For anyone interested I found an extension end cap that will allow the aldi torch to use a 18650 battery

Or also available from my link above without dodgy 18650 battery and charger…

Move to Scotland

Or France, where it’s usually warmer…

I’m largely looking for a complete bike that I’ll make a few changes to before I start using it, then upgrade / replace parts as I see fit.

Intended use is UK trail centre and Big Days Out with some migration to alpine / SE France natural trails as I get the chance. Definitely need something that climbs well…

@IA – Are in the SW or Wales?

I did a test last night. These lights: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130804284439

I compared freshly charged 850mAh AAA Ni-MH with the supplied alkaline AAAs. The NiMH cells were about 10-20% brighter on high beam. This is likely because of their lower internal resistance resulting in less voltage drop under load than the alkalines. ‘Branded’ alkalines such as Duracell might be better.

You need an extension tube to fit an 18650, the same eBay supplier as the lights above stocks them.

Energy storage is measured in Watt-hours. Watts are volt x amps.

3x AAA Ni-MH would typically be 3 x 1.2v x 1Ah = 3.6Wh
A single 18650 might be 3Ah x 3.7v = 11.1Wh

So, the 18650 typically has around three times the energy storage of 3x AAA Ni-MH.

@stonster – yep, AAA is the smaller of the two ‘penlight’ sizes.

@neilsonwheels – NiMH AAA batteries, presumably?

@stu1972 – what about Xtar batteries, e.g.

http://www.torchdirect.co.uk/batteries-and-chargers/xtar-18650-37v-3100mah-li-ion-protected-battery.html

@richpips – will the Moda ‘cross bikes take mudguards and/or a rack?

The voltage of the three aaa batteries is 4.5V but I can’t find a rechargable cell any bigger than 3.7

Under a high current load, the voltage of non-rechargable AAAs will drop significantly below the nominal 1.5V.

This looks like a good deal: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130804284439

Anyone using Tri-Flow? How’s it do in wet conditions? Drip-on or spray-on?

Brant was talking about doing a limited run of 100 frames or something… no idea what happened to the project.

I can’t see the benefits of it neither can the people I know who have used them for road racing

Road racing is not where they excel. As I said above, most effective on technical climbs and when carrying luggage.

It’s a matter of optimzing your effort; your remove “resistance” where you are the weaker (i.e. around the dead spot) and you add what you substracted in terms of diameter at the moment where you reach your maximum power. With a round chainring, there is some “waste” every turn.

They increase the integral of the product of your legs’ force input and the mechanical advantage of the crank/chainring combination over a complete crank revolution.

Or something… :wink:

I don’t find time in the dead spot a limiting factor in my performance

I do, especially on technical climbs so that’s why I would fancy those just to give them a try. Maybe this is just a hype but I don’t think so, the idea makes sense to me.[/quote]

Back in my Calderdale days, my elliptical rings certainly helped with technical climbs. They get you through the dead spot quicker, and mean you have an higher effective gear through the power stroke, which means the back wheel is less likely to lose traction. What’s not to like?

My granny ring was 40% ‘ovality’ which means it was effectively a 20-tooth through the dead spot, and 28-tooth through the power stroke. Unfortunately, with the demise of EggRings, you can no longer buy rings which are this elliptical, but every little helps.

‘Properly’ orientated oval rings – that is with the long axis through the power stroke, unlike BioPace – work very well for low gear / high RPM applications, especially when climbing or when carrying luggage.

The proof of the pudding for me is returning to round rings and finding them ‘dead’ and harder work…

6-speed hyperglide screw-ons existed in 1991? IIRC they were all UG.
6-speed was bomb-proof though.

Yeah, I was surprised when I looked into it at the time. These days, I consider 8-speed to be largely bomb-proof and will not upgrade until I absolutely have to.

The venerable http://www.vttrack.fr/ is your friend.

Start by typing ‘Nice’ into the search bar to get to the right area.

You can then select the type of map or aerial photo you want to see.

IGN is the equivalent of the OS and their maps are great. At the highest IGN zoom level with contours, tracks are usually:

Two solid lines (yellow between) = minor road
Two solid lines (white between) = unmade road, regularly maintained
One solid / one dotted = unmade road, not regularly maintained
One solid line = doubletrack
One dotted line = singletrack

Note that Google appear to have licensed the IGN track database, so most if not all of the tracks will also appear on Google Maps.

