The Tescos are very directional... I had a pair for a while but for snakey offroad they're not much cop. They make decent helmet lights though, i ran one of the MTE P7s from Dealextreme for a while with a pair of the tescos on my helmet, that was decent.
Big Bike Thread
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Soldato
Cool.
Did you carry out the "collator mod" on the wee Tesco AA's?.
I did and it made the beam pattern much better than stock.
Stonking value for money, so much so that the run on them has been intense. Last time I was in my local store the were out of stock and the lassie at customer services said the stock computer was showing that they were getting no more back in.
Did you carry out the "collator mod" on the wee Tesco AA's?.
I did and it made the beam pattern much better than stock.
Stonking value for money, so much so that the run on them has been intense. Last time I was in my local store the were out of stock and the lassie at customer services said the stock computer was showing that they were getting no more back in.
Yeah, they've replaced them with a similiar torch but with a different LED. I did the collimator mod on one, it does help but I still found it a bit too beamy. I've still got that one on my road bike, sold the other 2 though, I decided to go with a second P7 mainly for battery simplicity, I was tired of carrying different spares.
Caporegime
How bright are the tesco Lights??
I've got a Fenix LD20 but don't think it was worth 43 quid, does not seem bright enough even at 180 lumen's doe pitch black roads.
I've got a Fenix LD20 but don't think it was worth 43 quid, does not seem bright enough even at 180 lumen's doe pitch black roads.
Soldato
Very.
I'm a firefighter and we have rechargeable Peli-Lites issued to us but the Tesco Cree outperforms those by a huge amount.
As Northwind said, the beam is a bit too narrow/focused for road use though. The collimator thingy mod helps though.
The set up I have just now, both Cree AA's are angled slightly higher than the Revolution LED underneath. It's pointing lower so it lights up the immediate tarmac in front of my wheel.
Seems to work quite well and I'm going to grab another Edinburgh Bike Co-op Revo LED to add to the other side, again on a BLT space shuttle with a Twofish lockblock on top.
Yeah, they're extremely bright- I have a couple of AA Maglites and there's no comparison at all, you'd think the Maglites were the Tescos torches and the Tescos were the expensive "proper" torches.
I actually really rate the Tescos for road use, now I think of it... My P7s are too glarey, I only ever have them on low power on the road. But the focus of the Tescos is a real advantage on tarmac. But I don't think they're cheap enough to be a good buy for offroad. This is what I use (should have linked these before!)
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12325
The price has gone up a little from when I got mine, or rather the pound has fallen against the dollar. Still a deal and a half- one of these is brigher than 2 of the Tescos, same reach but far better spread. They're quite phenomenal. On low power they're brighter than some expensive bike specific lights. And they make those Fenix torches everyone at Bikeradar and MTB Britain raves about look like having a candle cable tied to your helmet
I actually really rate the Tescos for road use, now I think of it... My P7s are too glarey, I only ever have them on low power on the road. But the focus of the Tescos is a real advantage on tarmac. But I don't think they're cheap enough to be a good buy for offroad. This is what I use (should have linked these before!)
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12325
The price has gone up a little from when I got mine, or rather the pound has fallen against the dollar. Still a deal and a half- one of these is brigher than 2 of the Tescos, same reach but far better spread. They're quite phenomenal. On low power they're brighter than some expensive bike specific lights. And they make those Fenix torches everyone at Bikeradar and MTB Britain raves about look like having a candle cable tied to your helmet
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Soldato
Those look interesting, cheers for the link. 
Associate
Draeger, how do you find the Tranz X TT bars?
Looking to fit some to my Giant, ready for doing TT's. The ones i had in mind were the easton AeroForce AL, since they come straight out from the bars so dont add much height.
Are the Tranz X comfy in that they dont make you too hunched over?
Also is there a computer mount available for them? I have a polar CS200 on the stem, but aslo have a Specialized computer on the bar's since its driven off the rear wheel i can use it on the turbo.
Looking to fit some to my Giant, ready for doing TT's. The ones i had in mind were the easton AeroForce AL, since they come straight out from the bars so dont add much height.
