Cycling

[jimbolee]

Hello,

This is NOT a "Wind-up", I do Audax, long distance cycling.

I've been using this setup all year with great success.

The handlebar mount is a piece of Range Rover interior trim cut to size and zip-cliped on.
The battery pack ( 4 x AA ) was a tenner off Amazon.

Fully charged, this gives me 13 hours of good life. Longest ride this year 12 hrs 50 mins, 225 km.

No problems whatsoever. Rider's ETA is based on 12.5 mph average speed, which is what I like to do. I took 1 1/2 hours stopped at several cafes en-route which accounted for the near 13 hours total time.

Superb.

I break the route up into sections and make an Itinerary. Route plotting is far,far better than Garmin eTrex and Edge series.

I bought the unit etc off the TomTom stand at the 2010 Gadget Show at the NEC.
I'm well pleased.

PS Sorry about the kitchen decor. I inherited it off my father.

 

[Andy_P]

Nice... I'm trying to do something similar with my daughter's new moped/scooter.

I'm interested in the battery box too, as I haven't found a way to get into the wiring loom on the bike yet (and as it's only leased, I don't want to do too much modification).

 

[jimbolee]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AA-Batter...585?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43a9a25791

Here's a battery pack that is better than my modified unit. I resoldered a Mini USB lead. This one has one already.

The battery -ve compression springs needed tweaking to give better contact security when vibrated. To get at them, there is a x-head screw under the decal. It comes apart easily. When reassembling, a lick of silicone sealant won't hurt.

Its been out in the pouring-down rain and survived admirably.

With both Rider and the battery pack charged, it gives a good 12 hours of life with full screen lighting and Bluetooth earpiece operating.
If I ever ride a 300 km again ( 17 hours ) I'll stop en-route and purchase a pack of AA Alkalines when the 'battery indicator' gets to red.

 

[mikealder]

Andy, consider the U2O 5400mA "Mars Bar" see Here should power a TomTom for three or four hours over what the built in battery can supply - Mike

 

[Andy_P]

Thanks both....
I had a go at getting all the plastic fairings off the handlebar area of the moped last night without much success.
I don't want to break anything (as I said, it's leased) so a battery box is looking more and more attractive.

 

[dhn]

Andy.....

Why not just meet MikeA at a pub, offer him a pint, and let him have a go.......

He can take **anything** apart!! :lol:

 

[Andy_P]

They've probably stuck these fairing panels onto the bike with the same glue TomTom used to stick their batteries to the PCB!

Five obvious screws removed, but something is holding the top edge solid. And everything (instrument panel, speedo, lights switch, horn switch etc. are all fixed to the same flimsy panel so I don't want to wrench it too hard.

 

[kj6fk]

I love it. Nice work.

What software do you use for trip planning? or do you just do the planning on the device?

Also, after your ride, do you do any trip log analysis?

I was wondering if the device is all you use or whether you use software like Tyre/HOME/Google Earth/ITN Converter/etc