Autumn non-solar tour

[WheezyRider]

Mein Mann und ich planen eine 800 km lange Reise, wir haben einen kleinen Wohnwagen, den wir 2017 gekauft haben, und zwei Elektrofahrräder。

Aber ich habe das gleiche Problem wie Sie, ich habe auch keinen Solargenerator。 Wie soll ich ihn also während der Fahrt mit Strom versorgen？

Ich weiß nicht, ob ich mich für den Wohnwagen oder die E-Bikes entscheiden soll.
Bei einem E-Bike sollte eine Powerstation 500 Watt ausreichen，bei einem Wohnwagen brauche ich vielleicht mehr.

Translation from web translator (hopfully someone can improve this):

My husband and I are planning an 800km trip, we have a small caravan we bought in 2017 and two electric bikes。 But I have the same problem as you, I don't have a solar generator either。 So how am I supposed to power it while driving? I don't know whether to choose the caravan or the e-bikes. For an e-bike, a power station 500 watts should be sufficient, for a caravan I might need more.

 

[WheezyRider]

Five days with a warm welcome and a hot shower at the end means I don't mind the roughing it on the way! I take two long breaks each day in cafes and pubs, so not as grim as it might seem.

I have been very fortunate with weather on my rides this year, so this is just a little balance coming my way.

The only wet thing is the tent, which is down in just a couple of minutes, so although I'm living in goretex, as soon as I'm riding I'm warm and dry inside.

I would not go off on a circular tour from home to home with the forecast I had setting out this time, but this was a journey to a distant destination for a week's stay.

Rear tyre is my third, and so far no punctures, a Schwalbe Road Cruiser. Front is the original WTB Riddler gravel tyre, only still there to see how much longer it lasts than the original rear. The rear was a slick at 5,000km, the front still has tiny height of tread at 12,800. But needs changing when I get home.

All my punctures bar two have been from trimmed thorn hedges or on the trailer from spoke nipples working through the rim tape.

The other two were a glass shard and a sharp tiny piece of grit.

They come in bunches, but overall 750 miles per puncture. If I get fed up, I know all I need to do is go Marathon Plus!

Those tyres are not great, even the Schwalbe Road Cruiser is a low end tyre, protection only level 3 and durability not great.

In addition to puncture resistance and durability, you might want to think about rolling resistance if you are touring and have to worry about power consumption. I noticed a huge difference in moving to better tyres. Have a look here for reference:

Touring Bike Tires Test Results | Bicycle Rolling Resistance

An overview of all Tour/E-Bike tires which have been reviewed after being tested on our rolling resistance testing machine.

www.bicyclerollingresistance.com

 

[guerney]

Marathon Plus slip away sideways at the merest hint of a wet surface (small patches of mud, wet manhole covers etc.) which is one of the other reasons why I avoid offroad (and the larger flat wet metal parts onroad) like the plague. They last ages, but when my Marathon Plus eventually wear down, I may try one of Schwalbe's deeper knobbled Plus versions (if I can find them in 20")

Schwalbe Marathon Plus MTB 27.5x 2.10Elastics, 11101024 by Schwalbe : Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Outdoors

Shop Schwalbe Marathon Plus MTB 27.5x 2.10Elastics, 11101024 by Schwalbe. Free delivery and returns on all eligible orders.

www.amazon.co.uk

Schwalbe Marathon Plus MTB 27.5x 2.10Elastics, 11101024 by Schwalbe : Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Outdoors

Shop Schwalbe Marathon Plus MTB 27.5x 2.10Elastics, 11101024 by Schwalbe. Free delivery and returns on all eligible orders.

www.amazon.co.uk

 

[WheezyRider]

I'm running 40 mm wide Marathon E-Plus on the back and not had such grip problems. Today I powered up a fairly steep muddy embankment and the rear wheel did not lose traction at all, I expected it to spin and bog down, but it didn't. One of the main cycle routes is a wide mud track on a shallow down hill slope. No problem running down that at 20 mph without concerns.

