Categories
Uncategorized

An eBike for Fitness

an eBike

an eBike

I’m going to say something that may be controversial…

An ebike might be better for fitness than an acoustic bike.

We already know that ebikes allow people to ride more. Folks on ebikes tend put in more time riding, and cover more miles, than they would if they were riding acoustic bikes or not riding at all. And we know that they can be assistive devices for people with bad knees, or other health issues. There are a number of online support groups for ebike riders over 50, over 60, etc. I read posts from people in their 70s who are now biking again. This is all good stuff.

So yeah, more people on bikes, riding, being outdoors, that’s all good for physical fitness, and mental health, if we want to get into it.

But I’m here to talk about how I use an ebike for fitness…

When I started riding again in 2024 I rode my acoustic bike, and I enjoyed it, and I was doing it for fitness. Now I ride an ebike (I try to ride to work as much as I can) and if you think I just crank the power up or hit the throttle, you’re wrong.

I actually removed the throttle from my bike. I didn’t really use it. I know some people really like it to start from a dead stop (especially older people, from what I’ve read) but my technique when coming to a stop is to drop to first gear and put the pedal assist to “Turbo” (or level 3 assist, the highest setting.) This lets me get started from a dead stop, but gives me a boost in Turbo mode, and once I am across the busy street I drop down to “Eco” (or level 1) pedal assist… or turn off the assist.

Yes, I turn off the assist. If it’s flat ground, or downhill, I don’t need any help if I am already moving.

That said, my bike is heavy. I am heavy. I am carrying a lot of stuff. The bike is slow. In the stock configuration my bike is 67 pounds. I have panniers and carry a u-lock, tools, usually my backpack for work, and a few other bits and bobs that might add another 10 to 20 pounds. I am now pedaling a bike that weighs over 75 pounds. (And I am not a lightweight person!)

My bike has something called Ride Tune, which allows me to dial in the assist for the three levels (Eco, Sport, and Turbo). I’ve dialed down Eco so that it gives some assist, but it just about equals out to what it would be like pedaling my old Trek, which is less than half the weight of my ebike.

So now I’ve got my ebike set with minimal assist in the lowest mode so the experience is similar to a non-ebike. This is perfect.

I’ve still got Sport mode, which I’ve also dialed down, and Turbo mode, which is pretty much default because I commute to work on shitty roads alongside cars and I want that to last as short of time as possible.

Between the heavy bike, the gears, and the pedal-assist there are a number of changes you can make while riding to create more of a workout, or to make things easier when your legs are screaming. On today’s ride I was in Eco for most of it, turned off the motor a few times and let me tell you, it kicked my ass. I got to work tired and sweaty… and that’s okay.

Also, I am still pretty out of shape because I didn’t ride for 6 months while my spine was not working properly.

Categories
Uncategorized

Riverwest 24 (First Time!)

Pete

Pete

Hey Friends, I did it! I rode along with the Riverwest24. I managed to arrive right around 7pm on Friday and just followed all the bikes until I seemed to be at the back of the line, I think near Pierce & Clarke. Once all the people were moving I just started following.

The first lap was rough, as it was slow slow slow like under 3mph slow at some points. Things cleared up as time went on. I rode about 14 miles in total before calling it a night. My knee was starting to bother me a bit as well.

I did not see a single person I knew. I really expected to, but with so many people it’s just a huge crowd. Even the two people I tried to meet up with never materialized. Still, I knew friends were all around.

That said… what an amazing community event! So damn proud of Milwaukee (specifically Riverwest, and the organizers and volunteers) for putting this thing on.

Note: I wrote this between Friday night and Saturday morning, so it only covers the first few hours of the RW24. I did return Saturday for more riding but I’ll have to put that into another post.

Categories
Uncategorized

Oak Leaf Familia Bike Ride

I did a group ride with the Oak Leaf Familia on July 11th, 2026. I think I found out about the group via milwaukeebikerides.com. (It’s also listed on the Bike Fed site.)

Oak Leaf Familia is a “Latinx and Immigrant Cycling Club” but it is described as “all-inclusive” and I want to be an ally but never want to invade a space I might not be welcome in…

Friends, I was welcome. With smiling faces and handshakes. (Thanks Sergio!) We all gathered to ride bikes, and as I’ve learned, that brings people together.

I also met Franky, another first-timer, and their friend Lexi who hadn’t been on a bike in years but used a Bublr Bike (for free thanks to OLF!) to join the fun. I got to talk to a few other folks along the ride as well. This might be the first group ride where I just showed up on my own not knowing anyone. I’m happy to say that by the end I had met some new people.

And this was definitely a family ride. There were kids, and at one point a 7-year old took the lead and I’m telling you, she was pedaling fast. Kid-Power!

