Cycling UK Forum

[XAP]Bob wrote: ↑10 Jan 2025, 12:26pm 7kW is plenty for the vast majority of use cases.

With Octopus Go you get six hours of cheap rate each night, that's 56kWh of charging, over 200 miles of likely range.
And that's in *one* night... So it's only an issue if you do a journey of over 200 miles on the day after you completely drain the battery (with a journey of substantially over 200 miles).

And they usually extend the 6-hour slot by starting early or finishing late. Because of a charger internet connection issue yesterday/last night mine started charging at 07:13 this morning and finished at 12:59 lunchtime.

Zulu Eleven wrote: ↑9 Jan 2025, 11:39pm

UpWrong wrote: ↑9 Jan 2025, 7:29am He's displaying Putinesque attitudes and behaviours.

Hmmm, how many countries have various US presidents invaded or led military interventions in, again?

Reagan: Grenada, Nicaragua, Libya, Lebanon, Angola
Bush Sr: Kuwait/Iraq, Panama,
Clinton: Somalia, Kosovo, Haiti, Bosnia
Bush Jr: Afghanistan, Iraq
Obama: Syria, Libya, Cameroon, Niger, Yemen
Biden: Mozambique (+ Ukraine?)

And, of course, that’s just the overt ones, not the CIA or SF secret squirrel stuff.

On the other hand, Trump is the first US president in decades not to commit US troops to ANY new military campaigns during his tenure.

But it’s him who’s acting like Putin, right?

Annexing Canada and Greenland smacks of Putin and Ukraine.

He's displaying Putinesque attitudes and behaviours.

I laid the seat back a bit more (to around 48 degrees) and went for a pootle around. It was rideable and I was no longer on the front edge of the seat but overall it would handle better with a more upright seat and I'd be more comfortable and more confident so I have agreed to buy a Recurve seat from D.Tek HPVs. I also found the return chain was rubbing on the main stand in large-large so I'll revert to a side-stand.

Am thinking it's undergeared with the 32-42 rings, so might switch to 32-44 rings on the current 165mm cranks or fit a lightweight double with 33-44 rings. The double has 150mm cranks though which would increase the gain ratio further and has no guard. I still need to fit the rack I bought with the frameset.

Just went up and down the road. Tweaked the bars and seat positions slightly. The fork geometry seems right, giving a stable, almost hands free ride with no discernible fork flop. Not sure about the seat. I end up sitting on the horn at the front edge. It's a hammock seat with no base, hung from three points I think, like a tripod stool.

Biospace wrote: ↑16 Nov 2024, 12:01pm

UpWrong wrote: ↑15 Nov 2024, 6:14pm I belong to 2 Microlino Facebook groups, and there are posts by owners who are very dissatisfied with support. Isn't it Dongfeng who build the Spring? And Dacia have plans for Romanian manufacture so parts shouldn't be a problem.

You're right - it is Dongfeng, "eGT New Energy Automotive", a joint venture between Renault, Nissan and Dongfeng. Dongfeng also has an alliance with what I would call PSA - now part of Stellantis - but I'm not sure if any Chinese made ones are sold in European markets.

It's always possible to find owners with car problems, but perhaps these Facebook groups are something more than that and if support has some gaping holes, or dealers who are disinterested, it would be good to hear more from what you've read. It's possible at least some of the question marks over the Spring's steering could be put down to the cheap tyres it is supplied with,

• "The extent of the bodyroll combined with the total lack of information from the steering, exacerbated by the limited grip from Dacia’s choice of Linglong Eco Master tyres – which spin-up over mid-corner bumps let alone moderately damp surfaces – leaves you with a front end that just doesn’t turn in with any conviction at all. Get your entry speed really wrong and the back goes so light that you’ll soon be dealing with oversteer"

- https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-revie ... -electric/

For me as a cyclist, one of the positive aspects of car evolution is that they've had basic handling anomalies all but eradicated, so if a driver is caught out by an unmarked corner or obstacle, there isn't a sudden loss of control, especially snap oversteer.

