2024 - Our Rides in Words, Photos, Maps and Videos

Closing in on the end of the month and I've been splitting time on my 2 bikes, riding the Falcon(Bulls Desert Falcon EVO S) on sunny day commutes. Trying to get used to it before the weather completely turns for the season.

Either my body or the bike is finally adjusted as the neck/back pain disappeared about a week ago. Now I'm at 268 miles on it (I passed 13k miles a few weeks ago on the Haibike).

Had a sunny afternoon yesterday so took some shots while doing midday errands during work.

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Stefan Mikes said:
Have you connected your Garmin to the Vado SL yet?
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Hi Stefan, I have connected my garmin but I noticed on a few of your strava screenshots that it displays more data than mine! I only have a Garmin Edge Explore - and its the older Gen 1 version too. I might need an upgrade! :oops:
 
MartsEbike said:
Hi Stefan, I have connected my garmin but I noticed on a few of your strava screenshots that it displays more data than mine! I only have a Garmin Edge Explore - and its the older Gen 1 version too. I might need an upgrade! :oops:
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I'm no Garmin expert. What I know Garmin Edge 530 and the newer 540 are compatible with Specialized e-bikes. If you ever plan to buy a Range Extender, I can recommend Wahoo ELEMNT Bolt or Roam, as these are fully compatible (Garmin has no idea of the Range Extender!)

Could you write your ride details (e.g. assistance modes used, battery use, experience) in the respective thread?
 
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Stefan Mikes said:
Could you write your ride details (e.g. assistance modes used, battery use, experience) in the respective thread?
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Hi Stefan, I will do proper write up soon! I must say I don't think my first ride out was really representative of what this bike can do. The bike performed well but I wasn't at my best. I was somewhat sleep deprived (4-5 hours each day) having worked 5 nights in a row beforehand. I also hadn't eaten properly before setting off, so I was running on little more than 2-3 cups of coffee, and a chocolate brownie I picked up from the cafe at Ashridge! :rolleyes: I also didn't dress properly for the occasion, wearing too many layers. I expected it to be colder as the evening approached but it stayed rather mild.. You do get a proper work out on this bike and I ended up a bit hot and sweaty after my ride! Suffice to say nearer the end of the ride I was making liberal use of Turbo mode! :D (I noticed after my ride it was actually to "Battery Friendly" pre-set, offering 60/100 assistance).

If it wasn't for having a new bike to play with I wouldn't have gone out for a ride yesterday! I normally set aside a recovery day after my nights shifts!

Ride 2 will be today or tomorrow and I'll include more stats from the bike itself. :)
 
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First failure, free hub packed in, luckily we carry the magic straps of repair.

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Trying to find the right parts is a nightmare, its just a free for all out there, generic parts, original parts,
repair kits, bike manufacturer named parts.
Its an FH 521, searching for it leads down a rabbit hole.

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Allright smarty pants. :)
Cheers Stefan, we has problems with it being 10 or 11 speed, I couldnt get the gears back on, but it just needed compressing, I'll order that one.
 
Chargeride said:
Allright smarty pants. :)
Cheers Stefan, we has problems with it being 10 or 11 speed, I couldnt get the gears back on, but it just needed compressing, I'll order that one.
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All HG freehub bodies are good from 9 to 11 speeds. I guess you could buy any HG compatible freehub body good for 12x148 mm rear hub spacing.
FYI, the issue is when you need 12 speeds. Then you need a Shimano Microspline driver or SRAM xD driver. Not your case, luckily. I have never replaced any of my freehub bodies, fortunately.
 
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MartsEbike said:
Damn.... I never thought about this before but I might just put a handful of cable ties to my saddle bag just in case! ;)
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What do you think @Chargeride carries in that backpack of his? It's chock full of zipties and duct tape - at the start of the ride, that is :)

True confessions though - his isn't the only Haibike held together with zip ties. My rear fender and rack have been held stable on my bike with zip ties after 1 bolt fell out and the other fender mount point subsequently snapped.
 
