Trek – 16 Miles, Sunny Sunday

Another sunny Sunday here so I took the Trek for a 16 mile ride with a friend.  It was a leisurely ride with fair number of stops whilst we chatted and caught up with all the news.

Took the Trek off-road for the first time and it performed well.  The front shock fork soaked up a lot of the bumps, rocks and tree roots along the paths we cycled.  I’m still pleased with my choice of MTB, no complaints from me.

Three Eurostar trains shot past us during one of the stops – the ground shakes as it passes at speeds well in excess of 100mph (top speed is 186mph, apparently).

A great ride but now I’m sunburnt again.  Need to wear a hat.

Still haven’t managed to try the NiteRider light out.  Hopefully during the week.  At the moment, though, it’s still too light at 10pm!

NiteRider MiNewt Mini-USB

So, I gave in and bought myself a NiteRider front light.  I’ve had my eye on one for a long time as they’ve always had great reviews, fit easily to the bike and produce a lot of light from a small package.

Having two bikes I was looking for a bright light which could be easily transferred between both bikes.  The NiteRider lights don’t require mounting brackets so they’re ideal for this  scenario.

NiteRider lights are not cheap, the MiNewt Mini-USB is the cheapest in their ‘LED range’ and mine set me back £72 at Wiggle.  There’s also a Mini-USB Plus model which includes a helmet-mount and extension cable.

The light itself is small, earning its ‘Mini’ title, at only 2″ long and less than 1 and a 1/4″ wide.  It has an integral mounting foot and it’s secured to the handlebar with a rubber o-ring (3 sizes included).  There’s a single cable (~10″) coming out of the bottom of the light which plugs securely into the supplied battery pack.

The Lithium Ion battery pack attaches to your bike with a velcro strap (not pictured below), there’s a rubber pad on the rear of the battery pack which ensures that the pack doesn’t move once in place.  The pack is a little over 3″ long by 1.5″ wide, and around 1 and 1/4″ deep so can fit neatly on the stem without much hassle.  There isn’t much to the battery pack, it has the socket for the light cable, the on/off switch and the mini-USB connector.  The latter is protected by a rubber flap which keeps if free from dust and water.

The MiNewt Mini-USB is supplied with a mains charger and a USB cable for charging from your computer’s USB port.  This is a great idea, especially if you’re going to use the light on your daily commute.  Keeping the USB cable in work will allow you to top up the battery’s charge  ready for the journey home.  Charge time (from empty) is 4.5 hours.

Build quality is excellent, from the lens to the cable and battery, it all looks great.  The brightness of the light is excellent and it completely washes out the beam from my Cateye HL-EL450.  The Cateye’s output has a slight bluish tint whereas the NiteRider is a brighter, cleaner, white light.  I haven’t been out cycling with the NiteRider yet, but I’ve performed the ‘in-the-house-in-the-dark‘ test and the ‘stare-into-the-light‘ (!!!) test.  It passed both tests well.  The NiteRider’s beam is wide with a centrally focused ‘hot spot’ – it’s significantly brighter than the Cateye, ensuring that you can see and be seen more.

Unlike the Cateye though, there’s only one mode on the NiteRider.  It’s either on or off – no high/low mode and no flashing mode.

Another independent review of this light can be found over on the Women In Training blog – I found this review useful as I made up my mind on whether or not to buy the NiteRider.

The Box

In The Box

Contents (battery velcro not shown)

Light and Battery (£1 coin for scale)

Cateye HL-EL450 vs NiteRider MiNewt Mini-USB

MiNewt Mini-USB Fitted To Dahon D7HG

Oh Dear! I’ve Ordered A NiteRider Light

Hmm, I caved.  I’ve been trying to put it off but a dusk ride over the weekend spurred me on!  I ordered a NiteRider front light and I’m awaiting delivery.

An ‘excuse’ I used to justify the purchase: summer solstice has past so the days are getting shorter now, I’ll need the  a better light more often.  It’s a safety thing.  Honest! 

I’ll post an update after I’ve received it and had time to have a look at it (work really does get in the way at times).

Update, 7th July: Review Posted

DoD Visitor Maps

The Dave On Dahon Who’s Among Us maps are pretty populated at the moment with a good range of countries covered.  I like this mapping tool as it gives me a view of where my visitors come from.