On the front I have a 40mm wide Marathon Almotion (of the older variety that seems to have a lower rolling resistance than the newer version). That only let me down once, on ice. I would not touch some of their other products with a barge pole - I used to have Duranos and they were awful in the wet and still had quite a high rolling resistance.

https://www.schwalbetires.com/Marathon-E-Plus-11159053.01

For 20" wheels, I'm wondering about these. They are supposed to be for cargo bikes, but I have seen some good reviews:

https://www.schwalbetires.com/Schwalbe-Pick-Up-11159144

 

[WheezyRider]

Something I feel Schwalbe tyre compounds do not like is when there has been a bit of rain on roads that have salted. Seems to interfere with the adhesion of the rubber compound they use, especially when the weather is cold.

 

[sjpt]

I think Marathon Plus are great, but I agree with the slip problem. I don't have any issues with forward traction, and I always take corners very slowly anyway, but they can be awkward on a sideways sloping path with a slippery muddy surface.

 

[guerney]

I used to have Duranos and they were awful in the wet and still had quite a high rolling resistance.

Duranos do look like they'd be awful in the wet

Something I feel Schwalbe tyre compounds do not like is when there has been a bit of rain on roads that have salted. Seems to interfere with the adhesion of the rubber compound they use, especially when the weather is cold.

The upside to such a hard compound is wear resistance, which leads me to believe the smaller contact surface area which some deeper knobbly treads provide, may be my way rolling forward with Schwalbes of some flavour. Marathon Plus take too long to wear down...

I'm not too concerned about rolling resistance - 19.2ah battery and 80nm torqued BBS01b.

 

[egroover]

I have found the Schwalbe Energizer Plus to be a great all rounder, good grip in all conditions and temperatures, low rolling resistance, durable and great puncture protection. Reasonably priced too if you shop around (https://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-energizer-plus-performance-tyre)

 

[matthewslack]

A day and a half into the return trip, 222km done, no more than 500 to go.

I delayed setting off by a day because of 60mph wind forecast. Even as a tailwind, that's a bit dicey. So six days available for a five day ride.

Each time I ride the route I see or find bits of main road avoidance I have previously missed. The unpleasant bit of A548 is now down to less than 10 miles, but yesterday still contained two unbelievable overtaking big van/small truck vehicles, in the face of oncoming traffic, and for their speed uncomfortably close to me.

Today's bette noir is Garstang. It doesn't matter whether I use the A6 bypass or take the road through the middle, the traffic is heavy and bad tempered. The bypass mostly has narrow white line indicated 'cycle lanes', but use them and I ride on debris in the gutter, and have 60mph traffic assuming that the white line offers me protection. Ride at normal 1m from road edge, half in and half out, and the traffic mostly does nothing different, it is just closer.

The other way, smaller old A road either side of the town is full of narrowly avoided head on overtaking collisions each one of which would merit reporting if it wasn't just the norm.

Oh well! It all gets better when I get north of the M6 junction 34 link road.

I have been running long first stints, 50+ miles, and then two charging stops quite close together. As far as I can on the two downtube batteries, then lunch, then ride until dusk, then early dinner, then gentle ride into the dark and on to camp.

Last night I was back on the Wirral, tonight somewhere north of Lancaster, although I have yet to choose a route through/past the Lakes. Perhaps Shap from the south, perhaps old favourite Dunmail Raise.

Holiday homework: a little amateur building.



Short rainbow.



Rhos on Sea view to wind farm. Many turbines!



Sun and shadow on the sand, Conwy estuary.



Crazy overtake.





Sunrise this morning.

 

[egroover]

A day and a half into the return trip, 222km done, no more than 500 to go.

I delayed setting off by a day because of 60mph wind forecast. Even as a tailwind, that's a bit dicey. So six days available for a five day ride.

