Haibike sDuro HardSeven SL 2015 Yamaha (7 Month 1600 Miles)

[georgehenry]

A longer route combining a section by train.

I think bikes often combine well with trains despite many operators making it harder for cyclists.

So my target was The Shed in Lindford Hampshire where I could get a bite to eat before riding back home. As insurance I took a basic sandwich with me as there was a potential turn back position at Hindhead if I decided not to go the whole way.

By going on at Hindhead I was committing myself by heading into a long descent to my final destination and that of course also committed me to a long uphill section back, potentially too far for my by that stage depleted battery to cope with . But I had a plan that I hoped would alleviate my range stress.

The weather was mixed with some nice sunshine at times but also the possibility of a downpour. The route is a tiring one which involves a lot of climbing but also some nice descending.

Lots of great cross country off road riding. I chose The Shed as I had previously discovered it had a great Tai Food outlet, as well as many other food outlets and open plan seating so you can sit where you like.

At Hindhead it started to rain lightly but I decided to keep to my longer route plan and put on my waterproofs. I forgot to put on a hat and the rain became a downpour but I carried on as I was flying along and did not want to stop.

It was a bit further to The Shed than I had anticipated and I had 63% of my battery left when I got there after just over 16 miles of riding despite conserving my battery where I could.

63% would have got me back home with careful riding but probably used most of my battery as the capacity tends to reduce much quicker in the bottom half of my now just over 8 year old battery.

However, after eating at The Shed once before when out on a walk with friends I had noticed plentiful power points dotted around the walls in the public areas so my plan was hoping to be able to get a crafty top up charge.

The previous time I had been there I was on foot with friends and was a little dismayed that I had not noticed a sign saying that bicycles were not allowed inside.

I wheeled my bike in anyway, and found it much busier than my last visit. I wound my way through to close to the rear entrance and found a place to lean my bike and a power point to plug it in. I had donned water proofs for the downpour of heavy rain. These I removed and draped over my bike in a way that mostly obscured that I was charging.

No one said anything and I sat at a table close to the rear doors looking back through the open plan seating area close to my bike and had a very tasty Tai chicken and rice dish.

I took my time and when I got up to leave my battery was showing a more healthy 89%. I have not tried a mid ride top up charge before but it worked well this time.

Some road work to get me to the access lane to Ludshott Common and then another lovely chunk of off road with in places a steep climbing route through the common. Then some more road work still climbing through Grayshott, eventually reaching the high point of Hindhead. Here I would normally have carried on into Hindhead Common and The Devils Punch Bowl.

However this time I took instead the A287 down into Haslemere, a 40mph road but with descending gradients steep enough to see up to 35 mph on my speedo being maintained on my bike for big chunks. At this speed I was above where I could pedal with my now reduced gearing but the speed was reached without pedaling with just gravity in charge.

Haslemere railway station was my target and by luck I only had to wait 10 minutes for a fast train that missed out the two in between stops and got me back to my home town of Godalming in 10 minutes.

It was a great ride, but I still felt compelled to conserve battery on a very steep first off road section of about 8 miles, so I am feeling pretty tired today.

PS I left The Shed by the back door and passed a cycle shop that sold Wisper bikes.

When I got home my battery was showing 48% remaining. My total mileage for this ride of about 50% off road and 50% on with lots of long climbs was 26 and a half miles.

 

[AndyBike]

I'm beginning to wonder if George actually has a home...

 

[esuark]

I'm beginning to wonder if George actually has a home...

like me the joys of being retired...............

 

[georgehenry]

Godalming to Haslemere off road

A really great ride with a variety of off road tracks from easy car width tracks to rooty narley technical single tracks with steep accents and descents.



A beautiful track beside a lake on the way to Thursley


Traversing the punchbowl still on the way to Gibbet Hill

I have been exploring the numerous off road tracks in the area that falls between The Devils Punch Bowl and Haslemere. I have been riding from my home in Godalming and one issue I have had to deal with is that from where I live involves a lot of climbing to get to the top of the punch bowl passing by Gibbet Hill before I reach the area I am exploring and by the time I reach it my full battery has fallen to around 68%. That does not sound too bad but it is a bit of a labyrinth of tracks to explore on the side of a steep hill, so it would be all too easy to run low on battery. I don't need to worry about riding back home as I take the Train back from Haslemere to Godalming. So a but like the problem the luftwaffe had in The Battle of Britain only having a limited time to fight after using their fuel getting across the channel to fight us I had to keep an eye on my battery level in the area I was exploring.