You can check out Oak Leaf Familia on Instagram, and also see this great Radio Milwaukee article from 2024: Oak Leaf Familia seeks to grow Milwaukee’s cycling community

Also, I ended up biking from home (Enderis Park) to where 76th street meets the OLF, then down to the Urban Ecology Center, then did the ride out to HWY 100, and headed back, but left the group when we got back to 76th street. It was a great day for a ride though!

Categories
Uncategorized

Light-Up Film Prop Buttons

Custom Button Prop

Custom Button Prop

This post is mostly photos but I wanted to document a build a did back in February. I was contacted by someone working on a film who needed a prop. A large (202mm x 202mm x 83mm) device with two buttons that would light up when pressed.

Custom Button Prop

Banana for scale. This is a laser cut (and etched) banana but it’s approximately banana-sized.

Custom Button Prop

US quarter for scale… just in case you don’t like bananas used for scale.

Custom Button Prop

Usually (when I build USB devices) the bottom cover is just a flat piece that gets screwed on. For this one I ended up using connectors for the wiring and mounting the electronics (and power) on the bottom cover.

Custom Button Prop

Since the firmware was simple enough I didn’t think it would need to be updated, but it is possible. This is handy if I ship something and things change and the customer wants some other behavior. I can just email new firmware with instructions for installing it.

Custom Button Prop

Here’s the actual bottom… and what I am most proud of. I didn’t want the customer to have to remove the whole cover to access the batteries… and we needed a power switch, which I did not want to put on the side of the unit.

Custom Button Prop

So there is a battery compartment (with its own lid) on the bottom, and a rocker switch for power.

Custom Button Prop

There are just four screws to remove to get access to the battery compartment.

Custom Button Prop

Typically for devices that are USB controllers I just use a USB cable for power, but this needed to be battery powered. Luckily the Raspberry Pi Pico can be powered from 1.8v to 5.5v on the VSYS pin. So three AA batteries coming in just over 4.5v when brand new works well.

Here are some renders of the 3D model. I’d like to start incorporating some of these ideas into other enclosures I create. Often I got for simplicity at the expense of usability… and there is always room for improvement in the things I create.

(I have a list of other interesting custom devices I’ve built over on the wiki.)

Categories
Uncategorized

Insta360 Camera (First Impressions)

I recently got an Insta360 X3 Camera (affiliate link) because it was my birthday and somehow there was a sale and it’s been two years since I bought a camera.

Disclaimer: I had some credit card points to use up before the card goes away next month. The camera was $230, minus $90 I got it for around $150 USD.

I got a GoPro back around 2012 and used it to film the Power Racing Series until around 2019. I did not use it in 2020 because pandemic, but I did use it as a webcam for a bit. Then it sat unused for a while and it never worked again. I dug into the problem and the issue is a common failure. So while I still have it, the GoPro is non-functional.

That said, I considered getting a new GoPro, but the combo of the old one failing and seeing that GoPro the company was most likely failing, I decided to look elsewhere, hence Insta360. We use their webcams at work (and the quality is amazing, and an action sports guy I know loves his as well.

So I figured it was time to try something new. Here’s what I got besides the camera.

SanDisk 128GB Extreme microSD Card – I have a pile of microSD cards but they are older and slower and smaller. I tried one to start with and the camera basically says “This is an old slow card and it sucks”. Well, not those exact words, but it displays a warning.

Clamp Camera Mount – I’m no stranger to making my own camera mounts, but with this camera (which does not have a protective shell like the old GoPro cameras did) I wanted something strong and secure. I’ve read that one thing lacking on the Insta360 is a lanyard mount for extra security so a solid mount seemed like a good choice.

Insta 360 X3 Lens Guards & Screen Protector – The X3 does not have easy to replace lenses (like some later models) so that means if you scratch up one of the lenses you need to send it in for repairs. The lens guards are little half-dome plastic pieces to cover the lenses. They do add some distortion when the images from the front and rear cameras stitch the image together. I still need to work on minimizing this in the settings and software.

At this point I’ve only used the camera for a few bike rides, and for two of those rides I thought I had it recording and somehow did not have it recording. After the first time I read the docs a bit more (duh!) and thought I figured it out. Somehow I screwed up twice. Still, I think I just need to learn the controls a bit more.

I started to make a playlist of videos called Bike Riding.

Oh! And as you can see from the photo above you can do some silly/fun/neat stuff with a 360 degree camera. Sidenote: Did you know I used to do 360/Panoramic photography? Back in 2010 I did it for work, and built my own head. (See a Photo Album of Panoramas!). So this is not totally new. I mean, the video part is, but hey, it’s been 16 years.

So far there is a lot to like about this camera, but this is First Impressions and I don’t want to overload things, so in the next installment I’m going to cover a few more things… some good, some bad.

Note: This post may contain Affiliate Links. Read More.