You are right about car magazine being very critical of tthe Dacia Spring. It features in their 10 worst cars of 2024, https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/features/ ... worst-cars
"This car put me – and us – in a position that opposes the apparent view of most other motoring titles to such an extent we got another one in to check I hadn’t lost my mind. While I’m sure Dacia’s intentions in bringing a ‘new’ electric car to market for £16k are noble enough, you just can’t escape the reality of what that means for the new Spring when it’s based on a 2015 ICE vehicle originally engineered to be sold for the equivalent of £3000. "
and
"Dacia’s entire history is built around recycling Renaults or their components into keenly priced, honest transportation. Sadly, with the Spring, Dacia has really scraped the bottom of the parts bin. It’s based on a crossover that’s been sold in India since 2015 but drives like something that would have been unrecommendable in the 1990s.

While 970kg, 165 section tyres and 64bhp could be fun, it’s actually terrifying. Body roll is concerning, wet grip dangerous, and the stability control is crude to the point of it provoking the tail to twitch whilst trying to contain understeer. Awful. "

I also discovered the Citroen eC3 has yet to be euro NCAP rated, but the Indian model it's based on gets zero stars from global NCAP.

And yet my MG4, built on a dedicated EV platform gets 5 stars from euro NCAP. So maybe purpose-built EV platforms such as the one in the Renault 5 e-Tech (four star euro NCAP I believe) are the way to go in terms of safety.

deejayen wrote: ↑2 Jan 2025, 8:56am My eyes are dim, and I'm not sure of the Bella's standard chainline, but it looks like you're running it without a power-side idler and chain tubes.

Correct. A power side idler on an LWB is tantamount to sacrilege. I've put some plastic tape on the chain stay to protect it from chain slap, and some helicopter tape on the idler post. In biggest sprocket and small ring, the chain almost touches the (empty) idler post. Will see how it goes.

This might be my last build. I've come to the end of the road I think in my search for the best bike. I bought this frameset a couple of years back thinking this was an LWB I could get in the back of the car. The seat, the wheels and the mudguards are quick-release and the handlebars fold. Also being aluminium it won't rust. But I am short of space so something else may have to go ...

I changed the handlebars and stem. The bars are wider and have vertical grips. I've added a single sided quick-detach rear mudguard. Just need some better weather to test ride it: Can you identify the transmission part I have deliberately omitted?

Chain on, FD cabled and gears adjusted. Thought I was done but the I have knee interference from the rapidfire shifters at the height I want the handlebars to be. It looks like I need the shifters to be outside my knees in a vertical plane. I have various handlebar options to try but I've cut the cables to length now so may find them too short for mounting the controls outside my knees.

Scary isn't it? I'd spend more on tyres which were less polluting.

Carlton green wrote: ↑30 Dec 2024, 3:42pm

UpWrong wrote: ↑30 Dec 2024, 1:57pm

Biospace wrote: ↑28 Dec 2024, 1:49pm Thus far in the UK energy market (as with EVs), the poorer sections of society have paid for the richer ones to save/make more money.

That's not the case with the home upgrade grant though which is means tested, https://www.gov.uk/apply-home-upgrade-grant

As seems to be the usual case, multiple hurdles and caveats will ensure that what appears to be available to all is only available to very limited numbers. Then there’s getting someone to do the work in the first place and getting someone to correct it latter.

Those in council and housing association property are getting all of this for free without having to fill any forms in.

I've now added the back brake, RD and cabled them up. I've done a tidy job so far. I'm going to try a Shimano FD-F443 as the front changer. I think Bacchetta used this with 30/42/52 rings so I'm hoping it will work with 32/42 rings. It's designed for flat-bar bikes so hoping it will work with an MTB shifter.

Biospace wrote: ↑28 Dec 2024, 1:49pm Thus far in the UK energy market (as with EVs), the poorer sections of society have paid for the richer ones to save/make more money.

That's not the case with the home upgrade grant though which is means tested, https://www.gov.uk/apply-home-upgrade-grant

Maybe this https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/gear-shifte ... left-hand/