I thought I’d capture the maps as they stand today as occasionally they do get reset.  The two below show where the visitors come from.  The second map is the ‘heat map’ which indicates the concentration of visitors.

The third capture below is from the Flag Counter.  This shows visitor count in a different format.  This counter hasn’t been running as long as the Who’s Among Us counter but it’s another interesting way to view the DoD visitor stats.

UK Mains Plug Concept

A non-cycling video here.  I think this design is fantastic.  There may be some negative points but it’s a very impressive concept.

Thought I’d share.

[via Treehugger]

Arrggh! It’s Too Hot

Phhh.  It’s too hot.  I’m not built for this temperature.  It was around 30 degrees Celcius today (86F for the old school guys) and that’s too warm for me.

This week, parts of the UK are to suffer a heatwave.  I like warm sunny weather with a nice cool breeze; I do not, however,  like hot, muggy days like today! 

I hope things cool down by the weekend so I can spend some time on the bike.

Dahon – Running Well

A pleasant ride around town this morning, not far, not fast, just having a look around.  Thought I’d take a look around the Farmers’ Market whist I was out.  It was a bit disappointing – not many stalls and nothing really impressive or interesting enough to make me stop and take a closer look.  Shame.

The tide was in so the river was looking good as the Medway rowing crews whizzed past causing barely a ripple on the surface.  The Castle grounds were fairly empty and quiet as I sat and watch people walk, play and relax.  It was good to be out.

The Dahon rode very well.  Having tightened up a few bits and pieces, including the bottom bracket, and with the addition of the Big Apples, it really is running well.  The Big Apples have made a huge improvement to the ride and I’m glad that I spent the cash on the upgrade.  I was cycling along with a smile on my face, enjoying the bike and thinking: “Now this is a great bike”.

Discs, Or Not?

Robert A., over on the Practical Cyclist blog, has posted an interesting article on the use of disc brakes on bikes.

When buying my Trek, I decided not to pay the extra few Pounds and buy the disc version but to stay with the simpler technology of the V-brake.  One of the key factors in my decision was that I understand how to repair and tune ’standard’ brakes but not hydraulic disc brakes (with their oil and goo) – and the possibility of having to learn how, during a ride miles from home one day, did not appeal at all!

Back to Robert’s post: it’s an interesting review of the physics of bicycle brakes and well worth a read if you’re just about to buy yourself a new bike.

Link: Maintenance of V-brakes, help page.
Link: A Practical Cyclist

Garmin Handlebar Mount

Spent £14 on a handlebar mount for my Garmin 60CSx GPS receiver and fitted it to my Trek over the weekend.  My 60CSx sat there securely for all of the 29 miles I cycled on Sunday morning, including whilst I ‘jumped’ off the pavements and cycle paths.

Previously, I’ve carried the receiver in my backpack or on the strap of the backpack but now I can have it in sight all the time to see the digital map or my trip stats.

The supplied rubber spacers used when fitting the mount were either too thin or too thick so I’ve had to use the thinner of the two with some additional padding (insulation tape).  But, once fitted it looks good and won’t move.

Another good purchase.

[Image from Amazon]

29 Miles Around Maidstone

Another great day here in North Kent, the sun is shining, there’s a gentle breeze and it’s hot.  Having ticked quite a few things off my ‘to-do’ list on Friday and Saturday, I forced myself out of bed early this morning and took the Trek out for a spin.

I had a route in my head as to where I wanted to go but like all my rides, I like to see where the road, the scenery and my mood take me.  So today these ‘variables’ took me across the Medway and through Strood towards Cuxton and a destination of the river side in Maidstone.  I rested on the banks of the river in Maidstone, with a couple of swans, for about 10 minutes before beginning the return journey.

The return took my partially up Bluebell Hill then down into Aylesford and Eccles and then back into Rochester along Pilgrims’ Way, an “ancient trackway that runs across southern England from Winchester in the west to Canterbury“.

The Trek performed well again, but I really am beginning to see the benefit of road bikes!  Cyclists on ‘true’ road bikes easily powered past me as I struggled along with my big, fat off-road tyres.  Damn their slick wheels and brightly coloured lycra! 

No photos today as I didn’t take the camera – I was travelling light (i.e. I forgot it!).