A Survival Tale of Men, a Mountain, and the Monster

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

8 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

You're scaring me with all of these medical conditions 

I'm beginning to think it was a case of glycogen depletion (I had a very small breakfast that day and then all of the exertion). Once your muscles have consumed all of their stores you're out of luck. Then the body starts taking from your muscles. That's probably why my legs are still recovering.

Hmmm do you have any pre-existing medical conditions?  Borderline diabetes?  What medications are you currently taking?  I think for a definitive diagnosis, we'll have to do a full blood workup, chem 10, full body CT, MRI, pap smear, and stool sample analysis stat.  I've can't rule out Rhabdomyolysis at this juncture just yet...  Don't be scared.  Just wait until you get my bill.  

Edited April 28, 2017 by Hunka Hunka Burning Love

[Marty Backe]

16 minutes ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said:

Hmmm do you have any pre-existing medical conditions?  Borderline diabetes?  What medications are you currently taking?  I think for a definitive diagnosis, we'll have to do a full blood workup, chem 10, full body CT, MRI, pap smear, and stool sample analysis stat.  I've can't rule out Rhabdomyolysis at this juncture just yet...  Don't be scared.  Just wait until you get my bill.  

Pap smear - LOL  Thought you'd get that by me huh 

[Bob Eisenman]

On the day I hit a rut and unexpectedly dismounted face and chest to the asphalt pavement (March18, 2017) I was wearing a Fitbit HR. Fitbit's recorded heart rate that day recorded a sharp drop in HR at the time of the fall.

The physiology of response to blunt trauma that day baffles me but stands out as an electronically recorded event.

Talking with ER doctors that day about EYC riding evoked responses from one doctor as follows:

1- I understand that these devices are popular in Germany

2- in response to my assertion that ' I had already ridden the EUC several thousand miles ' (ie not a new rider) her response was 'it sounds like an addiction'

I must say that I'm grateful to the ER staff on that day for providing four sutures to my eyelid and for their good closure of the cut resulting from eyeglass/frames being pushed against my face during the fall.

 

 

[Rehab1]

38 minutes ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said:

Hmmm do you have any pre-existing medical conditions?  Borderline diabetes?  What medications are you currently taking?  I think for a definitive diagnosis, we'll have to do a full blood workup, chem 10, full body CT, MRI, pap smear, and stool sample analysis stat.  I've can't rule out Rhabdomyolysis at this juncture just yet...  Don't be scared.  Just wait until you get my bill.  

Careful Marty! You've had enough trauma for one day! 

 

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

1 hour ago, Marty Backe said:

Pap smear - LOL  Thought you'd get that by me huh 

Oh sorry, got too used to asking for that on the "Gynecology Forum."    Ever since I got my gynecology degree printed up, I've been in hot demand amongst the ladies seeking free medical help.    I specialize in "Is that just a mole on my boob, or is it cancer?"   It's very rewarding to be able to offer altruistic, free medical assistance online, but of course I do need to see photos of the affected areas to help form a proper diagnosis.  

By the by, you still owe me a paycheque and one ACM16 on your tab.  

Edited April 28, 2017 by Hunka Hunka Burning Love

[Dingfelder]

This is very much a male/female thing too, at least metabolizing fat for energy is.  Women do it vastly better than men. At the end of marathons, men tend to crash hard, immediately folding and in need of recovery, while women are much more on an even keel and can be seen walking around more or less normally.

[steve454]

15 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

I'm beginning to think it was a case of glycogen depletion (I had a very small breakfast that day and then all of the exertion). Once your muscles have consumed all of their stores you're out of luck. Then the body starts taking from your muscles. That's probably why my legs are still recovering.

Eat a lot of good food to aid in recovery.  Lots of protein, carbs, and some fats.  Then you will have Monster legs.Hopefully you didn't deplete yourself too much.  I am curious, there is no talk of the MSuper, do you think it could have done the ride, or is it too close to being a Monster? 

Edited April 28, 2017 by steve454

[Marty Backe]

2 hours ago, steve454 said:

Eat a lot of good food to aid in recovery.  Lots of protein, carbs, and some fats.  Then you will have Monster legs.Hopefully you didn't deplete yourself too much.  I am curious, there is no talk of the MSuper, do you think it could have done the ride, or is it too close to being a Monster? 

