Search found 660 matches

by ChrisF
19 Mar 2024, 8:49pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Interference on Bluetooth devices
Replies: 8
Views: 441

Re: Interference on Bluetooth devices

I think there are different issues here.

The data that is sent via Bluetooth will have data-checking built in. In other words, if the signal is strong enough it will receive the data correctly, with no 'false' readings. If the signal isn't strong enough it won't record incorrect data.

So for example in a supermarket the fluorescent lights and other electronic equipment may make the Bluetooth signal too weak (or relatively weak), so it may not receive reliable data - in which case your HRM lrecord zero (or - better - 'not avaliable').
So with the HRM I think the problem is with the sensor itself - it is picking up tiny electrical signals from your skin and amplifying them enough to count your heatbeats. That's where the electronic buzz in the supermarket will be affecting things - nothing to do with Bluetooth.

OTOH I'm baffled why your cadence sensor went beserk in a supermarket - did you take the bike in?
by ChrisF
19 Mar 2024, 8:26pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Flying bikes back from Tirana Airport
Replies: 11
Views: 678

Re: Flying bikes back from Tirana Airport

I think €20 for a box is OK. I have been charged €25 in the Canaries and €30 at Nice airport.
I did fly back from Tirana a few years ago, but that was part of a CTC tour (sadly now defunct). The tour organisers arranged boxes for us.
by ChrisF
19 Mar 2024, 8:08pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Avenue Verte (French section)
Replies: 11
Views: 524

Re: Avenue Verte (French section)

Dupont wrote: 18 Mar 2024, 9:03pm
ChrisF wrote: 17 Mar 2024, 9:06pm ....
I used a Rohloff touring bike with added e-motor.
....
How did you charge the engine on the continent?
I just took the charger with an adaptor for the campsite power points (ones used by caravans etc). I don't think any sites charged me to use the power points if I told them it was just for the bike charging. Sometiimes though I didn't ask :shock: . Sometimes I used a normal powerpoint in a washroom etc.
by ChrisF
18 Mar 2024, 8:35pm
Forum: For Sale - Complete bikes ONLY - state FRAME SIZE in title
Topic: Thorn Mercury - 56/58cm - Option of added motor
Replies: 0
Views: 359

Thorn Mercury - 56/58cm - Option of added motor

I am re-listing this because I made a mistake with the frame size. I now know that it is a '58s' according to the Thorn guide (http://www.sjscycles.com/thornpdf/BUILD ... OHLOFF.pdf), so in theory should fit someone taller than me (I'm 175cm)
mercury2.jpg
I added the motor because I was having problems with fully-loaded touring. Everything works (I rode Dieppe to Marseille and beyond with this setup 18 months ago) but I find the weight (nearly 22kg without luggage) just too unmanageable for maneovering etc. I'm only 58kg myself and over 70 years old now. I'm planning to use a lighter weight e-gravel bike instead.
I'm able to sell it in either its current mode (with battery and motor etc ) or in its more original state (I can remove all the electrical stuff ) but would prefer the former.
The Rohloff hub (which has recently had an oil-change) is controlled by a Giles Berthould rotary changer. As pictured, the front fork is steel and has an Avid mechanical disc brake (as per the back wheel) but I also have a carbon front fork with rim brake - if I sell the bike it will be supplied with both. If without the motor, the front wheel that I have will be rim-brake only.
I haven't cleaned or tidied it up for sale. If I can't get a reasonable offer then I'll probably keep it, but otherwise it's taking up space and will get used rarely.
by ChrisF
17 Mar 2024, 9:06pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Avenue Verte (French section)
Replies: 11
Views: 524

Re: Avenue Verte (French section)

I did it in August 2022. Short ride the first day to a nice campsite next to the route at Neufchatel-en-Bray, Then a long day to the outskirts of Paris where I stayed in a cheap hotel.
I used a Rohloff touring bike with added e-motor.
Very easy ride, good surfaces, reasonable scenery.
by ChrisF
14 Mar 2024, 8:07pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Between Andulucia and Algarve
Replies: 15
Views: 2342

