https://ridebanana.com/ Bicycles, scooters and the daily commute — how to ride in traffic, keep a machine running, and make a city work without a car. en © 2026 Two Wheel Press Tue, 11 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/cycling/what-a-gear-ratio-actually-means-for-your-knees/ https://ridebanana.com/cycling/what-a-gear-ratio-actually-means-for-your-knees/ A gear is not a difficulty setting. It is a trade between how fast your legs turn and how hard each turn has to push. Cycling Ananth Krishnan Tue, 11 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/cycling/tyre-pressure-is-a-trade-off-not-a-race-to-the-top/ https://ridebanana.com/cycling/tyre-pressure-is-a-trade-off-not-a-race-to-the-top/ Harder is not faster past a certain point. Pressure balances rolling resistance against the energy your body absorbs from a rough road. Cycling Joel Pereira Sun, 09 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/cycling/frame-size-decides-less-than-you-have-been-told/ https://ridebanana.com/cycling/frame-size-decides-less-than-you-have-been-told/ Size gets treated as the master variable in buying a bike. It sets a couple of dimensions and leaves most of the fit to the parts bolted on. Cycling Devika Menon Wed, 05 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/cycling/saddle-height-changes-more-than-comfort/ https://ridebanana.com/cycling/saddle-height-changes-more-than-comfort/ A saddle two centimetres out feels like nothing for the first ten minutes. It shows up later as a sore knee, a rocking hip or legs that produce less than they should. Cycling Joel Pereira Fri, 31 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/cycling/a-heavy-bike-you-ride-beats-a-light-one-you-do-not/ https://ridebanana.com/cycling/a-heavy-bike-you-ride-beats-a-light-one-you-do-not/ Weight obsession is imported from racing, where the rules are different. For getting to work, the machine that leaves the house wins every time. Cycling Devika Menon Wed, 29 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/cycling/steel-aluminium-and-carbon-what-the-material-really-changes/ https://ridebanana.com/cycling/steel-aluminium-and-carbon-what-the-material-really-changes/ Frame material arguments usually describe feelings. The genuine differences are in how each material fails, how it is repaired and how tubes have to be shaped. Cycling Ananth Krishnan Sat, 25 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/cycling/wide-tyres-got-faster-and-the-old-advice-never-caught-up/ https://ridebanana.com/cycling/wide-tyres-got-faster-and-the-old-advice-never-caught-up/ For decades the received wisdom was that narrow means quick. Measurement on real road surfaces has been steadily pushing the other way. Cycling Devika Menon Thu, 23 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/cycling/mudguards-are-the-cheapest-upgrade-a-wet-ride-can-have/ https://ridebanana.com/cycling/mudguards-are-the-cheapest-upgrade-a-wet-ride-can-have/ Rain does not make you as wet as the road does. Most of the water arriving on a rider in bad weather has been thrown up by their own wheels. Cycling Devika Menon Sun, 19 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/cycling/hub-gears-and-derailleurs-solve-different-problems/ https://ridebanana.com/cycling/hub-gears-and-derailleurs-solve-different-problems/ One is efficient, cheap and exposed. The other is sealed, heavy and shifts while you are standing still. Which is right depends on where the bike lives. Cycling Joel Pereira Thu, 16 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/cycling/why-your-hands-go-numb-and-what-to-change-first/ https://ridebanana.com/cycling/why-your-hands-go-numb-and-what-to-change-first/ Numb fingers on a bike are almost always a load and angle problem rather than a padding problem. Gloves are the last thing to change, not the first. Cycling Devika Menon Sun, 12 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/cycling/ten-minutes-that-tell-you-whether-a-second-hand-bike-is-worth-buying/ https://ridebanana.com/cycling/ten-minutes-that-tell-you-whether-a-second-hand-bike-is-worth-buying/ Most used bikes look tired for reasons that cost very little to fix. A short structured check separates a bargain from a project. Cycling Ananth Krishnan Thu, 09 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/cycling/clipless-pedals-are-optional-and-nobody-will-check/ https://ridebanana.com/cycling/clipless-pedals-are-optional-and-nobody-will-check/ Being attached to the pedals helps in specific situations, most of them competitive. For riding to work, the case is much weaker than the marketing suggests. Cycling Ananth Krishnan Mon, 06 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/cycling/what-a-bike-fit-fixes-and-what-it-cannot/ https://ridebanana.com/cycling/what-a-bike-fit-fixes-and-what-it-cannot/ A fit repositions you on the machine. It does not resolve an unsuitable frame, a medical problem, or the fact that you have not ridden since March. Cycling Devika Menon Fri, 03 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/electric/what-actually-determines-how-far-an-electric-bike-will-go/ https://ridebanana.com/electric/what-actually-determines-how-far-an-electric-bike-will-go/ Range figures are produced under conditions nobody rides in. The variables that decide your real distance are mostly about you and the road. Scooters & E-Mobility Devika Menon Sat, 27 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/electric/cold-weather-shrinks-a-battery-before-it-damages-one/ https://ridebanana.com/electric/cold-weather-shrinks-a-battery-before-it-damages-one/ A pack that loses half its usable range on a frosty morning has not failed. Understanding why matters, because how you charge it in the cold genuinely can cause damage. Scooters & E-Mobility Ananth Krishnan Wed, 24 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/electric/hub-motors-and-mid-drives-do-genuinely-different-jobs/ https://ridebanana.com/electric/hub-motors-and-mid-drives-do-genuinely-different-jobs/ The two common e-bike motor positions are not two versions of the same thing. They differ in how they use the bike's gears, and that changes everything else. Scooters & E-Mobility Sarita Fernandes Mon, 22 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/electric/torque-sensors-and-cadence-sensors-feel-nothing-alike/ https://ridebanana.com/electric/torque-sensors-and-cadence-sensors-feel-nothing-alike/ Two e-bikes with identical motors can behave completely differently, because the thing deciding when to help is not the motor at all. Scooters & E-Mobility Devika Menon Thu, 18 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/electric/charging-a-lithium-battery-without-setting-fire-to-your-hallway/ https://ridebanana.com/electric/charging-a-lithium-battery-without-setting-fire-to-your-hallway/ Battery fires are rare and severe, and almost all the risk is concentrated in a handful of avoidable situations. None of them require you to be frightened of your bike. Scooters & E-Mobility Devika Menon Tue, 16 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/electric/watt-hours-are-the-number-worth-reading-on-a-battery/ https://ridebanana.com/electric/watt-hours-are-the-number-worth-reading-on-a-battery/ Voltage and amp-hours are printed everywhere and compared constantly. Multiplied together they give the only figure that describes how much energy you have. Scooters & E-Mobility Devika Menon Wed, 10 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/electric/small-wheels-punish-a-bad-road-surface/ https://ridebanana.com/electric/small-wheels-punish-a-bad-road-surface/ Wheel diameter is not a styling choice on scooters and folding bikes. It changes how a wheel meets an obstacle, and that is a safety issue on broken tarmac. Scooters & E-Mobility Devika Menon Mon, 08 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/electric/regenerative-braking-gives-back-less-than-people-expect/ https://ridebanana.com/electric/regenerative-braking-gives-back-less-than-people-expect/ The idea is appealing: brake, and put energy back in the battery. The physics of a lightweight vehicle at city speeds makes the returns modest. Scooters & E-Mobility Sarita Fernandes Thu, 04 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/electric/an-electric-bike-needs-more-brake-than-a-bicycle-does/ https://ridebanana.com/electric/an-electric-bike-needs-more-brake-than-a-bicycle-does/ Add mass and add speed, and the energy your brakes must absorb rises faster than either. That is why e-bike braking deserves its own thinking. Scooters & E-Mobility Ananth Krishnan Tue, 02 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/electric/nominal-watts-peak-watts-and-what-the-controller-decides/ https://ridebanana.com/electric/nominal-watts-peak-watts-and-what-the-controller-decides/ Motor power figures are quoted in at least two incompatible ways, and neither describes how a bike feels. The controller between battery and motor does more than the label suggests. Scooters & E-Mobility Sarita Fernandes Fri, 29 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/electric/what-ages-an-electric-bike-battery-and-what-does-not/ https://ridebanana.com/electric/what-ages-an-electric-bike-battery-and-what-does-not/ Battery life is decided by a handful of chemical processes that respond to heat, voltage and time. Most folklore about charging habits gets at least one of them wrong. Scooters & E-Mobility Ananth Krishnan Sun, 24 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/commute/a-rack-beats-a-backpack-the-moment-you-start-sweating/ https://ridebanana.com/commute/a-rack-beats-a-backpack-the-moment-you-start-sweating/ A bag on your back sits on the one part of you that most needs airflow. Moving the load onto the bike changes how you arrive more than any fabric can. The Commute Manav Deshpande Fri, 22 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/workshop/why-a-chain-wears-the-cassette-rather-than-stretching/ https://ridebanana.com/workshop/why-a-chain-wears-the-cassette-rather-than-stretching/ A worn chain is longer than a new one, but no metal has been pulled thin. Understanding what actually elongates tells you when to replace it and why waiting costs more. Maintenance Manav Deshpande Mon, 18 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/safety/road-position-is-how-you-tell-a-driver-what-you-will-do/ https://ridebanana.com/safety/road-position-is-how-you-tell-a-driver-what-you-will-do/ Where you ride in a lane is not just about safety margin. It is the clearest signal available about your intentions, and drivers read it whether or not they know it. Safety & Rules Devika Menon Sat, 16 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/cities/what-makes-a-city-rideable-has-little-to-do-with-weather/ https://ridebanana.com/cities/what-makes-a-city-rideable-has-little-to-do-with-weather/ The cities with the highest cycling rates are not the warmest or the flattest. What they share is a set of design decisions that reduce the risk and effort of an ordinary trip. Riding the City Devika Menon Tue, 12 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/electric/rain-puddles-and-where-water-gets-into-an-electric-bike/ https://ridebanana.com/electric/rain-puddles-and-where-water-gets-into-an-electric-bike/ Most e-bikes handle rain without complaint and very few tolerate a pressure washer. The difference is about how water arrives rather than how much of it there is. Scooters & E-Mobility Sarita Fernandes Sat, 09 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://ridebanana.com/electric/assist-cut-off-speeds-and-what-happens-above-them/ https://ridebanana.com/electric/assist-cut-off-speeds-and-what-happens-above-them/ Every pedal-assist system stops helping at a defined speed. How gracefully it does so, and what the law says about the number, differ more than most riders realise. Scooters & E-Mobility Sarita Fernandes Tue, 05 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT