u/agriff1

I've been looking at e-bike options and am drawn to the idea of saving some money by turning my hybrid into an e-bike with a conversion kit. However, I noticed that Freewheel has a policy on their website that they don't work on e-motors that they don't carry. I called to clarify their position, hoping I could maybe attempt one on my own and get some assistance if I got stuck.

Not only are they unable to help with conversions, they don't work *at all* on bikes that have been converted, whether the service is e-bike related or not. The rep said that if you're thinking of doing a conversion you should be comfortable being that bike's sole mechanic for the remainder of its life. They also said that other LBS's are adopting similar policies, like Erik's.

I'm definitely not an experienced bike mechanic, and I enjoy the luxury of being able to take my bike to local places for tune ups and basic work. Is this a terrible idea? Are there places around the Twin Cities that don't mind working on conversions? I'm interested in hearing other peoples' experiences.

I started talking to my dentist about Invisalign almost a year ago, but when I was reviewing my treatment plan I made the mistake of asking if it would help with any sleep apnea I had.

That caused my dentist to pause and request an official assessment, since I wasn't even sure if I had it. Turns out I do, it's mild, and she just wanted to make sure I didn't have a severe enough case that would require a device that would interfere with the Invisalign.

But the quest to get that sleep study set me back several months, and in that time I took a lateral transfer at work that has me moving across the country.

I asked if I would be ok to continue treatment with the office despite the fact that I was moving soon after I got the attachments (I thought it was all computer generated and you just went through the aligners without needing any monitoring from a doctor) and to my relief my dentist said that she would be able to work with me as long as I was able to come back to the city for two mid-treatment checkups and a final closeout assessment. Given that my treatment is 21 trays, I am coming back for week 6 and tentatively week 15.

All of that sounded fine and good until I came on here and started reading all of these horror stories about people who were quoted 16 weeks and are going on three years. I'm fine with spending a $1-2k out of pocket on air fare and hotel stays to avoid the messiness of switching providers and/or getting a sub-optimal outcome, but more than that will quickly start to veer into the territory of ridiculousness if the course of treatment extends.

My game plan is to stay the current course and see where I'm at after 21 trays while praying for the best, but I want to know what options I'd have if I get to the post-treatment visit and suddenly I need at least another 6 months of refinement. I paid $750 in copays for this treatment so my current plan is already costing me the same as paying for this twice over. Would refinement be considered a different treatment plan, and thus something a different insurance plan and provider could pick up? I know the dental office has said that insurance has already paid them out for my Invisalign, and I can't imagine that would extend to indefinite refinements. I'd even be willing to get a new insurance company during open enrollment and start from scratch with someone else, if it came it it.

Has anyone had experience with switching providers mid-treatment?

I'm trying to learn Little Sadie from Wayne Erbsen's book, but this is the only song in C Minor and he doesn't provide the frets for the chords in it. I'm not confident enough in my music theory to know for sure that I'm doing the right thing, so I could use a little help.

I need Cm, D#, B♭, Gm, and G chords.

I'm guessing that Cm is open since the tuning is Cm? And is G 4th string 2nd fret + 2nd string 2nd fret since that's what it is in Double C? Beyond that I'm lost.

Thanks for any help you're able to provide!

I'm looking at picking up an ebike for commuting, and I'm getting overwhelmed at all of the options on the market so I could use some input from folks here.

I'll be commuting in Minneapolis, home of Surly. Before ebikes took off, fat tire analog bikes like their Ice Cream Truck were frequent sights in the wintertime, and I recall being amazed at how their riders were able to pedal such a beast through the snow and slush without getting hypothermia from the sweat.

For now I'm living in D.C., where tons of delivery drivers use ebikes, the majority of which seem to have fat tires, so I was thinking, "Hey, how nice would it be to buy one of those bikes as a year round commuter when I get back to MN?"

So I made this post in r/Minneapolis, but I wasn't expecting it to shake my confidence in whether I want a fat tire bike in the first place. The consensus seems to be that because fat tire bikes are have more friction on the road, so it would be silly to get one just for the few days out of the year when we have the snow to warrant one.

What do you all think? Is road friction really that big of an issue when it comes to ebikes? I'm looking for a class 3 that can throttle up to 20mph and planning to basically just ride that throttle at 20mph during my morning commutes, so at that point does the size of the tire really affect the riding experience that much?

And now this discussion also has my partner asking me whether I would be better served by just getting an electric motorcycle, which would be overkill and not good in the snow...right?

Another two considerations are 1) whether I'd be better off plopping down the $$ for an internal gear hub for winter weather purposes, or if a traditional gearset is fine, and 2) Hub vs. mid-drive. I know hub drives are typically cheaper and I don't think I would mind one most of the time, but I'm wondering if they get screwy torque-wise in the snow and slushy conditions.

Also, are there any ebikes that are easy to swap tires on? What about one where I can have hybrid or city tires most of the year and 4.5" studded tires in the winter?

Thanks for any feedback you're able to provide as I work through this buying decision!

I'm planning on buying an e-bike to use as a year-long commuter vehicle. I'm specifically interested in getting a fat tire bike that can handle snow. I'm also concerned with power: a big section of my commute is along the river parkway, and I need it to be able to chug up the hill between bohemian flats and the Guthrie. I'm 220 lbs and 6ft, and because this will be my morning work commuter, I'm not particularly interested in breaking a sweat.

Recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

I'm 36, so using the percentage of max HR method to calculate zone 2 puts it at about 110-128 bpm. I'm able to stay around 120 by walking 3.2mph at an incline (3 on my treadmill) for 30 mins.

I want to get back to running as fast as possible, but I've been relying on my hr tracker so that I don't fall into the trap of overdoing it. But am I really going to see cardio gains by just walking?

I like the method of walking on an incline vs running because I feel like with my height/gait (I'm 5' 11") I naturally want to jog at around 5-5.5mph, and that's still too fast for me. Any slower actually feels harder to maintain than just walking briskly, but maybe that's the point? Would love to hear thoughts.

I have owned a 7 pro since shortly after they came out, and in general it's been great. But lately my battery has drained extremely quickly, and as of yesterday it's extremely fragile. I watched the battery drain down from 100 to 90 and jump to 63 then tick down a percentage point every second or so until the 40s, at which point I realized extreme battery saver was not on. It's not just the battery level either: it turns off but then isn't completely off or out of battery, because things like alarms still work. I realize that this is most likely some patch gone wrong, since it sounds like a lot of people are talking about it? But I don't know how much longer I can hold out. Any advice is much appreciated!