Hmm.

[ewt]

Been looking at bike stuff this afternoon, particularly pannier racks/rack packs.

Are there no ethical ones? They all seem to be made out of various types of nylon, it looks like you have to pay about £30 for anything that has decent pockets and versatility, and they're probably all made by slave labour by toddlers in nobodyknowswhereistan.

Maybe I shall make my own. The rack on the Strida is not as large as the standard ones anyway, so it might be better that way. I don't think I have the skill (or materials? It's the seam taping that would be getting in the way...) to achieve full waterproofness with recycled waterproofs from second-hand shops, but I could at least make something that is fairly water-resistant.

Have also been looking at bike lights. It seems to be a matter of "decide how much you want to spend, then look for the best lights you can get in that price range", because you can pay anywhere from hardly anything to £400 for a front light. Lights that are worth more than the bicycle are probably not a good investment for me; lights that are going to fall apart or require stupid small non-rechargeable batteries are definitely a bad investment for me. There's still a large range in between, though.

Must find my cycle maps. TFL is nice but requires me to do an awful lot of planning of where I want to go, whereas maps can be shoved into a pannier (once I have a pannier...) and consulted as and when I need them.

This Saturday and Sunday the DLR is broken between Mudchute and Canary Wharf, and both days I need to get places. I'm wondering about cycling to Canary Wharf instead - it isn't far - and either locking the bike up there or taking it with me.

Comments

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

You can get waterproofing spray in camping shops that may help - I am going to put my backpack in the washing machine and then spray it with that when it's dry.

[edwards.livejournal.com]

Okay, I seriously doubt that the bike racks are made by sweatshop labour, but it's impossible to get decently padded ones or waterproof for cheapness.

Lights: I have CatEye halogens on the front and a CatEye one on the back (plus an earlier purchase of a "VisionStik" which converts into a MagLite). The Halogens are bright and have a remote on-off switch (wide and spot beams), and were £40 - I expect better kit exists now. The rear is a wide/deep CatEye with flash (ugh) and solid LED lights PLUS a full BS reflector, and is bright, visible from the side and rear, and I like the look of it.

Downside of my CatEye headlights are that they have a battery pack that weighs a bit and needs a bottle cage or straps (the VisionStik has a tube-like battery which is rather easier to strap to the frame; on mine it's connected in a plastic clip to the lower bottle cage and that can take one per side if they ever make a "second battery/dual capacity" design instead of it being a case of "two batteries means buying two lights").

Battery life of the CatEye is about 1:20 or 45 minutes depending on what lights you're using.

[purpletigron.livejournal.com]

I seriously doubt that the bike racks are made by sweatshop labour

Why?

[etb.livejournal.com]

Front-lighting depends on what your goal is. If it's to illuminate dark roads you need something fairly powerful; if you just need to be seen you should be able to manage with a relatively cheap LED. I use a Serfas that weighs almost nothing and runs for dozens of hours on three AAAs (in flashing mode, because that's much harder to miss, despite being illegal where I live), and cost US$20. I guess that's technically a light with "small stupid batteries", though it hasn't fallen apart despite some abuse :-)

Helmet-mounted lights are fairly popular in the US and have the advantage that anyone you're looking at can't miss you; also, since they're on your helmet, they're harder to steal. Not that it's much trouble to snap the Serfas on and off, but it's one more thing to deal with when I lock up.

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

"Small stupid batteries" are anything I can't charge in my solar charger; AAAs are fine. :)

[(Anonymous)]

Can your solar charger manage 2 AA's of say, 2700 mAH capacity, & on a typical overcast spring day, how long roughly to charge them?

[naath.livejournal.com]

Dynamo lights are you friend. CatEye do some half decent LED stuff. Flashing lights are crap (especially if that's all you have). Remember to take detachable lights off when you lock up the bike. Helmet mounted lights are fine if you want to wear a helmet, but I'm not sure if they fulfil the legal requirement for a front light.

Decent bike luggage is expensive but probably not sweat-shop; it's a small industry, UK based companies even make them here. You do need to pay - making them to the required sturdiness is really quite tricky, although you are unlikely to need the best-of-the-best.

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

Not sure if I can fit a dynamo to the Strida without interfering with the folding stuff, or whether I'd want to. I may look into it if I end up doing a LOT of riding in dark situations.

I do not like flashing lights on general principle; slower ones mean you are visible/invisible/visible/invisible, and faster ones are headache-inducing. I would not buy lights that did not have a 'solid' mode, and I think I would only use a flashing setting if it were alternating lights rather than on-off, and then only to save battery power.

Helmet mounted lights would be in addition to some other light I think; I wouldn't want to become invisible to oncoming traffic while doing a shoulder-check!

I'm now leaning toward the "plastic/wicker/other rigid box with lid plus bungee netting" method of keeping things on the bicycle rack, although I will have to see how well it works before I can really be certain. The advantage with this is that if it is a clear plastic box, I can put my (not waterproof) EL wire inside and have a box what lights up...

[naath.livejournal.com]

er, yes, folding bike+dynamo can be hard if it isn't a hub dynamo (you can get them for Bromptoms, I gather they cost lots).

Basket/box/what-have-you is probably a Very Good Idea - much cheaper too.

[keira-online.livejournal.com]

Dynomo lights as your only light source are now illegal in the UK, have been for quite a few years now. Unless you get those strange things that are both dynomos and normal lights at the same time, they are fine, but bloody expesnive apparently.

[naath.livejournal.com]

That is completely untrue.

Dynamo lights which turn off immediately on stopping are illegal (technically). However dynamo lights with a capacitor which remain on for a few minutes after stopping are entirely legal and not much more expensive than decent normal lights. In any case you can fulfil the legal requirement with any crappy LED light if you feel the need and then get a decent light for seeing with.

Of course the law on this point is entirely insane - there is no reason that I need a light in town (which is well lit) except that motorists are apparently too stupid or too blind to observe bicycles with no lights although they have bright seeing-by lights in addition to the street lights I am using to observe my surroundings with no difficulty - indeed motorists who can't see well enough to see me probably can't see well enough to see such other obstacles as pedestrians, parked cars, and the edge of the road.

[keira-online.livejournal.com]

In that case, don't cycle across Magdelen Bridge in Oxford. Or anywhere else in Oxford city centre.
The Cycle police are out again. And will fine you if you are caught cycling after dark with no lights.

You also agreed with my post, after saying it was untrue. Pure dynomo lights (with no capacitor) are illegal. The strange things I refered to are the capacitors.

[naath.livejournal.com]

I poses lights - although I've never seen police stop people for not using them. Of course, maybe I should take pains to be arrested for not having lights since apparently it is only possible to change the law by arguing one's case in court.

I've generally thought of dynamo lights as having stand lights because, well, dur if you wanted lights you are going to want them whilst waiting at junctions.

[gigglingwizard.livejournal.com]

Been looking at bike stuff this afternoon, particularly pannier racks/rack packs.

Are there no ethical ones?

I don't think so. Those pannier racks/rack packs are a pretty notorious bunch. You never know what they're gonna do next. I'd suggest if you get one, you lay down the law right from the beginning and let it know it's not just getting a free ride while you do all the pedaling. It's going to have to pull it's own weight. Beware of packs posing as Kenyan businessmen offering to transfer millions of dollars to your bank account, too. They seem nice enough, but they have no scruples whatsoever.

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

I consider myself duly warned...