What a fantastic mountain riding spot it is. Because of that there are tracks that have been created on downhill slopes through the trees and you need to be wary as these can be frankly too steep and technical for an entry level hard tail bike like mine without a dropper post.Fun though. There are also byways that are used by motorbikes and four wheel drives and these can tend a bit towards rock gardens, but still fun.

So I had lots of fun, with still a lot more exploring to do to start to really know the tracks, but I now have a good route with a bit of everything. It does stray onto a footpath at one point but I saw no one on that bit and it had the most fantastic on the limit (for my bike) steep technical climb with what looked like a sewer/water services pipe popping in and out of view on one side. I needed my middle assist and careful line choice to make it up without stopping but I made it and had a marvelous feeling of achievement.

That track eventually popped me out onto Farnham lane just below The Royal School and I rode down the hill a short distance before accessing a byway on the left that was a steep downhill descent. A road to cross at the bottom and then another track more a single track before a another bit of road to descend to within a 100 yards of the Station.

So 14.9 miles ridden and 48% of my battery left when I got home. Not bad considering all the climbing and occasional use of higher assist. Range forecast to empty if I had carried on at the same consumption level 28.65.

Total mileage now stands at 18,290, although becoming a little irrelevant as I am on my second motor and had that refurbished quite recently. Still the original battery though.

 

[esuark]

Look`s heaven rode a lot in that area firstly motorcycle trials events and then mountain biking events.

 

[georgehenry]

Yes esuark, I have also ridden the byways on a motorbike, but my crank drive was wonderful in the spectacular terrain. The views and the tracks are tremendous. Puts a smile on your face.

 

[georgehenry]

A continuing repetition of my ride from Godalming to Haslemere exploring and refining my off road connection from Gibbet Hill to Haslemere Railway Station.

I am continuing my rides from Godalming to Haslemere with two trips this week exploring the connecting tracks from Gibbet Hill to Haslemere railway station.

There is a bit of road work to get from my house to Milford to then get off road via Witley and Thursley commons at first on gravel car width tracks and then root strewn sandy single tracks at the edge of Thursley Common past the beautiful forked Pond.

I am then a bit naughty accessing a temporary work access road that has been put on top of a track I previously used to connect me to Thursley. I do not think I am the only one and no one seems that bothered. At the top I pop out of the common and ride on the road a short distance into the village, past the pub, and then turn left to pass the church and take a tiny single track road that connects me to a byway which is my connection to The Devils Punch Bowl. Soon I am on spectacular single tracks, with views opening out of the punch bowl.

Today I connected to a single track just to the east of the old A3 road route a track taking me up in the direction of Gibbet Hill traversing the slope, with a view down to the new A3 where it disappears into Hindhead tunnel. At regular intervals this very nice track I was on was cut across by much steeper mountain bike tracks cutting directly down the hill and looking like a lot of fun on the right bike, which mine is not.

After quite a long section of gentle gradients traversing around the slope of the hill it began to climb becoming much steeper and although I almost made it using my highest power setting and lowest gear 38/36, I was defeated by one very short section of very steep gradient and lots of raised roots and a step despite leaning well forward and picking good lines the bike just could not quite make it.

I have to push just a matter of 15 or so yards to get past this and then can ride again to the top of Gibbet Hill. Then to my new area that I am beginning to understand and take more great tracks that get me to Farnham Lane near The Royal School. Now the tracks I have used before to connect me to Haslemere Railway station. Today I recorded 14 .3 miles and got home with 52% battery remaining and Wednesday it was 14.4 miles.

A really great ride to make the most of the beautiful countryside and currently perfect weather.