Are the Tranz X comfy in that they dont make you too hunched over?
Also is there a computer mount available for them? I have a polar CS200 on the stem, but aslo have a Specialized computer on the bar's since its driven off the rear wheel i can use it on the turbo.
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Bought my first hardtail for over 10 years on Saturday. Picked up a Cannondale F4 Z 2009. Now i just need to get fit
Can anyone recommend some routes in the North East for a beginner?
Head over to moredirt.co.uk, select your area and routes will appear closest to you. They are usually rated, which discipline it's most suited to and sometimes some youtube videos.
Soldato
Well, I don't really have anything previous to compare them with but I find the bars are very good.
The position they put you in is extremely comfortable and there's a great degree of adjustability in them.
My Pinarello has oversize bars as standard and the Tranz-X bars fit both normal and oversized.
Dirt cheap too and top value for money. Recommended. I sourced mine from that well known auction site and blagged them for about £10 if I recall correctly.
One thing I have learned though, is not to use them at night.
Was heading into work a month or so ago and tucked in using the tri's going down a hill in the dark. Didnt notice a metal framed from a roadworks sign lying flat on the ground where it had fell off a lorry and went right over the top of it, puncturing both tyres. Nearly came off the bike as I was on the tribars. So that's a lesson learned anyway.
Soldato
Nice link, very handy, will favourite that
Also, mbr.co.uk has the routes published in past issues. £2 to download, but you get a nice map and directions.
Another good one i have just found for northern trials is here http://ch.visitnortheastengland.com/mtb/
Associate
http://www.trailbadger.com for anyone in N.Ireland , Also covers southern scotland
Nice link, very handy, will favourite that
Also, mbr.co.uk has the routes published in past issues. £2 to download, but you get a nice map and directions.
http://www.trailbadger.com for anyone in N.Ireland , Also covers southern scotland
wvwn better, here's a googlemaps (need to have it installed) file which will add a LOAD of trails to your googlemaps application
http://www.southerndownhill.com/downhill-tracks.kmz
I win!
Soldato
Similar temperatures this week too during my commute.
Here's a quick one from the weekend though
Associate
Must be mad, just put my application in for "Le Terrier" sportive. 80 miles round the Trough of Bowland with a hard climb straight from the start and another long climb couple of miles after that as you leave Quernmore and climb up Clougha.
Been likened to a mini Fred Whitton, was the comments from last years.
Doesnt help that at the moment ive got some unknown either neurological or whatever problem, but hey ho got a challenge to face now and get fit for this.
Been likened to a mini Fred Whitton, was the comments from last years.
Doesnt help that at the moment ive got some unknown either neurological or whatever problem, but hey ho got a challenge to face now and get fit for this.
Soldato
Just went to go to the PO on the bike, after a month off, and found a rear flat So here's a photo instead!
I keep thinking of selling this frame, but then the slightly longer wheelbase is nice for when i'm carrying a big load. I think what I need to do is get on with selling the Spesh, and build another fixed
So here's a photo instead!
I keep thinking of selling this frame, but then the slightly longer wheelbase is nice for when i'm carrying a big load. I think what I need to do is get on with selling the Spesh, and build another fixed
Soldato
Has anyone ridden Afan recently? Would it be rideable on rigid carbon forks?
It's either that or shell out £650 for some Fox 36 TALAS for my Vagrant, which I'm not too keen to do really, and if I get anything less than those forks, I'll end up buying the fox in the end anyway and it'll just cost me more.
It's either that or shell out £650 for some Fox 36 TALAS for my Vagrant, which I'm not too keen to do really, and if I get anything less than those forks, I'll end up buying the fox in the end anyway and it'll just cost me more.
Has anyone ridden Afan recently? Would it be rideable on rigid carbon forks?
It's either that or shell out £650 for some Fox 36 TALAS for my Vagrant, which I'm not too keen to do really, and if I get anything less than those forks, I'll end up buying the fox in the end anyway and it'll just cost me more.
My mate rides it often, and the trail he rides usually (not sure which) he said has some big rocks on it, and by the sounf of it you need some suspension at least - carbon rigids doesn't sound like it will be fit for purpose
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