Each time I ride the route I see or find bits of main road avoidance I have previously missed. The unpleasant bit of A548 is now down to less than 10 miles, but yesterday still contained two unbelievable overtaking big van/small truck vehicles, in the face of oncoming traffic, and for their speed uncomfortably close to me.

Today's bette noir is Garstang. It doesn't matter whether I use the A6 bypass or take the road through the middle, the traffic is heavy and bad tempered. The bypass mostly has narrow white line indicated 'cycle lanes', but use them and I ride on debris in the gutter, and have 60mph traffic assuming that the white line offers me protection. Ride at normal 1m from road edge, half in and half out, and the traffic mostly does nothing different, it is just closer.

The other way, smaller old A road either side of the town is full of narrowly avoided head on overtaking collisions each one of which would merit reporting if it wasn't just the norm.

Oh well! It all gets better when I get north of the M6 junction 34 link road.

I have been running long first stints, 50+ miles, and then two charging stops quite close together. As far as I can on the two downtube batteries, then lunch, then ride until dusk, then early dinner, then gentle ride into the dark and on to camp.

Last night I was back on the Wirral, tonight somewhere north of Lancaster, although I have yet to choose a route through/past the Lakes. Perhaps Shap from the south, perhaps old favourite Dunmail Raise.

Holiday homework: a little amateur building.

View attachment 49393

Short rainbow.

View attachment 49390

Rhos on Sea view to wind farm. Many turbines!

View attachment 49392

Sun and shadow on the sand, Conwy estuary.

View attachment 49394

Crazy overtake.

View attachment 49391

View attachment 49389

Sunrise this morning.

View attachment 49395

Those near misses with idiot drivers are enough alone to put you off touring in this country where there's little respect for cyclists as equal road users by a large percentage of drivers.
This is why I love cycle touring on the continent, particularly Belgium and Holland. Cyclists are king of the roads there, everyone else gives way and is very careful and patient

 

[matthewslack]

I often open the bidding once I have secured permission to charge while I eat with ' the largest pot of tea the world has ever seen'.

Kirkby Lonsdale, the Royal Hotel is the winner!



All mine, all mine!

 

[esuark]

This is why I love cycle touring on the continent, particularly Belgium and Holland. Cyclists are king of the roads there, everyone else gives way and is very careful and patient

have to agree, takes a bit of getting use to. I was with a group and we were surprised at our first T junction when cars stopped to let us across the top of the T . On another occasion we had cars sounding their horns at us until one of us spotted the cycle path the other side of the long grass on the verge.

 

[jimriley]

Re Usb charging, I have a direct wired 36v/5v usb socket on the handlebars, works a treat, charging from the batteries via the fused feed to the lights. Do they use too much power in the conversion perhaps ?

 

[matthewslack]

Re Usb charging, I have a direct wired 36v/5v usb socket on the handlebars, works a treat, charging from the batteries via the fused feed to the lights. Do they use too much power in the conversion perhaps ?

I use DC/DC converters on my solar setup, but in the pure Shimano downtube battery setup I have no access to the 36V supply.

So all charging has to happen from the mains in my charging stops. Phone, camera and lights are more of a problem to keep up than the bike!

 

[matthewslack]

There seem to be a lot of electronic experts here so I have a question. What safety features should I look for when choosing a dc to dc converter, if I wanted to solder it directly to my ebike battery? I would like a converter which won't set my bike battery alight when it fails for whatever reason.

Include a fuse in the feed, and make sure it is a suitably small rating. Then any electrical fault in the converter will blow the fuse, not trash your battery or cause a fire.

Many fuse collections only go down to 5A, which is far more than my 36V to 5V, 3A converter will ever draw from the 36V.

 

[matthewslack]

What a wet day! From just south of Sedbergh to halfway between Carlisle and Lockerbie, just incessant drizzle. Just a tiny interlude in Cavendish Gardens, where it is always sunny, but even there the road surface was mysteriously damp.



