The Cycling Chat Thread

[maomao]

Not for bikes, but my dog walking torch is usb rechargeable and is so bright you can blind people with it. How would the way in which you get the electricity in to the battery relevant to how the torch works?

Can carry a spare set of batteries. You'd need to carry a spare light.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Can carry a spare set of batteries. You'd need to carry a spare light.

My torch takes either...but my winter morning dog walks are never long enough to need a change of batteries

 

[weepiper]

Decent modern usb chargeable lights are great imo. You just need to spend a little bit more to get a decent battery life. I've got a several years old Cateye Volt front light that is bright enough to ride off road with on its full beam that I get a full week of commutes out of on a lower setting before I have to charge it.

 

[Winot]

I’ve been using USB rechargeable cycle lights for quite awhile and have never had any difficulties. I do carry a spare rear light but to be honest that is less weight than carrying spare rechargeable batteries.

 

[magneze]

Not for bikes, but my dog walking torch is usb rechargeable and is so bright you can blind people with it. How would the way in which you get the electricity in to the battery relevant to how the torch works?

USB lights don't last long, nothing to do with brightness.

 

[Smokeandsteam]

I have these two. Last ages, USB chargeable lights are terrible IMHO.

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Second this. I get loads of piss taking for my old school lights. But they are loads better, in terms of performance and longevity, than the USB chargeable ones I’ve used

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

USB lights don't last long, nothing to do with brightness.

What, the power stored in them doesn't last long, or the light itself fails after a few weeks???

 

[maomao]

USB lights don't last long, nothing to do with brightness.

That's probably largely down to brand.

Though lights can get a battering just from the constant vibration of being on the road and I'd be a lot happier trying to fix a battery light with a broken/loose connection than cracking open a rechargeable sealed unit.

 

[magneze]

What, the power stored in them doesn't last long, or the light itself fails after a few weeks???

The former.

 

[gentlegreen]

Difficult to understand why. A rechargeable lamp is a rechargeable lamp.

 

[magneze]

 

[gentlegreen]

I must get my meter on my Philips Saferide 80 that's USB charged (non-turbo).
It has 4 x 2AH ish NiMHs in - so about 5 watt-hours...
I think the LEDs run at more like 3 watts ...

 

[Cid]

I have a dirt cheap USB rechargeable ridiculously bright light from amazon. £20, nice metal construction and you can er... charge your phone off it. Which admittedly is not hugely useful most of the time, but could see it coming in handy in a pinch.

It's true that all rechargeable batteries lose capacity... But... has to better than disposables. And the base level of tech seems to be pretty good these days.

n.b the rear light on that amazon job is pretty crap, I just have a collection of old ones. The front is very bright... Being in Sheffield probably won't test its limits until the clocks change.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Another plus for my “smart” lights is the battery meter on the app. No more surprise running out of charge. I just check when i get to work, then stick them on a plug if needed.

 

[gentlegreen]

I'm naturally going to rejig my Philips at some point..

I suppose my backup lamp might be the single 13650 cell phone charger I keep in my manbag - about 1 amp hour at 5 volts (was one of the better cells from an old laptop battery) and I have a plug-in lamp that probably runs at less than a watt so should be good for a few hours.
Hideous beam pattern of course so only for the direst of emergencies. I probably ought to carry some foil to tweak it.

 

[Cid]

On other consumer issues... Gloves and helmets? My old ones are getting properly worn out. Quite like the POC omne, the cheapest version of which (again, sadly amazon) seems to be one with a small peak, for that gravel look rather than any practical effect I suspect. I was thinking of a Kask Caipi, but when I started looking there were some offers around the £90 mark, which is not the case now. Should probably also look at cheap options.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

On other consumer issues... Gloves and helmets? My old ones are getting properly worn out. Quite like the POC omne, the cheapest version of which (again, sadly amazon) seems to be one with a small peak, for that gravel look rather than any practical effect I suspect. I was thinking of a Kask Caipi, but when I started looking there were some offers around the £90 mark, which is not the case now. Should probably also look at cheap options.

Helmets are strangely the one area of cycling I just can't be arsed to spend money on. Both the one I use for commuting and my "aero" one for club/road rides are from PlanetX. Think I paid about £15 for each of them. Both are lightweight and comfortable, which is all I ask really.

As for gloves, I seem to get through them at an incredible rate, so again just look for whatever is on a discount at the time.

 

[Cid]

Helmets are strangely the one area of cycling I just can't be arsed to spend money on. Both the one I use for commuting and my "aero" one for club/road rides are from PlanetX. Think I paid about £15 for each of them. Both are lightweight and comfortable, which is all I ask really.

As for gloves, I seem to get through them at an incredible rate, so again just look for whatever is on a discount at the time.

Yeah you're probably right... I do have an On-one helmet (as a spare), just fine the straps are a bit crap and there's a lack of decent padding. Might try riding it a few days, see if I get used to it.

