Lunchtime today was out for a spin just outside Edinburgh, on the road between Harelaw reservoir and East Kinleith farm. I cycled beneath the powerlines on the nice new tarmac, the powerlines were buzzing as they do when the air is damp.... my hand then gets a stong static shock as it brushed the metal bar end on my bars.... and then I get another one through the saddle too!! BZZZZZT!
Anyone every experienced that before?
Not concerned, just interested in the cause.
😯
Shocking.
I'll get me coat.
bar ends - tsk!
The road from my house in Balerno to the Harlaw car-park also goes under those same powerlines. I've heard them buzzing quite loudly loads of times, but never had a shock from it.
Those powerlines buzz all the time along a considerable part of their lenght, not sure why. Batch of faulty insulators which allow a small ground leak?
Strange, although highly possible
Is it a steel frame bike?
jeeze wouldn't want to ride my carbon bike under them,could end up as a pile of ash with me eyeballs rolling down the road!!! 😯 😀
All power lines (high voltage) do that whenever I've been near them. Something to do with ionising air to ozone?
something to do with ionising and static shocks?
alu frame bike.
Yep the bar ends have got to come off, that'll fix it!
I don't understand the physics of it, but if you put a neon light tube in the field of a power line, the tube will glow.
There was a wonderful art installation a couple of years ago, with an array of fluorescent tubes placed under a power line at the edge of the Cotswolds between Bath & Bristol, where the cables came low.
At night, the glow was quite bright & spooky.
how would you fit a flourescent tube to a bike? NO more batteries.
same thing happened to me on the canal near poynton, blue sparks off brake leavers. quite a shock, really made me jump 🙁
It's not happened to me but one of my neighbours got a shock from his bars riding under them. We live very close to a large set, they buzz a lot more when the air is damp, you can tell it's going to rain well in advance with the buzzing. The lines also get quite close to the ground a bit further down the valley, I've seen peoples hair stand on end underneath them on a damp day.