Best products from r/berlin

Dude, you might be making a lot of assumptions, I am not totally certain you read my post all that carefully.
Mara + is a general recommendation for a general city cyclist and will be better and faster than vast majority of tires people currently have on their bikes.
Of course Schwalbe has a ton of different, more and less puncture resistant tires, the Mara+ is just the most puncture resistent. Despite having had Marathon racers/Regular Greenguard Marathons and Supremes and a bunch of others, I do not like them quite as much as the Mara+ for my daily rider bike, with all those other models I still had a way more flats caused by glass and other large debris. Besides the punctures, the sidewalls of Marathon racers are quite thin and caused me issues. The rolling resistance difference is small. But yes, you are right, the regular Marathon tire (1) is 170 grams lighter than the Marathon+ while offering a fair amount less puncture protection.

 

When I want to go fast I have a road bike (90s Specialized Sirrus) and a bunch of other bikes I can use.
However, unlike you and I, the average user may not have a fully kitted out workshop and a bunch of skills they can rely on at any time to fix flats or other problems. They may rely on their bike to get them to work on time or appointments, always. In that sense adding 340 grams of weight to their bike is probably a decent trade off for many people who would rather not spend money or time on flat repairs quite significantly more often..

 

Having said all that, Marathon Racers and regular Marathons are both a perfectly fine! choice for tires too if people don't mind the chance for more flats and prefer a bit less weight and bit more speed, people can compare / judge for themselves: https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/tour-reviews/compare/schwalbe-marathon-2015-vs-schwalbe-marathon-plus-2015-vs-schwalbe-marathon-racer-2015
 

About steel VS Alu and VSF, well, I did recommend to never buy new if at all possible, in generally the value is not there and then there is the theft issue. I could go on about how new derailleur bikes always have 27 or even 30 speeds and how those components wear out faaar faster and are way more expensive to replace than the 24 or 21 speeds you are likely to find on older MTBs,.. Yet I didn't want to get into all that. Some people like hub gears, some people like to convert their bike to singlespeed, some people will just ride whatever comes cheaply and works well with a second hand bike, I support all of that. Whatever works, safes you money and time and puts a smile on your face.

 

Having worked on many 1000s of bikes and frames across about a dozen professional shops and perhaps 20 bike co-ops, my experience with Alu frames and their failure rates differ from yours.

I have not seen not nearly as many broken steel frames (all things being equal, like both having a double diamond style frame and how old the frame is!) as Alu frames. It is not even close,... not even in the same league/ballpark. Again it is a trade-off some people make. If you are willing to have your entire bike be about 1 Kilo lighter (that will be about the diff between an Alu and good steel frame) total, and you do not mind that the frame is essentially disposable on the mid-term, that is a possible choice. From all I have seen, the expected lifetime of an Alu frame that is used daily and lives outside is 15 years at very most, I have seen plenty that failed in 2 to 7 years though, I mean experience, about 40% or more. Besides that being unacceptable to me from a reliability/cost perspective, I also do not like the environmental implications. The embodied energy to produce an Alu frame is absolutely through the roof compared to a steel frame. For myself, bikes/frames should ideally last for life, not be environmentally messed up to produce nor be semi-disposable. Lastly, producing a new Alu frame as cheaply as possible in Asia vs. buying a second hand frame, the environmental impact is rather different there too...

 

Simply put, the fast wearing, more expensive to replace, modern parts and the frame that will fail rather too fast and the much higher risk of theft, higher cost and environmental reasons above is why I would never recommend a new Alu Cube or Focus over a used, quality, steel bike for anyone who doesn’t put a huge premium on shaving off a few seconds on the average city ride. YMMV!

 

Funny enough, I do not recommend a hub Dynamo and matching lights for everyone due to weight and cost reasons (easily a 100 to 200+ euro upgrade). XD I use fixed Reelight magnet lights myself. I love them, but they are much harder to mount and cost about 3x as much as decent, simple LED battery lights,.. which will keep you just as safe. I don’t want to drive up costs or complexity for everyone just because of my personal preferences. Of course if you bike often on rather dark stretches of road or do not have great eye sight, then I would certainly recommend to look at a hub dynamo setup! For all others, you can get various, very light, cheap, rechargeable back and especially front lights that will illuminate the road well enough. Of course, you might have to take it off when you leave your bike or secure the light to your bike. It simply depends on the person and how often they ride really rather dark stretches and bad roads.

 

I do agree that Froschrad or Contoura are a better deal/choice than VSF in some ways. Of course I was aware of the fact that VSF is (part of) a very large company and does not produce their components in Germany. I partially included VSF because they can be easily purchased all over Germany, but again, my go to is used, older MTB due to the stellar value and some being are around 10 to 12.5 Kilos. Problem with Contoura is that almost all their bikes have Disc brakes and their 26 inch bike is a bright, rather light blue.