I think my MSuper would have been fine. Although I'd still have to work a bit more than the guys with the ACM's, the MSuper really does feel like a spritely wheel next to the Monster.

Somewhat unrelated, but my 820wh MSuper would not have made the trip due to lack of range. Climbing 3500+ feet over 15 miles really takes a toll. This trail is only possible with a modern 84v wheel or a hacked older wheel like @jrkline's ACM2040^tm

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

I think some places also rent satellite phones.  If you search Google, you'll find a few.  Maybe they are more commonly rented for people going on a sailing trip or a distant hike somewhere.  Just don't let a dinosaur eat it.

 

[Dingfelder]

Poor William H. Macy rarely gets away with anything.

[abinder3]

3 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

I think my MSuper would have been fine. Although I'd still have to work a bit more than the guys with the ACM's, the MSuper really does feel like a spritely wheel next to the Monster.

Somewhat unrelated, but my 820wh MSuper would not have made the trip due to lack of range. Climbing 3500+ feet over 15 miles really takes a toll. This trail is only possible with a modern 84v wheel or a hacked older wheel like @jrkline's ACM2040^tm

Especially now that the ACM is available with 1600wh, it's even more up to the challenge than the MSuper since it also is available with a max of 1600wh battery. 

16" wheels definitely seem to be the sweet spot in wheel size when it comes to intense hills. 

Allen

[Dingfelder]

What with what I'm beginning to read about the 67 vs 84 volts business, I'm once again scratching my head about which EUC I should buy.  Or maybe I should just wait and see if 84.2 becomes standard and one machine is more closely a duplicate of another's capabilities.

Oh well, the KS18B's are out of stock at ewheels and the KS18Y's haven't come in yet and aren't due till June, so I have time to sort out my feelings about the whole thing.

[Jrkline "Wheel Whisperer"]

12 hours ago, Rehab1 said:

Careful Marty! You've had enough trauma for one day! 

 

Now we know where the naked backwards EUC riding comes from.

[abinder3]

17 hours ago, Dingfelder said:

What with what I'm beginning to read about the 67 vs 84 volts business, I'm once again scratching my head about which EUC I should buy.  Or maybe I should just wait and see if 84.2 becomes standard and one machine is more closely a duplicate of another's capabilities.

Oh well, the KS18B's are out of stock at ewheels and the KS18Y's haven't come in yet and aren't due till June, so I have time to sort out my feelings about the whole thing.

What you need to do is figure out what kind of riding you want to.  Do you want to do some off-road riding, extreme off-road riding, small hills, steep hills, bike path style of riding, < 20 miles, > 30 miles ? And figure in your weight as well. 

 

Allen

[LuckySXM]

My rides totally changed when I switched to Medium mode on my Monster. Going uphill is MUCH easier.

Never going back to Hard mode. Ever. It doesn't suit the Monster at all.

And calibrating the pedals to tilt slightly upward also helps a lot. I don't enjoy that setting for too long on flat terrain but when I go riding on hilly roads and trails, I calibrate before hand for that task. That, and the Medium mode, is the key to an (almost) enjoyable ride uphill.

At least that's how I feel about it. Try it Marty, and tell us about it

[Dingfelder]

6 hours ago, abinder3 said:

What you need to do is figure out what kind of riding you want to.  Do you want to do some off-road riding, extreme off-road riding, small hills, steep hills, bike path style of riding, < 20 miles, > 30 miles ? And figure in your weight as well. 

 

Allen

On the steep paved roads by my place and also on the grass at a nearby park, as well as on trails nearby that vary from quite smooth to quite rough, but I can pick and choose to leave out the ones that are crazy rough or just too steep.  

Main thing I am thinking is steep hills and lots of things like tree roots and uneven, sometimes smooshy forest floor of the type we get here in the rainy Pacific Northwest.   I also really like the idea of trying to make a go of seated riding that the KS18 offers ... but reviews here look alternatively positive and negative on riding that way, so I'm not sure I'll be able to whittle that down to a general agreement on it.  

