Cycling UK Forum

Vantage wrote: ↑2 Feb 2025, 9:42pm Is something picking at you?

The only other person in this house is my daughter who works and the dog.
The chances of this battery going wonky are slim at best.
Trust me, I'm no idiot. Every risk has been taken into account and if I thought for one split second that my battery would put my daughter, dog or I at risk, it wouldn't be in the house.
Lets leave it there shall we?

Just trying to make you aware of the danger -- you may not feel any heat before it explodes -- you may only have 10 or 20 sec to clock what's happening and make a decision on a course of action ie do I get everyone out first or take the chance I can move the burning battery / bike ( which has jets of flame and noxious gases spurting all directions ) out the living room down the hall and out through a locked front door first.

Personally if the battery was in the living room by itself I'd have it with a breeze block with some high temp gauntlets or a shovel in the room. If the battery goes up I'd throw the breeze block out through the window ( to smash it ) followed quickly by the battery picked up by me with the gauntlets on or with a shovel. If it's a double glazed window the breeze block can bounce off it so you'd need to be sure it goes through. Or keep a window big enough open.

djnotts wrote: ↑2 Feb 2025, 7:08pm Nearholmer:
"If the real wish is to cut the welfare budget, while focusing on getting people who aren’t working, but could, into work,..."

But into what jobs and where? There is a huge mismatch between vacancies and skills and surplus potential workers and vacancies in geographical terms.

There are many more jobs around now than when I was coming out of education early 80's

There are many more on benefits than then too.

It's a two edged sword -- I can't believe that cutting one number doesn't help the other.

Vantage wrote: ↑2 Feb 2025, 2:03pmNope.

It's in the living room with you who has to get it down the hall and out through the front door --- before or after getting everyone else down the hall and out first ?

Nearholmer wrote: ↑2 Feb 2025, 5:45pm

We must cut the welfare budget -- as posters have said there are too many healthy working age people on welfare.

If the real wish is to cut the welfare budget, while focusing on getting people who aren’t working, but could, into work, and lifting the wages of those who are working so that they don’t need to claim welfare to keep their heads above water, are both important, we’ve also got to look really hard at pensioners.

The proportion of pensioners is ever-rising, and the cost per pensioner is ever-rising, which is rather a difficult thing for the working population to sustain. And, frankly, it’s a crime the way children have been robbed of resources, while resources have been directed towards pensioners.


IMG_2501.jpeg

I agree -- even though I'm heading ever faster to pension age but if our welfare expectations were much humbler many more would not want to be out of work. It may require a great deal of thought put into getting the tiers or levels of income assistance right for each person getting back into work. -- I've never had to claim benefits and I'm very grateful I've been healthy most of my life but there are some with health circumstances which will be genuine and need support.

cycle tramp wrote: ↑2 Feb 2025, 9:10am

Cowsham wrote: ↑2 Feb 2025, 1:39am

PH wrote: ↑1 Feb 2025, 4:19pm
So not all Rachel Reeves fault then?

For the NIC rise it is.

We are going to price ourselves out of the market wrt tax on businesses.

Which begs the question, if we accept the on going military, judicial, Infrastructure and social costs of running ocean cruiser Great Britain... how are we to meet them?

We must cut the welfare budget -- as posters have said there are too many healthy working age people on welfare. That's the only bit of the labour policies I do agree with.

We must stop focusing on growth and more on sustainability. Once you build a house and tarmac the ground to it you can't get back the essential foliage that makes the air we breath.

Vantage wrote: ↑1 Feb 2025, 11:46am It's a straight run from the living room to the front door. Trust me, if it ever started smoking, the bikes out of the house.
We're not insured so to hell with taking that risk.
Having said that.....yesterday I started a complete strip and rebuild of the bike without all the ebike gubbins. I'm trying to go unpowered. I hate the weight of epower.

So the ebike ( which you've said is heavy and maybe already going off like a flare ) is blocking an exit?

PH wrote: ↑1 Feb 2025, 4:19pm

Cowsham wrote: ↑1 Feb 2025, 3:48pm I feel for the small shops who've been milked mercilessly by successive labour ( and conservative) governments.

So not all Rachel Reeves fault then?

For the NIC rise it is.

We are going to price ourselves out of the market wrt tax on businesses.

PH wrote: ↑1 Feb 2025, 1:54pm

Cowsham wrote: ↑1 Feb 2025, 12:33pm It's not just the cycle trade that's under pressure it's retail in general.
https://news.sky.com/story/lakeland-s-f ... s-13295366

My wife has been a loyal customer since the 80's -- Rachel Reeves what have you done?

