How many people are using there e-bike off-road?

TinKitten

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Feb 26, 2014
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Wow, what a stunning ride Kinninvie! I didn't realise it was possible to do so well in the snow without a fat bike. I've never ridden my MTB in conditions like that but I would have been to chicken to go out on my motorbike when I had it, for fear of closing grip.
 

Kinninvie

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 5, 2013
907
415
Teesdale,England
It gripped like a tractor and having a 46T 34T granny gear was perfect.
I have a 44T front chainring but it looks like I dont need it at present although I will probably put it on if the snow gets deeper than 6 inches.

I was thinking about doing a fatbike build next but not going to bother now as this works great,I think the 29 inch wheels help quite a bit.

When I was younger I rode a Montessa Cota trials bike when we had snow so am used to feet up 2 wheel drifting.
The only thing was even the 750 BBS is a bit underpowered for snow so I guess I need to be looking at getting a Lightningrods motor next.
The alternative is to put the Dillenger front wheel on this bike as well but that would mean rebuilding the front wheel and its just too cold to be doing things like that at present especially with these 50Mph Northerly winds.
 
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EddiePJ

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SRS

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 30, 2012
847
347
South Coast
Well it's that time of year again to start booking up rides for the 2015 season. :)

I thoroughly enjoyed this one last year, and with the action cam on order, perhaps there will be film footage as well as photos. :)

You up for this SRS?

http://www.ukcyclingevents.co.uk/events/wiggle-southern-rough-ride/



I might well book this one up as well. http://www.trailbreak.co.uk/trail_rides/index.php?go=eventinfo&event_id=150221


.
Hi Eddie

Booked onto the Wiggle ride a while ago and actually forgot all about it.
Would be good to ride together.

Not sure that I can make the ride on the 21st as half term break.

Look forward to it and speak closer to the time.
 

EddiePJ

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Nice one. :)

We might well have company for the ride as well.

Which bike were you thinking of riding? The lad that I have been out riding with over the last few weeks has expressed an interest, and he just has a pedal only.

I'm shortly off out with him for a bit of a night, and will see what he is up to. Must admit that sitting in front of the woodburner is currently more appealing than riding in mud.

The ride on the 21st is a bit up in the air as well for me, so perhaps it's best not to think about that one.
 
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SRS

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 30, 2012
847
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Nice one. :)

We might well have company for the ride as well.

Which bike were you thinking of riding? The lad that I have been out riding with over the last few weeks has expressed an interest, and he just has a pedal only.

I'm shortly off out with him for a bit of a night, and will see what he is up to. Must admit that sitting in front of the woodburner is currently more appealing than riding in mud.

The ride on the 21st is a bit up in the air as well for me, so perhaps it's best not to think about that one.
Taking my Camber, pedal only.
I seem to be doing less and less electric at the moment, particularly off road.

Bring him along always nice to meet new riders.
 

EddiePJ

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So much for me saying that I would rather be stuck indoors. Tonight's 23 mile ride was brilliant. :)
Several new tracks that I didn't even know existed, but the mud in places on the existing tracks, seemed even worse than normal. The lad that I rode had big problems with both chain suck and mud clogging up every conceivable part. Luckily I didn't suffer any chain suck, and somehow managed to keep momentum going through the worse sections.

More cleaning!!





SRS, the lad that I rode with, said that he will try and come along. :)
 
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SRS

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 30, 2012
847
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South Coast
So much for me saying that I would rather be stuck indoors. Tonight's 23 mile ride was brilliant. :)
Several new tracks that I didn't even know existed, but the mud in places on the existing tracks, seemed even worse than normal. The lad that I rode had big problems with both chain suck and mud clogging up every conceivable part. Luckily I didn't suffer any chain suck, and somehow managed to keep momentum going through the worse sections.

More cleaning!!





