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by Tigerbiten
11 Feb 2024, 6:33pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Solar panel for usb charging?
Replies: 55
Views: 3050

Re: Solar panel for usb charging?

Jdsk wrote: 11 Feb 2024, 9:07am
Tigerbiten wrote: 11 Feb 2024, 1:44am I've done long multi month tour with only a solar panel for power.
But I've got a large 12v panel bolted to the top of my trailer box feeding through a DC/DC adapter to step it down to 5v.
Due to it's output, I can just get some charge under a light overcast.
So go for the biggest panel you can afford as it gives you more leeway as to what conditions you can get power.
On tour I plan to set off early and finish by mid afternoon, that way I get a few hours of charging under ideal conditions if needed.
When charging phones or similar devices also check if it keep charging after the sun goes behind a cloud for a few second and the panel stop putting out power. Some devices will just switch off and not restart charging.
It helps to have 2 power banks. That way you can charge one while the other charges devices.
Thanks.

Which panel would you recommend?

Jonathan
Sorry, I've no idea.
My setup is a DIY build and is around 12 years old now.
I've a 100 litre aluminium box bolted on my large carry freedom trailer frame and the panel I got was the largest one which was just a fraction smaller than the lid.
The panel is bolted/glued to the lid and the box helps to act as a heatsink to stop the panel overheating.
When I stop at a campsite, I can prop the lid up at a 45 degree angle facing the sun to maximize power in and cooling if needed.

What will work best for you will depend on the max size of the panel you can carry.

Luck.
by Tigerbiten
11 Feb 2024, 1:44am
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Solar panel for usb charging?
Replies: 55
Views: 3050

Re: Solar panel for usb charging?

I've done long multi month tour with only a solar panel for power.
But I've got a large 12v panel bolted to the top of my trailer box feeding through a DC/DC adapter to step it down to 5v.
Due to it's output, I can just get some charge under a light overcast.
So go for the biggest panel you can afford as it gives you more leeway as to what conditions you can get power.
On tour I plan to set off early and finish by mid afternoon, that way I get a few hours of charging under ideal conditions if needed.
When charging phones or similar devices also check if it keep charging after the sun goes behind a cloud for a few second and the panel stop putting out power. Some devices will just switch off and not restart charging.
It helps to have 2 power banks. That way you can charge one while the other charges devices.
by Tigerbiten
11 Feb 2024, 1:27am
Forum: On the road
Topic: ICE VTX v ICE Sprint X 26 Tour
Replies: 25
Views: 1126

Re: ICE VTX v ICE Sprint X 26 Tour

It's not so much about the width of the tyre, it more about what tyre you fit.
I like a nice light tyre with flexible sidewalls on the front of my sprint, they roll well but will pick up punctures easy. Being on front puncture are easy to fix.
On the back I'll fit a heavier duty tyre for more puncture resistance due to the PITA fixing punctures on it, but it doesn't roll as well.

As for the hard/mesh seat.
I found when I started on my first ICE trike that I kept sliding forward on the mesh seat so I could never get the front boom dialled in to the ideal length. Either it was right when I set out but worked a little short after a few miles or to long at the start so just wrong and I had to do a few miles to get it right.
Didn't like/get on with it so swapped to the hard shell seat.
Found it a lot better as it holds me in one place, so no sliding down in the seat.
Plus I pulled the back boom out a few inches so I could go for maximum recline.
Upside of max recline is it lowers air resistance, downside is slightly lower max power output so you need slightly better bent legs to climb hills as fast.

Luck ...... :D
by Tigerbiten
16 Dec 2023, 3:33pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Dartford Tunnel
Replies: 23
Views: 5768

Re: Dartford Tunnel

francovendee wrote: 16 Dec 2023, 8:40am
rjb wrote: 15 Dec 2023, 2:28pm Here it is 60 years ago.
FB_IMG_17026503956707889.jpg
With that size bus it must have been very popular.
Didn't work in practice .... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQsk1r2_jwo
by Tigerbiten
7 Dec 2023, 4:28pm
Forum: Non-standard, Human Powered Vehicles
Topic: Winter Trike Training (Wahoo Hub)
Replies: 10
Views: 1486

Re: Winter Trike Training (Wahoo Hub)

Just read the compatibility bumf, it will fit down to 24" wheel.
So if you have a 20" back wheel, you may well have to block the front wheels up to get the trike level.

