Belt drive

On 2019-04-26 16:24, Roger Merriman wrote:
Joerg wrote:
On 2019-04-25 15:48, Roger Merriman wrote:
Joerg wrote:

[...]



It often takes the bicycle industry decades longer to figure something
out. Such as decent heavy-duty rack space on FS MTB and central-battery
powered lighting where, no surprise, I had to build it all myself. Beats
me why one still cannot buy this:

http://www.analogconsultants.com/ng/bike/Muddy5.JPG

Probably because if your using the bike differently to others, my commute
bike though a hardtail is closer to that set up with panniers and a barbag
as I found the weight on the rear effected the handling though with the
weight spread even fully Laden the bike can be some fun in the woods if one
wants.

But for the Nice MTB I don’t need to take so much gear and as a leisure
rather than transport it’s a much nicer ride unladen.


Even during fun rides I carry a full tool kit, a big lock, some spare
parts and most of all water. The water alone can be north of a gallon in
summer because many MTB trails have no opportunity to refill (safely).

How often or likely is a full tool kit needed? Personally I do take some
Allen keys but can’t remember the last time they where needed.


You could have asked the guy whose shifter cable snapped and the limit
screws had Allen heads so were not adjustable via Swiss Army knife.
That's a wee problem far from any roads in hilly turf. Or the rider I
towed after the drive gear was throughly pretzeled. Yes, on the road
bike and sometimes on the MTB I carry a tow rope. Or li'l Henry who
crashed his scooter out in the boonies, was bleeding and his grabndma
didn't have anything in terms of first aid supplies. Or the kids who
hiked a trail in the scorching sun and had absolutely no water left.

Heck, I even "overpacked" on long hikes and got some people out of the
wilderness by supplying and helping them. Including one who had laid
himself down in the bushes off the trail and only mumbled to please let
him die. He also made it back, thanks to my "excessive" baggage.


For a fun ride lock generally isn’t needed, ...


It was yesterday. Parking a bike outside the building in an industrial
district with some hobos milling about isn't an option. Might be gone
when you come back out and an hour later it's all parted out. Another
guy didn't have a lock and he sure was glad mine fit around both bikes.

https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/23....jpg?width=705

I see that kind of chop shop or remnants thereof during many rides.


... and even riding 20 miles 7k up
at above 30’C two water bottles was fine, 8 bottles is just over kill to
put it mildly.


My rides are usually much longer than 20 miles. On some routes there is
no potable water anywhere and temps in the summer are more around 40C.
Lack of hydration can be toughed out for a day but it makes the ride
less fun and is not healthy. It can end in a "dehdration-bonk" and I had
two of those. Talk to a medical professional about that topic,
preferably one that deals with hiker rescues.

I bought the MTB mostly because it allows me to ride out into nature far
away from what man calls civilization.


It's lasted many thousand hard miles now which included heavy loads.
Yeah, that bike is heavy but it never breaks down anymore.

To be honest I haven’t found anything breaks with high mileage even on
rough surfaces, bar bolts the old hardtail was about 10 years old when I
pressed it into commuting service, and fitted panniers and what not, but
found that various bolts/attachments over the bike took it in turn to fail
over a few months.


I like to be able to take rocky trails and a HT would just not work for
me there, partially on account of some lower back issues. IMO any
bicycle should be able to carry a load in order to provide a practical
mode of transportation. For example, one client and a software engineer
are located along a rough singletrack. A trail where a HT bike isn't fun.

By the time you have that much weight, which is probably well over what the
suspension is rated for plus the thick tyres, inner tubes the ride is
likely to be fairly poor. I’ve swapped out some Marathon plus Touring for
some big apples and much better ride, particularly when heavily laden.


It rides like a truck but comfy. Build up a little more leg muscle and
it's fine. I want my vehicles to be rated for practical use and that
does include occasionally carrying substantial cargo.

I use tires made in Asia, mostly in Thailand, which have beefy
sidewalls, are the only once that held up so far and are remarkably low
cost. With the usual higher-priced name brand stuff I had too many
sidewall failures.

[...]

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/