Search found 209 matches

by fivebikes
18 Oct 2023, 1:56pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Does a Brompton fit in a Toyota Yaris?
Replies: 15
Views: 4618

Re: Does a Brompton fit in a Toyota Yaris?

As a previous poster said, yes but the Brompton will probably need to be on its side.
An alternative to the Yaris hybrid is the Honda Jazz hybrid.
I had a 2011 model, which they continued to sell until 2015 I think. Bought it to replace a Toyota Prius which didn’t deliver on many counts.
Huge carrying capacity and excellent fuel economy, but again, check whether the Brompton sits upright in the boot under the parcel shelf.
by fivebikes
19 Aug 2023, 2:23pm
Forum: Electrically assisted pedal cycles
Topic: Hill Starts - E-assist not helping
Replies: 68
Views: 9199

Re: Hill Starts - E-assist not helping

My ARCC Moulton TSR27 has a boost start feature. You raise the left pedal and hold the bike still with both brakes. Then apply force to the pedal and simultaneously release both brakes. It gives max power for 3 seconds! Seems to get you started and thereafter you pedal as normal.
My Swytch Brompton has no similar feature, but I find that shifting the rear hub to the lowest gear, while stationary, allows an initial spurt that gets you going!
I realise that this might not work for some riders though, depending on their circumstances and the gradient of the offending hill!
by fivebikes
17 Jul 2023, 9:28pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Baby bike seat for Pendleton Somerby hybrid bike
Replies: 5
Views: 976

Re: Baby bike seat for Pendleton Somerby hybrid bike

I used to carry my daughter on a Hamax seat….thirty years ago! Apart from her sometimes kicking my backside in an attempt to make me go faster, it was very successful. It was attached to a Claud Butler with a step through frame, using a bracket on the seat tube and a fastening to the rear rack. She used it until she learned to ride herself, aged three and a half.
They are still available and look very similar to my old one.
Halfords, Decathlon and others seem to stock them.
by fivebikes
20 Jun 2023, 7:50am
Forum: Electrically assisted pedal cycles
Topic: Swytch kit on a Brompton
Replies: 37
Views: 6679

Re: Swytch kit on a Brompton

mixer wrote: 12 Apr 2023, 5:32pm Hi,
Just wondering how you got on with the titanium/ Swytch combo?
Thanks
Our Bromptons are the older version using a steel frame with titanium rear triangle and front forks, not the new all titanium version.
So far so good. The forks aren’t showing any problems and the fit was easy.
by fivebikes
17 Jun 2023, 3:01pm
Forum: Electrically assisted pedal cycles
Topic: UK law in e-bikes
Replies: 28
Views: 1484

Re: UK law in e-bikes

I do care about this confusion between e-bikes and e-motorbikes….Sad to say that in the past couple of weeks 3 teenagers have died riding e-motorbikes here in the UK. Okay, they attracted the attention of the Police who pursued them, but if they had been riding in the way the poster claims he does, perhaps they might not have.
No helmets, VED or insurance either I assume?
Similar machines are on the road round here…ridden at speed by young guys it seems, wearing hoodies and sunglasses to hide their identity. Pulling wheelies in traffic seems popular.
It’s hilly here but there are a fair few legal e-cargo bikes used by businesses for deliveries, parents on school runs. They seem to ascend the steep hill I live on at a fair pace, certainly quicker than the roadies on carbon bikes who do it unassisted.
I have e-bikes, legal mind! The need for speed, if I felt it, would be satisfied by something more motorbike like. Either electric or petrol but with helmet, VED paid and insured too.
Call me old fashioned! Sanctimonious too. Don’t care if you do! 😀
by fivebikes
31 May 2023, 12:54pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: This doesn't look right
Replies: 11
Views: 968

Re: This doesn't look right

As it should look I think!
F6DE7E79-7895-41DA-AD1B-0A21D1CC7C4B.jpeg
by fivebikes
31 May 2023, 7:44am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Brompton identification
Replies: 7
Views: 793