Re: Between Andulucia and Algarve

plancashire wrote: 10 Mar 2024, 11:30pm
Please maintain OpenStreetMap (easy to do). It is OUR map. It is used by many bike routing apps. It has places for opening times but no reviews - just facts. I never use Google Maps and do not have an account.
Thanks for remonding me. Ferry details added. Also changed a couple of 'roads' that I found today to gravel
by ChrisF
8 Mar 2024, 8:28pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Between Andulucia and Algarve
Replies: 15
Views: 2342

Re: Between Andulucia and Algarve

OP Postscript.
Today I took the ferry from Alcoutim (Portugal) across the river to Spain. So it does run in March (seemingly every half-hour) and it does take bikes. 2.50 euros.
I did a one-day round trip, crossing back into Portugal via Mertola. Only a small sample, but Spanish roads have better surfaces than Portuguese ones!
by ChrisF
29 Feb 2024, 11:11am
Forum: For Sale - Complete bikes ONLY - state FRAME SIZE in title
Topic: Thorn Mercury - Rohloff - 54cm - electrified (or not)
Replies: 5
Views: 977

Re: Thorn Mercury - Rohloff - 54cm - electrified (or not)

knowthejo wrote: 28 Feb 2024, 8:23pm Great looking bike. What are you after for it?
Not really sure. I bought it for £1000 about 3 years ago. Since when I have aded a new fork and front disc, mudguards, new eccentric BB (the original one was jammed), new bar tape etc.
I have ridden about 6000 km on it, about a third of that with the motor kit.
by ChrisF
29 Feb 2024, 11:04am
Forum: For Sale - Complete bikes ONLY - state FRAME SIZE in title
Topic: Thorn Mercury - Rohloff - 54cm - electrified (or not)
Replies: 5
Views: 977

Re: Thorn Mercury - Rohloff - 54cm - electrified (or not)

bikes4two wrote: 28 Feb 2024, 9:13pm I'm asking mainly out of curiosity really as the frame is not my size but potential buyers might interested to know what hub motor is in the front wheel (brand, power rating, voltage) and what voltage and Ah is the rack mounted battery please?

Also curious as to the item secured to the seat post?

Thanks.
Thanks for asking.
The motor kit is from Woosh (https://wooshbikes.co.uk/?hubkits#xf07), with a rack battery (17Ah I think) . 36V .
The item on the seatpost is the display unit for the motor (King Meter) - it is of course supposed to be on the handlebars, but the bracket supplied will only fit on straight bars so I mounted it under the seat. It's only needed to check battery level and to change power levels. Since I always ride it with level 2 (out of 5) I never had to look at it much (or press any buttons, except when starting a ride).
by ChrisF
28 Feb 2024, 4:35pm
Forum: For Sale - Complete bikes ONLY - state FRAME SIZE in title
Topic: Thorn Mercury - Rohloff - 54cm - electrified (or not)
Replies: 5
Views: 977

Thorn Mercury - Rohloff - 54cm - electrified (or not)

Just wondering if there may be any interest in this, in either its current mode (with battery and motor etc ) or in its more original state (I can remove all the electrical stuff).
I added the motor because I was having problems with fully-loaded touring. Everything works (I rode Dieppe to Marseille and beyond with this setup 18 months ago) but I find the weight (nearly 22kg without luggage) just too unmanageable for maneovering etc. I'm only 58kg myself and over 70 years old now. I'm planning to use a lighter weight e-gravel bike instead.

The Rohloff hub (which has recently had an oil-change) is controlled by a Giles Berthould rotary changer. As pictured, the front fork is steel and has an Avid mechanical disc brake (as per the back wheel) but I also have a carbon front fork with rim brake - if I sell the bike it will be supplied with both.

