been through many border patrol checkpoints in recent years, I know that the reality is that if you look like I do and sound like I do, you get waved through. I was talking recently with an Egyptian-American who tends to have a very different experience. He wasn't bitter about it. He shrugged it off. Me too. My comment at the time as they waived us through....not the right color I guess.
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Post by PaulKay on Jan 27, 2019 9:35:32 GMT -5
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Post by PaulKay on Jan 26, 2019 11:25:51 GMT -5
An interesting thing about these pedal assist schemes is just how complex it is. This Trek bike has 2 or 3 microprocessors. One in the Bosch purion display, and one or two down in the motor casing (the dealer said there was two). A FW update to all three is done periodically by Bosch and you need to bring in the bike to get these updates.
When I think about what this technology is doing, it is not that far from a motion control application. I think this bike uses a torque sensor to decide when and how much assistance to provide. So basically a closed loop control system running in real time. So the quality of these bikes would be contingent on well the control system is implemented. I know Bosch is an expert in industrial motion control. So it seems like a natural extension of that expertise.
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Post by PaulKay on Jan 26, 2019 10:14:18 GMT -5
I'm not so dismissive of the snow anymore -- now they are predicting 8 inches overnight Sunday-Monday. Dreading the commute already, assuming I get out of my driveway. I remember those days. People would ask, well why do you live there? Because that’s where my job is.
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Post by PaulKay on Jan 25, 2019 14:57:23 GMT -5
I am typing this with my fingers because my toes are still frozen. I just got in from a quick ride, 7 or 8 miles, in sub zero weather. Wasn’t bad, but not as much fun as I thought it’d be. Now that’s dedication.
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Post by PaulKay on Jan 25, 2019 14:56:16 GMT -5
I’m sure Trump did it so he could give his State of the Union address to congress.
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Post by PaulKay on Jan 25, 2019 9:02:55 GMT -5
Texas is obsessed with Lamborghini? Really?
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Post by PaulKay on Jan 24, 2019 15:54:04 GMT -5
So Ovations were just as good.
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Post by PaulKay on Jan 24, 2019 14:14:00 GMT -5
If feel better already. Something that can go 55 mph is bordering on a motorcycle.
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Post by PaulKay on Jan 24, 2019 12:12:26 GMT -5
That kind of price is out of the question for me. I am looking at the Aventon Pace 500 or the RadCity, which are $1500-1800. Seem adequate for my modest needs. I will admit that this commuter bike is the most expensive of the Trek e-bikes. I went in looking for a PowerFly, but they couldn’t get the large frame size until the end of Feb. But the commuter model had 3 in stock. Being so much more expensive would explain why.
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Post by PaulKay on Jan 24, 2019 12:08:44 GMT -5
Me misinformed? Very likely. I did dig onto it and yes, it appears only the fork is carbon fibre and the rest is hydroformed aluminum. I stand corrected. But it also means the little chip my bike had in the paint was on an aluminum surface. So structurally no big deal.
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Post by PaulKay on Jan 24, 2019 11:13:09 GMT -5
Years ago Fender had a similar product shaped like a Strat. I doubt if the electronics were nearly as advanced as the new model. Still, the thing was pretty much a bomb and Fender finally gave up on it. I played one once in a store and wasn't impressed with anything about it. From a pure acoustic standpoint I'd be wary of getting much in the way of an unplugged sound from it. The body is thin so I don't foresee a lot of volume. And it's not built like an acoustic so I wouldn't expect it to sound like one. About 15 years ago I got tired of lugging both electric and an acoustic guitars to my gigs. I bought a Carvin AE185 (Carvin guitars no longer exist. They sold the line to Kiesel). It had a chambered Tele style body with a piezo in the bridge and humbucker neck and bridge pickups with coil taps. It didn't sound like anything unplugged but I was very surprised at how it sounded when plugged in. The piezo had the typical "quack" but I was able to get rid of that with cheap Alesis acoustic multi-effects pedal. When I ran it through our sound system the acoustic sound was very close to most acoustic/electric guitars of the time. The major drawback was that when we played the Moose Lodge in West Bend, WI (which we did frequently) the the guitar picked up a local FM station and broadcast it quite clearly through my amp. When I bought my HD-28 the Carvin couldn't compete and I got rid of it. Yes, Carvin was the other example I couldn’t remember. It does seem like acoustic modeling does make the body design far less relevant.
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