Telephone Biking (If I Dare)

[Gubbins]

One of the things I worry about is setting off somewhere new, but not having the confidence in the battery to know how far to go..
For instance.. I fancy a route around Hebden Bridge but its 37 miles and 3700 ft to climb, and the last leg is a 3 mile climb. (Drove around using a Garmin for the stats) So dare not try it...
Well, I have been trawling the cycling apps (only the free ones cos I'm from Yorkshire) And have re found this one. "Map My Ride" What I find of interest is you can plot a route on its maps on a PC, the route automatically sticks to roads around corners, on Tow-paths etc.. and gives the total mileage as you go! Bookmark the ride and its transferred instantly to your phone on which you can follow it in real time with it constantly updating keeping you in the centre of the screen. You can also find other routes and follow them in real time....
There are probably other apps that do this but this is the easiest one to use that I have found that doesn't need a subscription! (not actually in the Yorkshire dictionary, Subscription)
So I should be able to re route my Hebden ride to cut a few miles out...
No offence intended to anyone who doesn't like phones....

 

[eHomer]

.......I fancy a route around Hebden Bridge but its 37 miles and 3700 ft to climb.......

Thank God I retired to Norfolk.

My regular 24 mile circular ride has a total elevation gain of about 100 ft....

 

[Gubbins]

Lucky you. I am surrounded by hills. A trip to the bike shop is about 15 miles round trip 2100 ft. Max gradient 13% if I come back over ilkley Moor.

 

[mrpscott]

The answer is to try it but have your own version of International Rescue on standby! I use Thunderbird 8 - aka the good lady wife - who either shadows the ride (for example if we are going on holiday and I choose to cycle part of the trip) or just phone in if a problem. Or take your charger with you and find a pub / café to recharge if you need to!!

 

[eHomer]

Lucky you. I am surrounded by hills.....

I guess it can be one of the most awkward aspects of ebiking.

Conventional cycling has no abrupt "step" in effort after 30 miles or so, whereas with an electric bike you're suddenly mortalised to muscles only, plus the weight of the motor and dead battery.

At least with this one, I can carry a 1 litre bottle of petroil, in case a go over the 120 mile range.

Quick, I need a tin hat emoticon....

 

[Artstu]

Strava has a good web route planner too. I presume it will upload to a mobile device, I've nothing that fancy. I don't much care for map my ride myself.

That ride will certainly require a lot of battery conservation, I pace myself on each battery bar, so you need each one to take you 7.5 miles, and 5 small targets is easier to meet than a large one at the end.

 

[Gubbins]

Strava has a good web route planner too. I presume it will upload to a mobile device, I've nothing that fancy. I don't much care for map my ride myself.

That ride will certainly require a lot of battery conservation, I pace myself on each battery bar, so you need each one to take you 7.5 miles, and 5 small targets is easier to meet than a large one at the end.

I think you have to pay a subscription to use a lot of the better functions on Strava, and I too didnt like Map my ride so binned it some years ago, but looking at it again I really like the follow the map and mapping functions which is free... I am getting between 8 and 12 miles per segment, but not on a 8 mile climb. I only count 4 segments, calling the last my reserve! I might just try half way and back to see how much juice I use.. 8 miles to the top of the first hill (1400 ft), and the 5 miles down the other side. 26 miles return should be a good test. Just noticed the Map My Ride mapping shows elevation as well.
Second leg is 12 miles with another 1200 ft climb. Third leg is not too bad going back up 800 ft over the last 12 miles.

 

[KirstinS]

Most of the premium Strava features are to do with heart rates/efforts/wattage type stuff for serious roadies

For my tuppence I much prefer Strava over map my ride and have never felt the need for the premium features

 

[Jimod]

Thank God I retired to Norfolk.

My regular 24 mile circular ride has a total elevation gain of about 100 ft....

I can climb 100ft and still be in my village. . I need an ebike just to get out of the place.

 

[Gubbins]

I guess it can be one of the most awkward aspects of ebiking.

Conventional cycling has no abrupt "step" in effort after 30 miles or so, whereas with an electric bike you're suddenly mortalised to muscles only, plus the weight of the motor and dead battery.

At least with this one, I can carry a 1 litre bottle of petroil, in case a go over the 120 mile range.

Quick, I need a tin hat emoticon....

View attachment 8505

Whats that round disky thing attached to the forks?

