New bike day

I took possession of my new Volt London e-Bike. I managed to bag myself an ex demo model at a significant discount, and free delivery.

Volt send the bike to a local bike shop to be build, who identified that the battery was damaged so I got a new battery included.

My Van Moof X3 has been playing up and I can no longer get parts (they wanted £150 to replaced a stripped screw). So I decided it was time for a replacement I have been dithering for a while but the Volt seemed like a worthy successor it looks the part. I do miss the more upright Dutch position of the VanMoof but the Volt rides better and the motor is more powerful.

Cycling in Bialystok

We are currently on holiday here in Bialystok for Kath’s sisters wedding. I am really impressed with how much the cycling infrastructure has improved since I was last here.

Bialystok is a small city but its been made good for active travel thanks to the large weirder streets and cycling provision. With Covid and other life things we haven’t been here for years, in which time there has been a lot of improvements. Bike hire and scooter hire is all over the city. Most impressively some of the hire bikes had seats for children so I could ride with Thom. They have also built out a lot of segregated cycle lanes including a nice one that follows the path of the river.

It’s not a panacea though as unfortunately there are draconian rules on crossing the streets as a pedestrian complete with on the spot fines for jaywalking. The light timing are also pretty poor, often you have to wait minutes in order to cross the streets. Fortunately unlike in Britain most of the crossings are straight over without the dog leg double beg button push.

It’s working though we have both remarked how visible it is people cycling around the city. It’s common to see both young and old riders in the city centre. I also noticed that stand outside the shopping mall had a lot of bikes present (even though it was a terrible wheel bender stand they have them here too). Our rental apartment also has a lot of bikes parked up. This is quite a big change Kath remarked how she hadn’t seen so many older people cycling previously.

Noticeable too is that the bus infra has had improvements with new stands and large bendy busses. 

Family cycle

This Sunday we all went on a family ride courtesy of the Cycling Wilmslow community.  Starting off in Handforth we navigated around Tesco Extra, through the industrial estate, then picking up the bridal way which runs alongside the railway and A34, then through Cheadlee Drive to Turves road.

Crossing over we continued to Bruntwood park where we stopped off for an ice cream and to let the children have a play in the park.

After the ride Kath and I ended to the Bulls head for a celebratory drink and snack. You can see the route on Komoot

Cycling with Thom

 Kath filmed us getting back from nursery 

Bunsen burner

 

I took Thom to nursery on my bike for the first time this morning. Even managed to load up some more nappies and wipes. It was a little bit cold, so I put his big coat and a hat on underneath the helmet. He was still a bit sleepy at this point but I think he enjoyed it at least as much as he would have in the car.

I bought he Thule child seat which I can remove (apart from the frame mount) when not transporting Thom. Pretty impressed with it so far and its a breeze to cycle with the electric assistance of the X3.

If you want to get a Van Moof use this code VRR#NE0K-TJFU-WLZJ  to get a discount 

Child Seat

Thom bike seat finally arrived. A bit later than expected thanks o the global problems with shipping, thanks Brexit! Looking forward to zooming to the nursery on the bike.

If you say the word

On Thursday I finally received the bike I had ordered back in September. I rather large box arrived containing my brand new VanMoof X3 electric bike. The X3 packs a 503w battery with a claimed range around 30 miles. 

I bought this on cyclescheme a government backed scheme while enables you to purchase a bike via your employer. The payments are made over 12 months and are taken out of your pre tax income so you save paying the tax on them. 

Before I was able to take it for a test spin I have to assemble a few items. Fortunately all the tools required come bundled in a neat little kit with he bike. The kit also includes a pump to inflate the chunky tyres.

The X3 is designed to be low maintenance, it uses hub gears which are covered from the elements. The chain has a good guard over it and the wheels are fitted with mudguards. It's all nicely engineered in a way to maintain pleasing aesthetics. 

The electronics and battery are all build into the frame. This helps the bike look quite normal, however it does mean that the battery can't be removed to charge you have to plug the bike in. This isn't an issue for me as I have a garage with power but for some might be a deal breaker.

On the top of a the tube is a very basic matrix display which displays some status information  including the current speed while riding.

There is an inbuilt lock which with a tap locks the motor and activates at alarm. Anybody who attempts to interfere with the bike will be treated to a very loud alarm. There is an inbuilt modem and sim card allowing the bike to phone home with its location. I believe this is used by the bike detectives to track down stolen bikes. The X3 is also able to be registered in with Apples find me so you can view the location of the bike from your phone. There is also a manual method to unlock the bike tapping in a code if you phone is out of charge.

The Bike is controlled by an app on you phone, this controls some of the gear settings, the chime of the bell and records speed distance and assistance of rides. One thing I would have really like to see is some integration with Apple Health. While you are getting assistance you still have to pedal so some calories are being used!

I popped to the postoffice using the boost assist to ride up the steep Cow Lane in Wilmslow. This is exactly what I bought the bike for, I was able to quickly pop to the town centre and back at least as quickly as if I had used the car. It only used about 8% of the battery on using full assistance and boost up a steep hill so can make plenty of trips before needed a recharge.  

Overall so far very impressed will write up a more long term review once I have used it a few more times. 

 

Clayton Vale Easy Rider

Today Kath and I headed to Clayton Vale, a purpose built mountain bike track next to the National Cycling centre in Manchester.

We started off following the easy rider blue trail to get the feel for the track. Then took a second loop round the more challenging Newton Heath Sidewinder. The sidewinder is more challenging with berms, cheeky adverse cambers interspersed with short, sharp climbs and descents. Kath did a great job navigating the tracks.

We finished with a well earned coffee in the Velopark cafe.