And I would like extra power, more for safety than to speed along.  We have a fair share of meth heads and drunk drivers here, and hilly roads with no shoulders but lots of ditches at the edge.  So I don't anticipate all that much road riding except about a mile outside my front door.  I'm thinking mostly taking my dogs for runs on trails or just exploring trails solo to relax on my days off.

So far that and my 200+ weight has steered me toward the biggest wheels.

I'll keep reading and cogitating.  I continue to appreciate everyone's input and shared experiences here.

 

 

 

[Marty Backe]

2 hours ago, LuckySXM said:

My rides totally changed when I switched to Medium mode on my Monster. Going uphill is MUCH easier.

Never going back to Hard mode. Ever. It doesn't suit the Monster at all.

And calibrating the pedals to tilt slightly upward also helps a lot. I don't enjoy that setting for too long on flat terrain but when I go riding on hilly roads and trails, I calibrate before hand for that task. That, and the Medium mode, is the key to an (almost) enjoyable ride uphill.

At least that's how I feel about it. Try it Marty, and tell us about it

Yes, I will be trying this as soon as I can get back out to where there are steep trail hills. I'm very intrigued by this.

[steve454]

On 4/27/2017 at 1:54 AM, Marty Backe said:

The story of how I and two fellow wheel riders became lost in the mountains and lived to ride another day.

As I begin this, it must be said that I'm the one with poor judgement in this story. Well intentioned, but...

The Cogswell Dam, as I've previously written about, is a gorgeous area to ride an EUC. It's basically a canyon ride on the northern side of a mountain ridge. I've ridden it twice before. Throughout this region are countless trails, large and small. One of the most well known is a four wheel drive capable trail called the Rincon Shortcut OHV Trail. It stretches along the southern side of the ridge that is shared with the Cogswell Dam. The Rincon trail-head starts about an 1/8 mile south of the Cogswell Dam trail-head. Up in the mountains there is a connection between the two, and that's what I've been itching to try. Complete the approximately 30 mile loop that joins the two trails.

So I coordinated a group ride for Saturday morning, and my long time riding buddy @jrkline was the first to commit to the ride and not too long afterwards @Ando Melkonyan eagerly committed to the adventure (he had his newly acquired ACM). We were to leave by 9:30am, traversing the southern (Rincon) route first, taking advantage of the coolness of the morning air. Eventually we would meet up with the Cogswell Dam trail high up in the mountains and return by way of the shaded northern trail to avoid the extreme heat of the day. Oh, and today was the peak of a mini heat wave in Southern California, where the temperature was predicted to be in the low 90's. Maybe we should have brought more water. Hmmm.

@abinder3 joined us at the very beginning. He didn't have time for the entire route (regardless of his reasons that was a good decision in hindsight) and therefore was just going to ride to the dam and back, about a 20 mile roundtrip. But it was nice that we could all meet at the beginning and share a few stories before we went our separate ways. In the picture above, from left to right: @abinder3  (Allen), @Ando Melkonyan, @jrkline (Jeff), and myself.

Don't we look happy - if only we knew what was forthcoming

I had my Monster which I had previously ridden here twice before. Jeff had the FrankenACM - I know, I know, his world famous 2040wh ACM. As would be demonstrated throughout the day, his ACM never fails. It may not be pretty but it's a faithful workhorse. And Ando brought his 3 week old ACM with a 2-1/2" tire that he managed to fit on the wheel. He had to cut away parts of the shell to make it fit, but he turned it into a really nice trail machine.

We finally began our journal and after a few hundred feet wished Allen well as he exited for his trail head. We continued on the two lane highway until we came upon the locked trail gate, representing the entrance to our grand adventure. After bypassing the gate we began our journey in earnest.

On a previous outing to Cogswell Dam I had ridden this part of the trail for a mile or so and was hoping the whole trail would be as I remembered. And for the most part it was, perhaps a little steeper in sections. But remember that this is a four wheel drive trail so certainly any path that a truck can take we can tackle easily on our EUCs.

