Impressive lamp, shame about the bracket....

[rog_london]

Around Christmas I bought a 'Eurolight' LED set from Argos (it was cheap in their pre-Christmas sale). Five LEDs in the front and four rechargeable NiMH batteries included, plus a plug-in charger, three LEDs in the back, two non-rechargeable AA batteries. About £17 the lot, so cheap 'n' cheerful, but good value I thought.

I was hammering down Sanderstead Hill on Saturday night on the Wisper (probably doing around 40mph, but hadn't bothered to fit the supplied cycle computer on its bracket as I wouldn't have been able to read it in the dark). The road surface is bad, and I hit a rough patch - and the front lamp flew off at a rate of knots and bounced down the road alongside me before going out. I pulled up smartly and saw it clipped by a car - and almost didn't bother going back to look - but anyway, I was curious rather than annoyed, and collected it - it wasn't working, but amazingly it was in one piece.

When I got it home and opened it up, all eight battery clips had bent back so the batteries were loose. I straightened those, re-assembled it - and it works perfectly. Just minor scratches to the plastic case. I couldn't believe it.

It wasn't wearing a helmet either.....

Rog.

 

[flecc]

I was hammering down Sanderstead Hill on Saturday night on the Wisper (probably doing around 40mph, but hadn't bothered to fit the supplied cycle computer on its bracket as I wouldn't have been able to read it in the dark). The road surface is bad,

Rog.

It sure is, that's one of my favourite long high speed downhills, it's good to keep the traffic behind, but it can get a bit hairy over the bumpy and ridged sections.
.

 

[rog_london]

It sure is, that's one of my favourite long high speed downhills, it's good to keep the traffic behind, but it can get a bit hairy over the bumpy and ridged sections.
.

Yes, I have a pal in Warlingham I was visiting. If you know Sanderstead, you'll at least have heard of Warlingham.

When the world was flat, Warlingham was the last place you could visit before you fell off the edge - somewhere between Sainsbury's and the garden centre.

You need to know the area to appreciate that, so my apologies to the remaining 99.9 % (recurring) of you who have never heard of the place. If it's any consolation, you've not been missing much.

Rog.

 

[flecc]

Yes, Warlingham is well within my riding area and it's where member Fecn lives.

I used that Sainsburys for a long while from when it replaced the bus station, until they built one at Selsdon for me. (I let other people use it as well.)
.

 

[Vikki]

I was hammering down Sanderstead Hill on Saturday night on the Wisper (probably doing around 40mph, but hadn't bothered to fit the supplied cycle computer....

Yikes!!!! That would scare me rigid! Utterly, totally, undeniably - rigid!

As for the supplied computer - I replaced mine with a Cateye Strada wireless. The supplied one, whilst it has lots of nice functions (temperature being one) it was quite inaccurate. Mine would show stupid speeds, apparently on one journey my maximum speed was 99 mph That meant average speed and distance was messed up. Only the time and the current speed was useful (except that time I looked at it and it said 55 mph before settling back). Not bad for a freebie though

So, Rod, other than the bracket, the lamp looks like it did great work Got to admire you courage though, 40mph.

Vikki.

 

[rog_london]

Yes, Warlingham is well within my riding area and it's where member Fecn lives.

I used that Sainsburys for a long while from when it replaced the bus station, until they built one at Selsdon for me. (I let other people use it as well.)
.

"Warlingham - beyond where the bus seldom ventures - and never on a Sunday!"

Rog.

 

[flecc]

"Warlingham - beyond where the bus seldom ventures - and never on a Sunday!"

Rog.

Yes, one doesn't have to get far out of London for life to get very rural.

Not as bad as Widdecombe in the early 1940s when I was there for a while, one bus a week to the nearest town.
.

 

[rog_london]

Wisper computer

Yikes!!!! That would scare me rigid! Utterly, totally, undeniably - rigid!

As for the supplied computer - I replaced mine with a Cateye Strada wireless. The supplied one, whilst it has lots of nice functions (temperature being one) it was quite inaccurate. Mine would show stupid speeds, apparently on one journey my maximum speed was 99 mph That meant average speed and distance was messed up. Only the time and the current speed was useful (except that time I looked at it and it said 55 mph before settling back). Not bad for a freebie though

So, Rod, other than the bracket, the lamp looks like it did great work Got to admire you courage though, 40mph.

Vikki.

Courage doesn't really come into it - being more than slightly bonkers is probably closer to the mark.

The lamp works well, is gratifyingly bright, has two brightness settings, and a low battery warning indicator. Even at its present £24.99 it's still good value IMO. I think the fix for the bracket is a stout elastic band round the back of the lamp body and hooked under the release tab. to make sure the bracket stays securely locked (I'll let you know how my next descent of that hill goes!). I think the problem is that the light is front heavy, so a bumpy ride makes it wag up and down and release itself.

