How many people are using there e-bike off-road?

[EddiePJ]

Thanks Dave,

It has taken me a long time to decide upon which type of tyre to buy, but in the end I decided that the Ice Spiker was going to suit my needs, Subject of course to actually getting any snow.

I found this video to be the most helpful one that I came across on the subject.

[video=youtube_share;NHvDmgbRTDA]http://youtu.be/NHvDmgbRTDA[/video]

 

[Richy]

Where do you get studded tyres in the UK (halfords and chainreaction don't seem to stock them) and are they overkill for here?

 

[EddiePJ]

Overkill is good.

Actually I a few things/trips planned, so hopefully I have made the right choice.

A friend in Germany sourced them for me, but I think that Tredz sell them as does bike-discount

Because the BH is still off road, I fitted them to my old Marin Palisade and went for a ten mile steep and hard going ride on them on Saturday. I had to let them down way below the minimum recommended tyre pressure of 30psi, as only the centre studs were making contact. And yep, they do sound like riding across corn flakes. Adding this to a low pressure jelly ride and pouring hard rain and wind, it wasn't the nicest of rides. Only another 15miles more to go, although all of the studs already now look nicely bedded in.

 

[103Alex1]

Where do you get studded tyres in the UK (halfords and chainreaction don't seem to stock them) and are they overkill for here?

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/classifieds/16063-brand-new-premium-suomi-nokian-hakappellitta-w240-40-622-28-winter-tyres.html

 

[Croxden]

A quick search and I found this Amazon.co.uk: snow bike tyres

Read the review.

 

[103Alex1]

^^ those are fine for reasonable road conditions. However like almost all the Schwalbe studded tyres sold here they do not have the side studs like the Schwalbe Winter Tyres referred to in the video above or the Suomi W240s linked. So they are OK as long as you don't hit icy ruts - in which case you probably won't climb out of them and will most likely wind up dismounting onto the ice or going A over T.

 

[D C]

Overkill is good.

Actually I a few things/trips planned, so hopefully I have made the right choice.

A friend in Germany sourced them for me, but I think that Tredz sell them as does bike-discount

Because the BH is still off road, I fitted them to my old Marin Palisade and went for a ten mile steep and hard going ride on them on Saturday. I had to let them down way below the minimum recommended tyre pressure of 30psi, as only the centre studs were making contact. And yep, they do sound like riding across corn flakes. Adding this to a low pressure jelly ride and pouring hard rain and wind, it wasn't the nicest of rides. Only another 15miles more to go, although all of the studs already now look nicely bedded in.

The roads are really quiet around here so I did a lot of my breaking in ride like a F1 car on the warm up lap so as to engage the outer studs with the road surface, looked silly but fun when no one was watching.
I got mine from SJS last year but the price seems to have increased a heck of a lot since then
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/schwalbe-ice-spiker-hs333-rigid-tyre-c-w-spikes-26-x-210-(54-559)-prod24453/?src=froogle

 

[EddiePJ]

I finally have the Xtrem back.

Still no new forks though, but at least I can get back out and get muddy again.

 

[EddiePJ]

I popped out and did a quick 22 miles this afternoon. I was going to stay on the road and keep clean, but that idea was soon forgotten. Not the best of photos, but better than none.

The bloody great long bar ends are a borrowed addition as I wanted to see how they feel. I liked them, but would only buy very short ones.

 

[RobF]

I like bar ends, don't use them a lot, but they are good for a change of position mid-ride.

Also handy for manhandling the bike when you are off it.

Lots of makes, Ergon are reckoned to be better than most.

What I like even more is the palm-shaped grips that come with them.

Ergon GP2 - Standard | Chain Reaction Cycles

 

[EddiePJ]

Thanks for that.

 

[RobF]

Thanks for that.

No worries, just gizza go on your E-Rider when you get it.

 

[EddiePJ]

No worries, just gizza go on your E-Rider when you get it.

Sadly I think that an E-Rider will just remain dream.

But if that ever changes, then no problem.

 

[EddiePJ]

I've had yet another play in relation to making a rear mudguard that has both good clearance and length.

 

[jackhandy]

What did you use, Eddie?

Mine are a bit skinny for 29"x2.2 knobblies.

 

[EddiePJ]

I used a bit of plastic that a cousin gets from the factory that he works in. They heat it and mould it into packaging. I didn't need to heat it up, as it is pretty flexible anyway.

 

[EddiePJ]

Another morning of sticky riding.

I binned it and snapped my new Topeak front mudguard straight off. Don't by a Topeak front guard, they look superb but are crap when you crash.

For some reason this photo doesn't show just how steep and awkward this section was. I was warned by some horse riders that it was very steep and tricky. That was an understatement.

More cleaning!

 

[EddiePJ]

And clean.

 

[flecc]

At least it does clean up nicely!

I can roughly judge how steep that path is from the fence perspective, the last showing part of the distant fence isn't far away but is less than one sixth the height of the fence in the foreground. Not easy.

 

[EddiePJ]

It cleans up really well, but certainly beginning to show signs of being battle scarred.

The other thing with the bridleway as shown was that it had loads of sandstone and roots sticking out, most of which were covered with leaves. I also managed to get two punctures which was very annoying given how much mud that there was sticking to the tyres. Also annoying as they were new tubes!

I did find some really good fast single track further on though. Unless you know the area this map will be meaningless, but you can get an idea of just how many routes that there are in this location. I have highlighted them in orange.

Also as muddy as I was, I couldn't help but make a 5 mile detour to East Grinstead and have a coffee and cake here.

It was recommended by a friend, and was both dirt cheap and very friendly. I did take my shoes off though.

Finally another of the long hill.