Search found 106 matches

by monxton
21 May 2022, 12:39am
Forum: Electrically assisted pedal cycles
Topic: Keeping my battery dry
Replies: 14
Views: 945

Re: Keeping my battery dry

richtea99 wrote: 19 May 2022, 3:51pm It may be worth asking with the manufacturer if they have an existing solution, especially since it's a built-in battery, i.e. it's not a generic kit.

For example, the Fazua system (in the downtube like yours) has a drainage hole - well hidden - and could get blocked with mud/dust if you don't know it's there.
It is built-in, but removeable. It slots into the (fat) downtube, not like the Fazua system which goes right inside the downtube.
The manufacturer offers a plate to cover the hole in the downtube when the battery is removed, but nothing for when the battery is in place.
by monxton
21 May 2022, 12:08am
Forum: Electrically assisted pedal cycles
Topic: Keeping my battery dry
Replies: 14
Views: 945

Re: Keeping my battery dry

wheelriding wrote: 19 May 2022, 2:46pm Just passing on what my local bike dealer said - they advised me not to ride with a cover over the battery as there is a risk of overheating. I have a cover which I use when transporting my bike on the back of my car without its battery in situ, hopefully reducing the risk of a battery fire if the car is rear ended whilst carrying the bike.
That's a good point about overheating, but it is also true that charging and discharging at low temperatures will damage the battery, so a cover could help. Personally I would be unlikely to ride at temperatures approaching 0°C, but I don't know the profile of how the battery degrades as the temperature reduces. Batteries like to be in the range of 10-20°C. In the torrential downpour in Yorkshire that did for my battery, I don't think overheating would have been an issue. In a tropical rainstorm, maybe.
by monxton
19 May 2022, 4:09am
Forum: Electrically assisted pedal cycles
Topic: Keeping my battery dry
Replies: 14
Views: 945

Re: Keeping my battery dry

I have now found a few products that could fit the bill, such as the VGOL E-Bike Battery Protector Cover. I'll get one to try.
by monxton
18 May 2022, 11:02pm
Forum: Electrically assisted pedal cycles
Topic: Keeping my battery dry
Replies: 14
Views: 945

Keeping my battery dry

The massive storm outside right now has prompted me to post this question that has been worrying me for a while.

Last year I found out the hard way that extreme weather and my e-bike battery are not good touring partners. An expensive new battery later, I am seeking advice as to how to stop history repeating itself.

The battery is in the downtube.

A cheap and simple option could be to carry a large piece of plastic and tie it as tightly as possible around the battery. Looks ugly, fiddly to put on, and difficult to see the indicators or use the switch.

I also wondered if companies who make custom bikepacking bags could create something for me, perhaps with a zip closure under the downtube.

Either way there would probably be some water ingress from the top, but it should be limited.

I'm interested in any suggestions, whether alternative solutions or proposals of companies who might create a custom battery protector. Replacing the bike is not under consideration.
by monxton
10 Jun 2021, 2:56am
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Cycle Travel Question
Replies: 1604
Views: 210891

Re: Cycle Travel Question

chris_suffolk wrote: 9 Jun 2021, 2:31pm When I create a track / route, and download to my PC and then to my Garmin eTrex20, it will NEVER open on the eTrex ( I save as a .GPX file). I end up having to create a new track, and tracing over the one from cycle.travel, which I then save as a .GPX file, and this always works. Any ideas?
When you say a track / route, which do you mean? Are you using cycle.travel's format GPX track (for all devices and phones) or GPX route (small file, marks turns)? Both of them have a .gpx file extension.
chris_suffolk wrote: 9 Jun 2021, 3:24pm The only difference, that I can see, is that the one I create always has fewer track points in it. Not sure if that's anything to do with it or a red-herring.
Possibly. If you are using a Route, then the number of points becomes significant. What does the Garmin tell you when it fails to open the file?
by monxton
5 Jun 2021, 4:25am
Forum: Lands End to John O'Groats
Topic: Getting from London to LE
Replies: 14
Views: 3696

Re: Getting from London to LE

mjr wrote: 26 May 2021, 1:37pm
rareposter wrote: 26 May 2021, 12:49pm
amitgal wrote: 25 May 2021, 10:44pm Is it possible to buy a ticket now, and reserve a bike later or is it mandatory to book the bike space when buying the ticket?
Usually the latter although do beware that in some cases you may find that the train you have a booked ticket for no longer has any bike spaces which leaves you in the situation of needing to amend your own ticket - often at an additional price!

It cropped up on another thread on this forum about travelling on trains.
It was bunk then. There is a published guarantee on the National Rail website that if you have a booked bike and there is no space for whatever reason then you can Hop On The Next Available Train, but it is a good idea to get the guard of the full train or the station helpdesk to endorse your ticket to ease that, especially at London stations with platform gates. https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations ... .aspx#plan
Try reading before debunking? The situation was that they booked an advance ticket first and tried to add a bike booking later, but there were none available on the train they had booked.
by monxton
4 Jun 2021, 9:52am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Chain Oil On Jacket
Replies: 67
Views: 9669

Re: how to get chain marks out of clothing?

