Lessons learned from the Kona Ute thus far
Posted: November 17, 2009 Filed under: 5. Alt Transportation | Tags: car replacement bicycle, cargo bike, cargonista, electric ute, kona ute Comments Off on Lessons learned from the Kona Ute thus far
Note the waterlogged mail. Clearly the zipper pockets on the 2010 Kona Ute saddle bags are not waterproof. Bummer.
And the panniers’ main cargo pocket does not fair much better. They pool water in the bottom of them, as it enters through the bag’s front gap while riding. I’m going to use a grommet kit to put in a drainage hole in each bag. We’ll see if that solves the problem, or aggravates it by allowing road debris to enter the bags from below.
Unfortunately, this also means I’m going to have to invest in a truly waterproof Ortlieb or Topeak bag to store my dojo gear. Practicing yesterday in a 30% wet gi was not so much fun. Actually, it was alot of fun, but a gi that is wet binds and slows you down pretty significantly. Which means you get hit much more often. Not good.
I’ve discovered that I put the thumb throttle for the eZee electric pedal assist on the wrong side. I placed it on the right since that where it was on my motorcycles. But for a bicycle, you do most of your shifting with your right hand. During typical throttle usage, I’m downshifting as I am climbing a hill. Well, that’s also exactly when you want to crank on the thumb throttle. Doing both at the same time requires more manual dexterity than I have. Will remedy this next time I need to tweak something on the bars or stem.
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