Old blokes who should know better.....

[Tonybro]

@The Hodge Can you not set up a business as a self-employed crash test dummy?

You can have a franchise in NW France, looking at you @Zimmerframe ! ?

You could include hospital bills in your fees...

 

[Rusty]

Maybe you need to be better at your hobbies, rather than being a crash test dummy!

Please don't suggest that to @dobbyhasfriends ..... Crash Test Dummy is @Zimmerframe 's job.
And he takes it very seriously.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Please don't suggest that to @dobbyhasfriends ..... Crash Test Dummy is @Zimmerframe 's job.
And he takes it very seriously.

I'd like to think I add that little bit of extra "Dummy" into Crash Test Dummy !

 

[Rusty]

@Zimmerframe

As I tell my doctor when he sees me hobbling along or all scratched & bruised .................. "Always striving for perfection Doc."

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

be warned !
many rude words uttered by grumpy and rude old men !

 

[Zimmerframe]

Today on "Old Blokes do Swear better" .. or "Old C***S do swear better"

Top ride. I liked your plan on the wet tyre ruts .. quite often wet - is hard ! Not this time though ..

Loved the creme egg touch !

Thanks for sharing again !

 

[Tubby G]

how many of those are there on here? quite a few is the impression I get..
anyway, I am definitely an 'old bloke who should know better' and having recently got back into biking after about 15 years off with only the occasional local ride, ive found that a lot has changed.. bikeparks are a big thing now but last time I was riding a lot, aston hill was the only one I had heard of and been to.

anyway, I've never jumped or dropped off unless these were natural trail features that you could occasionally session and when I bought my e-bike I had no intention of going to a bikepark..

anyway, I went to cwm rhaedr and did a few laps which was ok but I am still more of an adventure rider and didn't really enjoy it but then @Kiwi in Wales showed me around brechfa and I had a ride in the surrey hills which were both fun so now I wanna try a bikepark! ive watched a load of videos and if you cant jump I don't reckon you'll get as much out of the day at the park then if you could..
so I thought I would try it, looked on youtube, found instructions, made a kicker ramp and tried it out..

out of interest, how many out there are like me, either older or back after a break etc.. i've seen a lot of guys on youtube that seem to have come to biking late in life, they don't have any basic skills at all and I just wonder if they are the type of kids that weren't allowed a bike as a kid (yes they exist) and are now having to learn everything from scratch...

anyway, started a separate channel from the guitars and uploaded my first vid.. take a look if you have 2 mins cos I while I didnt die or anything, I wasnt exactly smooth and all jumping help and advice is welcome...

Just found this thread after just buying a Byclex kicker ramp for similar reasons you made yours. My carpentry skills are limited to putting up shelves so happy to buy one, plus it has straps so can wear it like a rucksack and take it on the bike to various locations

I’m definitely an old bloke that should know better haha

 

[Akiwi]

What boat are you going to tow it with?

Theoretically with the wind.
Not the good long powerful ones that come after eating beans. You stick a sail on it.
It's a windsurf foiling board.
I recently did a bit of organizing my garage and sorting which sail goes with which boom on which mast.
Ummmmmmm. no wonder I don't have any money.

 

[billwarwick]

Theoretically with the wind.
Not the good long powerful ones that come after eating beans. You stick a sail on it.
It's a windsurf foiling board.
I recently did a bit of organizing my garage and sorting which sail goes with which boom on which mast.
Ummmmmmm. no wonder I don't have any money.
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If you want to get rid of some, why don't you have a garage sail?

 

[Nicho]

If you want to get rid of some, why don't you have a garage sail?

You forgot to put the 'boom-boom' at the end of your joke.

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

You forgot to put the 'boom-boom' at the end of your joke.

 

[Dod Colony]

be warned !
many rude words uttered by grumpy and rude old men !

Great video, looks like a fantastic route, you did well over some of that tricky stuff

 

[Akiwi]

I agree, looks like awesome fun. Challenging, but doable.
Would love to have been with you guys.
Actually it wasn't too bad. I went out with a couple of friends and did a nice ride at the foothills of the alps, near Garmisch.