 

[georgehenry]

Exeter to Torquay on Cycle route 2

Earlier in the year I had booked a Hotel deal for a two night weekend stay (Saturday and Sunday) in Torquay, with the intention of using my 2015 sDuro as transport.

I was lucky to be able to keep my travel cost down by making use of my free travel pass as a retired rail worker which enabled me to get to Exeter St Davids at no cost. So two full panniers and a ruc sac tethered on the back.

The train journey down necessitated one change. The train to Exeter was a diesel with an almost unfit for purpose bike area. The only way to get my bike in was with the handlebars turned through ninety degrees and then only just, but it did ironically mean it was held quite securely. I secured the front wheel to the useless wheel clamp with my D lock for extra peace of mind. After that a pleasant journey.

At Exeter I got ready to cycle. I used my phone on a handle bar holder and google maps having chosen the cycle option and the route.

I had never used google maps app cycle option before but on this journey it worked very well. The cycle paths beside the river Exe where very nice. There were a few intersections, but google maps meant staying on the right route was easy.

The predicted distance on the chosen route was 26 miles. However the journey was very much a game of two halves with roughly two thirds mostly level beside the river and the sea on cycle paths or quiet roads. Then around Dawlish approaching Teignmouth the route diverted onto busier roads with steep long hills followed by steep descents rolling one after another. .

Knowing there was a lot of steep climbing to come at the end of the route I conserved my battery as much as I could on the flatter part at the beginning by riding large sections with no assist, or adding just enough low assistance to keep momentum where the gradient started rising. My Haibike rides very well with the assist off with no apparent drag from the drive system. On the much steeper hills from Dawlish I still used my lowest assist level and dropped through the gears to climb at a slower pace to conserve battery. Then off on the steep downhills that followed.

The climb after Teignmouth was indicated as 800ft of ascent in three miles. This was on the quite narrow A379 with large sections of double white lines. A road sign at the start showed 8 miles to Torquay. I was aware of traffic building up behind me and looked out for the relatively few places I could pull over to let them pass. The car drivers were very polite and waved their gratitude when I got a chance to let them pass. No aggro at all. A thumbs up to Devon drivers.

As I got to the outskirts of Torquay at St Mary Church I realised I had perhaps conserved my battery too well as I was still well over half full. I popped into Torque-E-Cycles at Babbacombe for a chat, the shop mentioned by soundwave. He was impressed that my 9 and a half year old battery was still half full after riding from Exeter but sadly said he could not re cell the Yamaha battery.

Then on to the Hotel to check in and recuperate my tired muscles. A Brilliant ride with lovely views but a sting in the tail with lots of climbing.

I though afterwards that you could make your life much easier by only riding the flat section and the get the train to Torquay from Dawlish Warren or Dawlish. But I am pleased on this occasion I rode the whole way.

 

[chris_n]

I changed my 2016 Haibike hardtail for a Merida full suspension bike last month as I had discomfort on rough descents following an operation earlier in the year. One thing I did notice on the newer bikes I tested before purchase was that the transition from powered to unpowered at cut off was much more progressive and all of them rode better with no power than the 2016 Yamaha.
My 400Wh battery still showed full capacity on self test and I hadn't actually noticed any fall off in performance. My battery for those who don't know has a very easy life in some respects as it is backed up with a 385Wh range extender. However the flip side of this is I am riding in the Alps with a minimum of 1000m of ascent on every ride which could be up to 100km, shorter rides with 3000m have also been completed.
I can't fault the longevity or performance of this system and was pleased to get half of the original purchase price back on a second hand sale.

 

[guerney]

I was lucky to be able to keep my travel cost down by making use of my free travel pass as a retired rail worker which enabled me to get to Exeter St Davids at no cost.

That's a great perk. After paying £116 yesterday, I asked a train guard about this and he said officially, retirees get a 20% discount, but they generally travel for free. Could you upload a scan of your ID card? There must be counterfeit rail worker IDs somewhere online...

 

[georgehenry]

My pass incorporates my ID and is an annual pass that I have to apply for each year but is provided to me free and allows me to travel free on all the routes that the company I worked for cover. I chose to go to Exeter St Davids as that is the furthest point I can get to free on that part of the network my old company covered.