Re: Brompton identification

Looks like a late 90’s five speed, with a Sturmey Archer hub. Can’t remember the model name as they have changed frequently over the years. I had a slightly later one, with a Sachs 3 speed hub. They now use SA as they are being manufactured again, in Taiwan. It is a short wheelbase model. The main frame hinge is brazed. Later ones use a cast frame clamp that makes them a little longer. Only a couple of cms I think. Never noticed the difference ride wise, when I got a newer model. Good, early models are quite sought after by people who like that sort of thing. Most bits are replaceable. The only weakness in the early ones is the brakes which are single pivot. They switched the front to dual pivot at some point, to improve stopping power. Yours might have that arrangement. Those saddles aren’t great either. I use a Brooks.
Great bikes, I love mine!
by fivebikes
28 May 2023, 4:40pm
Forum: Electrically assisted pedal cycles
Topic: Charging fire safety e bikes
Replies: 181
Views: 16569

Re: Increasing risk of fire and danger to lives

Nigel wrote: 28 May 2023, 8:28am
fivebikes wrote: 27 May 2023, 10:28am .....
I’ve discovered my fancy Bosch Athlet vacuum cleaner, lithium battery powered, is essentially disposable. The replacement battery pack includes the motor but costs more than a new cleaner….and is pretty much unobtainable anyway. Hate junking it after five years! Will have to be done with care too! Same with my Phillips toothbrush but that has lasted longer and they do print disposal advice on the packaging….which I have disposed of! 😀
The lesson is to check repairability before buying devices. Some are more repairable than others. Some makers have a reputation of dropping support after a few years, or making them more expensive than new. Check the availability of battery packs and their price for cordless appliances.
Yeah, it was a bit of a lapse! I happily use 36 volt Bosch garden tool batteries in my mower and also my ARCC Moulton, e bike conversion. I wanted to avoid buying a Dyson and my neighbour had a Bosch….. It’s just that model range, other Bosch vacs use removable batteries.
It’s a pity as it still works well but doesn’t last as long as when new. There are vids on YouTube about replacing cells but this seems a potentially hazardous process!!
by fivebikes
27 May 2023, 10:28am
Forum: Electrically assisted pedal cycles
Topic: Charging fire safety e bikes
Replies: 181
Views: 16569

Re: Increasing risk of fire and danger to lives

simonineaston wrote: 27 May 2023, 8:48am Lithium batteries in disposable vape units are becoming a problem, too, at refuse recycling facilities. Small fires are becoming increasingly common and are apparantly hard to deal with.
Heard someone on the radio who collects them and has them recycled to extract the lithium etc for making new batteries. Can’t remember the figures he quoted but a lot of cash to be had doing that.
Seems like a good reason to charge a refundable or transferable deposit on the things?
I’ve discovered my fancy Bosch Athlet vacuum cleaner, lithium battery powered, is essentially disposable. The replacement battery pack includes the motor but costs more than a new cleaner….and is pretty much unobtainable anyway. Hate junking it after five years! Will have to be done with care too! Same with my Phillips toothbrush but that has lasted longer and they do print disposal advice on the packaging….which I have disposed of! 😀
by fivebikes
27 May 2023, 8:41am
Forum: Electrically assisted pedal cycles
Topic: Charging fire safety e bikes
Replies: 181
Views: 16569

Re: Increasing risk of fire and danger to lives

rjb wrote: 26 May 2023, 12:13pm Give it a few more years and the press will be highlighting the number of Lithium battery cars which catch fire, explode or evaporate in a puff of smoke. Ebikes and scooters are just the tip of an iceberg.
Online social media platforms are posting this already.
Often unsubstantiated clips of vehicles of all kinds, only some recognisable as EVs. One I remember, showed a supposed EV bus fire. Dramatic and explosive, it was later established that it was a LPG powered bus.
I suspect that these posts are shared by people who have an interest in perpetuating the use of fossil fuelled transport. I have seen some on FB, reposted by people who are of that mind. Their posts on clean air zones, so called ‘road tax’ being unjust, motorists in general being unfairly treated, suggest that. Certainly, in the two wheels good/four wheels bad debate, they are determinedly in favour of the supremacy of four, petrol or diesel but not electric.
So the risks of lithium batteries exploding are real, but so is the risk of being struck by lightning…..tragically it does happen, but we carry on and can minimise the chances of that too.
by fivebikes
7 May 2023, 8:57am
Forum: Cycling Goods & Services - Your Reviews
Topic: Swytch Bike - Customer Service
Replies: 6
Views: 5099