Luck ......... :D
by Tigerbiten
29 Nov 2023, 10:57pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Bike Mods for Stroke survivor
Replies: 31
Views: 1629

Re: Bike Mods for Stroke survivor

I've only one hand since my accident with a Tiger so I've also looked in to one hand braking.
The main downside I found with 1 lever/2 cables setup is there is no variation in braking front to back.
So what works great in a straight line on a dry road is the opposite of what you need going around a corner in the wet.
I'm sure I could have worked something out on a bike but that was one of the main reasons I ended up on a recumbent trike.
A lot less of a risk of coming off when slowing down from a silly high speed run in all conditions.

It's taken some work/time to arrange the 4 controls needed in to the most ergonomic layout for me.
So you probably won't get it perfect first time, but as long as you're close you can work on it.

Luck ........ :D
by Tigerbiten
29 Nov 2023, 5:43pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Bike Mods for Stroke survivor
Replies: 31
Views: 1629

Re: Bike Mods for Stroke survivor

Flat bars will help a lot with regards to brake levers.
With brakes it's all depends on how road legal you want to be.
There are loads on single lever/dual cable options, but they are not road legal so don't crash.
I use a set of Tektro Auriga Twin, single lever to twin hydraulic disks, on the front wheels of my bent trike. I only use my back brake as a drag/parking brake and it's worked off a friction lever. But as it's independent of the front brakes, I'm road legal.
If you want to be road legal on a bike then there's the Hope Tech 3 Duo, twin levers to twin hydraulic disks. But it's expensive.

As for the hand, there's always Velcro. Sew a piece to the palm of a glove and stick the other half to the handle bar. You may have to experiment as to the amount and how well it lasts.

Luck ..... :D
by Tigerbiten
28 Oct 2023, 4:17pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: This is a stupid question sorry, gearing
Replies: 16
Views: 1726

Re: This is a stupid question sorry, gearing

If you start on the middle chainring you have the 8 "standard" gears.
When you then shift up onto the big chainring you probably gain 2 faster gears, the other 6 overlap with the "standard" gears.
When you drop down to the inner chainring you again gain 2 slower gears with the rest in the overlap.
So you probably have only 12 unique gears, the other 12 are all duplicates of the unique gears.

As for where the new gears line up with the old one depends on the new chainring size vs the old ones.
It will probably be somewhere around big/middle chainring size and the gears will line accordingly.
by Tigerbiten
24 Oct 2023, 8:28pm
Forum: Non-standard, Human Powered Vehicles
Topic: Trikes & Trains
Replies: 3
Views: 5314

Re: Trikes & Trains

I've done it with my Sprint on mainline trains.
But it may be a case of folding it, putting it in a soft bike bag and calling it "oversized luggage" to get away with it.

The slow sprinter type trains you can get on unfolded and then take up most of the bike space by the loo if quiet.

Luck ...... :D
by Tigerbiten
24 Oct 2023, 12:08pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: I will be commuting again after a 15 year gap! Nervous.
Replies: 133
Views: 24788

Re: I will be commuting again after a 15 year gap! Nervous.

One idea is to get a linear inner-tube or two as spares for the back wheel.
That way you don't need to remove the wheel due to a puncture.
If a puncture then tyre off on non drive side.
Slip old innertube out and zip tie up out the way.
Find the cause of puncture.
Linear tube in, reseat tyre, pump up and get on your way.
Then you can fix/fit a normal innertube at home where it's easier to take the back-wheel off.

I find the hardest thing about getting old is forgetting what I did as a teenager and remembering what I can do now .... :lol:

Luck ....... :D
by Tigerbiten
21 Oct 2023, 5:57am
Forum: Non-standard, Human Powered Vehicles
Topic: switching to tadpole 26" or 20"?
Replies: 51
Views: 8615

Re: switching to tadpole 26" or 20"?