Regarding that (supplied) computer - I found it does need rather careful setting up. I know you've changed yours, but for those who have not, this might be handy:

The transmitter has a reed switch which the magnet operates as it flies by - hopefully. It's supposed to produce a single contact closure each time the wheel revolves. It's not completely obvious (unless, like me, you take a look inside) but the reed switch 'sweet spot' is not centrally located in the side of the transmitter as you might expect.

There is a raised ridge round the edge of the transmitter, and this isn't mentioned in the instructions, but it indicates the effective centre of the reed switch. On mine the magnet was askew on the spokes, and it needs to be symmetrical, i.e. lined up with an imaginary circle based on the wheel hub, and of course aligned with the aforementioned ridge, and the transmitter should be angled as close as reasonably possible to the magnet without hitting anything (e.g. a spoke or two). Then it seems to work well. Otherwise you might get multiple contact operation which fools the computer completely (or you get nothing at all).

Rog.

 

[Fecn]

Hello Rog - I didn't realise you were a local. I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for your Wisper when I'm out and about.

I haven't tried Sanderstead Hill in the downhill direction, but on the Selsdon road (next road along, same hill) my GPS thingy told me I reached 38.5mph, so you're probably about right with your 40mph guess.

 

[Vikki]

I was wondering if it was contact bounce it was reading (since it can display high speeds it would easily be fast enough to detect bounce). I hadn't looked inside the transmitter so was unsure if it was a reed switch or a hall sensor. Thanks for clarifying that. I do like the Strada, though, so easy to operate since the whole body is the switch it's easy to change functions (it rocks on its base so pressing one end down operates the button that hides away underneath).

Being slightly bonkers, I can see how that would help I guess I'm not bonkers enough (many would dispute that )

Best regards.

Vikki.

 

[flecc]

Hello Rog - I didn't realise you were a local. I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for your Wisper when I'm out and about.

I haven't tried Sanderstead Hill in the downhill direction, but on the Selsdon road (next road along, same hill) my GPS thingy told me I reached 38.5mph, so you're probably about right with your 40mph guess.

I have similar speeds on Sanderstead Hill when it's clear enough, but my fastest is on the steeper downhill of Old Farleigh Road southbound to the junction of Sandpiper Road, just over 44 mph there on the T bike. I'd need to duck down to go faster though, as I was balanced against the wind resistance at that speed.
.

 

[Fecn]

...but my fastest is on the steeper downhill of Old Farleigh Road southbound to the junction of Sandpiper Road, just over 44 mph there on the T bike.
.

Yep - that's exactly the bit I did my 38.5mph on. You have to have a lot of faith in your wheels as the road surface there is pretty bad at the moment.

 

[rog_london]

Hello Rog - I didn't realise you were a local. I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for your Wisper when I'm out and about.

I haven't tried Sanderstead Hill in the downhill direction, but on the Selsdon road (next road along, same hill) my GPS thingy told me I reached 38.5mph, so you're probably about right with your 40mph guess.

Haha! I'm far from local, being a resident of Harrow, but get over there at least once a week (usually Saturday). I have a choice of transport methods - over the last month or two it's been train to East Croydon and then bus, but as the weather improves, two other alternatives open up - train to East Croydon and then Wisper (as this week) or motorbike (various routes).

For those of you who like to know these things, the Wisper gets up the aforementioned Sanderstead Hill at almost 13mph with reasonable help from me and the green button in operation, apart from the last 100 yards or so to the roundabout at the top where speed drops to about 11.5 mph. I'm highly impressed with that. A Lycra I'm not, but I am reasonably fit in general. I'd like to try the downhill run during the day with the computer operating to see just how fast I can freewheel down there, but it needs some luck to have a traffic-free run. You can often do that at night, but in either case it's not the safest thing to do as there are side roads and drivers don't expect to see a bike bearing down on them at that sort of speed!

I think I could do with one of those aerosol-driven air horns. Anything less would probably be ineffectual.

The train and bus commend themselves, as being officially an Old Git I get to travel for free. However, it's necessary to keep a careful eye on the National Rail website as of course you never quite know at the weekend what is likely to be working and what is not. Even that doesn't allow for the unexpected (or perhaps the inevitable, depending on your viewpoint) 'acts of God' such as breakdowns, staff not turning up for work, leaves on the line - and you know as many other excuses as I do, I'm sure.

Rog.

 

[rog_london]

Being slightly bonkers, I can see how that would help I guess I'm not bonkers enough (many would dispute that )

Best regards.

Vikki.

I would hope you are, I'd already catalogued you as 'highly promising' in that area.

Rog.

 

[Vikki]

I would hope you are, I'd already catalogued you as 'highly promising' in that area.

Rog.

Best regards.

Vikki (the lunatic).