Cycling UK Forum

pete75 wrote:

edocaster wrote:
I guess the USB side is just a toy option right now that I wouldn't want permanently attached to the bike, so I might just go for basic lights at first.

Or lights and USB in one

http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/axa- ... aid:642351

http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/b--m ... aid:620049

Indeed. Best price I've found for the first light (may help other forumers):

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Luxx-steady-939 ... namo+light

(The picture doesn't show the USB version, but the text does refer to it.)

Was very, very tempted. But on reflection, for a light which may be left out in the city, I think I'm better off with a 30 lux 'dumb' light, and then having a go at one of the homebrew USB devices. Clearest guide I've found so far is: http://www.14degrees.org/en/?p=5203 ...seems to adhere to the most basic design I've seen around. Technically, won't be much of an improvement on a Biologic Reecharge, but it's all about learning!

One question for the sparkies here though: Some of the parts (e.g. the 2200uF capacitor and the bridge rectifier) I seem to be able to find components with higher voltage ratings for not much more in cost (possibly a little larger in size). Is it worthwhile using those higher rated components? Or does it screw up something else in the circuit?

Claireysmurf wrote:I have just spotted a seat post for only £3. My bike frame needs a 27.2mm seat post but this is 27.0mm. Will it fit?
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... 82253#tab1

0.2mm?!

Thanks

I've got the same seatpost, although my frame is 27.0, so it's a perfect fit. Halfords do your size for a handful of pounds more. It actually has a fairly good amount of layback, which may or may not be important to you.

Thanks for all the replies. Always an education.

The link to the Reecharge without power pack says 'Directly charge devices via micro-USB' - so this version is different? Hopefully the voltage actually is USB spec.

As for the Nokia device, that seems to have been made for a bottle dynamo, so maybe wasn't designed for the higher voltages of hub dynamos at speed (if they do produce higher voltages)?

A few searches turn up some other devices like the Kemo M172N (the N version appears to be new, and rated to 70V) and the LightCharge, both around the £40-50 mark. Whereas the high voltage characteristics of the likes of the Axa Nano 50 Plus are also unknown (in fact, I believe the switch on that light only allows a choice between charging or light, so presumably a 'no load' situation is quite a likely scenario).

I guess the USB side is just a toy option right now that I wouldn't want permanently attached to the bike, so I might just go for basic lights at first.

[XAP]Bob wrote:I run a biologic reecharge (also sold under the dahon brand) as they were on sale for £25 a while ago.

Works well, ut there were reports of the regulator failing in no load scenarios - I leave my rear light always on so I can't hit that failure mode.

Interesting - £25 with the power pack? I see that you can get the regulator on its own for £22: http://www.ukbikestore.co.uk/product/23 ... cable.html ...but would it be compatible with any USB power pack, or only the Biologic one? Could it even power a device directly (sounds risky, but surely there wouldn't be a point to selling the device on its own?)

I'm also slightly worried after looking at reply 12 here https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=40524.0 - the output seems to say '6v' - surely too high for USB spec? The manufacturer's page is even more vague ('5-6v', and gives the current as a measly 250ma): http://www.miniwiz.com/miniwiz/products ... /reecharge

So, in short, it seems all these devices have to deal with a wildly fluctuating dynamo voltage which can rise well beyond the nominal 6v AC. I read about some homebrew solutions, but they are all beyond me. I'm really surprised no-one sells a basic in-line device to protect the likes of the Reecharge, as being unable to just leave the device on the bike without a load seems mystifying. The price difference between a basic dynamo light (e.g. Axa Pico 30 - around £18) and one with a built in USB output (Axa Nano 50 Plus - around £58) is still a bit steep though, especially as the nicer lights will always be a theft risk.

Hi,

Has anyone seen this? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Universal-New ... 1036449456

It looks a bit like a 'Spinpower S1' - http://www.bike2power.com/smartphone-bi ... r-kit.html - just ridiculously cheap.

My question is, would either device run properly from a hub dynamo? Or would they self-destruct? I have little understanding of how the output of hub dynamos work, but keep on reading about other, more expensive devices failing on fast descents - i.e. the voltage of the hub can't be kept down? Is this a problem which only affects hub dynamos and not bottle dynamos?

OK, managed to have a go on one spoke, removing it from the rim. The nipple screws on a good 4 or 5 turns further in than when on the rim, so bottoming out doesn't seem to be a problem. Measured 260mm, so I know replacements of 258mm would be OK for that side of the wheel.

The grinding took less than 5 minutes, but I stopped when it started raining and just finished the sharp edges off by hand (and reformed the threads by running the nipple off the end). So that seems fine! Slightly lost track when re-lacing it, but I think the tension is within a half turn of what it was.

But... I think I'll give grinding the other spokes while on the rim a miss. The heat and vibration would feel a bit risky when dealing with something under such tension. Plus I don't think I can fashion a mask to protect the rim/nipple (plastic just melts), and I'd still need to find a way to file the end clean afterwards. I'll probably just slowly remove and fix a spoke at a time. This will also give me the option of cutting with side cutters or a cut-off wheel.

Anyway, a couple of questions from this exercise:
- I couldn't remove the spoke entirely from the hub. It just got trapped at the elbow. Obviously I couldn't get the spoke at 90 degrees as the other spokes all got in the way (the elbow being on the inside of the flange for this spoke). Is there a knack to this? Presumably it's possible, otherwise replacing a spoke would be impossible.
- I'm a little confused as to which part of the nipple is threaded. Is it the whole thing? Or just a portion near the screwdriver slot end? Presumably not the whole thing, as otherwise I'd be able to see spare threads on every spoke and every wheel.