I dislike Maguras and to a lesser degree disc brakes for city (non off-road) riding, for various non-standardization, cost, maintenance, ease of repair and other reasons. I always recommend V-brakes with good brake pads. Yes, I am a proud Retrogrouch XD Unless of course something modern is far better and as reliable/easy to fix, then I will happily use and recommend it! Reelights, Mara+, V-brakes, LEDs, all those things are newer than the MTBs I am telling people to buy and I love them.

I never did, nor would recommended just any basket for everyone. What I did write is that I, myself, personally really like the smallest WALD basket, according to the companies’ website it weighs just under a 1000 grams.

 

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B007WKOAK2/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3MS2T5CROUES8&dchild=1&keywords=wald+fahrradkorb&qid=1575025492&sprefix=wald+fahrrad%2Caps%2C167&sr=8-1

 

This basket will not “destroy” your handling. I never have and never would recommend any heavy baskets or front racks for the average cyclist. My recommendations are always based on practicality and intense real world testing, never on style / “hipster” considerations, personally I couldn’t care less about that.

 

What made you sure I do not use or recommend racks and panniers? I like and recommend both. On my daily rider I run a Tubus rack, sometimes Ortlieb panniers as well as that WALD basket, besides the basket I also a large messenger Chrome backpack I use very often. All of them have upsides and downsides and I use them for different purposes, but I do find my specific front basket indispensable for my usage in the city and I use it every day. YMMV.

I never have and never would recommend 50 wide tires for any frame that was not purposefully build for them. I recommended 28 through 42 width depending on your weight, how much luggage you tend to carry, what kind of premium you place on speed vs comfort and how often you ride over bumpy or slick terrain.

 

Finally, what I would like to emphasize to you or anyone reading this thread: above everything else, anyone that loves and rides and / or repairs bikes (any! bike) has my support, more power to you! :) Whatever bike makes you happy, keeps you safe and inspires you to ride and enjoy it more, that is exactly the right bike for you! In that sense my opinions and recommendations here or anywhere are irrelevant and don’t matter at all.

Well you're already staying at the best hotel in town. But if you're interested you could buy the Wallpaper* City Guide Berlin, which is full of stylish and posh places to go to. You can get it in most bookstores. Check out Dussmann on Friedrichstraße, which is a big bookstore just around the corner from your hotel. Enjoy your stay at the Adlon!

Edit: better link.

I don't really like the all-in-one dealies if you're going to be here for a while. These are the best for US plug->German Schucko:

http://www.amazon.com/Grounded-American-European-German-Adapter/dp/B0038L54ZO/

They insert right into the hole for the plug, and they actually stay put.


You just need to make sure the device you're bringing says 220 or 240 volts and 50/60Hz. Here's a picture of my laptop charger, with the important bits highlighted:

http://i.imgur.com/A62zm.jpg

Basically, most electronics made in the last 15-20 years will support dual voltages. Cameras, laptops, phones, etc. Cheap electric stuff like hair dryers, blenders, toasters, razors, etc usually don't. Those you can just buy here for pretty cheap. I don't think it makes much sense to buy a transformer (converts european 240 volts to 110 volts). They're big, expensive, run really hot, and aren't energy efficient.

Fortunately Berlin is surrounded by Brandenburg, which is quite sparesly populated and has some very nice hikes to offer in the direct vicinity of the city. I highly recommend to buy this set of four hiking/biking maps and just explore the possibilities. I, personally, especially like the natural reserves in the north.

It's one of my favourites. Depending on where you live, it can be a long bike through the city until you get to a nice path. If by nice you mean away from busy streets. The area around Buch is nice. Karower Teiche, Hobrechtsfelde, Schönower Heide etc. But if you live in Mitte, you could take the S1/S2. They are never very full and you can easily reach Hennigsdorf and take the Mauerweg or go to Bernau or Oranienburg and cycle back. I recommend Komoot. I have a poor sense of direction and it has helped me tremendously. Just plan a route through the website and navigate with earphones. Something like this:

https://www.amazon.de/Bose-SoundSport-Kopfh%C3%B6rer-Samsung-Android/dp/B0117RFPCC/ref=lp_617060011_1_12?s=ce-accessories&ie=UTF8&qid=1501256041&sr=1-12

You can use just one and you'll still hear everything, as these don't require you to jam them into your ear. Though I can't actually recommend those particular ones, they don't last long.

Then you can say to her that she probably doesn't want that ice-cream so much :p

I would look up if this vanilla + banana combo has some good recipes, with using beast like this:

Braun Multiquick 9 MQ 9045X Stabmixer https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01KPT87BY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_OCOTAbFW63F6A

That thing will be handy for lots of stuff if you're cooking and you don't have it already.