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

I agree, looks like awesome fun. Challenging, but doable.
Would love to have been with you guys.
Actually it wasn't too bad. I went out with a couple of friends and did a nice ride at the foothills of the alps, near Garmisch.

you had to slum it then

 

[Akiwi]

you had to slum it then

Lifes tough... but we can fight through this!
Actually your trails looked much more challenging than ours were. On the other hand, we chose the trails so that our wives could come along. One friends Daughter was with us. (Though she could probably handle much more challenging trails. She s a Police woman). However the views were great, and an early season warm up is allowed I think.

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

I built this one at work one day when it was quite. Wanted to make a ramp that could be flat packed but also put together and broken down without the need of any tools. After building it I decided to break it in half to make a smaller ramp with the option of adding back the other half.
Built it, jumped it once then gave it to a mate for his boy to have.

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@Elsketcho - all the proportions on these ramps looks right, do you have the measurements? looks like you've used a half sheet for the platforms..

 

[Elsketcho]

@Elsketcho - all the proportions on these ramps looks right, do you have the measurements? looks like you've used a half sheet for the platforms..

God, that was months ago.

if I remember correctly (which will be a first).

The sides were made out of one sheet of ply. Think it was a 16foot radius, faceted so I could use 18mm ply for the lid.

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

God, that was months ago.

if I remember correctly (which will be a first).

The sides were made out of one sheet of ply. Think it was a 16foot radius, faceted so I could use 18mm ply for the lid.

cool yea, so half a sheet for the sides (lengthways) and half a sheet for the deck.. excellent use of material bud... im going to give that a go

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

tried a cube hardtail today on the local trails, loved the motor, EMTB mode was great and managed 18 miles with 50% battery left on a 625!!!
went to look at bosch powered bikes straight after but there aint exactly many kicking about ATM...
so Ill keep the Levo for now.

 

[Zimmerframe]

18 miles with 50% battery left on a 625!!!

And 1100m !!!!! Did you have a curry before hand and were wind powered ?

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

And 1100m !!!!! Did you have a curry before hand and were wind powered ?

fair point, I hadnt checked the elevation, thats quite a bit for having so much battery left.
I was with Dane who had the same bike but full sus and he used almost all his battery.
I noticed a big difference in power delivery at the wheel but also grip of course, especially on the loose stone but I dont think that would make all that difference. Dane has huge legs and usually drops me on a ride, that bosch motor is bloody punchy.

overall I rode the bike completley differently, I was up out of the saddle a lot because of comfort mainly and so was pedalling around like a bloody XC racer.. still a big difference to account for that battery usage.

this is why I went online to find a new bike!

 

[Tubby G]

fair point, I hadnt checked the elevation, thats quite a bit for having so much battery left.
I was with Dane who had the same bike but full sus and he used almost all his battery.
I noticed a big difference in power delivery at the wheel but also grip of course, especially on the loose stone but I dont think that would make all that difference. Dane has huge legs and usually drops me on a ride, that bosch motor is bloody punchy.

overall I rode the bike completley differently, I was up out of the saddle a lot because of comfort mainly and so was pedalling around like a bloody XC racer.. still a big difference to account for that battery usage.

this is why I went online to find a new bike!

I have a full suspension and a Cube hardtail, both with Bosch Gen 4’s and 625 batteries. My girlfriend uses the hardtail when she’s here and on every ride where I almost drain my battery to zero she’s left with two or three bars at least

She’s fitter and a lot lighter than me but I’m convinced the hardtail is far more efficient on the motor & battery than the full suss

 

[Zimmerframe]

Maybe it's not so much that the hardtail is that much more efficient in itself (I did some back to back tests with suspension locked and not and there was nothing in it) , but more that on the hardtail you do get up and ride more, which will mean you're putting more in at times.

Impressive figures from @dobbyhasfriends though, he's no balsa wood chopstick. I'd be lucky to hit those numbers on a full battery in reduced eco and working my arse off with a crazy cadence.

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

Maybe it's not so much that the hardtail is that much more efficient in itself (I did some back to back tests with suspension locked and not and there was nothing in it) , but more that on the hardtail you do get up and ride more, which will mean you're putting more in at times.