In this video you can see me struggling a bit as the ACMs zoom past me

After a few miles of steady uphill climbing I was beginning to think that I should have taken my ACM too instead of the Monster. I've ridden my Monster a lot in the mountains now, but never for extended uphill pushes. We were on a trail that was to continuously climb for over 3500 feet. And this wasn't a paved road. It was gravel and sand mixed with large rocks and various ruts. So there was a lot of maneuvering involved, slips, slides, near stalls, and periodical jump-stops for the wheels.

Although I have experience with the Monster and know that it's capable of ascending any hill that the ACM is, it does so extremely slowly and with much effort. As Jeff and Ando zoomed up the trail sections with hardly any physical effort, I was in a near constant crouch and heavy lean. Plus all of the effort required to steer the 70 pound Monster ...  But I was hanging in there despite the ridicule coming from my fellow riders ;-)

Fairly early on we had our first crash. I must say, anybody who wants to keep their wheel pristine should never do off-road trail riding. It's a messy business. My Monster requires a wide berth and although I always have my trusty helmet mirror, I have some rather large blind spots. Jeff was apparently unaware of these facts. As he was overtaking me on my left I was slowing sliding left. Our pedals locked and

in the next moment we were both sprawled on the ground. Jeff's bloodied forearm and my bruised ego provided good entertainment for Ando :-) Here's a couple pictures of the aftermath:

 

We continued the long climb, but I was getting tired. At one point Ando offered me his ACM while he pushed forward with the Monster. And then he proceeded to demonstrate a new technique (to me) for getting the Monster up hills fast. Jeff and I had great fun watching this and I think Ando was having fun to. It looked like he was riding a horse, but indeed it really moved fast.

When I started riding the Monster again I used this technique and it really helped. But it was still hard on the body because of the lean, and steering was proving difficult. Eventually I discovered that if I was in a squatting position and squeezing the wheel between my knees, AND using my knees to force the wheel forward, the Monster really moved. This was exhausting however.

We were still having a good time, enjoying each others crashes and Ando's music

Somewhere near two hours we finally arrived near the peak. I was beat. Now we needed to find the trailhead that led back down to the Cogswell Dam. We came across a lone mountain bike rider that pointed us in the general direction that we needed to take to begin the descent to Cogswell Dam. In the following thumbnail you can see the Dam far below us.

Here is where I made the fateful mistake of picking the wrong trail. It went down and looked to be in the general direction, so let's go for it. I really should have spent as long as I needed to be sure, but in the back of my mind I figured if it was wrong we'd probably realize it fairly soon and just backtrack. What I didn't take into consideration was my failing body :-(

As we proceeded down this trail it slowly got sketchier and sketchier. First there were small dead falls (trees that fall across a trail) and then bigger and bigger ones where it took minutes to carry and or drag the wheel across. I was getting weaker. I had no more food and none of us had any more water. Remember that I said it was going to be in the 90's today. I felt like I was beginning to get symptoms of dehydration - shaky legs and arms and extreme fatigue. I could only ride 20 feet before I would loose control and had to stop and rest for a few minutes. By this time I had a few more rather severe falls which further hampered my ability to ride the wheel.

Besides my difficulties, it had become clear that we were somewhat lost. This was certainly not the trail to the Cogswell Dam. I could simply not go further. At this point I was with Jeff. Ando had explored further along the trail and when he returned he said that he found water (we could hear a stream in the distance below). You don't know how excited I was to hear this. I felt that maybe if I got some water I may recover enough to continue at some level. Jeff took my empty water bottle and disappeared down the trail to return with water. I was feeling a bit mentally refreshed.

While Jeff was away Ando and I tried to figure out exactly where we were. I had offline Google maps in my phone and a Garmin 60CS handheld navigator. BTW, GPS reception was not great within these mountains. But we eventually determined our exact location. Miles from the trail that we should have taken.

I had arrived at a difficult decision. Like the sailboat captain in the middle of the ocean that grapples with the decision to press the emergency beacon, knowing that when he does so he will be rescued but his boat will be left behind, gone forever. But I knew that I could not continue back uphill to retrace our steps by a few miles and then down another 15 miles. Impossible. So I told Ando to leave me and get back to the area where we made the bad turn. In that area there was a line of site to the greater Los Angeles area and there was cell phone coverage. "Tell them that a person was suffering from exhaustion and dehydration. Call 911".