If you're not sure, there are models with less equipment. For just the fresh banana, even plastic ones and much weaker could do :D

I had to eat everything without chewing for few weeks, bought this, then bought two more as a gifts to my mum and mother in law :D



Oh, I just dug up this, didn't try it yet, but recipes say just to freeze banana :D

Check:

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1363649/quick-banana-ice-cream?amp

https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-creamy-ice-cream-with-just-one-ingredient-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-93414

This one explains a process a bit more...

It seems that powerful blender is better, this combo above has it, but I'd try with stick mixer and its blades first to see what happens.

Now I need some bananas.... :D

Oh, and you always can sell the mixer under 'it's for the kid' story :D

On set communication: Good point. I was thinking about that and wondering if there's perhaps a glossary of terms used on german sets, something like the glossary in the Set Lighting Technician's Handbook by Harry Box. I'd love to get a heads up on what a half double net/scrim is called in Berlin...

guess it's this one? Still 1.1kg and quite small? However, seess like the best one so far...

No problem, glad I could be of service.

I had a quick look around the interwebs and you can buy this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B009EACHK8/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AYMWRGONIYEBK

from Amazon UK and I've checked they will ship to Berlin - I'm pretty sure they'll also take your American Payment details.


EDIT :: After realising that it was actually a german company selling it on Amazon UK, I've managed to find it on Amazon DE:

http://www.amazon.de/dp/B009EACHK8

Caotina Swiss Hot Chocolate. It's the best, it's so creamy and chocolaty. I'll have another cup right now. It's quite expensive on Amazon. You'll find it in the food section at Karstadt, Kaufhof, KadeWe and probably at Galerie Lafayete for a more reasonable price.

Edit: Edeka sells it too.

I can really recommend this one: http://www.amazon.de/ABUS-Faltschloss-Bordo-black-51798-3/dp/B0046RVYJE/ref=sr_1_25?ie=UTF8&qid=1371462458&sr=8-25&keywords=abus

They have a version with a combination lock too, but after using both i find the one with key to handle better. In my experience it's much faster to lock it with the key then fumble those numbers together, especially in the dark.

It's big enough to lock my bike to most lampposts but isn't too heavy or bulky. It comes with a holder to attach it to the bike frame.

Proficient Motorcycling is an excellent book. I've taken multiple advanced rider courses and this book covers the everything that was in them (mid-corner braking with each brake, for example, and the results of each)...

If you want to know more about the man, I highly recommend "The Song Machine". It's about Max Martin, Dr. Luke and all these other Swedish pop music producers.
From what I remember, Martin has a very broad musical background, and back when he worked in Sweden, was the go-to guy for all things music theory.

I can't however conclude from that whether he actively uses music theory when writing pop songs.

Only a used one from amazon but 50,50€ sounds pretty cheap.

Here's an approach for 5 EUR that should see you through two months or even longer and it's quite easy to install as well.

This is what I use on my travels. I live in Germany but I have family in the US so I go back and forth quite often. This thing works both ways. I usually take only one and bring one of these. Hope this helps!

More often than not any given apartment in downtown Berlin will be in range of at least one of the several commercial wlan networks (Vodafone, T-Online, Hotsplots). For example in my last apartment in Berlin Mitte I could connect to five of them (often they are actually separate wlans running on private routers, so technically it is actually your neighbors you are connecting to).

It usually costs around 30€/month (I think) with unlimited traffic and usually very decent bandwidth for one (!) device. But with a bit of tech ingenuity (or even better and dead easy: an inexpensive travel router like for example this) you can make it work for all your gadgets. The travel router connects to the commercial wlan, then it opens its own private wlan for your devices. Bought mine a couple of years ago, now it is among the first things I pack, wouldn't want to travel without one. First you really need to check for the strength of the signal though, anything less than 50% will be a bit of a pain.

And you can get a get a relatively cheap charging cable here: https://www.amazon.de/AmazonBasics-Lightning-Kabel-Apple-Zertifiziert/dp/B07DC4RZPY/ref=sr_1_3?__mk_de_DE=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&crid=1EJ8OC5VGZ0DX&keywords=lightning+kabel&qid=1559304425&s=gateway&sprefix=lightn%2Caps%2C168&sr=8-3

(Anywhere else, they start at 15€, and you can keep it for friends who visit who need a charge)

5 l: https://www.amazon.de/Isopropanol-Höfer-Chemie-abgefüllt-handlichen/dp/B005J4BRWM

haha such a german academic article, he could read this book instead and get some insight https://www.amazon.com/Irrational-Exuberance-Revised-Expanded-Third/dp/0691173125