Nettled Shin wrote: 5 Apr 2012, 11:27am
eileithyia wrote: but what are you doing to always get these marks even on bare legs?
That's a very good question. I've never thought about it, and just assumed lots of people got them on the inside of their calves. My feet are clipped in, so it's not as though my feet are sliding around on the pedals. I wonder if it only occurs when honking out of the saddle, with the bike rocking? Or I wonder whether I hug the bike with my legs at some point, like when coasting fast downhill, or round a corner?
I get them, and I mount my bicycle from the right hand side. I know I am a wrong 'un, but it is too late to change. I lead with my left foot, which I have read somewhere is true of about 10% of cyclists.
by monxton
3 Jun 2021, 10:48pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Deleted post
Replies: 2
Views: 678

Deleted post

Deleted: already discussed under thread called Crossing the border.
by monxton
29 May 2021, 12:04am
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Cycling using trains (in UK and EU)
Replies: 588
Views: 61759

Re: Travelling with a touring bike on a train in the uk

TrevA wrote: 28 May 2021, 5:30pm So would you really pay half fare for your bike?
In many European systems you can choose to pay either a simple 50% of your ticket, or else an all-day pass for maybe €7, so effectively a price cap.
by monxton
24 May 2021, 9:57pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Cycling using trains (in UK and EU)
Replies: 588
Views: 61759

Re: Travelling with a touring bike on a train in the uk

Jdsk wrote: 21 May 2021, 10:24am Thank you. I'd never heard that before.

And I've told The Man in Seat 61.

Jonathan
Oh, he knows :-)
by monxton
20 May 2021, 7:41pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Cycling using trains (in UK and EU)
Replies: 588
Views: 61759

Re: Travelling with a touring bike on a train in the uk

rareposter wrote: 20 May 2021, 5:40pm Very much agree with this - I've had a few "near misses" - once with Virgin (many years ago) who insisted I had to book the tickets for me online and then phone up to book the bike on. Booked my tickets online, phoned up and was told "no bike space on that train" and offered the option of changing train times (for an admin fee of course).
You can avoid that happening if you always book through a site which which uses the WEBTIS booking engine (aka "mixing desk"). This is the one which allows you to book your bike space in the same transaction as your train ticket, and it works for all train operating companies. It looks like this: https://tickets.gwr.com/gw/en/journeypl ... mixingdeck, though GWR is not the only site which uses it .
by monxton
20 May 2021, 7:21pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Cycle Travel Question
Replies: 1604
Views: 210891

Re: Cycle Travel Question

Richard Fairhurst wrote: 20 May 2021, 9:27amIt should be ready some time this afternoon.
Sorry for being impatient, NCN 41 is routable again now.
by monxton
20 May 2021, 1:54am
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Cycle Travel Question
Replies: 1604
Views: 210891

Re: Cycle Travel Question

I had a routing problem just here: https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=18/52.31816/-1.36967 about a month ago. There was a stile in the middle of the road, so I moved it a short distance up the footpath.

After the recent map update, I returned to update my planned route through that node .... and cycle.travel still refused to route through it. What did I miss?
by monxton
18 May 2021, 11:30pm
Forum: Electrically assisted pedal cycles
Topic: Touring with an ebike
Replies: 29
Views: 3591

Re: Touring with an ebike

John Gray wrote: 18 May 2021, 10:11pm On the ferry from Belfast to Birkenhead/Liverpool, I had to load the bike onto a trailer and then sit in a waiting area till called for boarding. When I collected my bike at the other end, the pump and D-lock were missing.
That's terrible! The ferry journeys I was thinking of were various large cross-channel ferries (Portsmouth to French and Spanish ports, and Harwich to Hook), also Rostock to Gedser, which all board you in a similar way to a motorbike. But some of the larger Scottish ferries, such as Scrabster to Stromness, do as you have described - take your bike and put it on a trailer, and then treat you as a foot passenger. It can be pretty scary squeezing past the juggernauts on the vehicle deck of the big ferries, so in principle I like the idea of the dedicated bike trailer, but not if things are going to go missing.
by monxton
18 May 2021, 9:00pm
Forum: Electrically assisted pedal cycles
Topic: Touring with an ebike
Replies: 29
Views: 3591

Re: Touring with an ebike

Your underlining made it look like I said something different. I said there was no lifting getting onto a ferry. I didn't say there was no lifting getting onto a train.
horizon wrote: 18 May 2021, 6:48pm 1. If you have to hang your bike (IETs, X-Country etc) then this is awkward enough with a light road bike - so just something to be aware of.
Good point, and there are many reasons to dislike dangling your bike by its wheel, whatever sort it is.
horizon wrote: 18 May 2021, 6:48pm 2. Not all lifts are OK. They are often wheelchair length, so again some manhandling is called for. I mostly had issues in France last year (Poitiers perhaps?) but there has been the odd lift in the UK as well.
Perhaps I have been fortunate, but I have never come across a station lift in any country, including France, that I couldn't use with a bike. I've had to turn the front wheel sometimes to get the length, and sometimes there's only room for one cyclist at a time, but nothing worse.
horizon wrote: 18 May 2021, 6:48pm Hotel lifts as well if you want to take your bike to your room.
I've never attempted to do that, and agree hotel lifts can be very small. This is an important reason for your e-bike to have a removable battery, so you can take it to your room to charge. I always check with the hotel when I book that they have a secure storage place for bikes, and I cancel if they won't help.