Forum Replies Created
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Try a Turbospoke.
Try a Turbospoke.
The original paper is
The original paper is interesting. Apparently their first virtual robot bike rider attempted to keep the bike upright by trying to do a track stand whilst furiously spinning the bars!
Once it learned to steer by using the bars to cause a lean, it did rather better than the trace shown.
Dissapointingly their experiments will remain virtual – they aren’t going to build an actual robot rider.
That should be the next challenge- any fool can make an autonomous car, lets see them code the AI needed to ride a cross bike on a muddy off camber.
Nice ride out near Frodsham
Nice ride out near Frodsham today, not one close pass. I moved over to let a Hobgoblin brewery lorry past, and the driver gave me a wave when he pulled up in a pub a bit later on. Working later, so I couldn’t even stop for a pint.
I also pedalled in my 11t sprocket for some distance. I’ll probably have to suspend myself from the forum for a week for that. ;->
Other thing to watch out for
Other thing to watch out for is tyres. On a turbo they will quickly wear a flat profile on to a normal road tyre. We got 26” and 700c trainer tyres, and I mounted them on spare wheels. I haven’t found one for a 24”, but daughter is 10 and small, so doesn’t wear tyres out too much.
Is son riding BMX? Otherwise 24” wheel seems a bit small for a 5’ rider. He would fit a Luath 700 large (other bikes are available).
Can you get turbos that take various wheel sizes?Yes. Two real options:
A direct mount type, where the hub and cassette is part of the trainer. This is the deluxe option. I don’t have one.
Something like the Elite Chronomag Force. Cheaper option. Here the bike support arm hinges at the front, so it can take pretty much anything. My bike or daughters Luath 24 go on with no faff.
Regarding software, I’m using Sufferfest. This keeps your custom power values constant, so if one day you are riding a very different power output to another day, it won’t affect your ride. You can even dial in the ftp etc you want. Of course only one user will be riding it, in compliance with the license terms.
The SRAM compatibility chart
The SRAM compatibility chart for the Force rear derailleur mid cage suggests the lowest gearing would be 32 on the back.
I’m assuming it’s a mid length cage rather than a short. The SRAM spec sheet unhelpfully doesn’t provide the capacity, so I can’t see if 46/34 and 11/36 would work- it might do, but you would be pushing the boundaries of the reach (big cassette) and range (difference in lowest to highest gear).
A common solution to this problem is to use a SRAM XX MTB rear mech – go for long cage. This is compatible with Force road shifters, and will easily swallow the range.
Plenty of those still round
Plenty of those still round here, to discourage dodgy car car overtakes by narrowing the perception of the lane. Plenty of opportunity to improve when there is space like this.
We should campaign as much for pedestrian facilities as cycle infra. There’s a pedestrian island up the road from our house, and the kids can cross there unsupervised. Outside the house I need to cross them over. So I live with taking primary at the pinch point so the kids can get to the park and school under their own steam. (Picture not from near our house!)
That’s the kit you wear on a
That’s the kit you wear on a BMX track, gravelly wipeouts are regular occurrences. So whatever age, whatever bike, you dress up like a BMXer and have a blast. For a kid getting the kit on is all part of the atmosphere.
And yes, BMX is dangerous, that’s part of the thrill. More dangerous for a noob like me than most of the kids, but fortunately I’m not allowed on the big ramp.
Islabikes Luath
Islabikes Luath
Spray.bike fan here. Semi mat
Spray.bike fan here. Semi mat finish, so not the deep shiny lustre of a pro job, but much better than any rattle can job I’ve done with cellulose or other paint.
Best part is it doesn’t run and drip round fittings.
Hard wearing too – this is our kids CX bike and it is standing up to the abuse of a cross season well.
Can you access the other end
Can you access the other end of the bolt under the star fangled nut? If so, you could maybe use a socket on an extension to run two nuts against each other. Tightening the outer nut should drive the bolt up enough to loosen it from the cap. Then grip the top of the bolt with mole grips to get your nuts off.
problems with this approach-
maybe you can’t get in
you might get the two nuts stuck on
If I add up the various
If I add up the various contributions from their summary report I get a typical drivetrain loss of about 10w (making sure I don’t double count lube and chain loss figures).
Elsewhere they reckon on 98% efficiency in the drivetrain, which is 5W at a rider power of 250W.
So if we believe the claims for each individual element, we could buy all their kit and build a drivetrain that propels itself !
This suggets to me a lot of the claimed benefits are within the error bars of the measurement. I can’t confirm this because I haven’t found any data presented with error bars. Maybe it is there on the website, so if anyone else can find it please let me know.
This brake system has
This brake system has beautiful flowing lines, so is clearly superior to discs.
I first got discs after
I first got discs after eating a rim down Doctors Gate on the MTB , and rode back up the Snake with a new lightweight slot in the rim. Then I found the tendonitis in the braking finger went away. My partner has small hands and has had a few scary moments on road descents, so her next road bike will definitely have discs. Older daughter has mechanical discs (Luath Pro) which again are good for small hands. CX bike has hydraulic discs – they are the dogs b. I’m sure the cost will come down as they have for MTB.Try googling the C2C bike bus
Try googling the C2C bike bus, or a local taxi. Most taxi companies will have a small minibus that would do.
