12.23 Studios

(11/15/25)

In the past I considered building a gas-powered motorized bike, but I learned a while back that I wouldn't be able to keep a gas tank inside any apartment in the city, making all those plans irrelevant. I recently shifted the project from gas to a DIY ebike for climbing hills while touring, but the new 2026 regulations around ebikes in general, let alone DIY conversions, will become as big a hassle as the hoops to jump through for a gasbike. For these and more reasons, I've decided to just stick with my MTB and accept that walking the bike up the occasional hill is no disgrace...

I did make one other decision: if I ever worried about wearing out my MTB in the city, I'd look at a folding ebike of whatever power, with a throttle, for under $500. I fully understand that a cheap model would have at best a five-year lifespan, but it would only be used for city transportation, a replacement for the bus, maybe used for one or more daytrips. I wouldn't care if it only had a max speed of 15mph either. It would have to be new; a used ebike from Craigslist or FB Marketplace is just asking for trouble. Any used ebike for that price, even with a brand name, is automatically assumed to have a bad battery or other electrical problem...

I know I'll have to buy it from Amazon, cause the dealers in the Bay Area aren't likely to sell cheap commuter models to the Tech Bros and affluent folks around here who'd pay thousands for regular bikes, but I did a little research for models that aren't quite no-name but have the minimum of user reviews:

Ancheer sells a 14" model with a decent reputation as a cheap commuter with a fold-down handlebar. The rest of the bike is solid, but it's small enough to fit in my tiny apartment...

A model right at $500, Vivi Gopina, is another entry-level folding ebike with a decent reputation...

These aren't the only cheap folding ebikes I'd consider, but it's a start...

(11/16/25)

Meanwhile, I want to get out on the bike more, like I keep claiming I want to do. When I look at my MTB, I think about the winter rides I should be able to take on dry sunny days - a few training rides, across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito, and a few practice overnight trips to Angel Island. The day ride down to Pacifica State Beach and the all day ride down to Half Moon Bay to overnight is still in the distance...

As it stands, I still have a couple significant pieces of gear I need for conventional bikepacking/touring, especially if I'm gonna stealth camp to save the $30-50 a day it would cost to camp at a state park Hike or Bike site:

The first piece is something I overlooked for the longest time - an upgrade to the old handlebar grips. These Ergonomic MTB Grips are sold down at Valencia Cyclery for $15. They're meant to ease hand fatigue on long bike rides...

The last piece of gear would be a relatively small bear canister - the Bear Vault BV 450, capable of holding 3-4 days of food for one person, but I'd use it to hold 1-2 days of food with room for a small trash bag if none were available (and if trash disposal wasn't a problem, that's enough room for a bulky fast food lunch or dinner). Anyway, they're on sale at REI for about $80 (yeah, bear canisters are frickin expensive), but there's a sale going on until Thanksgiving for members...

I'll need one partly because the California Coastal Bike Trail goes through a small section of the remaining stretch of black bear territory, but also because there are rodents, raccoons, rabbits, squirrels, birds, insects, etc. that will also try to get to whatever food or odor-producing items I'll have on me (especially if I'm gonna stealth camp).

Also, it turns out the Hike or Bike campsite at Angel Island has food lockers (you must bring your own lock), but I'd still rather not have food smells coming out of it...

(11/18/25)

Ok, today I went down to the REI to pick up the bear canister. It was located in a part of the store where the Mountain House ready-made camping meals were displayed on the wall; lots of tasty breakfast and dinner pouches that only needed boiling water poured in for a set number of minutes...

At first glance they seem like a luxury, but the pouches come in 2 serving size for $12 ea., so a pair of pouches would provide breakfast and dinner for 2 days, or dinner for 4 days, if I were cooking on tour (I still intend on no-cook meals when bikepacking). Anyway, I found the bear canisters and opened up the different boxes of the BV450's until I found one with no scratches or marks...

This thing was huge for being almost 2 gal, but I guessed it would still fit in the big backpack...

Even with a 20% discount, it was still frickin expensive...

The box said it holds 4 days of food, but I still say 2 days worth, plus toiletries, a fast food lunch or dinner, plus a small trash baggie...

The big backpack does hold it, though it takes up almost 50% of the main space. For bikepacking, very little else would be carried on my back...

The no-tool locking lid has these tabs that click past when tightening clockwise. It takes an old plastic ID or credit card to open - nothing metal!

Ok, I'll see about the comfort handlebar grips after I put out the next podcast episode...

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