SRS, the lad that I rode with, said that he will try and come along. :)
Glad you had a good time, as you say more cleaning but I think you quite like cleaning.
He if comes along, he does. If not, maybe another time. Catch up soon. Cheers SRS
 

Kinninvie

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 5, 2013
907
415
Teesdale,England
Had a little ride through the forest today and a few road miles as well.
IGNORE THE TIMESTAMP will set it tomorrow.


I think 62.4Mph might be a BBS02 record!
These NineLines knobblies are smooth rolling and not too noisy either.

Just rode the fire trails today as I wanted to leave enough battery to get over to the caravan site to see our new toy(on the right)


Managed to record with the GoPro but its handlebar mounted so very shaky.
I ordered a chest mount yesterday for it.
A FEW PICS










 

EddiePJ

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25.5 miles of misery today.

The day started well, bright sunshine, and the 18 miles to start the ride was hassle free. First hiccup, I open the van door, and no battery!
I wasn't going to bother after this, but decided that the day was too nice not to.
The ride started well, with frozen ground and bright sunshine, then the ground thawed almost instantly to form a 25mm horrid mess on the top, that picked up every stone going, and clogged the bike solid. I should be getting used to that by now.

Some very odd steep climbs today.






The view from the top of Mount Cayburn, looking towards where I am heading off to.



The view looking back towards Mount Cayburn, and where I had come from. The ride started in the valley behind at Ringmer.



Just starting to pick up mud.



And this is kind of where things came to a head for me today. I had spent over half an hour trying to ride, push and carry the bike to get to this point due to the wheels being locked solid, only to crest the hill and see this in front of me. NO!!!
I had to decide whether to turn back or go on, and I opted to go on, as the surface looked reasonably dry. The field is much bigger than it looks, and within just a few feet, the bike was locked solid again with crud. It must have taken me a further half an hour to cross it. When I got to the other side, things became very disheartening, as the field beyond, was just sticky mess, which had me dragging the bike just to move it forward. I very nearly turned back, as the ploughed field was the easier option.
On the plus side, I did find a broken bronze artefact in the ploughed field, and a small iron dish of some sort.







Next up was a WTF moment when what looked like a dry track turned out to be pure mess. To add to this misery, there was a suddenly a massive pshhh noise, followed by a long hissing sound. I stopped the bike, looked at the rear wheel and the crud that was on it, and just thought NO!!! Flint is a real nightmare to wet tyres, and sure enough a big hole! I have just switched to tubeless set up, and I was already starting to think that this is going to become a big disaster. Trying to remove the tyre from this muddy wheel, and install a tube was not going to be easy. Now this is where the Stans tubeless set up has won me over. I turned the wheel to find the hole, put me finger over it, and the air began to stop coming out. With that, I turned the wheel further with the hole now at the bottom, my thumb still on it. I held it for about a minute, removed my thumb, and the hole was sealed. Quick use of the mountain Morph pump, and I was away again. I can't recommend going tubeless enough.

This was how the bike looked at the time of the puncture!





Time for a coffee and sausage roll stop at my favourite rest stop in Alfriston.



End of the ride. I decided to drop from the hills onto a byway. Note yet another change in mud colour.



And now it's time to down a few Fullers Honey Dew and sit in front of the fire. :)

 
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TinKitten

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Feb 26, 2014
153
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Wow Eddie, you've outdone yourself this time! That's a new level of mud!!!

I know the feeling where you have battled to get so far that you don't want to turn back even though forward looks a nightmare. At least you can console yourself with the archeological finds!

Great to hear how well the Stans performed. I think I will change to tubeless when I start riding seriously again. It would make me feel a lot more confident about remote rides. I've found a lovely lake I'd like to ride in the vicinity of in Carmarthenshire. I just have to wait to get well enough to. I got OHSS from my IVF and I'm so ill atm I can't climb onto my bike at all for the time being. It's torture!
 