 

[drsolly]

eHomer, that is *beautiful*! What is it, and where did you get it?

I use Memory Map, which gives me an OS map, 50,000:1 and 25,000:1 for wherever I am. But that's because I'm mostly geocaching, so knowing where I am and how to get to where I need to go, is very important.

For range; I estimate how far I'm going, make a guess at how many 5ah batteries I'll need, and carry a couple of extras (I can carry up to seven 8s 5ah batteries, and I've never used more than six).

 

[eHomer]

Whats that round disky thing attached to the forks?

It's my £17 a year certificate that extends my car's AA breakdown recovery service to cover the bike as well !

( and £17 I can cope with, it's the £30 annual MOT test that stings !)

 

[eHomer]

eHomer, that is *beautiful*! What is it, and where did you get it?.......

Yes, very neat and very quiet too. It's a Dutch "Spartamet" with a German Sachs 30cc engine. I bought it secondhand via Ebay, for less than the cost of my 48v lithium battery !! They're quite rare in the UK, but there are millions in Holland.

 

[drsolly]

I want one! I've set up an alert on Ebay. A 48v, 10ah Lipo battery is £120, so I'll keep my fingers crossed. Do you have to pay Road Fund? Does your car insurance cover the Spartamet? I know my driving licence covers it.

 

[eHomer]

I want one! I've set up an alert on Ebay. A 48v, 10ah Lipo battery is £120, so I'll keep my fingers crossed. Do you have to pay Road Fund? Does your car insurance cover the Spartamet? I know my driving licence covers it.

...my 48v 10ah lithium battery cost me £290....

I chickened out and bought it from a UK seller because the couriers always make a meal of me when it comes to customs and admin charges.

So the Spartamet was £275, which is what they seem to go for in reasonable/good condition.

Yes, the road fund license is £17 a year, the same as any "motorcycle" up to a certain cc. The MOT is £30, but I do get quite a good deal on the insurance. I have a "group" motorcycle policy with a company called Peter James, who charge me £80 a year full comp for my collection of bikes, as long as each one is at least 20 years old.

As regards driving license, it is classed in the UK as a moped, so it is covered by a car license if you passed your test. before 1 February 2001.

If you want to read up on Spartamets, there's a lot of useful info on the Internet, handbooks etc. such as:

http://www.spartamet.org/english/e_boekjes.html

 

[Aushiker]

I dump Map My Ride a few years ago and now prefer to use RideWithGPS. It is also the main stay here with local Audax riders. Works a treat for me planning tours etc.

Andrew

 

[Gubbins]

I dump Map My Ride a few years ago and now prefer to use RideWithGPS. It is also the main stay here with local Audax riders. Works a treat for me planning tours etc.

Andrew

I had a look at this but I think it needs a subscription to be able to use it. I had to get rid of all my subscription stuff when I was made redundant....

 

[Alan Quay]

...my 48v 10ah lithium battery cost me £290....

I chickened out and bought it from a UK seller because the couriers always make a meal of me when it comes to customs and admin charges.

So the Spartamet was £275, which is what they seem to go for in reasonable/good condition.

Yes, the road fund license is £17 a year, the same as any "motorcycle" up to a certain cc. The MOT is £30, but I do get quite a good deal on the insurance. I have a "group" motorcycle policy with a company called Peter James, who charge me £80 a year full comp for my collection of bikes, as long as each one is at least 20 years old.

As regards driving license, it is classed in the UK as a moped, so it is covered by a car license if you passed your test. before 1 February 2001.

If you want to read up on Spartamets, there's a lot of useful info on the Internet, handbooks etc. such as:

http://www.spartamet.org/english/e_boekjes.html

I saw these in a shop in Spain a few weeks back:

There's a front, rear and crank drive model.

 

[eHomer]

Interesting photos, all quite old machines.

The front wheel drive is a French Velosolex, with roller drive to front wheel.

The one you say "crank" drive is in fact a rear wheel drive via a rubber roller just underneath the bottom bracket. It looks like an old Italian "mosquito", which was resurrected more recently as a Bernardi Buzz.

The rear wheel drive looks like a variation of the old British "cyclemotor", with the engine directly geared into the rear hub.

 

[Alan Quay]

....The one you say "crank" drive is in fact a rear wheel drive via a rubber roller just underneath the bottom bracket.....

Is it not driving the crank then?