Posts Tagged: egret

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.

Oct 14, 2024 New front brake pads, re-tensioned non-drive side spokes on the rear wheel.
Feb 25, 2024 New CN-HG701-11 chain, pedal bearings are loose again, new front brake pads, and sealant top-up.
Jan 16, 2024 Switched to small GP1 Evo grips, moved the brake levers around, replaced the front brake pads (at 2901 km), and bled the front brake.
Dec 23, 2023 Replaced the old B+M [my:] E rear light with a seatpost mounted SON DC light.
Dec 6, 2023 Increased saddle height and rotated brake levers downwards.
Dec 3, 2023 Removed Rawland front rack and installed RIP Rack.
Nov 15, 2023 Fixed lateral deviation in rear wheel and installed new derailleur hanger.
Nov 10, 2023 Replaced chain, cassette, shifter, derailleur, and chainring with a Shimano CUES groupset.
Nov 9, 2023 Switched to a waxed chain.
Oct 23, 2023 Installed fenders.
Oct 16, 2023 Removed sezied grease port screw on left pedal and replaced its bearings.
Oct 10, 2023 Replaced bearings in right pedal.
Jul 19, 2023 New bike day!

The L Taraval Muni train behind a park of green grass and eucalyptus trees.

Campaign Trail

Bikes and buses go great together.

egret

A blue bike with the new waxed chain under a tree in some late afternoon light.

Misc: Routine Maintenance

New chain, brake pads, and tire sealant! E-bikes go through consumables so fast.

Looking down from beside the bike at the handlebars with inner bar ends, a phone mount, and small GP1 Evo grips. There's a large paper bag and hat in the basket.

Cockpit Revamp and New Brake Pads on Egret

Refining contact points and doing some routine disc brake maintenance.

A blue e-bike against a metal railing in front of a beach sunset. A blue light is mounted on a black seatpost with a silver tensioning strap and red LED.

Seatpost Mounted SON DC Rear Light

New rear light with tidier wiring.

My hand in a blue wool glove on a brake lever while riding. On the left is a mirror and on the right is a bell.

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.

A close-up of the tubing on a RIP Rack in GSC Rainbow Chrome with rainbow sparkles glistening.

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.

A wheel in a truing stand with a person standing behind it with a tension meter.

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.

The drivetrain of a blue e-bike with a new Shimano CUES cassette, derailleur, and chainring.

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.

A close up view of a newly waxed Shimano CN-LG500 chain.

Chain Wax!

Alright nerds I did it, I waxed the chain for my e-bike’s new drivetrain.

A pink rigid bike with black-and-tan tires standing up against a median filled with sand and ice plant.

Quick Maintenance on the Hardtack and Egret

My beloved Tanglefoot Hardtack is coming back to me! Logging some maintenance records here.

A blue Kona e-bike and purple vintage Trek in front of a view of the San Francisco Bay facing towards the East Bay, some time after the sun has set

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.

A blue e-bike with black fenders resting on an oak tree beside a dirt path surrounded by other old oaks

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.

A Crankbrothers Stamp 7 left pedal in a bench vise beside a drill with a bolt extractor and grease port screw hanging on the bolt extractor

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!

The front of a 1x crankset with the chain case fixing mounts visible

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.

A variety of pedal components arranged in the right order for assembly

Crankbrothers Stamp 7 Bearing Replacement

Replacing the polymer igus bearings on my pedal!

A purple Crankbrothers Stamp 7 pedal mounted on a right crank arm of a bicycle.

Crankbrothers Stamp 7 Play

My pedals have gotten pretty wiggly because the polymer igus bearings have worn out.