It is retail in general, also in the news this week is Sainsburys planning on shedding 3,000 staff and WH Smiths looking to close all it's High St stores.
In the case of Lakeland, they've been struggling for a while, my local store was one of a number that closed a couple of years ago as part of a cost cutting rationalisation. It's a stretch to blame it on the current Government, though that won't stop those politically motivated to do so. It's more to do with the supply cost differences between High St and online stores, I don't think people have a true picture of where their money goes and how little of that is for the product itself.

I completely disagree -- there are a few unnecessary taxes retailers have had thrust on them by the labour governments.

A big problem was the empty property rates brought in in 2007 -- 2008 so small retail businesses became a prison for the owners who couldn't sell it on when they needed to retire. The empty property rates on businesses ( traditionally paid by the tenant --- not the rent that's on top of the rates if you don't own the property but that rent can be negligible compared to the cost of property rates because the rates are so expensive ( about 14 times per area of normal domestic rates in northern Ireland -- you don't have domestic rates in England any more but you do have business property rates.) ) make it impossible for the owner to stop trading so hence many elderly or nearing retirement traders keep trading till they run out of money.

This NIC hike has hit every business that has employees -- we may have to face another major cull very soon -- this is not good !

I feel for the small shops who've been milked mercilessly by successive labour ( and conservative) governments.

I have no acts to grind -- I'm not a Tory boy I live in northern Ireland we've enough incompetent, illiterate leaders to go round.

I think this labour government are clutching at planks of wood bringing the whole ship down with them.

It's not just the cycle trade that's under pressure it's retail in general.
https://news.sky.com/story/lakeland-s-f ... s-13295366

My wife has been a loyal customer since the 80's -- Rachel Reeves what have you done?

Carlton green wrote: ↑29 Jan 2025, 11:52pm This morning I read this BBC article and am astonished at the light sentencing of those caught speeding in massive excess of the National speed limit. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqjvz79d079o

To me their relatively light treatment seems unreasonable and it would be more appropriate to relieve them of their licence - banned for several years - and demand that they successfully passed an other driving test before return of their licence.

More than 24,000 vehicles were caught on camera being driven at more than 100mph (161km/h) between 2019 and 2023, police data shows.
One car on the M25 in Kent and one in Greater Manchester were found to be speeding at 164mph (264km/h), with cars in London and the Humberside police force area detected being driven at 163mph (262km/h).

Meanwhile a Porsche driver was banned for six months for driving at 163mph (262km/h) on the M1 in north London at the start of the Covid pandemic, and a driver travelling at the same speed in Humberside was disqualified from driving for four months and fined £950.
South Yorkshire Police said a driver caught driving at 162mph (260km/h) in 2019 was issued with six penalty points on their licence and received fines of £1,210.

I'd give them the chance to play with the big boys. The option of doing a 120MPH average lap on the isle of man TT course on a motorbike during practice week or do time in jail. --- I'd do the time in jail !

Vantage wrote: ↑23 Dec 2024, 10:30am

Grandad wrote: ↑21 Dec 2024, 11:36pm

Stupid people buying cheap batteries and not keeping an eye on them

Agree rhey are stupid but how do you keep an eye on a charging battery? Even if you see the instant that it explodes there is nothing that can be done

My bike whilst stored in the hallway is taken into the living room and charged there where I can keep an eye on it. Once in a while I put my hand on it to see if it's getting warm.

You might not feel any heat and once that thing starts burning you're too late cos pulling out the charger or pouring water on it won't stop the process. You won't get the bike out you'll just have to get out of the house and get everyone else out too and maybe all your neighbors if your property is attached.

Brucey wrote: ↑29 Jan 2025, 4:07pm to the manufacturer, PET will seem expensive; that so many others use PC is mainly because they make more money this way (although it may also impact the manufacture of chromoplastic material in some way).

That's why I thought at the time I first tried a pair " all mudguards will be like this now " just a pity wiggle went under -- I don't know if lifeline are a wiggle, chainreaction or their own brand or whether the last remaining stock are being sold off by the likes of sports direct or what but I hope this is not the end of this type of mudguard -- best I've ever seen. And fitting is so easy and no jaggy bits to snag your stuff on.

Most of my cycle commute to work is lined with hawthorn hedges but that's probably because we have no right to roam here like you do in Scotland ( or I think some parts of England too ) farmers here can plant mostly whatever they want apart from the usual poisonous or nuisance weed. There is the usual laws regarding having too much nettles or weed in fields that can infect neighboring fields etc.

Must try tubeless at some point -- maybe before this summers expeditions.

cycle tramp wrote: ↑29 Jan 2025, 8:21am

mattheus wrote: ↑28 Jan 2025, 10:42am

pwa wrote: ↑28 Jan 2025, 7:34am
I think it smells or burnt rubber.

I'm happy to bow to RZ's expertise on this one.

It's been a long time since I had my nose in a bush.

Ooh Matron!

We've had no internet for a few days -- my kids have never been so "Woke"