Now by this point at least 15 minutes had passed and Jeff probably should have returned within 10 minutes since Ando knew the water was only 5 minutes away by wheel. But we continued to wait. While doing so Ando took my Monster and rode/carried it up the trail past a few of the sever dead-falls. And then walked back. Amazing, and as you'll learn in a bit, very important that he did so.

Still no Jeff. Instead of sending Ando to look for Jeff I suggested that he go the other way, and I'll wait for him. So Ando disappeared with his ACM and I was alone in the middle of what felt like nowhere. I think it was about 3pm at this point. I lay on the ground and was anticipating a bottle of water with great joy. Maybe another fifteen minutes went by. Nothing. Then I started thinking, "Maybe something happened to Jeff. Was there an accident. Did his ACM break". I slowly started walking down the trail. 20 steps and then lay on the ground to recover. 20 steps, lay on the ground. I did this for maybe 15 minutes but realized that if he was hurt or the wheel was broken I was in no condition to help. And I had told Ando that if possible I would try and walk back to the trail junction at the top of the mountain.

So I abandoned Jeff and ever so slowly started walking up hill. 20 steps, lay on the ground, ad nausea-um. I still had hopes that Jeff would return with water. I would have given away my Monster for water at that point. It really was horrible.

At this incredibly slow pace I managed to get past the large dead-falls. I never would have been able to get my Monster past these obstacles in my condition. Eventually I found my Monster and could not believe how far Ando had taken it for me. I then proceeded to push it and myself up the trail, in spurts of low speed energy.

A trolley handle may have helped, but just the effort of pushing the Monster and walking was too much. After maybe an hour I decided to abandon the Monster, knowing that I would never see it again.  I wasn't worried about someone finding and taking it. First, nobody sane travels this impassible trail, and if someone did they wouldn't know what it was, and at 70 pounds I don't think they would try and carry it out. No, I would never see it again because I would never be able to get in here to recover it. That would entail hiking 15 - 20 miles which is a long hike on flat ground. I just didn't see myself being able to do that.

I marked the location where I did leave it, in my Garmin 60CS thinking that I would post to Facebook and the Forum with the coordinates and anybody who thinks they could retrieve it could keep it. No bad feelings on my part. Anyway, it was load off my mind when I fully committed to never seeing it again. Let that be a strong reminder to what not to do in the future.

I continued the painfully slow march. I was worried for my health because I know dehydration can be bad. But I tried not to exhaust myself too much. Walk for a few minutes and then lay down. Walk, lay down. Minutes turned to hours. I was thinking maybe if I eventually got to that magic "cell phone coverage" area that I could call 911 in case Ando wasn't able to. It's amazing what goes through your mind when you can't communicated with people who are trying to help you.What happened to Jeff? Did Ando make it out yet?

Knowing where we had last all been together I was thinking positive and assuming that Jeff decided to explore that path beyond the river and went so far that he decided not to return with water. I knew that particular trail wound its way back up to the top of another mountain range to the 2 freeway which then led to civilization. So if he got out he would be able to call. But I had my doubts that we would have enough remaining power to climb another couple thousand feet and maybe 20 miles. I kept think that if I get rescued I'm going to have to tell them about Jeff so that they can search for him next.

After maybe 3 hours I came across these maintenance trucks and construction equipment that we had passed on the way down. I opened every truck and door I could get into and FOUND WATER. Two old water bottles with maybe a 1/3 full of water each was an amazing find. First I sniffed it to be sure that they weren't storing fuel and then guzzled them down. Water had never tasted to good. Although it did not help with the exhaustion in my legs, it did help with the thirst and made me feel like I actually wasn't going to collapse somewhere up here in the mountains.

I continued to walk, imagining what might be happening with Ando and Jeff. And then of course I was worrying about my wife because in the absolutely worst case I probably should have been home by now. But there was nothing I could do. She did know the general trails that we were taking (at least I got one thing right), but it would probably be very dark before she pulled the trigger and called 911. So I was still prepared for a very much longer day and night.

