A random thread for cycling things that don't really warrant their own thread

[Jurek]

I used the Woolwich Free Ferry today, for the first time since they took delivery of their made in Polska boats.
Well impressed with the electromagnetic mooring system.
Two huge f*ck off electromagnets (about 6ft²) mounted on hydraulic arms fitted to a pontoon which rises with the tide on dolphins.
Boat comes up to the pontoon and bumps into the fenders.
Hydraulic arm extends the magnets so they come into contact with the hull.
Switch on the current, and the boat becomes locked to the pontoon.
Most excellent work.

[Sergeant Pluck]

I used the Woolwich Free Ferry today, for the first time since they took delivery of their made in Polska boats.
Well impressed with the electromagnetic mooring system.

Clever stuff. I found this informative:
https://mampaey.com/magnetic-auto-mooring-at-the-woolwich-ferry/

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I am familiar with the Cavotec Moormaster pneumatic system but magnetic mooring is a new one for me.

http://www.cavotec.com/en/your-applications/ports-maritime/automated-mooring

The fast turnaround and reduced crew involvement of these mooring systems is worth real money for ferries but less so for most other port operations. An exception is for exposed berths where ship movements from waves slow down cranes. Some container ports use these systems to hold the ship steady, making it easier and faster for crane operators. Another exception are oil/gas terminals where you want to be able to get ships away quickly in the event of an emergency.

[bhoot]

The fast turnaround and reduced crew involvement of these mooring systems is worth real money for ferries but less so for most other port operations.

I think though for the Woolwich ferry the turn around time is significantly longer than the old "just hold it against the pier with the engine running" technique. It certainly feels like it takes an age for the ferry to finally manouvre into exactly the right position and for the magnets to extend. And of course the barriers are now fully interlocked, whereas on the old boats the crew operated them and they would be pretty much open by the time the ramp has descended.
Someone will now doubt come along with actual figures which show it's actually no slower but it definitely seems that it is.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I meant when mooring systems are compared with using mooring lines and bollards. Nothing is faster than just keeping the ferry nudged up against the fenders but that is fairly fuel-hungry and relies on the engines doing their thing to prevent motorists ending up wet. Mooring systems keep working for a time even when the power stops. I suspect that a risk assessment of "what happens when the ferry's engine stops at the wrong time" was a big factor in the change.

[Jurek]

The fast turnaround and reduced crew involvement of these mooring systems is worth real money for ferries but less so for most other port operations.

I think though for the Woolwich ferry the turn around time is significantly longer than the old "just hold it against the pier with the engine running" technique. It certainly feels like it takes an age for the ferry to finally manouvre into exactly the right position and for the magnets to extend. And of course the barriers are now fully interlocked, whereas on the old boats the crew operated them and they would be pretty much open by the time the ramp has descended.
Someone will now doubt come along with actual figures which show it's actually no slower but it definitely seems that it is.

Inclined to agree with this.
It did seem to take quite a while for everything to be sufficiently tickety-boo for the ramp to drop.
And, as mentioned, everything seems to be interlocked, with significant time-lag between any actions.
Doubtless, for safety.
As well as running the service with fewer crew.
In a similar way, the now fully automated lifts at the Greenwich Foot Tunnel, have significant time-lag between, say, landing and all of the lockouts checking that it is safe to open the doors.
Progress, eh?

[ElyDave]

New Guiness WR for Tandem around the world,

Now we know how Covid 19 spread so quickly 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-53567668

[Kim]

Today I discovered that an ill-fitting mesh seat can cause almost saddle-esque amounts of damage to completely different parts of your body.  I've got swelling on exactly one of my vertebrae, bruised shoulder blades and precision bashing to the inside of my elbows.

★☆☆☆☆ Would not recommend.

