This is my primary bike that I do just about everything on, almost every day. It’s a blue Kona Dew-E e-bike that I got in July 2023. I try to record all maintenance and tweaks I make on it in the posts below. I’ve swapped the stock drivetrain (the mechanical part of it, anyway) and contact points. It’s running a Shimano STEPS E6100 motor.
- New front brake pads, re-tensioned non-drive side spokes on the rear wheel.
- New CN-HG701-11 chain, pedal bearings are loose again, new front brake pads, and sealant top-up.
- Switched to small GP1 Evo grips, moved the brake levers around, replaced the front brake pads (at 2901 km), and bled the front brake.
- Replaced the old B+M [my:] E rear light with a seatpost mounted SON DC light.
- Increased saddle height and rotated brake levers downwards.
- Removed Rawland front rack and installed RIP Rack.
- Fixed lateral deviation in rear wheel and installed new derailleur hanger.
- Replaced chain, cassette, shifter, derailleur, and chainring with a Shimano CUES groupset.
- Switched to a waxed chain.
- Installed fenders.
- Removed sezied grease port screw on left pedal and replaced its bearings.
- Replaced bearings in right pedal.
- New bike day!
Misc: Routine Maintenance
New chain, brake pads, and tire sealant! E-bikes go through consumables so fast.
Cockpit Revamp and New Brake Pads on Egret
Refining contact points and doing some routine disc brake maintenance.
Misc: Bike Fit Tweaks and Goings Ons
Experimenting with some saddle and brake lever adjustments; leash training Gus again; Sarah’s new paracord brake locks; and other miscellania.
Rainbow Chrome RIP Rack (Not a Review)
My Hardtack gets its Rawland rack back and my daily driver gets a RIP Rack in GSC Rainbow Chrome.
Wheel True and New Derailleur Hanger
Kat trued a bit of lateral wobble out of my rear wheel and I got a spare derailleur hanger.
Shimano CUES Drivetrain Upgrade for Egret
Attempting to solve the chain retention and shifting issues on my e-bike with a new drivetrain. Now it’s got a narrow-wide chainring, a clutched rear derailleur, and the extra chainline increases the gap so the chain can’t get stuck.
Quick Maintenance on the Hardtack and Egret
My beloved Tanglefoot Hardtack is coming back to me! Logging some maintenance records here.
Thoughts After 2000km on an E-Bike
I’ve now put about 2000 km on my e-bike (~1250 miles) and want to write out my thoughts on e-biking compared to regular biking — the good, the bad, why I chose this one, and my political opinions on e-bikes that haven’t changed.
It’s Fall Y’all! 🎃💦 Time for Fenders
We’re getting into wet season so I begrudingly put fenders on my e-bike. Kona was a bit sly about the tire/fender clearance so I used a heat gun to open up the rear fender clearance a bit. It worked but it looks real bad.
Grease Port Bolt Extraction
My seized grease port screw was stopping me from replacing the bearings in my left pedal. But it came out with a bolt extractor drill bit!
1x Chain Retention Problems
My chain drops on the inboard side and gets real stuck between the motor and chainring. There’s a bunch of different solutions but none of them are perfect.
Crankbrothers Stamp 7 Play
My pedals have gotten pretty wiggly because the polymer igus bearings have worn out.