EddiePJ

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Sorry to hear that TK. :(

Irrelevant of make, the switch to tubeless is well worth it. If you also have the Swiss DT rims, I'd recommend sticking with Swiss DT tubeless valves.

I'm down your way at a wedding towards the end of April. If I can swing it, and you are fit enough, we will have to go out for that ride.

The canal tow path heading up to is fine by me. :)

Ref the above ride. I think that is me done for a while on the South Downs. I'm heading off to the North Downs to find some free draining tracks. The down side is that it is much further to travel. :(
 

TinKitten

Pedelecer
Feb 26, 2014
153
148
Abergavenny
www.pottylou.co.uk
Sorry to hear that TK. :(

Irrelevant of make, the switch to tubeless is well worth it. If you also have the Swiss DT rims, I'd recommend sticking with Swiss DT tubeless valves.

I'm down your way at a wedding towards the end of April. If I can swing it, and you are fit enough, we will have to go out for that ride.

The canal tow path heading up to is fine by me. :)

Ref the above ride. I think that is me done for a while on the South Downs. I'm heading off to the North Downs to find some free draining tracks. The down side is that it is much further to travel. :(
Health permitting I'd love to go for a ride with you. :)

I wonder when we'll get a spell of good weather to dry things out a bit. Conditions like your last ride are just no fun. :-(
 
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Kinninvie

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 5, 2013
907
415
Teesdale,England
Had a great 25.6 mile ride over the old Coldberry lead mines today as the sun was blazing and for the second time my gopro failed to record.
I have since found a problem with a bit of grit stuck under the record button on the waterproof case.
It was a shame as the lower valleys were full of low cloud with the sun shining down and would have made some of my best photos ever.
upload_2015-2-7_20-27-46.png

https://www.strava.com/activities/251552678/overview

There was quite a bit of snow and ice around but the east facing side had plenty of clear ground for blasting around on.

I tried riding up the north facing side of the valley but gave up when the snow got to 2 feet deep and there was no way round it.
I will go back with another camera next week as words cannot do justice to this area.

 

peerjay56

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 24, 2013
745
201
Nr Ingleton, N. Yorkshire
25.5 miles of misery today.

The day started well, bright sunshine, and the 18 miles to start the ride was hassle free. First hiccup, I open the van door, and no battery!
I wasn't going to bother after this, but decided that the day was too nice not to.
Been there - done that:rolleyes:It seems the more thoroughly I prepare, the more likely I am to overlook a major component, rather than a small one.


On the plus side, I did find a broken bronze artefact in the ploughed field, and a small iron dish of some sort.
Be interested to see some piccies, even though it's somewhat off topic:)
 

EddiePJ

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I don't reckon that it's off topic Phil. :) After all, if wasn't for the KTM and riding off road, I wouldn't have been out there.

But just to keep everyone happy. :)








Right, onto the finds.
This now has me even more interested in the South Downs. My passion and love for the area has been growing and growing, and now that passion is cemented even further.
The item that I thought was bronze, isn't. After cleaning the mud and crud from it, it turns out to be brass, and from what I can tell, is possibly part of a WW2 bomb.







With that thought in mind, I came across this link which perhaps makes it even more possible.
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/professional/research/landscapes-and-areas/national-mapping-programme/south-downs-nmp/

The aerial photo shown just West of Alfriston, is as far as I can tell, pretty much where I found it. The 'H' looking section, lower L/H corner, is where I believe that I was. I need to compare details further, but taking the bomb crater layout, and hill shape, I hope to be right. It is hard to tell for sure though, as one section of the Downs, often looks the same as another.
The field itself had plenty of other small fragments of iron scattered along it's length, and there are still signs of concrete installations remaining.

This was also another interesting link that I came across. http://www.britishpathe.com/video/wartime-bombs-found-on-south-downs/query/WW2

This now has me hooked, and despite the muddy conditions of this week, I'm going to venture back to the same field next weekend, to see what else might be revealed. :)
 
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