A big thank you and welcome to anyone joining the instance right now! Most of you probably know me but I will give an #introduction anyways, to set a good example... I am an independent transportation planning consultant specializing in travel demand modeling, land use forecasting, and transportation data analysis. My ulterior motive in setting this up is to create an awesome local feed full of cool transportation people and their follows 😎
Feel free to post your own #introduction when ready!
Cambridge students talking up the positive aspects of #SlowTravel and why it's so essential. This looks like a major trend for gen Z.
Google Maps is always right… right? | PlaceKit
https://placekit.io/blog/articles/google-maps-is-always-right-right-5919
Are remote workers more productive? That’s the wrong question. - Stack Overflow
https://stackoverflow.blog/2023/11/27/are-remote-workers-more-productive-that-s-the-wrong-question/
Quick follow-up to this thread; one of the things that made me hesitate to buy the Geeko-front e-bike kit in the first place was that I wasn't sure what kind of range I would be able to get before the battery ran out. Based upon my experience thus far, I'd estimate that it's around 50-ish miles on the moderate pedal assist level. And very importantly, after it runs out, it's still a totally usable bike; not saddled by an insanely heavy load. Kinda like the Mitch Hedberg joke about escalators.
In general, now I understand much better why I was cautioned away from going the e-bike conversion route in the first place, and I'm glad MA will be offering subsidies next year so others operating within the sub-$1k budget I set for myself won't have to put up with the same fuss. BUT, if you want a Class I e-bike conversion kit, the 100g Geeko-front is a much better option than a Bafang kit. Most of the hassles I encountered were related to my ancient bike, not the design of the product.
(6/6)
The other thing that might be a drawback for some is that the Geeko-front kit has no throttle, only pedal assist. That's perfect for me, though; in fact the reason I returned the Bafang kit was that I realized 90% through the build that even though it shipped with a cadence sensor, there was no way to connect it to the controller, making it throttle-only. I work from home and my kids ride a bus to school so my e-bike is for recreation and short errands, like yesterday's trip to the ATM.
(5/n)
The mountain bike had some real issues with its front derailleur which my bike shop had addressed very superficially if at all on the last tune-up. These were minor annoyances before the conversion but became serious problems afterwards due to the location of the cadence sensor so close to the front derailleur clamp. I'd say this design is another Achilles' heel of the system overall. I have to check the sensor before each ride to make sure it won't crap out on me.
(4/n)
The battery/controller is connected via a single wire to the front hub motor. The enclosure of the motor was a little too wide for the fork on the well-used lightweight 90's hybrid commuter bicycle I had originally planned to use, so I had to switch to this beat-up hand-me-down mountain bike instead. As it turns out, I've appreciated the schock absorbers on the fork, given the poor condition of less-trafficked roads where I live.
(3/n)
Here's the final build. By contrast with the Bafang setup, the battery and controller are in a single unit that looks like a water bottle and comes with a mount that fits perfectly where a water bottle would go. Having these components combined together means fewer wires and a much subtler appearance that doesn't scream "hey everyone! this bike has a bunch of electronics strapped on it that you could steal" nearly as loudly.
(2/n)
Been meaning to post about the e-bike conversion kit I wound up using after a near-total failure with a Bafang kit purchased off Amazon. For almost the same price (~$650) I went for the 100g Geeko-front kit (https://www.100g.tech/product/geeko-front/) and my god, the experience was so much better.
Note: my review is totally independent; I'm not at all a "bike influencer" and 100g has given me nothing at all.
(1/n)
“A new computer model to predict the weather built by Google and powered by artificial intelligence consistently outperforms and is many times faster than government models that have existed for decades and involved hundreds of millions of dollars in investment, according to a study published Tuesday.” - Dan Stillman, Washington Post
Article #GiftLink (no paywall) https://wapo.st/3MIVK6p
Study https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adi2336
If being an "Urbanist" also means being an "Urbanizer," then there's good reasons to question the label. I dig deeper in my latest Straphanger dispatch:
Pandas creator Wes McKinney joins @Posit (formerly RStudio)
https://www.infoworld.com/article/3709932/python-pandas-creator-wes-mckinney-joins-posit.html
What revelations about Cruise's reliance on remote assistance means: "Essentially every conversation about 'driverless cars' over the last decade has to be rethought."
https://open.substack.com/pub/garymarcus/p/rethinking-driverless-cars
Periodic reminder that NYC has more homeless people, and more homeless people per capita, than SF. 🙂🙃
But NYC has more shelter spots that are suitable for human habitation, and a more efficient intake process, so has far fewer street homeless (tents etc).
https://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/basic-facts-about-homelessness-new-york-city/
5% of NYC homeless people are unsheltered. ♥️👍🏿
Over 50% of SF homeless people are unsheltered 😢
silicon valley VCs' best ideas of the 2020s:
-put a drone on something
-wrongness generator 3000 (uses more energy than a small nation)
-fraud
-space pollution
-self-crashing cars
-an app that is actually criminally underpaid workers in another country
-an app that is actually criminally underpaid workers in this country
-fascism
-vrchat but it cost 20x to make and it fucking sucks
-layoffs
"There's always going to be debate in city planning. Always. But there's good faith debate, based on disagreements, and then there's deliberate lies and misinformation." Print article of my @abcnews interview on the truth and lies about “15-Minute Cities.”
Keep calling out the lies.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-27/the-15-minute-city-conspiracy/102015446
Founder and CEO, Manhan (http://manhan.co, @manhan)
Bentley Authorized CUBE Product Training Partner
Developer of over 20 land use forecasting models
Recovering musician and analog synthesizer collector (https://yummynoodles.bandcamp.com)
Follow @matthewmaybe for hot-takes on topics in AI and machine learning.