 

[sleaterkinney]

On other consumer issues... Gloves and helmets? My old ones are getting properly worn out. Quite like the POC omne, the cheapest version of which (again, sadly amazon) seems to be one with a small peak, for that gravel look rather than any practical effect I suspect. I was thinking of a Kask Caipi, but when I started looking there were some offers around the £90 mark, which is not the case now. Should probably also look at cheap options.

Kasks are good, I have a mojito. For gloves it’s just whatever feels good.

 

[gentlegreen]

I actually fitted my never-used 99p CR032 emergency lights this morning as it started out murky.
I used to have two sets but I'm down to one pair and the red one needs one of the two LEDs soldering ... thankfully it ended up only being a political gesture...
My emergency torch should do me in the event I actually find myself cycling through the woods.
I'm hoping to be home for good from around 2nd October so I haven't put enough effort into making a bracket for my Philips...

 

[sideboob]

Decent modern usb chargeable lights are great imo. You just need to spend a little bit more to get a decent battery life. I've got a several years old Cateye Volt front light that is bright enough to ride off road with on its full beam that I get a full week of commutes out of on a lower setting before I have to charge it.

The volt for me as well. This is a great series, worth checking out if you haven`t yet. The battery pack is removeable, charged by a usb. My volt 400 came with 2 batteries and a bunch of usb cables. The 400 is bright enough for my needs, but they have brighter ones, all the way up to 1700 lumens (if I remember correctly).

 

[Winot]

On other consumer issues... Gloves and helmets? My old ones are getting properly worn out. Quite like the POC omne, the cheapest version of which (again, sadly amazon) seems to be one with a small peak, for that gravel look rather than any practical effect I suspect. I was thinking of a Kask Caipi, but when I started looking there were some offers around the £90 mark, which is not the case now. Should probably also look at cheap options.

I’ve never found gloves that are properly winter warm. I’d go for whatever is available and get some silk liner gloves if you feel the cold.

Recently splashed out on this fancy helmet, which is 3D printed to the shape of your head (well, my head) and is consequently expensive. Very comfortable but they STILL haven’t cracked straps that stay tight.

 

[gentlegreen]

I use Aldi's "winter" gloves all year round - though they're old ones from years back as two subsequent "improvements" have been constrictive and impossible to cycle in.
They're skinny elastane things that are only inadequate on a few days of the year when the temperature is actually freezing at which point I resort to skiddy ski mitts or experimental electrified gloves.
When I rode motorcycles I used belstaff mitts over silk liners ..

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

I seem to be lucky with circulation, I can get away with nice lightweight gloves right the way down to freezing temperatures. Anything thick annoys me no end, you lose all feel on the bars.

 

[gentlegreen]

I seem to be lucky with circulation, I can get away with nice lightweight gloves right the way down to freezing temperatures. Anything thick annoys me no end, you lose all feel on the bars.

I'm amazed that for many years I rode with ski gloves all year - but once again they were fairly skinny ones - as well as knackered and disgusting and welded to my hands a lot of the time ...

 

[klang]

Gloves

for winter duties I can recommend skiing gloves. They tend to be durable, water proof and warm.

 

[Cid]

I’m not too fussed by the cold (well, except feet), and probably gonna use turbo trainer a lot this winter since no need to commute. Gloves mainly to avoid nerve damage and the like.

 

[Cid]

I’ve never found gloves that are properly winter warm. I’d go for whatever is available and get some silk liner gloves if you feel the cold.

Recently splashed out on this fancy helmet, which is 3D printed to the shape of your head (well, my head) and is consequently expensive. Very comfortable but they STILL haven’t cracked straps that stay tight.

View attachment 230567

Yeah I don’t think I’m up for a £300 helmet .

 

[DownwardDog]

I use Aldi's "winter" gloves all year round - though they're old ones from years back as two subsequent "improvements" have been constrictive and impossible to cycle in.
They're skinny elastane things that are only inadequate on a few days of the year when the temperature is actually freezing at which point I resort to skiddy ski mitts or experimental electrified gloves.
When I rode motorcycles I used belstaff mitts over silk liners ..

When I was a motorcycle courier in London in the mid 80s. Captain Maurice Seddon, Royal Signals (Retired) came to the office and try to sell us his revolutionary electrically heated gloves. We took one looker at the Beezer he had arrived on and decided we didn't fancy bursting into flames on Vauxhall Bridge Road no matter how cold it was.

 

[gentlegreen]

In the main he favoured 350cc Velocettes - or was that Royce Creasey ?
But Seddon made me fantasise that I might be able to bolt a Lucas alternator to my Norton Commando - sadly I learned that the disused magneto part of the timing chest would not be up to the job

I love my electric blanket and I wouldn't rule out cabling up some combis with underfloor heating wire when I'm old and feeling the cold ...