Dusk was approaching when I started to hear a helicopter somewhere in the distance. That was the first mechanical sound I had heard for hours. I thought I heard a plane too. I did see the helicopter at one point but it was miles in the distance. Amazingly I had made it back to trail junction where we made the bad turn. And then I heard and saw a large search and rescue type helicopter hovering over me, but very high. I was in an area where there were power line towers (thus the maintenance equipment found earlier) plus I'm sure they generally stay far above the trees. I waived both my hands for a little bit and then it moved off to the distance a bit and hovered again. Then it left.

"Well, that's it. I've been found and now help will be on the way". That was a huge psychological lift for me. So I continued to walk, and walk, and walk. It was now totally dark, after 8pm. Fortunately I had small pen flashlight so I could see the path in front of me. No longer fearing collapse from dehydration I could start contemplating coming across bears or mountain lions, both of which live in these mountains. What joy!

I then spotted a brief flash of light followed shortly by a truck rounding the corner ahead. You can imagine what I thought at that sight. It eventually slowed to a stop beside me and I was asked my name (I guess they didn't want to pick up the wrong guy) and let me in the truck. There were four uniformed men in there, all volunteers for the Sierra Mountain Search and Rescue. They gave me all the water I wanted and bagged peanuts. Life was good.

Shortly after I got in the crowded vehicle I asked if they happened to know about any other ..., and before I could complete the sentence they told me that all three people have now been accounted for. So Jeff was alive ;-)  I assumed Ando was good because otherwise I probably wouldn't be sitting in the truck at the top of the mountain.

Now get this, they then asked me, "do you want to go get your 'bike'?" Are you kidding me? I tried to suggest that I didn't want to put them through the trouble (I really didn't), but they insisted. They said that they were already up there so why not. It probably took another half an hour and a locked gate to get within a few hundred feet of where I left it. The last bit had to be walked since the trail conditions were too severe for the truck. So I actually got my Monster back. It felt like I just received a new wheel because in my mind I given it up for lost.

As we drove down the mountain for the next 1-1/2 hours I learned that Jeff had been recovered on the 2 freeway, and Ando was the one that called it in. Eventually I met up with Jeff as we were brought together at the base of the mountain to be driven back to our vehicles (20 miles away). There Jeff told me how he amazing made it back up to the highway on the other side of the mountain range and then down towards town, almost on a zero battery charge. His 2040wh ACM truly has been an amazing wheel. I also learned from the rescuers that the helicopter had not seen me! Amazing. The guys said that in the future you should lay on the ground and move, otherwise all they see from above is a head, and that's hard to distinguise from everything else. So they found me based on what Ando was able to tell them. You can read some of what Jeff encountered here: 

 

And then when I finally got home around midnight (having left in the morning at 8am) I eventually read about Ando's experience which was amazing in itself. His ACM has also proven to be an amazing wheel. Essentially going 10 miles down mountain trails with almost no battery power remaining. You can read is account here:

And here is the dam (it was not Cogswell after all) that Ando got to:

And the 911 help that arrived after he made the call

So there you have it. I think none of us will forget this ride. It's been four days and I'm still having difficulty riding, which really surprised me. When yesterday I hopped on my KS14C for a short utilitarian trip I almost crashed as the wheel was very wobbly. I had a hard time turning. It was then that I realized that my legs were still weak and uncoordinated. Amazing.

Although I declared that I wouldn't do this again, time heals all wounds ;-)  I know Jeff is up to doing it again, and maybe Ando will be to. We will be better prepared next time. More water, food, maps, only ACM's or the like, and a bigger breakfast. Oh, and Jeff says he'll bring his ham radio (which hopefully will not be needed).

I hope you enjoyed my little adventure story 

I had forgotten this thread until looking up the tire mod that @Ando Melkonyan did on his ACM.  What an epic adventure!  

This is number one.

 

[Marty Backe]

7 hours ago, steve454 said:

I had forgotten this thread until looking up the tire mod that @Ando Melkonyan did on his ACM.  What an epic adventure!  

This is number one.

 

Thanks for the memories  And it was one year ago this week. We hope to try it again this year 

[LanghamP]

On 4/21/2018 at 6:41 PM, steve454 said:

I had forgotten this thread until looking up the tire mod that @Ando Melkonyan did on his ACM.  What an epic adventure!  

