garrence

Not fit for purpose / not of merchantable quality. Get refund/replacement.

I'm puzzled why Eddie is so against the Oxygen bikes yet so much in favour of Wisper when the bikes are so very similar. The Oxygen has a rear disc brake instead of the calliper one on the Wisper - I much prefer these because they work better and they don't wear the rims out. It's more keenly priced and has a very personal and high quality support service. I expect the Wisper has the edge in some other area but I'm pleased I chose Oxygen after carefully looking into both. It did come with a bell but it never got fitted. No-one notices the little "ding dings" - much better to just shout! Better still, get an AirZound - cars stop dead!

I use Maverick Pro. It shows a map with your current location, direction of travel and which way you are currently facing. You can switch between different map sources. I mostly use OSM Cycle Map. This is made by volunteers out with bikes and GPS so coverage isn't complete. I'm in Sheffield and it's better than Google Maps. The cycle routes are all highlighted. Google Satellite occasionally if I want to see what a road on the map is like in real life Google Maps on the odd occasion I'm somewhere that OSM doesn't cover well. If I'm following a route then I'll plot it first on BikeHike and put it on the phone. It's shown as a blue line and is much easier to follow than reading the map. I cache the map tiles before I set off so they come up straight away without needing an internet connection.

Schwalbe Extreme offers a good balance of puncture resistance, rolling speed, off-road grip and weight.

I got 130 miles from a single charge over the weekend on my 2011 Oxygen eMate City. I was mostly limiting battery use to the uphill bits and a lot of the route was on flat disused railway where I was keeping above 15mph so not getting power assistance. I think 70 miles is quite achievable in assisted mode.

Arrested and charged The man who was captured on film threatening and assaulting a cyclist in Longsight has been charged. Michael Stewart, 47, from Congleton, has been charged with common assault and dangerous driving and is due to appear at Manchester City Magistrates’ Court on 14 April. The 33-year-old victim man was cycling along St John’s Road at 6.25pm on Wednesday 26 January, when a man in a black BMW got out of his car and grabbed him by the throat while shouting abuse at him. He then got back into his car and drove off. The incident was captured on the cyclist’s video headcam and police released footage of the attack in an effort to identify the driver. “Bike rage” man captured on cyclist’s headcam is charged | Inside the M60

Under the Distance Selling Act, consumers have 7 days from receipt in which they can return an item in its original condition for a full refund.

OpenCycleMap.org - the OpenStreetMap Cycle Map National Cycle Network routes 63 and 64 are near you. The NCN routes I've ridden around Sheffield tend to be through woods, countryside, along (disused) railways, canals. The NCN6 from Mkt Harborough to Northampton is 15 miles of disused railway with an unlit tunnel. BikeHike is good for drawing your route.

I wondered that. Up around Sheffield there's a "problem" with kids on trail bikes, which is why trails have these blooming annoying metal contraptions to get the bike through. Last month some kid went out on his brand new trail bike, got followed by the copper chopper and had it confiscated within hours of buying it! The opti bike looks just like one of those trail bikes.... But I still want it.

Send a couple of letters the first requesting refund per Sales of Goods Act 1979 (goods not of merchantable quality or fit for purpose) the second indicating your intention to initiate legal proceedings You need to do this to show you've made reasonable efforts. If you get no joy then start Small Claims proceedings at moneyclaimonline. You can do it all online. Once you have a judgement you can send in the High Court Bailiff if the debtor does not pay.

Bulbs? I remember those. How quaint!

Ahhhh, that's why all the reviews just use them as supplementary lights on motorbikes. I'm still thinking about getting one. At £80 for 900 lumens they're cheaper than the super-powerful lights on wiggle and operate at something like 12 to 50V. Perhaps I should use the light my bike came with a bit more though, it's reasonably bright, just not so rediculously bright as the Vision X one!

Unscrew the horizontal rods that hold it to the forks to move it further out. You might need some washers in there.

I'm intersted in the Vision X Solstice Solo. There's a few different models with different beams.

Try a decent pair of padded undershorts then come back and say that

A decent lightweight road bike goes faster than a heavy electric bike that cuts out at 15.

Sounds like you're wanting to use an existing bag rather than buy new. You could try a roll of double sided hook/eye velcro tape, perhaps sewing it on? I've bought this from ebay sellers before now.

No thanks! I'd prefer maximum Ah in minimum weight. If it wears out more quickly then so be it. Comsumers tend to compare numbers. If one bike has a lower weight and a higher range then they'll think it's better. It takes a lot more sophistication (a minority of consumers) to compare battery technologies and care about longevity.

I've found it's necessary to connect the two data cables together (middle two connectors). This tells the phone that it's on a charger and not connected to another device. Without them connected, my phone would light up when plugged in but usually wouldn't say it was charging. Now I've connected them together, it does charge properly. I did 40 miles using the Maverick mapping app and cached map tiles, GPS and screen on all the time, and it kept the battery fully topped up. When the data lines are connected together, the power cables must be able to supply at least 1A at 5V (USB Power Specification)

You can get rack bags in various sizes. I've got this Avenir rack bag that fixes on to the rack with 3 velcro straps on its underneath, has two small fold-out panniers and a detachable shoulder strap.

I don't know the link. I just wondered if a bag on the cross bar would keep swinging into your legs or if it has a way to prevent that.

Wind resistance is a fringe benefit. The main purpose is comfort. The padding means you can go a lot further before your bum aches. The fact they stay in one place means you don't get sores from the constant brushing of material against you. A good pair will wick moisture away to minimise betty swollocks. And they're fine in the rain too - the seat pad stays dry, they just feel like wearing a pair of swim trunks and are quite comfy, they dry out quickly. I got a pair of Castelli bib shorts from Probikekit and they are fantastically comfy. I tried the bibs in Decathlon but they were total rubbish. The material was so thin that my hairs all poked through and the padding was very poor and looked itchy. Dunno about their undershorts.

I wouldn't be without my AirZound. A preventative toot on that when a situation is developing is enough to get attention quickly.

What's the battery spec? Is it a 250W motor?

I'd have thought a half-width twist throttle would offer better control. If you didn't want to hold it open, then perhaps a push button to start the motor and microswitches on the brake levers to stop it? Maybe with a dial for speed.