You can then choose which websites’ routes to overlay onto the main map, and click on the routes to take you to the route details, often including GPS/GPX download.

It’s all made a lot easier if you use Google Chrome’s auto-translation feature, unless you speak French of course…

Wow, this takes me back to 1990-91 when I was using the old 6-speed screw-on Hyperglide freewheels with 6-speed indexed shifters for cheap, quality shifting. The Cannondale with that set-up got nicked :(

Deffo did 6 speed cassttes, though did they use it for MTB?

Yep, 1987-88 Deore and Deore XT.

Depends whether your 6-speed hub is Hyperglide compatible, i.e. can take a cassette with a lockring:

http://sheldonbrown.com/k7.html

Six-speed cassettes have a screw-on top cog, so the hubs don’t always accommodate a lockring.

Also, cog spacing is different from 6- to 7-speed, so no, the indexing won’t work:

http://sheldonbrown.com/cribsheet-spacing.html

Are you getting enough Vitamin D? A lack of it can do all sorts of nasty things to your immune system, and there’s increasing evidence that a large proportion of the population in northern Europe is deficient due to lack of sunlight. It’s quite difficult to eat as much VitD as you need, so supplements are the answer.

As for VitC, my own personal experience is that large doses in the winter (2x 2000mg a day) with some extra zinc helps keep colds at bay and helps prevent ‘little sniffles’ becoming full-blown colds. I always take it if I can feel that I’m fighting off something viral.

Do you travel or work in an enclosed space with lots of other people? I found that when I was commuting by train – and also stupidly skinny – I got cold after cold, and managed to catch full-blown flu twice in one winter. If you’re always getting infected, it may be worth looking at where the infections are coming from.

Putting a tax on new bikes to pay for better cycling infrastructure would be like putting a tax on footwear to pay for the upkeep of pavements.

I don’t agree with everything in their manifesto – but I back the campaign because it is the best one we have at the moment

Doesn’t go far enough, we should be aiming higher.

If anyone suggested pedestrians should mingle with traffic, they’d be laughed at. Cyclists are just as vulnerable.

I use one of these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130670092133

…to swallow Haribo, sunglasses, rear light, multitool, Snickers etc.

This looks pretty good too:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321012183784

Thats the problem with the motor lobby- a presumption that roads are for cars and that any other uses encroach on their free use and enjoyment when in fact they are the only class of road user who have permission to use roads but not the right.

Absolutely. To answer the original question: no, but segregated facilities for cyclists should be. We already have them for pedestrians, they’re called pavements. Cyclists are just as vulnerable and deserve their own facilities.

It’s likely I will come full circle again by my late-50s :wink:

Oh yeah, I have nothing but respect for those who have ridden, let alone raced, the route. I just don’t see the attraction myself any more…

Spectacular level of “missing the point” there

“The” point being?

80% doubletrack? Yawn

I used to think I’d like to do this route, but then I realised I’d be doing to say that I’d done it rather than because I actually wanted to.

Much more interesting long distance routes around, I think, e.g. http://www.grande-traversee-alpes.com/chemins-du-soleil/les-chemins-du-soleil/carte-de-litineraire

No rain forecast before Wednesday, may have dried out a bit by then…

@bencooper

I’ve seen and heard of a surprising number of faulty Alfine 11s – the 8 is great, the 11 is perhaps a step too far.

Faulty how?

Do you want to be that parent screaming at your kid because he/she has thrown their £200 bike down on the drive, or left it up the street.

No, I want to be the parent teaching my children to respect and look after their property and to make sure that objects of value are adequately secured.

Yes, they hold their price very well for eBay sales, even creeping up as the RRP increases. Remember, though, that eBay will take around 10% off you in selling fees if you sell through them. I got a lot more interest from eBay than I did advertising here, but YMMV.

@Dave – GPS or description for recommended ride?

@thepodge – how do you mean ‘now convert’ a SRAM shifter? Is it that any ESP 1:1 shifter will work, or is it a specific X9 model?

Glad I’m not the only one who struggles on the climb…!

After almost a decade off the bike until two years ago, and now the wrong side of 40, I’ve set myself a personal goal of getting enough strength and technique back to clean the Cwmcarn climb.

I’d rate the climb as ‘technical’, and I used to live in Calderdale…