Cheers.

Thanks all. I may try and remove one spoke just for measuring and checking for bottoming out, and then see if I can dremel grind it off the rim to see if it's viable for the rest on the rim. Otherwise I'll remove the rest and shorten off the rim.

Unfortunately, all this will have to wait now, as my commuter bike has decided to snap a gear cable (why does the outer have to flap off the STI lever and wave in front of my face when it happens? For a nightmarish moment I thought I had no brakes...), so that needs fixing first. Looks like it's mechanical gremlins season!

OK, I think I'll give up on grinding the spoke in situ.

The current plan is:
- Measure protrusion of the worst offender with callipers as accurately as possible
- For that one, remove the spoke
- Rethread the nipple onto the spoke outside of the rim up to the original protrusion, then see how many more turns I can thread the nipple on before bottoming out (do I grease the threads?) - if it's less than two or three, I probably need new, shorter spokes
- Measure the spoke length (inside of elbow to very end), so I can get shorter ones if necessary
- Adjust the nipple to the original amount of spoke protrusion, and mark the spoke with electrical tape (to show me roughly how much to tighten when back in the rim)
- Remove the nipple and cut the spoke by slightly more than the protrusion - file the end
- Reinstall the spoke on to the rim, using the electrical tape as a rough guide to spoke tension

Then repeat everything but the third and fourth steps for all the remaining protruding spokes! I expect it will be slightly out of true afterwards, but will deal with that later.

Is that the way to do it? Have I missed anything important?

Thanks!

Thanks for the replies. Nothing simple, unfortunately!

I think a rebuild with new spokes is probably beyond my skill and budget currently. I had a look beneath the rim tape, and would say that the worse is 2.2mm beyond the nipple. Almost all the offenders seem to be on the non-disc side (this is a disc front hub, although I plan to run it on rim brakes) which I imagine would need longer spokes than the other side?

Anyway, I think I may try the grinding suggestion from Brucey. I have a Dremel-like tool, but no carbide burrs. Which head shall I try from the picture below? I'm assuming the grey one 5th from the left, so I can have it rotate parallel to the rim? I think all the grey and pink stones are aluminium oxide - will they work? I don't mind the process taking a bit longer than with carbide, but not if it grinds the stone down with no result!

I'll probably use a cut up shampoo bottle to mask and prevent any 'slips', but has anyone actually done this and have any other tips?

Finally, any cheap suggestions for new rim tape? Will something like this do? http://www.wiggle.co.uk/lifeline-essential-rim-tape/

I think the lesson here is: buy cheap, learn more things than you ever would have!

Hi - I recently bought a secondhand dynamo wheel on eBay. All looks to be in order, except I noticed I could feel a few spokes poking up into the rim tape. I think the nipples are otherwise recessed (Rhyno-lite rims). Picture attached.

So, is this a problem? Can I expect many a puncture? And if so, is there a simple solution?

Thanks (now just need to find some lights...)

I was definitely over-tightening the self-tapping screws then (was worried about the bag bouncing upwards)! Thanks for all the replies.

rualexander wrote:

edocaster wrote:I have a different question. Am I right in thinking that it's not possible to mount the bracket without blocking access to the stem face bolts?

No, you can just swing the bracket up out of the way to access the stem face bolts.

Thanks. I thought I had mounted it wrong, but I guess you do still need to loosen the four screws first then.

I have a different question. Am I right in thinking that it's not possible to mount the bracket without blocking access to the stem face bolts?

I picked one up from Halfords Wandsworth. Didn't quite go to plan, in typical Halfords fashion, as I reserved a honey B17 (which was all that was showing on the website), but when I got there they only had a black saddle. Fair enough - I would have chosen black anyway.

I guess I technically didn't need to buy the saddle, as I got a secondhand B17 last month, which very comfortably conveyed me on a London-Brighton-London ride. But I wanted the spanner!

So now I have three choices:
1) Sell the new saddle.
2) Keep the new saddle as a spare. Bit of a costly way of doing things, but surely I'll never get a Brooks this cheap ever again.
3) Fit the new saddle and sell the secondhand saddle.

The third option has one major drawback, namely I'd have to break in the new saddle from scratch. But on the plus side I'd have a warranty (two years?). How useful is the warranty to have, and has anyone used it effectively?

brucelee wrote:One warning about Ortlieb, think twice before buying the city ones (which always seem to be on offer) - They have no handle. The little strap you see on them is just a pull release for the locking mechanism, if you have any weight in them and try to carry them this will quickly break. I use on old laptop bag strap over my shoulder but this attaches to the 'top' of the bag so the bag hangs differently when rolled up or open. I'd check out all the brands, the assumption that the old guard stuff is the best doesn't ring true anymore.....
cheers,
Bruce.

I recently bought a pair of Back Roller Plusses, and one thing which confuses me is how to carry the pannier without unrolling the top. the instructions show the shoulder strap being used with the roll enclosure closed, but when I tried that it just stretched the edge of the 'roll' horribly. This might just be because the Plus fabric is more flexible, I don't know.

The only other ways to carry it would be by the opening handle - but as you've pointed out that will fatigue the fixings - or via the 'overstrap' which holds the roll close, but when I do that it feels like it will rip the fabric at the front, where one end of the strap is attached by a rivet.

How do others carry their Ortliebs over short distances without opening them?