Impressive figures from @dobbyhasfriends though, he's no balsa wood chopstick. I'd be lucky to hit those numbers on a full battery in reduced eco and working my arse off with a crazy cadence.

from riding with lots of other bosch motor'd riders, they always seem to get more out of their battery/motor combo than myself and other specialized riders. frequently go out with a guy on a cube that has a 500 battery and he always comes back with more battery than me, perhaps he is fitter but its always a big eco ride so not wasting power...
anyway, its my experience that the levo battery doesnt live up to its 700wh promise.. efficiency?

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

I have a full suspension and a Cube hardtail, both with Bosch Gen 4’s and 625 batteries. My girlfriend uses the hardtail when she’s here and on every ride where I almost drain my battery to zero she’s left with two or three bars at least

She’s fitter and a lot lighter than me but I’m convinced the hardtail is far more efficient on the motor & battery than the full suss

yea, thats what the guy I borrowed the bike off said!

 

[Tubby G]

Maybe it's not so much that the hardtail is that much more efficient in itself (I did some back to back tests with suspension locked and not and there was nothing in it) , but more that on the hardtail you do get up and ride more, which will mean you're putting more in at times.

Impressive figures from @dobbyhasfriends though, he's no balsa wood chopstick. I'd be lucky to hit those numbers on a full battery in reduced eco and working my arse off with a crazy cadence.

For the sake of science & research I could do the same ride on the full suss followed by the hardtail, both say in tour mode, and see what I’m left with battery wise after for a true comparison

However in reality I’m never going to do that so sod science and just ride ride ride ??

 

[Mikerb]

bike weight/tyres? Both can make a big difference. Comparing Bosch EMTB mode with say Trail on the Levo is difficult because EMTB only delivers in proportion to your input right through the range. So depending what gear you use you are likely always to be contributing more to the overall power output than the Brose Trail mode if kept within the pedal assist setting. Then of course the Levo /Brose has a variety of user set parameters all of which can impact on battery use.....pedal assist/max/ acceleration. The big difference is that most of the time with the EMTB mode you rarely need to switch to Turbo provided you are prepared to put the extra effort in.
I have both motors... a Levo Comp and Whyte E180 RS. Even taking into account the very different designs of the 2 bikes, the Levo is definitely a nicer ride if it is just an XC type ride. The motor delivery is much smoother and if you stay within the pedal assist zone is a lot less hard work than the Whyte. On a techy climb the bikes are very much the same capability albeit they need to be ridden differently. For hard hitting descents obviously the Whyte copes better but thats nothing to do with the motor.

 

[Zimmerframe]

yea, thats what the guy I borrowed the bike off said!

I want to know what the hell he's being doing riding with @Tubby G's girlfriend !!!

 

[Zimmerframe]

from riding with lots of other bosch motor'd riders, they always seem to get more out of their battery/motor combo than myself and other specialized riders. frequently go out with a guy on a cube that has a 500 battery and he always comes back with more battery than me, perhaps he is fitter but its always a big eco ride so not wasting power...
anyway, its my experience that the levo battery doesnt live up to its 700wh promise.. efficiency?

I know on mine, anyone on a bosch gen 2 or 4, gets twice the range/altitude of me. But then I've always thought my motor's got some weird bearing/inefficiency something not right problem - hence why I ride with a flat battery so often. Rode with a guy on a gen 2 the other week showing him trails, he had a new motor as the old one had just gone pop so factory fresh. He was pedalling more than me on any descent places it was possible to pedal to catch up as he didn't know the trails and on climbs I was pedalling with a far higher cadence trying to stretch out my battery as I do. We didn't actually ride that far in the end as I was explaining lines and features to him, but by the end he'd used 20% and I'd used 50%. I've never ridden a bosch for a whole ride to gauge what I'd get out of it. They seem like a pretty nice setup though. Rumours of a 750wh battery due too.

You'd probably struggle to get a Rail 7 or a Lapierre GLP2 at the moment though (some of my preferences).

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

I am full of desire for this bike right now...