A friend had to rearrange his travel plans recently and we were the lucky recipients of a great surprise, two tickets to the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit in Minneapolis.
This is a traveling exhibit and after its stint here in Minneapolis it’s headed to Chicago. All in all it was an interesting experience. As you can see from the video above, the exhibit wrapped you in the vibrancy of Van Gogh’s work. A lot of work went into this multimedia exhibit.
That said, my wife and I both agreed that we didn’t think it was quite worth the price of admission if we were to have paid for the tickets, unless you happen to be a hardcore fan of the artist. Premium tickets were $55 each and included a small cushion so you could sit on the floor through the approximately thirty minute multimedia presentation.
I was in the midst of taking my second ride on the VanMoof S3 after installing the spanking new Schwalbe Marathon ePlus tires (which I love by the way) and the bike’s display began flashing 16 Err.
This dreaded error happens to be a total battery failure which left me stranded two miles from home. Even if the battery goes to zero while riding the VanMoof S3 the computer is supposed to partition enough battery to power the e-shifter but with the 16 Err that’s apparently not the case. The bike was stuck in the highest gear, which made it even harder to pedal. Needless to say, I closed my cardio ring for the day.
It’s a bummer, I have to admit. 700 miles into my ownership experience the bike has to be sent back for repair and I’ll likely be without it for most of the remainder of the riding season. Since we don’t have a VanMoof service center in the Twin Cities I have to partially dismantle the bike, stuff it into a box, and drop it off at a UPS store.
To their credit, VanMoof customer support has been very responsive so far. They’re sending me the box and hopefully the packing material as well.
When I bought this bike I knew from research that I had done that this would be an “early-adopter” experience and there might be bumps in the road. This situation is less than ideal for a product that costs over $2k but I still have faith in the brand.
The S3 has been brilliant 99% of the time and if VanMoof can solve these QC issues they will meet their goal of transforming transportation in major cities and also vastly improve people’s health as well.
The ebike industry is still very young and quality control is spotty across all brands due to the immense demand for ebikes during the Covid pandemic. The industry is struggling from supply chain issues as well. Around 5% of bikes shipped across all brands are defective in some way. This is something to keep in mind if you’re in the market for an ebike in the near future. Purchase a bike with a decent warranty and from a brand with a good reputation when it comes to support.
The VanMoof saga continues. I'm realizing this relationship is going to take some work and I'm willing to do it if they can learn from their mistakes. I’ll be sure to keep you all up to speed with how it all plays out.
Thankfully, old faithful, my 62 year old Raleigh is still working flawlessly.
A few days ago I decided to pedal my blues away and took the old girl out on a twenty mile ride with our condo’s bike club. Two sweaty hours and seven hundred burned calories later we made it back without incident.
This speaks to the level of craftsmanship of past generations. Our grandparents sure did know how to build things.
Our “honey dealer” at the St. Paul Farmers Market.
The usually raging Minnehaha Falls, dried up to a trickle due to the recent drought.
Amstel (aka “The King of Cathedral Hill”) relaxing and begging on a picnic.
All for now.
With Gratitude,
Eric Vance Walton
(All images are original.)
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