Hence my bike ride to Torquay.

I was not sure if my retired pass would give me a discount with other train operators but when I traveled home it was raining so rather than cycle I bought a ticket at Torquay railway station to Exeter St Davids. The person in the ticket Office asked if I had any passes and I presented my retired pass and had to only pay £1.90 for my single fair, a lot less than without a discount. So it would appear I can either travel free or with a hefty discount.

 

[georgehenry]

I changed my 2016 Haibike hardtail for a Merida full suspension bike last month as I had discomfort on rough descents following an operation earlier in the year. One thing I did notice on the newer bikes I tested before purchase was that the transition from powered to unpowered at cut off was much more progressive and all of them rode better with no power than the 2016 Yamaha.
My 400Wh battery still showed full capacity on self test and I hadn't actually noticed any fall off in performance. My battery for those who don't know has a very easy life in some respects as it is backed up with a 385Wh range extender. However the flip side of this is I am riding in the Alps with a minimum of 1000m of ascent on every ride which could be up to 100km, shorter rides with 3000m have also been completed.
I can't fault the longevity or performance of this system and was pleased to get half of the original purchase price back on a second hand sale.

Based on our experiences Chris you have to say that uur entry level Haibike Yamaha hard tails of 2015/2016 were both a very good buy.

 

[I893469365902345609348566]

Talking of trains, I saw this yesterday. A lot of bull. I'd have preferred to see this steampunk/cyberbull autonomously attacking travellers. Glad it wasn't a badger.

 

[chris_n]

Based on our experiences Chris you have to say that uur entry level Haibike Yamaha hard tails of 2015/2016 were both a very good buy.

They certainly were, if it wasn't for the discomfort I have on rough ground (or maybe if I slowed down, but that's unlikely) then I wouldn't have changed the bike. The addition of the extender after hiring a spare battery from a local hire shop (€5 per day) was a game changer enabling much longer tours with a lot more climbing.

 

[georgehenry]

Day Two: Torquay to Broadsands Beach Paighton, then on to Colton Fishacre National Trust Property and gardens and back to the Hotel.

I had tired myself on the bike ride from Exeter to Torquay. Some of it my own fault by using low and no assist so that I had enough battery for the very demanding second half of that 25.7 mile journey (according to google maps) with 1243 ft of climbing and 1398 ft of descending, (again according to google maps).

However some time in the pool/steam room/sauna of the Hotel and a nice dinner, followed by a good nights sleep and a good breakfast worked wonders and I was raring to go on the second day of my adventure.

I wanted to visit a beach called Broadsands, really just to see what it was like. After an impressive debut, I intended to use google maps cycle app again. The ride to Broadsands was showing as 5.7 miles with 709 ft of climbing and 364 ft of descending.

I nice road ride there until it routed me down a steep footpath with views to the beach. A lovely sandy beach with beach huts and a cafe with a good sized car park behind. I was lucky that while I was there a Steam Train travelling from Paighton to Dartmouth passed by on a viaduct overlooking the beach making a very picturesque sight.

So now onto the the second part of my ride, from Broadsands to the National Trust House Coleton Fishacre. Google maps showed a journey of 5.7 miles with 709 ft of climbing and 364 ft of descending. I rode away from Broadsands out of the car park and then was routed through a quiet housing estate twice being taken to the end of cul de sacs where a footpath linked to the next level up. The second of these footpaths had barriers that necessitated pushing the bike around them and then only about thirty metres of footpath before more barriers to push the bike around to link to the next level up. So google map cycle routes do include footpaths but kept me on very quiet residential roads. Both footpaths were short and steep and I elected to ride up both rather than push but there was no one on either.

I was impressed to be kept on really quiet tiny lanes. Then I was diverted onto a very nice unmade lane for a third of a mile which was great. Then onto a busy A3022, for only a tenth of a mile, but amidst impatient traffic. Fortunately I was directed to turn right almost immediately at the next junction. Another lovely quiet tiny Devon lane.

