A Bicycle Made For Two

Another thing on The Bucket List (I will have to formalize this list some day) is to ride a tandem. Not because I aspire to owning one but simply because I wonder what it would be like. I'm actually following contributing to a thread on CycleChat at the moment about the attraction of riding a tandem. So, when I saw one the other day locked up in the middle of York I just had to stop and take a closer look. 

Central York

This one is a real quality bit of kit - a Thorn tandem with Rohloff hub and hub lighting no less. And pulling a kiddie trailer as well! Very impressed I was but time (and the OH) would only let me hang about for a couple of minutes so these are the best pics I could get. 

I may actually realise my ambition quite soon as I do have tentative plans for a day out on two hired tandems. However, this is very much in the planning stages at the moment, subject to the agreement of my brother in law and will of course be weather dependant. Wish me luck.

I've Seen The Light (and it's dynamo powered)

Schmidt Edelux front light and Busch & Muller Toplight Plus rear light

Recently investing in a SON dynamo hub for my Santos commuter/tourer, I have been using it to charge electrical devices while touring. This allows me to be self sufficient - charging my smartphone and bulletcam without having to resort to mains electricity and meaning I have much more freedom where I camp for the night. I must say it works rather very well but this was only ever one intended use of the SON hub. The other was to have it powering front and rear lights. Great for winter commuting and, who knows, maybe some through the night Audax rides in the future.

Well folks, I hate to be a killjoy but Winter is coming! I know we need Autumn first but let's be realistic -  the nights are drawing in and soon, with my shifts, i'll be commuting in the dark at both ends of the day. I didn't get the lights when I bought the hub as I had no great need of them over the Summer and had more immediate financial commitments but last month decided to make buying and fitting them an August project. So I have. They are now fitted and working brilliantly (literally). This is a film by a guy in Finland who has the same set up. I intend to make my own when I get opportunity.

If your experience of dynamo lights is running some pathetic excuse of a front light from a bottle dynamo as a kid (as mine was) then you have no idea how good this set up is. They are both LED lights and very, very bright. They both have standlights so will carry on working for several minutes after the dynamo has stopped turning. The front light has an ambient light sensor so, if this setting is chosen, will turn on automatically when it darkens. The rear light is wired into the front light circuit so will do the same. They can also be either on or off. The LEDs will last for thousands of hours and they draw very little power. I was expecting good light output but really am blown away by how effective they are. I had to be quite careful angling the front light as am worried it will dazzle other road users if i'm not careful.

The Edelux came with the mount and had wiring attached. I chose to get the longer, bare ended wire option as I was always going to fit double spade connectors to allow the charging unit to be plugged in when needed as well. Crimping on the connectors was a doddle. The rear light came with bolts to fit the rear rack and spade connectors but no wiring. I had some appropriate USB cable I could make use of and this was wired to the front light with no problem. The wiring is discreetly cable tired along the rack and then lies alongside the existing brake/gear cabling on the underside of the top tube until it reaches the head tube. It then spirals round a brake cable until it meets the front light. All very neat. Apart from one short circuit before I had put some heat shrink on the live cable where it enters the front light, it's all works perfectly and took about an hour to fit. Bring on the darktime!

The Good And The Bad

Update 03/05/11

Been informed on a cycle forum the split isn't a split with the suggestion it may not be that serious:

 "That isn't a split as such. It's a piece that's broken away where the ends are butted together to form a hoop."

And then by someone else:

"The spokes are compressing the rim and squeezing the 2 sides of the gap together, so it's not going to come apart or anything. Probably the most likely problem would be chafing of the tyre sidewall, and I doubt the gap is big enough for that to be a real problem. Rims have only been welded over the last 12-13 years or so. Before that, all rims joints were just pinned or sleeved in the box section cavity, with the flanges just butting together. Some still are."

So what do I do? Leave it and monitor? Replace it just to be sure?

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Some wheel issues the last few weeks. One pretty good and one not so good.

I decided to get a SON dynamo hub for the front wheel. For two reasons really, 1) I can run a really nice bright LED light for my autumn/winter commute, which is just what you need in April onwards! and, 2) because I can recharge my electrical gizmos (phone, GPS, bulletcam, etc) on the go when I am cycle-camping.

A SON 28 dynohub

 I contacted MrC who was going to do the wheel build for me and then sourced the hub and rim I wanted. I was given a competive price for the components at Spa Cycles in Harrogate but they gave me an even better price for the lot if I got the wheel built by them. The guy on the phone said it was a discount offer they were doing and "...did I want it or not?" So on the spur of the moment I ordered a complete built wheel and it was delivered within a week. Very happy with it except for one thing - they overcharged me. 

The owner/manager denied any knowledge of the "discount offer". He was a gruff and rude and basically told me to send it back if I wasn't happy. Not the best customer service in the World but that is what i've heard about Spa Cycles on the forums so not really surprised. It's still a good price but I don't like being quoted one and then charged another and really don't like being made out to be mistaken or maybe even telling fibs (I clarified the discount offer price twice when I was given it). I doubt very much i'll be using them for anything again. Should have stuck with MrC as he was even going to demonstrate the dark art itself over a beer!

Well that was actually the good thing. The not so good thing was I noticed a small split in the rear rim when I was changing the brake pads. As the wheel is true, the spokes are all tight and there is no rim bulging I thought at first it might just be cosmetic but having cleaned the rim off and deflated the tyre I can see it is full thickness and follows a join. So that is another new rim needed and a rebuild with the Rohloff hub. Aaahhh!!

A split on a 26" Rigida Andra 30 32h rim with Rohloff hub

Who says cycling is cheap? Anyone interested in making me an offer for a used 26" Rigida Sputnik 36h touring front rim with just some normal brake wear built on a Shimano XT hub all with less than 3000 miles on it?