I'm in no rush (in fact I'm away from 1st - 15th March), and haven't cleaned or tidied it up for sale. If I can't get a reasonable offer then I'll probably keep it, but otherwise it's taking up space and will get used rarely.

No, I don't know why the saddle is like that :o - it's not my usual riding position - wish I had noticed before taking the photo!
thorn.jpg
by ChrisF
23 Feb 2024, 10:37pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: North coast Spain west, Santiago, Braganca, Potes
Replies: 22
Views: 924

Re: North coast Spain west, Santiago, Braganca, Potes

MrsHJ wrote: 22 Feb 2024, 7:40am
..... I think maybe people from Devon and Cornwall like to use the ferry from Plymouth and then the Cornish folks drop out as they’re too tight and hence we’re all from Devon and cycling in Northern Spain! I guess if I lived in east anglia the Harwich ferry would be more appealing.
What are you getting at here? I live in Cornwall and have used the Plymouth ferries loads of times (although more to France than to Spain, I am booked to Santander again at the end of March - first one of the year)! :)
by ChrisF
16 Feb 2024, 11:14pm
Forum: Electrically assisted pedal cycles
Topic: Should electric bikes go faster
Replies: 96
Views: 5849

Re: Should electric bikes go faster

One aspect which hasn't been mentioned yet. Although I wouldn't sign a petition for faster e-bikes, I sometimes wish that I had one! - I bought a light e-bike partly with the intention of being able to keep up with club rides as I get older. Fine, I can now keep up easily when it's hilly. But on a long stretch of flat, or slightly downhill, I get left far behind because the group is going at 20mph or more and I am left struggling - even though I've saved some energy on the previous hill(s)!
by ChrisF
16 Feb 2024, 10:51pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: touring wheels upgrade
Replies: 70
Views: 2687

Re: touring wheels upgrade

I'm 60kg and often tour with 10-15kg luggage. I have toured on many different bikes, with many different types of wheels, some of them very lightweight (though not carbon). Apart from the occasonal puncture in the last 10 years I have only twice had a 'wheel' problem:
- once on a hire bike (a quite heavy 'touring' one) in Majorca - a broken spoke which then got tangled in the derailler (that was messy and I had to call the hire shop for a rescue);
- once on my 35-year-old Gawes Super Galaxy; a broken spoke in Holland.(The wheels weren't 35 years old but had been replaced with something similar to the original). The wheel still worked OK until I got to a bike shop who replaced the spoke in 5 minutes.
by ChrisF
6 Feb 2024, 7:02pm
Forum: Electrically assisted pedal cycles
Topic: Boost Conversions
Replies: 3
Views: 503

Re: Boost Conversions

I'd not heard of Boost conversions before but having looked at the website it seems pretty good. Yes the battery is small but not much different from systems like Fazua and Mahle. And the spare bateries are half the price of those.
by ChrisF
7 Jan 2024, 10:45pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Flight-Free Holidays
Replies: 62
Views: 2762

Re: Flight-Free Holidays

bohrsatom wrote: 7 Jan 2024, 10:00pm ..........And flights should cost more: it's not that train travel is expensive, the subsidies available for airlines give flying an unfair advantage.
I've seen this mentioned in so many places relating to green issues. As I understand it, it's because there's no tax on air fuel, unlike on deisel etc. But trains are also very heavily sibsidised. I have lost the links now, but a few months ago I looked up the state subsidy for rail travel in UK, Germany and France - in all cases the subsidy was equivalent to the amount taken in fares.
I'm not condoning air travel by mentioning this; I would just like to know the real reason why rail travel (for international routes) is so expensive compared to air.

Another related aspect - if all the people who currently fly to Spain / Portugal etc for holidays were somehow be persuaded to go by train, how many extra HS2-like railways would have to be built across Europe, at huge environmental cost, to accommodate them?
I conclude that the problem isn't really about flying per se, it's more about travelling at all.