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I stopped using a cam because
I stopped using a cam because I hated charging it.
I think there’s scope for a front and rear cabled camera which places a large capacity battery on a bottle cage mount. Like a pump mount so you can still use the cage for a bottle. That way you can shrink the cam, place the weight lower down in the frame. You can also potentially use security mountings for the cameras because they won’t need to be removed regularly. Cables for camera plug into battery mount, battery is removable for charging or carrying a spare, and contains the SD card. Basically like how first gen Di2 workedConsistently awesome,
Consistently awesome, particularly for spares and repair parts. Not usually the fastest or the cheapest but there’s no better customer service and advice in the industry.
Yeah, I’ve had this issue.
Yeah, I’ve had this issue. Rather than retain the front rim brake mounting hole they insist on doing the plug it in to the bottom of the fork thing. It’s a pain for running dyno lights too. And don’t get me started on whether the rear seat stay bridge is (a) present and (b) oriented correctly.
Fortunately there are enlighted manufacturers out there (why, hello Fairlight) who pay attention to such practical matters.
I’m not sure driverless will
I’m not sure driverless will every be good enough to handle the randomness that is humans, but we are now down to a single pedal, speed limiters, and a steering wheel. A lot of modern EVs use throttle position to kick the car into brake regen mode which works even better than traditional engine braking. There’s still a physical pedal for emergencies but once you get used to the brake mode it’s rare that you’ll use the physical pedal.
On the cost side of things I’m not sure the cycle hire model can apply to cars, unless the operators choose not to care about damage, punctures, etc.
Can’t believe I didn’t think
Can’t believe I didn’t think of it! Back when I was commuting into Southampton every day I did a mixed-mode commute – drive part of the way (22 miles so a bit long for an every day commute, particularly in winter) and cycle the rest. The really mad thing is that what I normally do is drop him at school, go for an MTB ride in the local woods (around 10 miles), pop the bike back on the car, drive home, and then drive back to pick him up in the afternoon.
Whilst I started WFH long before COVID I’ve really missed the commute I used to do, it really used to set me up for the day. Now I can do it again, except I’m commuting to my home office with better showers, coffee, and company. If I do it every day that’s 4000 miles of petrol/diesel saved which is a huge motivation.
(Having sold all my road bikes earlier this year this is also an N+1 opportunity, thinking of going SS seeing as it’s so flat). For now I’ll dust off my trusty Triban 3 on its skinny 23mm tyres and Claris group, almost retro enough for Eroica!
Our roof faces due south, but
Our roof faces due south, but last time we checked the numbers (2011) it still wouldn’t make economic sense due to a lot of space being consumed by the bay window and a massive chimney breast. Hoping we can use the west-facing part of the old (brick built, tiled roof) garage to top things up. Our side wall is unencumbered by shade and faces west, but I doubt planning would allow us to mount vertical panels there.
Over 20 years we should be quids in but then there’s the question of replacement when we’re in our dotage/not earning and improvement in technology over that time. I recall friends having one of the first solar installs in the early ’80s (they also had micro-wind too), technology hasn’t improved a great deal since then. And that was a south-facing roof on the coast with clear sight of the horizon and access to a decent westerly.
I think we need to change the
I think we need to change the mindset to see “transport” as a utilty/tax in the same way as we do electric/gas/water/council tax/internet. You don’t see people bragging about whether they’re with nPower rather than Ovo. Ending ownership might help with that and there are moves afoot with personal contract hire. A lot of car makers starting to direct sell over the ‘net with the intention of using their dealer network for service and providing local test drives. Transport-as-a-Service if you will, just like your broadband contract. Personally I’d love a means to have shared ownership/use of an EV because with both of us permanently WFH there’s little point in having it sat on the drive.
We’re just one example but
We’re just one example but with decent infra we’d cut our fossil fuel use by 8,000 miles per year. The only thing preventing it is fear of allowing my son to mix with tippers and heavy traffic all doing 50mph.
A kid in his class started cycling to school about a month ago, he lasted two weeks before he’d been scared off the road.
When I were a lad (early/mid 80s) we all cycled to school – about 3 miles – in all weathers. Didn’t think twice about it, or consider the safety aspect. And that was cycling on the road, mixing it with rush hour traffic. I honestly can’t recall a near miss in 7 years of doing that. It was just second nature, I’d even ride my bike to my mate’s house 500 yards away just to go in and play computer games/watch telly. We need to get back to enabling that level of normalcy.
We’re expecting to stay in
We’re expecting to stay in this house now for the rest of our days so we’ll be going full solar, heat pump (ground source), battery storage, etc over the next couple of years. Big capital investment but at current prices we’d see about a 4% annual return – negligible but it will also put a few quid on the value of the house.
Increasingly I think we’ll see this as a desirable tick box when house hunting, much like good broadband or strong 4G signal is today. Just need planning regs to be updated to allow front garden solar installs (yeah, good luck with that)
It’s a good point about the
It’s a good point about the tank fill thing. I allocate one tank of fuel to my Volvo 940 (25mpg if I’m lucky) per month. Costs over £100 to fill up now. When its gone its gone. Undoubtedly with the recent rises it crossed a psychological barrier but it would have to double to make me change that behaviour.