Steering is easy for me.
I just clip my "hand" (socket from a ball and socket joint) to the handle bar that ends in the ball part of the joint.
The joint may/will come unclipped in the event of a crash but holds together under most loads.
I just need to keep the elbow joint unlocked and full control comes from my shoulder muscles.
I only feel the shoulder working if I'm riding across the likes of a high camber slope on a seawall and that's more to brace myself against the slope.

But ICE are very good setting a trike up if you're disabled.
by Tigerbiten
20 Oct 2023, 2:11pm
Forum: Non-standard, Human Powered Vehicles
Topic: switching to tadpole 26" or 20"?
Replies: 51
Views: 8615

Re: switching to tadpole 26" or 20"?

No left arm here so all controls on right hand side.

Twist shifter for the Rohloff. I went for the Rohloff mostly for the range but partly because of changing gear at a stand still after an emergency stop.
Twin hydraulic disks off a single lever. Works better than the cable ones I started with. Never tried drums.
Front derailleur shifter is stuck in the bottom of the handle bar vertical section. It only has to shift twin rings so it's up for small ring or down for big, no trimming needed. I stuck the shifter there as the top of the bar plus bar end used as a mirror arm makes a good hand rest as your idling along.
Handbrake on back wheel worked off a friction shifter where the handle bar turns horizonal. Because the handbrake is independent of the front brakes the trike is road legal. But not in the dark because I've no pedal reflectors.
My other control is for the Schlumpf HSD in the bottom bracket.

So it's easily possible to set a bent trike up to be legal on the road, just not at night.
by Tigerbiten
19 Oct 2023, 3:19pm
Forum: Non-standard, Human Powered Vehicles
Topic: switching to tadpole 26" or 20"?
Replies: 51
Views: 8615

Re: switching to tadpole 26" or 20"?

Another Rohloff-Schlumpf HSD combo on a 20" back wheel here.
The aim when deciding on the gears for my new trike 15 years ago was to have a range 10"-130".
The Rohloff-HSD combo let me do this, 30t chainring and 16t sprocket.
It was fine on tour but the shift into overdrive was only around 14 mph, to low for around town.
So I fitted a 13t sprocket, the shift into overdrive was now around 20mph but I'd lost the 2 lowest gears.
Then I had a brain wave... Twin chainrings and a single sprocket would fix the issue.
The spider on the HSD is 130mm, so smallest chainring is 38t.
Luckily the largest sprocket on the Rohloff is 21t, so I could keep my 1.8:1 chainring/sprocket ratio for the 10" bottom gear.
I know that ratio is not recommended but it's worked for 15 years/50k miles, but go that low at your own risk.
Now 3 gears up is 1.446x, so 38 x 1.446 = 55.7.
The 56t chainring doesn't work with the chainguard, chain jams against it when shifting, so fitted the 55t.
I spinout at 50 mph, done it a couple of times now, but tend to stop pedalling at around 45 mph.
It's "fun" pedalling slowly downhill at 40 mph .... :lol:
by Tigerbiten
18 Oct 2023, 9:41pm
Forum: Non-standard, Human Powered Vehicles
Topic: switching to tadpole 26" or 20"?
Replies: 51
Views: 8615

Re: switching to tadpole 26" or 20"?

I looked into all the options for gearing with a Rohloff hub.
The easiest way to get the range from a Rohloff on the bent trike is just fit a 30/39/50 road triple up front.
This gives you an extra 4 gears.
With a 20" wheel fit a 13t sprocket, for 26" it's a just legal 16t or an iffy 17t sprocket.
Range around 12"-105.4" for 20" wheel, slightly higher on the 26" wheel.

Then if you want a silly wide range, look into a Schlumpf bottom bracket hub gear.
It's how I got an 18x range on my bent trike.
by Tigerbiten
18 Oct 2023, 9:05am
Forum: Non-standard, Human Powered Vehicles
Topic: ICE VTX SEAT MOUNTING
Replies: 12
Views: 4598

Re: ICE VTX SEAT MOUNTING

Edit to add:- The tube that sits in the U channel is around 22mm in diameter.
But no callipers, so that's the limit of my accuracy.