[The Family Cyclist]

I've had a lot of issues with visitations recently. Different bikes and decent tyres pumped properly but seem to be having a run. I did think I'd missed something in one tyre as already had a repair on the tube 3" from the valve and found another hole 3 " from the valve the other way so if I'd put the tube in the other way round could have been the same thing but the stone I removed was pretty unmissable and would have punctured again straight away whereas I'd used the bike repeatedly since the first repair

[Mr Larrington]

Today I discovered that an ill-fitting mesh seat can cause almost saddle-esque amounts of damage to completely different parts of your body.  I've got swelling on exactly one of my vertebrae, bruised shoulder blades and precision bashing to the inside of my elbows.

★☆☆☆☆ Would not recommend.

Wot teh blazes have u been riding, Kim?  And, er, why?

[Kim]

Today I discovered that an ill-fitting mesh seat can cause almost saddle-esque amounts of damage to completely different parts of your body.  I've got swelling on exactly one of my vertebrae, bruised shoulder blades and precision bashing to the inside of my elbows.

★☆☆☆☆ Would not recommend.

Wot teh blazes have u been riding, Kim?  And, er, why?

Teh baraktacycle (minus the electrickery and plus some rock-hard Kojaks), on the basis that I might as well have a go at the whole multitrack^[1] thing for the partially-arsed 2020 BHPC racing season, before unleashing the upgraded Baron in order to resume my usual failing-to-keep-up-with-John-Lucian service in 2021.

I couldn't apply sufficient ham-fisted monkeyforce to the tensioning thinger to prevent the mesh bottoming out against the strap in the middle of my back, knobbling the bony bit for the duration of Sunday's racing^[2].  30 minutes of alternately shuffling up and overextending my left ankle and shuffling down and b0rking my knees into yesterday's 2-hour race, I was debating pulling over and stealing some extra padding from the pedal car girls.  Then it occurred to me that I could try loosening it, instead.  This  a) provided instant relief  and  b) meant I could keep going  without  c) mugging any tweenagers  but  d) shifted the pressure to where my shoulder blades pushed against ...something hard.

The elbows were unfortunate, and could probably be rectified by a minor forward tweaking of the handlebars.  I had no idea it was going on.  Also, my medial nerves objected to the afore-mentioned rock-hard Kojaks, and it took a couple of hours for the sensation to return in my fingers.  I think I need to take a leaf out of one of the handcyclists' book, and spend more time riding one-handed^[3].

Insult was added to injury last night when barakta, having inspected my back to assess this damage, decided to give me a friendly jab in the quads^[4].  Like I hadn't just been slogging my guts out on a mildy inappropriate recumbent to come 24th in the wacky races.  Bah!


_{[1] On the dubious logic that I might Protect the NHS! by riding something I'd have to try a bit harder to fall off, and protect the untested timing software by not being in the fast race with Andrew.
[2] Where I was somewhat preoccupied by the gears being generally annoying, vis rattling noises, occasional slippage and too wide ratios.
[3] 
[4] Read: Dead leg.}

[Cudzoziemiec]

I thought the idea of mesh seats was, in part, that they didn't need to be fitted to the rider's anatomy in the way of conventional saddles but rather conformed to the occupant in the way of a hammock. Evidently I was teh wrong (which isn't very surprising).

[Kim]

I thought the idea of mesh seats was, in part, that they didn't need to be fitted to the rider's anatomy in the way of conventional saddles but rather conformed to the occupant in the way of a hammock. Evidently I was teh wrong (which isn't very surprising).

Mesh seats are the big squishy saddles of the recumbent world - they're relatively forgiving, but are best suited for shorter rides and a relatively upright position.  You can adjust them by altering the amount of tension in the mesh, which is about as adequate as the ergonomic adjustment available in the average car seat^[1].  What you definitely don't want to happen is for anything sensitive to be resting on the metal frame or - as I've just discovered - the tensioning straps behind the seat.

I'm going to try loosening everything off and starting again.  I've definitely ridden it for longer rides without issue, but not working as hard, and I brought more of my own, erm, padding...


