Cycling UK Forum

I had one half of a modern (I.e. waterproof) Altura Orkney 56, and loved the R+K mechanism. Pull the strap and press the button - simple. As I understand it, the inserts can be turned around or omitted to fit rails between 8mm and 13mm, so no excuse not to get a snug fit.

The pannier itself was fine and tough, just too long for a 26"-specific rack and far too heavy (1400g for one).

I now have Ortlieb Back Roller Pluses. The attachment system is fine, although I'm not 100% bowled over - I'm always checking to see the latch has properly engaged. But I find the Pluses incredibly floppy when you're trying to put things in them. Unless loaded significantly, mine just won't stand up on the ground!

I bought this from Clas Ohlson: http://www.clasohlson.com/uk/Asaklitt-S ... ck/31-2166

16mm shackle diameter, seems to have a Sold Secure Gold rating if that's useful for insurance purposes, and Clas Ohlson have a 2 year guarantee. Heavy!

I'm going to take a punt, and say it's basically a short version of the Oxford Magnum lock featured here: http://www.cyclingactive.com/bikesgear/ ... bike-locks

Bit tight locking through the rear triangle though.

If it's the one I think you're thinking about Yep, they are very good. I bought one in 2011. While there are similar looking torches on eBay, etc, almost all of these have a lesser Cree LED - an XP-E - whereas the Aldi torch (at least mine) has an XP-G (despite clearly being mounted on a board with the letters 'XPE'). You can tell if you look at the chip (switched off!) or focus the output on a wall - the XP-G will have 4 'bars'.

The claim of 480 lumens is clearly BS, but I measured the current through the tailcap as 0.52A, which should be about 2W going to the LED - so up to 200 lumens minus some optical losses. Warmish tint too, for those who like that sort of thing.

Naturally, some won't like the circular beam, but you could always focus it into a chip shape instead!

Steveo2020 wrote:Well I don't know the specifics but I strongly suspect Madison's agreement with shimano is exclusive for the UK and so shimano can stop its other distributors from supplying UK retailers, and Madison can make sure that happens (by requiring shimano to enforce it against other distributors), all of which is very likely to be legal under competition law.

I'm not sure Madison or Shimano can. http://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/know ... r-business

'Examples of hardcore restrictions [...] Restricting a distributor so as to grant other distributors absolute territorial protection: i.e. restricting the territories into which, or the customers to whom, a distributor may sell the contract goods or services. In this context, the rules do not permit restrictions on a distributor making “passive” sales to another territory - i.e., the rules do not permit prohibiting a distributor/retailer from selling to a customer outside its allocated territory if the customer has made the initial approach to the seller'

...so there's nothing to stop a retailer (not an end-user) making an offer to a foreign distributor. Whether Shimano's other distributors will agree is another matter, but if they all don't, then there is another argument that the distributors are in 'horizontal collusion' - i.e. a cartel. Here's an example of where distributors were found to be in a cartel which prevented 'parallel trade' in what was then the EEA: http://ec.europa.eu/competition/publica ... 3_1_50.pdf

2wheeler wrote:Doesn't the 1.2 voltage of Nimh batteries mean lights are dimmer?

I've been looking at the aldi and other rechargeable batteries too and wondering?

Gordon

As I understand it, the 1.2 is nominal, as is the 1.5 in alkalines. In practice, the NiMH comes off my charger at 1.3 or more, and then stays between 1.3 and 1.2 until almost flat. Alkalines drop off quite quickly and are seldom at 1.5v for long.

The other factor is good NiMH tend to have low internal resistance, which means in certain circuits can sustain higher currents too.

531colin wrote:That might work, depending if a wholesaler was prepared to supply somebody outside their area.
You see, the general public have the trades descriptions legislation to protect them from the evil retailer.
The retailer doesn't have time to fight with the evil wholesaler, and has no legislation to support him.
.....it all works with reference to who has the biggest stick.....
the UK is a relatively small market, if for example the German wholesaler agreed to supply a UK bike shop, the UK wholesaler is liable to complain to the manufacturer......theres a fair chance the manufacturer would side with the bigger account.

The guiding principle in the EU here is article 101(1) of the EU treaty: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/Lex ... 101:en:NOT

...so there is legislation there. It must be said, however, that the EU generally treats horizontal agreements (i.e. between competitiors) as potentially more damaging to competition than vertical agreements. But there are many situations where vertical restraints damage 'intra-brand competition' between distributors, and are 'barriers to cross-border trade' (see para 2.1: http://www.slaughterandmay.com/media/64 ... ements.pdf)

For the supplier to attempt to fix prices is almost always forbidden (see appendix 5A of the Slaughter & May link), which includes direct and indirect attempts to fix prices including 'threatening to delay or withhold supplies' and 'taking measures to identify price-cutting dealers'. Appendix 8.2 has examples of exclusive distribution agreements, together with the potential harm each may do to competition.

