With small frame triangle sizes on bike with dropped top tubes - particularly full suspension bikes - I was wondering what options there were for top-of-the-top-tube luggage. It looks like it's possible to use two gas-tank type bags, one behind the stem and the other backwards attached to the seatpo...

Possible candidates are the maxxis minion DHR & DHF and dirt wizards. The one thing which puts me off is the faff of tubeless ... I run single-ply 2.35 Minions on my Cotic Hemlock with downhill weight tubes. While it doesn't see a lot of action, that which it does see is often Alpine and rocky....

I've heard they're a b*tch to solder, but there are guides on line...

Charging a battery from a battery can result in significant energy losses. If you want to use a USB battery as your power source, much better to get a light which will run directly from the USB output.

Asposium you were thinking on my wavelength. This arrived from amazon today for my Chinese solarstorm lights that I've currently got. Converts 5V USB to 9V. So far it seems to work and cheaper than a new light. I'll keep you posted on success or failure. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01G56J4...

Adapt a triple AAA headtorch to run off a USB battery in your backpack:

https://www.facebook.com/kLite.com.au/p ... 897074130/

Basically you use a diode to drop the 5V USB voltage to around 4.4V to drive the headtorch.

Im thinking Portapow as it seems to cope well with fluctuating charging current. I had a brainwave while I was out riding today, and confirmed it when I got home: as long as the PortaPow is receiving enough charge current, the electronics will be 'switched on' and the battery will therefore also su...

THE site about Radnorshire MTBing used to be http://www.roughrides.co.uk/ but it appears to have died. Does anyone know why? I'm thankful that the Internet Archive has come to the rescue: http://web.archive.org/web/20161004045105/http://roughrides.co.uk/ and click on the 'Routes' link at the top and...

Blimey... massive detail round our way on the 'OS 25 Inch' series for the South West... thanks!

Sorry for slight thread hijack, but what's the current consensus on a good value dynamo-to-USB converter widget?

polarcherry wrote:Fancy trying these as a move from my 46cm Cowbells but due to the crap pound and salsa skyrocketing prices they are the best part of £90!!! now!

Jenson USA has them for under £60 and less than a tenner shipping. You might get stung for customs charges, mind.

BreninBeener wrote:A quick google looks like a Zendure 10000mAh is £30+, and a Portapow in same capacity is £15. Im thinking Portapow as it seems to cope well with fluctuating charging current.

Yep, but you'll need access to the switch. An outer pocket with a transparent window on a bag might work well.

They state input wattage of 10W which is beyond the output of hub dynamos, is this an issue? It charges fine from a dynamo. Interesting that Zendure confirm pass-through charging which is a big plus if it's hooked up to a hub Dynamo and powering a Gps at the same time. I did have an issue here. I h...

AlanG wrote:DoctorRad, the route you describe is fantastic and mostly rideable apart from a few short steep sections...

Thanks Alan. Bike choice? I'm guessing a full-on mountain bike (as opposed to gravel) will make things a lot more rideable?

So out of interest, from the 617m spot height, what's the track over Pen Twyn Glas -> Pen Allt-Mawr -> Pen Cerrig-Calch like? Rideable? Frowned upon by red socks?

Are you talking about the clips (mounts for where you have none) or the cages themselves? Are you aware of the Bike Buddy?

I had a long chat with a road sportive organiser about intellectual property in terms of route planning... Where money is involved, people can get very defensive. There's a week-long 'enduro' stage race in the south of France, which used to be run on the same route every year. The organisers also w...

For the 650b+ curious: WTB Scraper I40 27.5"+ Rim On Selcof Pro Hubs

TF Tuned usually do me proud: http://pages.citebite.com/k5e6v6r2w2cwc

Cheap Lucas lights, might be of interest to someone: https://www.sportpursuit.com/sales/lucaslights-jan17

Yes, I went back to your email and uploaded all the routes to MapHub, works pretty well I think.

I don't normally support the Ramblers as - unless they've changed recently - they tend to advocate rights for those on foot at the expense of rights for other trail / path users. However, this one does look like it's worth supporting.

Talkytoaster maps are based on OSM, so you're limited the coverage / accuracy of the base dataset. No idea how good that is for the area you're interested in. If you're a little bit techy, try to track down a version of MoBAC which will still pull in OSM Cyclemap (or your preferred rendering). That ...

Scud wrote:...winter of commuting...

That could be it, road salt causing corrosion? I've never had trouble with the three sets I run, but then I don't do much road work on them, and I don't commute on them either (Magura HydroStops).

Scud wrote:... have had enough of BB7's

How come??