And then after an hour of chasing the edge of the clouds, I emerged into blue sky for the last hour or so of daylight, and now a clear full moonlit night with fireworks all around.

263 miles in total now on the return trip, so on course for 5 days.

I pushed the batteries to the limit this evening, with the second just going flat as I arrived at my charging and eating destination. The reserve battery was there, but not quite needed.

Tomorrow there is one last long leg over to Abington and then I have almost unlimited choice of places to charge until the other side of Glasgow.

I've a challenge to get enough GoPro batteries charged to run both cameras on the last day. There were a fair number of bad incidents on the A82 and A85 on the way down, and the two viewpoints captures them very well.

The wet conditions caused an error code on the bike. E020, which after a few seconds turned the bike off. I removed the battery, gave the contact area a good wipe to clear any dampness and all was well afterwards. Swapping batteries in the rain inevitably lets some moisture get past all the rubber seals.

I'm glad of the dry evening, but steeling myself for another two long wet days!

 

[egroover]

What a wet day! From just south of Sedbergh to halfway between Carlisle and Lockerbie, just incessant drizzle. Just a tiny interlude in Cavendish Gardens, where it is always sunny, but even there the road surface was mysteriously damp.

View attachment 49411

And then after an hour of chasing the edge of the clouds, I emerged into blue sky for the last hour or so of daylight, and now a clear full moonlit night with fireworks all around.

263 miles in total now on the return trip, so on course for 5 days.

I pushed the batteries to the limit this evening, with the second just going flat as I arrived at my charging and eating destination. The reserve battery was there, but not quite needed.

Tomorrow there is one last long leg over to Abington and then I have almost unlimited choice of places to charge until the other side of Glasgow.

I've a challenge to get enough GoPro batteries charged to run both cameras on the last day. There were a fair number of bad incidents on the A82 and A85 on the way down, and the two viewpoints captures them very well.

The wet conditions caused an error code on the bike. E020, which after a few seconds turned the bike off. I removed the battery, gave the contact area a good wipe to clear any dampness and all was well afterwards. Swapping batteries in the rain inevitably lets some moisture get past all the rubber seals.

I'm glad of the dry evening, but steeling myself for another two long wet days!

I find singing as I ride in the rain helps lift my spirits !

 

[matthewslack]

Eating chocolate seems to help too!

Today has turned out nice after two torrential hours first thing. I have a nice long charging stop at Abington services, went in like a drowned rat and emerged to light drizzle which within an hour was blue sky.

Now recharging again in Wetherspoon's right next to Glasgow central station, under 100 miles to go according to AA route planner, but I always seem to go further than they say.

Another 20 or so miles tonight, and hopefully enough charge to get me to Tyndrum if I use my reserve battery. So perhaps only one more charging stop after this one.

Tomorrow is set to be another deluge, but the last of this trip.

Not much in the way of pictures as I need to conserve phone battery, but here is last night's roadside camp and the very well behaved neighbours.

 

[matthewslack]

Nearly home!

Lunch in my regular last charging stop, the Real Food Cafe in Tyndrum, and then 37 miles to go. 25 main road then welcome last 12 on lanes.

A bit of a soft deadline, last ferry at 6pm, but I don't need to be home until tomorrow, so no crisis if I miss it.

Hammering down with rain as I packed away, having camped beside a lock on the Clyde and Forth canal, and within a km a welcome dry space under a short tunnel/long bridge to repair the first of three punctures.

I didn't find the thorn the first time, it was a real brute embedded in a tread block and not obvious to my fingers.

Only two patches left, might be sacrificing my oldest tube at this rate!

All punctures in the worn out front, unprotected WTB Riddler, none in the rear level 3 Schwalbe Road Cruiser. I guess the front hits them all first...

Fingers crossed for the last lap.

I've got 7 bars of battery for 37 miles, which should be close but fine. The hills in the last 12 miles always make me want a bit more than the minimum.

Onwards!