...so not a dead cert, and of course Shimano spends a heck of a lot on lawyers, but to assume that they will win is premature.

Brucey wrote:

edocaster wrote: Am I right in thinking that in series you'll get the full 500-odd mA for both lights, but things may not light at all until a higher speed? Vs 500mA shared between both lights? Is there any difference in drag?

yes, yes, yes, and a little bit, respectively.

cheers

Great, thanks. I guess if I make a 'high beam' and mount it parallel, I can always switch off the normal beam to give the secondary light the full 500mA.

It's probably a good thing that LSD cells have had a good run from most manufacturers so far, as it's not easy to test their claims without waiting months...

I hard-wired a connector parallel to my light, mainly for running a USB regulator with or without lights. I imagine I couldn't do it series without leaving a switch on the bike somewhere.

I've since powered a light from said regulator (not the most efficient setup), and I would say there probably is a bit of drop-off in sharing current between both, compared to switching one off/out. Still, I understand that lights run at, say, 250mA are more efficient than at higher current, so the result is still an increase in total light output, and more than one point of light.

Am I right in thinking that in series you'll get the full 500-odd mA for both lights, but things may not light at all until a higher speed? Vs 500mA shared between both lights? Is there any difference in drag?

samsbike wrote:
thanks but i thought these were not great.

My understanding is that all low self-discharge (LSD) batteries come from a handful of factories, and all so far seem to have pretty good reputations.

I am not a lawyer, but I seriously doubt that German-standard lights will be the subject of any litigation.

If a policeman were to stop you on the road, that's one matter. But in the event of an accident I would doubt it could be easily proven that a German-standard light did not offer an equivalent level of safety.

Honestly, we are entering a golden age of lighting. Even all the 'illegal' lights give riders the best chance of seeing and being seen in generations. I would guess that pretty much all cases where drivers escaped liability in the past and lighting was an issue, the point was that there was no or insufficient light. While it's a laudable aim to ensure riders run everything perfectly legally, that seems to mean a very limited range to choose from (as seems to be the case now), without a corresponding increase in real safety.

I don't think a business model which relies on sentiment or some kind of hazy belief in saving the future is a particularly good one. Just speaking in terms of business sense, I wouldn't want my livelihood to depend on that.

Chain Reaction, Wiggle, Amazon etc - they're all here not just because of cheap prices, but because they innovate - a shared buying experience with users around the world, reviews, a proper web presence - these things just work in this day and age. Ironically, many an enthusiast will be a fickle customer to an LBS, as they've learnt 90% of what they need from the internet. Arguably, Shimano tech docs have done more to harm the LBS than rock bottom prices!

As mentioned above, if you're buying a mass-produced part, made to a standard, there's little reason to pay more than is necessary. The best things the LBS can provide is a service.

In cultures where cycling is more common, the LBS can thrive as it serves more ordinary folk who don't want to learn about different brake blocks or cable pulls. But even in those places, they still need to innovate and consist of more than a bunch of enthusiasts.

I replaced the stock tyres on mine after about two months, but I never had any problems with them - I just wanted to try 25mm tyres. I fitted Vittoria Rubino (non-folding) up front, and Continental Gatorskins on the rear.

For the last year and a half I've had:
- No skids on the front, but several flats. The Rubinos pick up a lot of cuts.
- No flats on the back, but several skids. The Gatorskins are very good at rejecting sharp stones/glass. When they do go in, they leave a big round bump and it's easy to get them back out again without leaving a giant gash in the tyre. But they slip very easily in the wet.

The original brakes were fine. In fact, they seemed to work at least as well as the OEM black SwissStops I'm using now.

The 'pulsing braking' B&M light looks like pretty much everything they can do to just about push the envelope on the German non-flashing light laws.

I would guess that the most effective 'brake response' light would really have to be wired up to the front brake levers. Isn't that how cars work?

I have a 7dayshop charger. Not that one (less fancy, no LCD display), but it had the main feature I wanted - individual channels for each battery. I was a little worried about the power adapter (12W at 1.7A), but in practice it has stayed totally cool and the charger has worked fine for over 2 years.

And definitely go for low self-discharge NiMH, otherwise you'll have at least one disappointing flat battery experience.