Then came the most fun bit of the route for me, marked unsuitable for road vehicles it turned into a proper challenging rocky steep climb of just under half a mile. I loved it, but if you were a different sort of rider on a different sort of bike you might not have loved it so much. You popped straight out onto the A379 so care was required. There was now 2.3 miles of busier road work before turning onto quiet country lanes again, that got increasingly smaller as you approached Coleton Fishacre.

I was met by a friendly volunteer at the car park and now made a mistake. Due to how friendly she was I asked if there was anywhere I could plug in and top up my battery. She directed me to the "House Manager" and before I even got a chance to ask I knew just from the look of her what the answer was going to be. No No No. Oh well. In fairness my charge level was still an impressive 68% after 12 miles of very hilly Devon, but with a top up charge I might have extended my ride to include Dartmouth. I was directed to the bike area and blimey right next to it were two RCD protected outside plugs. Well I was naughty and locked my bike up and plugged in.

I had a great visit, the gardens are superb and the house similar. When I got back to my bike it had been unplugged. Fair enough. The manager then turned up to say she had to unplug me but that The National Trust were in the process of adding dedicated areas where electric bikes can be plugged in, but that the planning process takes a long time.

If I had not asked and just plugged in, probably no one would have known but that would have been naughtier still!

So rather than tempt fate by adding another destination I headed back to the Hotel. A very nice 12 mile ride. As there was a lot of fast descending on roads using low or no assist I probably could have made it back to the hotel by only using half of the battery, but you've got to live a bit and I was enjoying riding faster and using the assist to keep my pace up where ever the gradient rose and in Devon it inevitably will, and on the last very steep up hill to The Hotel I used higher assist to take the sting out of it. Frivolous I know! I cannot now remember how low the battery got, but not below 40%. Back at the Hotel I gave the battery a half an hour charge to get it back above 50%.

According to google maps my trip out had included 1903 ft of climbing, and 23.3 miles.

Then I walked down to the sea and had a swim. Then back to the Hotel for more pool/steam room/sauna.

That evening while eating my roast beef dinner I reflected on a superb day of riding.

The next day it was raining so after breakfast I checked out and rode to Torquay Station and caught the Train back to Exeter. A great trip away that I feel sure I will repeat.

Almost completely free rail travel (£1.90) and a very good Hotel deal kept the costs down.

 

[georgehenry]

Great ride on the 3rd of October

Now a favourite of mine, to a friends house in Lindford Hampshire for a walk with my friend and then a ride home. There is a lot of climbing in both directions, and my friend lets me charge my bike in his garage while we are on our walk.

Although there is some road work involved, there is more off road and through beautiful Surrey common land and the spectacular Devils Punch Bowl.

I definitely feel quite tired at the end and feel it in my legs the next day.

A quick check on the mileage of the bike reveals I have covered 19,082 miles. So 1,738 so far this year where the year ends in March 2024 to coincide with the month I bought the bike in 2015. I managed 2,046 in the previous year.

My replaced chain is approaching the .75 wear point and I will put the first part worn (.5) chain back on and try to make it last until the spring and then change the whole transmission.

My back tyre is close to worn out, so that will probably be changed quite soon. I will put another Schwalbe Hans Dampf gravity 2.35 tyre on as it has been very good, tough and hard wearing.

The rear brake can leak a little fluid where it connects at the handlebar but just needs nipping up from time to time.

The original battery still works well and still gives close to the range it did when new. I am now optimistically hoping the it might manage a 12 year life, as I look after it and it must have quality cells and a good battery management system.

We will see.

 

[georgehenry]

Blast from the Past



I road my old "Ride to work" route yesterday evening, to meet friends for a Curry. I was lucky to still be able to make use of a room to leave my bike in secure away from public areas and top my battery back up for the ride home. So just like I did when I was working. The date for the meal also fell nicely before the clocks change on Sunday, so I could ride the whole route with natural light as the sun went down.



I had forgotten how wonderful the cross country route to my old place of work is, and how challenging. The mileage I recorded when I got back home was 22.6 miles for the round trip, and as a shift worker I could work six days consecutively, so that would add up to 135 miles, with potentially six, nine and a half hour shifts of work to do as well, although the lengths of the shifts could vary, as could the start and finish times on a daily basis. How did I do that?



The curry was with a group of six old work colleagues, loosely part of a work book club, with one spouse thrown in for good measure. Of those six old work colleagues three including me are properly retired, two are still working but also pulling their pensions, the chancellor will be happy with tax return from those, and one is still working and paying in to their pension. A lovely evening.



A walk back to the railway station to collect my bike and ride my 10 mile undulating B Road route home. That seemed a bit harder than I remembered it too! Did I really do this every day!



The statistics of my battery use were interesting as I used the same amount of my batteries capacity based on my Yamaha display on this ride as I did when I rode the route when I worked, now over two years ago. I rode back from my last shift of work before I retired on Tuesday the 12th of October 2021 with my mileage standing at 14,312 miles. My original battery will be nine years old in March 2024. So 30% to ride the 12.6 mostly cross country miles to work, using low assist and off where possible, and 40% to ride the 10 mile road route home, again using a mixture of low assist, middle assist and off to travel at a faster speed.



Of course my battery is aging and this is more noticeable in the second half of the capacity where it is less resilient, especially if you use higher assist levels.



So my very unscientific approach to the analysis of my aging battery is that the the point at which the resilience of my battery to load becomes much less will slowly start to happen earlier and earlier.



My now close to worn out rear Schwalbe Hans Dampf gravity 2.35 tyre could slip under load in the muddy bits, but this could be controlled with the zero cadence system of the Yamaha by instantly reducing and then gently returning power to the back wheel by adjusting how much pressure you applied to the pedals and each change instantly felt in the power delivery to the back wheel. I love the zero cadence system. I will though definitely need a new tyre in the near future. With the nobles worn down there is probably a greater puncture risk, but the carcass on this tyre is so tough it has proved bullet proof so far with no punctures.

Total mileage for the bike now stands at 19,132.

 

[esuark]

Yes there comes a time to give up work altogether I retired at 65 but used to go back to help out from about Christmas time to mid April for a reoccurring project. Covid put a stop to that and that was my last time though altogether I did another year. I was asked to return after Covid but enough was enough, I`d sold my tools. It suited me to be there in winter time and be with colleagues, but that was another life.
Like georgehenry I still see for drinks and a meal old colleagues regularly but we know that in the short time we've been away from it things have changed.

 

[guerney]

I had forgotten how wonderful the cross country route to my old place of work is, and how challenging. The mileage I recorded when I got back home was 22.6 miles for the round trip, and as a shift worker I could work six days consecutively, so that would add up to 135 miles, with potentially six, nine and a half hour shifts of work to do as well, although the lengths of the shifts could vary, as could the start and finish times on a daily basis. How did I do that?

It's amazing how quickly fitness can be lost! If I don't slow jog for a couple of months, jogging 3 miles becomes harder and there are loads of aches for days afterwards. Ageing is a bitch! If you don't use it you lose it, you lose it if you use it too much.

 

[georgehenry]

Towards the end of my commuting to work days I was finding my self inflicted regime tiring, though still a lot of fun. My first rest day would generally be a recovery day for my body. I think though that as you get older continuing to be as active as you can be is extremely important. I have wrangled a discounted local leisure centre membership out of my GP practice. There is a current concesus that doing some strength work as you get older is important. I am not a gym fan, but with some money off for 6 months it seemed a good idea to try over the winter period. I cannot say the gym is that enjoyable, but one thing I am really enjoying is swimming. I used to swim, self taught and not that brilliant, front crawl, breathing always the same side, but I am a stayer and now swimming again still do a non stop mile like I used to, around 64 lengths of a 25 metre pool, just slower than before. I also used to run but cannot now as I have to manage a chronic full thickness tear to the medial meniscus in my right knee. It is very slowly getting worse and I may need to have surgery at some point, but the consultant I saw, back when I was working, told me that if I could cycle regularly a 22 mile round trip to work, and still walk 10 miles with friends, he thought it better to keep an eye on it rather than have surgery as knee surgery is less certain in its outcome and if you are unlucky will make things worse. As you say aging is a bummer in some ways.