Quicken

That depends on the individual locks imho. The x-plus integral lock mechanism is pretty sturdy in my knowledge and experience, whereas the lock on the steel-o-chain looks much more flimsy (I haven't looked at it in the flesh). Well, the steel-o-chain is only sold secure bronze rated for bicycles, so I wouldn't recommend that for a valuable bike. The x-plus chain is gold rated for bicycles, but hasn't got a motorcycle rating (they're obviously tougher). For comparison, the boxer chain is sold secure gold rated for motorcycles and ATVs. I think it's worth looking at the lock lists provided by various insurers to get an idea of which ones they trust (after all they have to pay out when the lock gets broken). https://www.pavilioninsurance.com/secure/locklist.asp?product=Cycle&promCode= The steel-o-chain is in Category A: Bikes Under £250 The city chain x-plus is in category C: Bikes over £1500 The boxer chain is in the same C category, but comparing the specs with the x-plus chain reveals it's a heavier-duty bit of kit - 12mm chain vs 10mm. It's also longer (150cm vs 110cm) if that's important (it was for me). The clincher for me is that the boxer chain is half the price of the x-plus. On the other hand, from being thinner and shorter the x-plus is going to be a bit lighter than the boxer for carrying around. In short, I think the x-plus (but not the o-chain) is probably 'tough enough', but a good motorcycle chain will be tougher. Up to you. I don't know much about motion alarms so I can't offer much here except with regards to lock toughness (as covered above). Perhaps someone else can comment. Cheers, Q

Motorcycle locks Same here. After a recent scare where some of the accesories were stolen off my bike when stored in a communal bike shed, I decided it would be a good idea to beef up my security with a motorcycle chain. After looking round at all the major brands and finding them overpriced, I eventually found the PJB range: PJB Security Products | Products I got the 150cm boxer chain for £49.99, which is less than half the price of many comparable products - (e.g. Kryptonite, Abus, Oxford, Squire). It's sold secure approved for motorcycles and ATVs: Automotive It weighs a lot, but it's very well put together (closed shackles are important). I keep it in the bike shed for night time security, and have another lock at work, so I don't have to carry a lock at all for my commute. :-) Cheers, Q

Added a new one to the OP. Cheers, Q

Further to this, I have now decided to get a Bacchetta Giro, which has a 26" rear wheel, and a 20" front: Bacchetta Recumbent Bikes - Giro 20 Its listed weight is 30lbs (13.6kg), but the actual weight will depend on options. Chain drive is to the rear 26" wheel. At some point in the future, I expect I will want to fit an electric kit. In terms of usage, I won't need electric power for cruising (I'll generally be doing more than 15 mph anyway). It might be useful to have some help off the lights, and I'd look for some help on the hills. I think a throttle control would work better than pedelec here. So, which kit will work best on a bike like this? Cheers, Q

Very interesting article Flecc, and it's nice to see you named your creation after me. Q

The highway code says cyclists must stop at red lights, and so I do. The Highway Code The Highway Code However, there are cear situations where it makes no sense for a cyclist to stop at a red light, and the fact that this doesn't seem to be taken into account by the law is frustrating. The situations I encounter are these: 1) I am turning left at some lights. There is a cycle lane on my current road that continues onto the road to the left. 2) I am going straight on across the cross part of a T-junction. Again, there is a continuous cycle path along the road. In neither of these situations do I need to leave a cycle lane. Thus, in neither situation can my route conflict with the legal flow of traffic. It simply does not matter whether cars are joining from the right, or coming from my current road. Thus, the lights are irrelevant, and should be ignored. Who agrees with this analysis? Is there any way to lobby for these situations being clarified in the law? Cheers, Q

Hello, I just thought I would suggest some basic good practice guidelines for the classifieds forum. When an item listed for sale here has been sold, it would be a good idea to indicate this to other forum users by changing the title of the thread so that it says sold, rather than for sale. You can do this by editing the first post of the thread, and clicking on Go Advanced. You can also add a last post explaining that the item has been sold. This will save potential buyers from hope and disappointment, and sellers from being pestered after the sale. Best, Q

DailyTech - Lenovo Recalls 208,000 ThinkPad Batteries Cheers, Q

I'm thinking I would like to get a Challenge Mistral or something similar: Challenge Recumbents (preferably in the red!) I am wondering what sort of electric kits one could fit to this, and how well they would work. For reference, the Mistral has 20" wheels. I think the cyclone kits would probably work. They show a recumbent swb trike (KMX X-Class Recumbent) with one attached on their website. Then there's the nano, the bionx kits. Any thoughts? I would probably want something just to power up hills. Cheers, Q

I think mobile electronics is the world's most common battery usage now. There are more mobile phones than cars (over a billion shipped in 2006 alone). Then there are all the laptops, PDAs, DAPs (mostly ipods), etc. etc. Cheers, Q

In a minor update on the Eestor technology, I found an mp3 recording of a presentation given by Ian Clifford, CEO of Zenn. The prospects of the Eestor technology are covered in the second half of the presentation. You can listen to it here: ZENN Pitches the Future: Electric Car | ZENN Cars Canada | Roth Capital Partners Cheers, Q

Actually, both websites say the 360W rated version peaks at 550W, not 480W. Having no experience of electric bikes, I really don't know how loud to expect this to be. Cheers, Q

Thanks for the link Flecc. Interestingly, there is a 250W version listed there. Wouldn't that be borderline road legal, given the confusing UK/european legislation here at the moment? Also, if someone were to buy the 360W kit here, how would the police know it's nominal rated output? Couldn't you just claim it was the lower powered version? Cheers, Q

Well top of the shopping list would be lower weight I think. If you could get the whole bike with battery in under 20kg, that would be awesome. The new Powacycles are coming in at 22kg, so it looks like it should be possible. After that, well a big price drop would be lovely. Cheers, Q

No, I don't have one. Just wondered what people thought. Cheers, Q