Re: Swytch Bike - Customer Service

Sorry to hear this.
I had a problem with my first Swytch kit and I found the technical help first rate. Also, subsequent help when I needed a new PAS sensor when my original developed an intermittent fault, out of the warranty period.
I used the email contact but they both called me and we did a video call to establish the issue in the first instance.
by fivebikes
10 Mar 2023, 3:55pm
Forum: Electrically assisted pedal cycles
Topic: Swytch - apparent tiny battery capacity?
Replies: 23
Views: 4831

Re: Swytch - apparent tiny battery capacity?

We have a couple of Swytch converted Bromptons. Not the current super light battery versions but the second generation. They are the larger capacity, up to 50 km claimed. On rides, the power is used to climb otherwise difficult hills and perhaps a bit of a ‘get you home, lift. We have done several 50 km rides, in that way, and the battery still indicates about 25% remaining I guess. Swytch conversions aren’t intended to accommodate huge miles. Think about your intended use rather than theoretical maximum mileage.
We also have an ARCC converted Moulton TSR 27 that uses the same Bosch 36 v garden tool batteries that Simonineaston refers to. The 6ah battery copes with 25/30 miles and I keep a spare 4ah in the saddle bag if needed….plus I use them to power my garden mower too!
We don’t do many rides in excess of 30-40 miles so, combining low capacity batteries with a bit of leg work is a good solution.
by fivebikes
8 Mar 2023, 11:31pm
Forum: Electrically assisted pedal cycles
Topic: Any steel e-assist manufacturers?
Replies: 6
Views: 875

Re: Any steel e-assist manufacturers?

ARCC in Cambridge do a couple of steel framed front hub motor designs plus a converted Moulton, also steel. They will also retrofit their conversion to Moulton and Bromptons.
I have an early version of their Moulton conversion. It is very good!
They are not cheap but the quality is excellent.
https://www.arccbikes.com/pages/bike-range
by fivebikes
7 Jan 2023, 10:02am
Forum: Electrically assisted pedal cycles
Topic: Law on restricted ebikes
Replies: 78
Views: 14364

Re: Law on restricted ebikes

Doesn’t matter what the law says….if it’s generally unenforceable.
The police, trading standards etc have not got the resources to cope. I’m happy to comply and it’s not difficult to, if you choose.
On the other hand…..last night a local lad purred up my steep road on a e-moped, for want of a better description. No helmet, lights on the moped and certainly not pedalling. Worse still, he was slipstreaming a white van, so close as to be invisible to the driver.
I’ve seen him so often in the past year that I recognise him .
I am concerned for his health and well-being plus if he meets a sticky end it will be another negative e-bike story (battery pun unintended).
We have a couple of speed limited e-bike conversions and they do the job….a bit of help on steep hills and the potential (there I go again) to add a bit more to a ride so the last few miles aren’t a struggle.
Most legal e-bike riders will be the same I reckon. Happy with the power cut off, okay with the battery range, not so impressed by the added weight but hey ho.
People mostly obey laws, e-bikes will mostly comply. Obviously some bikes and users disregard theses niceties, but that’s life.
by fivebikes
1 Dec 2022, 10:20pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Which Brompton?
Replies: 26
Views: 2301

Re: Which Brompton?

Tough choice….. I love my Brompton, a six speed with a lowered gearing, rack and guards. Originally a P model with a version of a comfort bar which I swapped out for some Thorn bars with a gentle rise. Much happier and cos they are slightly wider than any Brompton offering, make the ride more stable.
Totally agree about security though…unless it can be carried inside, too tempting for bike thieves.
In which case a best bike for enjoyment/fitness etc with the old bike kept for commuting, would be my choice!