BlackHand said:
What do you think @Chargeride carries in that backpack of his? It's chock full of zipties and duct tape - at the start of the ride, that is :)

True confessions though - his isn't the only Haibike held together with zip ties. My rear fender and rack have been held stable on my bike with zip ties after 1 bolt fell out and the other fender mount point subsequently snapped.
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DUCT TAPE! I'm going to need a bigger saddle bag! :p
 
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I had a choice of getting out on the bike yesterday on a very windy but 'dry' day or going out today with lighter winds but more chance of rain! I chose yesterday and made the most of the 35mph winds but got soaked in the process! 😂 Ironically the rain was minimal today...:rolleyes: Anyway I really enjoyed the ride despite getting soaked again, it wasn't heavy rain but that stuff that just doesn't let up!

I headed out to Uphall which meant 22 miles with a truly awesome tailwind, using bike paths where possible! At Uphall I backtracked to Dechmont to head up Burnhouse road which would have a very strong crosswind component at some parts but as it was nearly all steep uphill I would be going slowly, I certainly wouldn't have enjoyed descending it! I then used the back roads to Cairpapple and even braved the climb directly into the wind, after the climb there is a huge descent which was protected from the wind so I hurtled down at just over 42mph!:D

At Torphicen I enjoyed yet more descending down to Westfield and then headed up the big climb to Heights but avoided the highest part due to crazy crosswinds as its very exposed, I opted to take the road to Slamannan instead as its more protected by tree cover and the road is like a rollercoaster so it was a real blast even in the wet! From Slamannan I took the main road to Greengairs as once again it was well protected by tree cover and thankfully it was pretty quiet anyway! From Greengairs it was a short ride to home and a well earned hot shower!;)

Amazingly October turned out to be my best month of the year so far with 645 miles covered, it has also been a month of some really crazy weather but luckliy I had almost a full week of decent weather so that sure helped! I was resetting my bike display when I got home and noticed it was showing exactly 35000 miles, what are the odds of that happening? My actual mileage is 35286 due to a display problem a while back! No photos this time as it wasn't the day for taking any...

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RabH said:
View attachment 185189

I had a choice of getting out on the bike yesterday on a very windy but 'dry' day or going out today with lighter winds but more chance of rain! I chose yesterday and made the most of the 35mph winds but got soaked in the process! 😂 Ironically the rain was minimal today...:rolleyes: Anyway I really enjoyed the ride despite getting soaked again, it wasn't heavy rain but that stuff that just doesn't let up!

I headed out to Uphall which meant 22 miles with a truly awesome tailwind, using bike paths where possible! At Uphall I backtracked to Dechmont to head up Burnhouse road which would have a very strong crosswind component at some parts but as it was nearly all steep uphill I would be going slowly, I certainly wouldn't have enjoyed descending it! I then used the back roads to Cairpapple and even braved the climb directly into the wind, after the climb there is a huge descent which was protected from the wind so I hurtled down at just over 42mph!:D

At Torphicen I enjoyed yet more descending down to Westfield and then headed up the big climb to Heights but avoided the highest part due to crazy crosswinds as its very exposed, I opted to take the road to Slamannan instead as its more protected by tree cover and the road is like a rollercoaster so it was a real blast even in the wet! From Slamannan I took the main road to Greengairs as once again it was well protected by tree cover and thankfully it was pretty quiet anyway! From Greengairs it was a short ride to home and a well earned hot shower!;)

Amazingly October turned out to be my best month of the year so far with 645 miles covered, it has also been a month of some really crazy weather but luckliy I had almost a full week of decent weather so that sure helped! I was resetting my bike display when I got home and noticed it was showing exactly 35000 miles, what are the odds of that happening? My actual mileage is 35286 due to a display problem a while back! No photos this time as it wasn't the day for taking any...

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Congrats Rab for going 1.4 times around the planet !
 
RabH said:
it was showing exactly 35000 miles
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Congratulations!

RabH said:
I had a choice of getting out on the bike yesterday on a very windy but 'dry' day
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We also experience strong winds here in Mazovia.

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The plan for this weekend: All (10) cycling capable bridges of Warsaw. The route is 41 km long. I have checked: It is not 100% bike paths but closely :) (I actually think of making this trip even more sophisticated :))
 
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