I’m just about old enough to remember the impact of the ’70s oil crisis, it does need that level of shock to make a change in ownership behaviour. I remember my uncle buying a Jag E-Type for buttons, and then a Rover P6 – no-one wanted them, people started swapping to small family hatchbacks. We’ll be there with used EVs in a couple of years I think. 6 months ago you could buy an 8yo used Leaf with good battery/history for around £6k – nearer £7.5k now.
60 years ago most people
60 years ago most people commuted by public transport or bike/motorcycle. It’s a recent affectation in this country, driven by inner city decline, out of town shopping, and a general flight to the suburbs. Oh and marketing of course, and keeping up with the Joneses.
I find it very strange that our friends with teenagers have followed the path we did – pass test at 17/18, first car at 18. Two of the lads are paying almost £2k for insurance. Others are paying £250 a month for a brand new car on contract hire.
Fuel price is only part of it. Genuinely poor people struggle to afford to buy a single car and pay for VED and insurance, never mind the fuel and cost of servicing/repairs.For the urban or rural poor none of this is really an option, and that’s why petrol prices are a barrier to social mobilityIf I was in your position I would seriously consider an EV and do my utmost to avoid a petrol or diesel vehicle.
A serious suggestion: leave the car near the school during the day and use a bike to get around in the meantime. It would halve the mileage.
When I was proper poor I still ran a car. Bangernomics and being handy with the spanners helps. Alternative was £100 for a travelcard and 2 hours on the bus every day. Admittedly this was when petrol was much, much cheaper.
We’ll almost certainly go EV – just waiting on Scottish Power to confirm the overnight rate. Even if it ends up being a little more expensive than the dismal (financially) it will be great for
virtue-signallingreducing our carbon footprint.Thanks for the suggestion about leaving the car at school for the day, that’s complete genius! I’m more than happy to cycle home and then back again for pickup, barely warmed up in 7/8 flat miles. Will be like going back to commuting.
I need to replace the car we
I need to replace the car we use for the school run – 32 miles per day, around 8000 miles per year and I’ve been pricing up the options.
Firstly, if there was safe infrastructure our 12yo could easily cycle to school. It’s about 8 miles and absolutely flat. But both routes feature 50mph traffic and plenty of tippers (quarries near here), no pavements, and no cycle lanes so that’s a non-starter.
So we’re looking for a city car and have a capital budget of around £5k. Monthly lease is an option too. So, what are the options:
15yo diesel (Golf TDI) – £113 per month
Similar petrol car – £150 per month
Nissan Leaf used electric car – £125 per month
VW e-Up! electric car – £200 per month lease/contract hire (no ownership option)
All the above combined capital and running costs (fuel/tax) are averaged over a 5 year term and other than the new lease option don’t include servicing. Being over 50 insurance is basically the same for all options although EVs still include a small premium. EV costs include installation of wall charger and assume it’s possible to still get cheap rate overnight charging tariffs (about 6p per kWh vs current price of around 35p/kWh.
Overall a used EV makes sense, but (and this is the crucial point) we have secure off-road parking to charge it overnight and can afford the capital outlay. EVs are more reliable than ICEVs, particularly 15yo ICEVs. The other big thing in our favour is that we have another car for longer journeys and that means we’ll never need to rapid charge an EV. Rapid charging absolutely knackers EV batteries, particularly those of the mid-’10s technology era which is all we can afford used. That old positive ICE advert term “high miles but mostly motorway” is a bad thing if you’re buying a used EV.
Whilst it’s reasonable to assume petrol prices will continue to rise, and that diesels will be effectively banned way before 2030 (cities can price them off the road if they choose) what we don’t know is what’s going to happen to electric prices as demand increases. If everyone buys an EV and charges it overnight from grid power it’s no longer cheap capacity is it?
For the urban or rural poor none of this is really an option, and that’s why petrol prices are a barrier to social mobility. It’s OK if you live in a big city with half decent buses but round here a travel card is £25 per week and that’s for buses which run every half hour. So, that’s about £110 per month, or the price of buying and running a 15yo diesel. And so, we’re back where we started.
Hand guards are a thing in
Hand guards are a thing in the MTB world so it’s only a matter of time before someone does a “gravel” version for drop bars and doubles the price
Last time I was in Belgium I
Last time I was in Belgium I stayed in this place, it was incredible.
We were the only guests, the proprietar joined us for breakfast, cooked us omelette at the table, it really was like have some minor member of the landed gentry as your host. Rooms were all unique and luxuriously appointed, amazing bathrooms, one of the best breakfasts I’ve ever had. The sort of place you feel Steve McQueen would have stayed at on the way to drive at Le Mans, or Edward Fox in Day of the Jackal. The full “mein host” experience, there was no way it was a budget hotel (it was cheaper than any mainstream chain by far).
