Rideye black box camera and a new mount for a rear light

It feels like it's been a long time since I kickstarted it, and it's finally turned up:

Not used it yet, or set up the time stamps so that they're accurate, but that's how it looks on the bike. I've heard that the mount isn't perfect. We'll see.

Having switched to my Brookes saddle, the Cat Eye Volt on the back has nothing to attach to as the saddle rails aren't long enough. Managed to drill a couple of holes in the Brompton's reflector mount to mount the saddle rail clamp to it. This does mean that the bike currently has no rear reflector, but that light is visible from space, so should be no problem.

Summer riding roundup

I've been training for a half-marathon, so haven't been cycling much!

During a difficult period at work my colleagues and I did manage to get out on our bikes on two of the hottest days of the year, for just about the same route; the first one on the Brompton:


And the second on the recumbent:



Plus we managed to get around to visiting Cannock Chase on the MTB. Was really not doing well on this route, needed a lot more cycling fitness:



As soon as the half marathon is over (28th Sept) I'll need to start training for my winter riding again!

Trip to Holloway in the Peaks

I visited the Peak District this past weekend to hang out with some nerds friends. I decided, pretty much at the last minute, to try cycling there on the Brompton.

Deciding as well to use Google Maps to navigate was a grave mistake. It sent me first down a flooded disused access road (complete with rusty barbed wire hanging from nearby fences). Then it tried to send me down an unpaved country track (which had turned into a mudbath. Third on this list of misery, it sent me down a private road with a locked gate.

Last but by no means least it sent me up some of the steepest hills I've ever attempted. That last one is almost forgivable, I should really have been riding a bike with appropriate gears (not a twin speed Brompton) and there's no getting around that my destination was on top of a tall hill.

Those first three are pretty stupid though. Google don't seem to differentiate between what you can do on a (mostly) road bike and what you can do on a fully equipped trekking fatbike. The directions were fairly clear, though I did preempt some turns and had to backtrack a little.

My luggage for the weekend was the Brompton S bag and a Carradice Longflap on the back. It was officially the hardest 38km I've ever tried! There was a lot of getting off and walking towards the end near Crich.

Next year: Recumbent or modified Brompton. I should have better navigation by then courtesy of Hammerhead as well :)

Volt 50 on Fuego and storage switcharound

Just put the trainer tyre on my Fuego to get some training in and to try and figure out what's up with my knee, despite the time constraints of the overtime at work. In order to fit the trainer and bike on the floor this means I've had to move the Brompton onto the wall hook. From the desk it appears to float eerily:

More after the jump.

Endura Stealth Lite Biblongs & Cat Eye Volt 50

One (probably) last post on new Endura gear! Replacing my waterproof trousers is the last bit I needed to do to be more recumbent friendly in the winter. Complementing this was a Seal Skinz Belgian style cap, which is also ostensibly waterproof and very warm.

It turns out I'm less fat than I thought I was, fitting into the large rather than the extra large. It was about 6 or 7 degrees today (light wind, sunshine, no rain) so I went out for a test ride on the Brompton after I'd made my purchases.

(video and pictures after the jump)

Abus lock on a Brompton

I saw a great idea on a Brompton dealer website while I was looking for a front wheel, so I've basically stolen it. You get one of those Abus folding locks and attach it to the frame behind the swing arm, which has a conveniently sized gap for one. Even more conveniently, I already had that type of lock!

This does involve inverting the clip for the swing arm so that the lever points upwards, but this is pretty easy. Result with the swing arm down:

Brompton storage & seat post modification

The hooks at the maximum width on the bike stand are practically perfect for hanging a Brompton like so:

The left hook fits neatly into the arch where the top tube and seat tube are supported by a short down tube. They're so small when folded that you could store about 4 of them on a single rack if you had enough hooks (why would anyone have four though?)

Also on the Brompton, I installed a Cane Creek Thudbuster ST (from the USA via eBay) to make riding on the cratered moonscape of Lincolnshire's roads a bit easier on the rear. That's also a pretty unusual saddle, an ISM from Trybike:

The Thudbuster is good at smoothing out buzz and bumps especially with the Brompton's already decent rear elastomer suspension. Not cheap though at around £150 from Wiggle and I needed to add a fair amount of weight by installing it into the existing Brompton seat post. It emulates the standard telescopic seatpost in this regard.

Bikes and Storage

I live in a small city-centre flat and have three bikes. They (and their storage) are pictured below (apologies for the poor lighting, took the picture on my phone):

It's a little hard to see but they comprise a Boardman full-sus mountain bike that I use on trails when I can get to them; a Brompton for commuting to work and journeys involving public transport and finally a recumbent that I hope to use for long journeys and weekend riding.

My flat has two bedrooms one of which I either let or keep for guests and no other storage, so all of these bikes hang up in my bedroom.

If you're interested, the 'bent is on a standard wall hook that you can get from most bike shops (it's a Delta Leonardo I think, ~£10). The stand is a Topeak Dual Touch that I got from Wiggle (~£125) and is mounted against one of my roof beams. This setup works well as my ceilings are pretty high, about 3.15 metres and I'm strong enough to lift the top bike in and out. On that note, the recumbent is the hardest to lift in and out as it weighs at least 17kg. Ouch!

I'll go into further detail about the bikes themselves eventually.