General Ebike discussion
Comments
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I hope it wasn't someone from the FBU who told you that!!!
The cycle store near Exeter is Partridges and for anyone venturing into Cornwall I can recommend Clive Mitchell Cycles at Summercourt.
It is right on a junction, if heading West, the next proper junction is to the village of Mitchell where the Plume of Feathers pub is to be highly recommended.........................must be forgetting myself talking about visiting Cornwall and pubs!
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We also leave our bikes in villages/towns etc both here and abroad. As long as they are insured and locked it is the risk you have to take. I often take a photo when we leave them showing the locks in position just in case the insurance tried to wriggle out if we needed to claim.
Life is too short to worry about "what may happen".
Nothing nicer than cycling to a town and then exploring on foot.
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And if you fancy a ride over to Newquay the Lewinnick Lodge is same ownership and the food to same high standard.
It does get rammed very often but you can book a table in the restaurant and eat the same food, at the same price, while enjoying the views towards Trevose Head.
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On ours if the battery hasn't been used in over 24 hours it goes into 'deep sleep' mode (bit like me really) and there is a set way of bringing them out of it (again bit like me) by pressing the battery button for a few seconds.
Probably just a full recharge might help, although ours says not to store them with less than 40% showing.
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Yes we went there for Mrs M's birthday a couple of years ago. They gave us a great table in the restaurant overlooking the beach. Very busy that night (I think it was a "steak special" night) and they gave us free desserts and coffee because we'd had to wait so long between courses. A good place for lunch sat outside overlooking Fistral!
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TG, we have identical locks/cables.....blooming heavy and blooming expensive!
Similarly, we leave our bikes when exploring and have parked (and locked) them up....
we may be shopping, visiting to sightsee, having lunch or a drink somewhere or even setting off on foot for a walk or just to explore the area.
yes, the bikes are valuable and locking them with two shackles/cables is a bit of pain, however, we have them to get us to places and when we get there, we leave them securely. they are well insured.
its not practically possible to keep them with us everywhere we want to go.
of course some days we just ride around and dont leave them, but if we find somewhere to stop, we're happy to leave them.
do folk always stay with their cars or MHs when they visit places?
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do folk always stay with their cars or MHs when they visit places?
No, but I do with the bike!
Can see that if you are using a bike as your transport to somewhere, and intend leaving it, then a decent lock is vital but that's not how I use the bike.
The ride is for pure enjoyment and not as a means of getting somewhere.If I do stop, and I am on my own it will be somewhere the bike can stay with me or is within sight at all times.
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as i said in my post, we also do rides where we dont stop/leave the bikes...
however, the two 'modes' arent (to me, anyway) mutually exclusive....
its a bike...
every time we use them they are 'our transport' as they are for everyone who rides one....its just that some days we get off and do further things, sometimes we dont.
having to remain within sight of where we locked it is (again, to me) a pretty restrictive use of said 'transport'.
i guess, as your OH doesnt cycle, if you (plural) want to 'go anywhere' you jump in the car...
we have a car at home but here, and when out in the van, this is exactly the thing which we are delighted to avoid...
the bikes give us the freedom to spend more time in the fresh air, avoid the congestion and cost/hassle of parking.
we're all different but, at the moment, for us pedalling is second nature and the car is definitely second choice.
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but often if you want good insurance then you have to get a certain standard of lock for use outside the house, so sometimes no choice really.
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“its just that some days we get off and do further things, sometimes we dont.”
Hi BB, As you say it’s just me, or me and Grandson, and I don’t do further things, other than maybe get a drink, and could not lock the bike as I don’t carry a lock.
Its not restrictive as I don’t want, or intend, to leave the bike.
In your circumstances I would be investing in a decent lock.
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When we are on site and not in use the bikes are on the Thule tow bar rack locked, plus two coil combination locks, and the the bike cover. If the thieves want them then they will have them but at least it will take more time then if just left with a lock round a tree or fencing post, and of course plenty of members about. At night if the pond life try to have them l am sure l would here them
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i did post earlier that we have the same heavy shackle locks and cables that TG uses.
..and of course you're right, they are essential if the bikes are to left anywhere.
i regularly 'bat off' for a few hours on my own....often going 'nowhere' but, even then, i may want to stroll away from the bike when i get wherever 'there' is, and then it would then need to get locked up....
even popping in somewhere (that lovely pub you've found) to use the loo is tricky without being able to lock a bike or have someone watch it for you.....not easy when on your own and without a lock.
i remember once we did 20 miles or so into an interesting town and i forgot the bike lock keys (they arent separate now
) and i was severely 'spoken to' as we had to wheel them everywhere we went and to keep them in sight even when pausing for a rest....in that situation, they became a real hindrance.obviously, we all use these bikes in slightly different ways and the important thing is to help newcomers understand the benefits and joys of being able to get out there, without the car, and be confident of getting home again
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i agree with David that most 'advice' these days seems to be to spend around 10% of the price of the bike, but the important thing is to get one that instills confidence in the owner and, as Corners says, satisfies the insurer.
my bike was just over £2k 6 years ago and OH's was a similar price last year....the Gold level locks were (from memory) around £120 each, so shy of 10% but the best we could get at the time.
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Hi heethers, my thoughts as well!
Our house is a no shoes zone and even bringing in my battery to charge can trigger a frown if not placed correctly!
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Thank you, that’s the one. We used to stop off in Mitchell and do the PYO before heading to Fowey!
Floor was well protected. He has previous, came home from work one lunch time to find him stripping carburettors off MG down in kitchen😡
Kit from FBU is very nice, half usual Endura prices. I got told off yesterday as well. His Genesis is a “gravel bike” not a hybrid🙄 “Get it right, woman”🤣
We are tempted to head off down canal paths today, but cases are still rising here, and we think they will be too busy to cycle. It sounds as if some cities are doing what they can to help folks cycle a bit safer, Sheffield included. They can’t flatten our hills though, or rid the roads of those with F1 pretensions........
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We got Two Electric Bikes last August to go on the bike rack of our motorhome. We have a 4 bike rack and use the one rail closest to the back of the van plus the third rail from the van to keep them from touching while driving. We do well normally do about 9000 miles a year in the van mainly over 6 months a year in Europe and the electric bikes have been a mega plus for us getting out and about. We mainly go Geocaching and the bikes gives us a much bigger range of places to go to.. Do not go on many sites so a big battery was a must for us and so far it has worked out charging the batteries on the few sites we do use about 1 or 2 nights a week max.
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Further to my post of 18th, I have succeeded in recovering the charge in my batteries which were reading 0.023v, i.e. flatter than a pancake. Initially when connecting the charger LED showed green, so was obviously not accepting a charge. I connected my batteries up to the charger via the output contacts and initially the LED flickered red for a few minutes and then settled to steady red. After about 5 hours, they were up to 42V and 36 hours later holding charge at 41.5v. The procedure doesn't seem to have damaged the circuitry as a quick lap of my cul-de-sac demonstrated. Very pleased to have saved about £700.
Can't guarantee it will work for all battery types, but it might be worth trying to charge via the output contacts.
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