_{[1] Which is to say: Pretty good, unless you're used to a well-fitting hardshell recumbent seat, at which point they tend to cause bad swears.}

[Cudzoziemiec]

So it's kind of sort of a bit like a hammock that's resting on a branch. That does sound sub-optimal.

[Kim]

You *should* be able to tension it enough that the mesh doesn't rest on anything (except the surrounding frame, which should be sized not to knobble anything important).  I've obviously changed shape a bit since I last rode it properly and/or it's gone a bit slack.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I found that lots of beefy zipties allowed good zonal adjustment of mesh seat tension. Tension could be cranked up to ridiculous levels if careless, which tended to kill eyelets.

[Kim]

The ICE seat doesn't have eyelets, it's got webbing straps sewn in.  I've released the tension completely and will attack it with renewed vigour once my everything stops aching.

[Kim]

The ICE seat doesn't have eyelets, it's got webbing straps sewn in.  I've released the tension completely and will attack it with renewed vigour once my everything stops aching.

Nope, not a chance.  I 've got it a little tighter and it's fine until I put serious force into the pedals, at which point my back and shoulders bottom out against the straps in the places that are currently bruised.  This wouldn't happen for very long in normal riding (it's a trike, the whole point is that you can twiddle your way up bastard hills at your leisure), but does appear to be a problem for mildly inappropriate cycle racing.

I'm reluctant to apply anything with leverage to the tensioning straps, as that's only going to end in broken wossnames on a seat that's perfectly fine for what it normally gets used for.

Best obvious bodge I've found with the materials to hand is to place the closed-cell foam pad from a hardshell seat over the top of the seat, spreading the load a bit.  Wedging some foam between the mesh and the straps is surprisingly ineffective, as it just gets crushed.

[alexb]

I’m about to turn N into N+1 and am rapidly approaching Mrs WM’s tolerance limit for storing bikes in the dining room. Am considering buying a bike shed and storing some of the bikes outdoors, but concerned about the effect of damp. Is this concern valid or misplaced? Is the answer dependent upon frame material? All advice / experience welcomed.

I've got a pretty sturdy wooden shed with a pair of bolted in ground anchors. The bikes "hide" behind a clutter of chairs placed carefully in front of them. Between the ground anchors and chains, security lighting and nosey neighbours I think it's an OK solution.

I do see a bit of surface mould on leather saddles and I wouldn't put away a wet saddle or saddlebag, but otherwise there's no signs of rust on the frames or exposed metalwork. I actually think the wood helps balance humidity changes.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Is this the ultimate saddle bag?

Obviously it's the ultimate in stylish saddle bags (?) and it's also, being hand stitched in tough materials, the ultimate in durability. And you can use it as a bar bag as well as a shoulder or hand bag, the ultimate in adaptable bike luggage! At 22l it isn't quite the ultimate in capacity but it's close.

But the way in which it must surely be the ultimate is...

(click to show/hide)

£199!

[orienteer]

A Moulton AM "Sew What" bag (made in the US) is more than that!

[Cudzoziemiec]

I did expect there'd be something!

Link to the bag: https://www.thewoodscyclery.co.uk/shop/bags/wizard-works-the-woods-cyclery-shazam-bar-saddle-bag-xpac-and-splatter/

[Jakob W]

I think the posher Gilles Berthoud bags are probably that order of magnitude, and the tweed Brompton/Chapman bags were over £300 weren't they? Though as ever, if you compare prices with fashion gear, that seems positively reasonable...

[Cudzoziemiec]

Bristol University have published images of how their yet to be built Temple campus might look once it's finished and then expanded.

Great, lovely, an inspirational learning environment... but why is that bloke carrying his bike over his shoulder? Perhaps it's a pedestrianised area with no cycling allowed, but then why draw him in at all (because their plan puts cycle parking in the middle of the no-cycling area, maybe?) and why isn't he just pushing it like a normal person?

Well, maybe he's a cyclocrosser.

[Pingu]

They've just used a cycle lane and their tyres are fucked.