This is number one.

 

Other than the vast irritation of a massive quote followed by a single line response

.

.

Any plans on redoing this with an MCM5? It might just be doable.

[Marty Backe]

34 minutes ago, LanghamP said:

Other than the vast irritation of a massive quote followed by a single line response

.

.

Any plans on redoing this with an MCM5? It might just be doable.

No, the MCM5 doesn't have the range. 1300wh or more needed. @Jrkline "Wheel Whisperer" and I recently completed the 45-mile loop, successfully.

[LanghamP]

48 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

No, the MCM5 doesn't have the range. 1300wh or more needed. @Jrkline "Wheel Whisperer" and I recently completed the 45-mile loop, successfully.

Jesus, the MCM5 is a 45 mile wheel?

I guess the Monster is around 80 miles, but a relatively little wheel like the MCM5 doing 45 is incredible.

[Smoother]

15 hours ago, LanghamP said:

Jesus, the MCM5 is a 45 mile wheel?

I guess the Monster is around 80 miles, but a relatively little wheel like the MCM5 doing 45 is incredible.

No, that's not what he said.

This is what he said about the MCM5:

16 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

No, the MCM5 doesn't have the range. 1300wh or more needed.

I must be the latest (as in very late) person to read this post.  I actually thought it was earlier this year, until steve454 reproduced it and Marty commented on the 1 year anniversary. Sometimes I take a long break from the forum (as a lot of you do I'm sure) and it's difficult to catch up on everything that was written while you were gone.

So, One year too late; Marty and JK and Ando, glad you all made it out safe.  No Monday morning quarterbacking from me, i wasn't there.

TremF wrote, a few pages back. "Ando's technique showed that the Monster can really shift so something to add leverage would definitely help. "  I was wondering what your finding were @Marty Backe about a softer ride mode and a rearward tilt.

Have you also considered my Big Foot pedal mods on these large diameter/reduced leverage wheels?  It's less about more leaning, and more about being able to shift your feet more forwards on the pedals without that feeling of being perched on the leading edge of the factory "toy" pedals.  Motorcyclists, cyclists and even jet ski riders, shift their weight about to suit the conditions, why should we be locked into a tiny foot placement envelope, when it is mostly our feet that provide input to the wheel?

Lastly.  I thought, over a year ago, that some form of pad wedge to assist wheel grip on inclines and bumps would be a good idea.  As usual, I never got around to it.  Did anyone actually try this?

Edited August 4, 2018 by Smoother

[steve454]

3 hours ago, Smoother said:

No, that's not what he said.

This is what he said about the MCM5:

I must be the latest (as in very late) person to read this post.  I actually thought it was earlier this year, until steve454 reproduced it and Marty commented on the 1 year anniversary. Sometimes I take a long break from the forum (as a lot of you do I'm sure) and it's difficult to catch up on everything that was written while you were gone.

So, One year too late; Marty and JK and Ando, glad you all made it out safe.  No Monday morning quarterbacking from me, i wasn't there.

TremF wrote, a few pages back. "Ando's technique showed that the Monster can really shift so something to add leverage would definitely help. "  I was wondering what your finding were @Marty Backe about a softer ride mode and a rearward tilt.

Have you also considered my Big Foot pedal mods on these large diameter/reduced leverage wheels?  It's less about more leaning, and more about being able to shift your feet more forwards on the pedals without that feeling of being perched on the leading edge of the factory "toy" pedals.  Motorcyclists, cyclists and even jet ski riders, shift their weight about to suit the conditions, why should we be locked into a tiny foot placement envelope, when it is mostly our feet that provide input to the wheel?

Lastly.  I thought, over a year ago, that some form of pad wedge to assist wheel grip on inclines and bumps would be a good idea.  As usual, I never got around to it.  Did anyone actually try this?

Yes, not too long ago @EUC GUY made some, you can buy them from his YouTube page.  

 

[iCafe]

Now I understand You love ACMs. Wheel has to be light to carry over dead trails, but powerful enough to force steep ups and downs.

Battery for 100+ miles or replaceable. Wheel itself has to be easy to repair out there.