Andrew's musings on all things bikes, riding and bushwalking in Western Australia, and this and that
Product Safety Recalls Australia in-conjunction with Gore Ride-On Cable Systems have announced the Australian recall of Gore Ride-On Cable Systems Low Friction Brake cables. These are brake cables for Campagnolo not Shimano or SRAM brake systems.
Gore Ride-On Low Friction Brake Cable Systems Recall
Please click through for more details on the recall
The Fremantle Herald is reporting that the Fremantle Police “will launch a blitz on errant cyclists in Fremantle in February following increasing complaints from pedestrians and motorists about broken road rules.” The Fremantle Herald goes on to quote Senior Traffic Cop (as they refer to him) Alan Box who I believe is a Senior Sergeant at the WA Police Fremantle Station as stating in respect to the WA Police blitz on cyclists that “cyclists have every right to on the road and drivers must respect that right. We will come down hard on any motorist who fails to respect cyclists’ road rights.”
Alston on Cyclists and Motorists - West Australian, January 30, 2012
Well first and foremost I have no real issue with the blitz if there is a genuine valid reason for it but frankly I find it rather hypocritical of the WA Police when they fail to blitz motorists who are putting cyclists lives at risk. Ask yourself, how many cyclists killed motorists or pedestrians in the last 12 months in WA? You guessed it none. How many cyclists where killed in the last twelve months? Thirty five cyclists where killed in Australia according to the data published in November by BITRE. How many pedestrians? 190 pedestrians lost their lives in Australia in the 12 month period ending in November 2011 as per the BITRE data. How many motorists where killed? Sadly 876 drivers and passengers where killed Australia wide again as per the BITRE data.
With the recent addition of dynamo power to my Surly Long Haul Trucker, a SON 28 dynamo I wished to make use of my bicycle powered electricity source to charge other electronic devices including my Garmin Edge 800 and Google Nexus S phone. Enter the PedalPower+ Super-i-Cable. I installed the Super-i-Cable in December 2011 on my Surly Long Haul Trucker and got to put it to the test on a four day ride through the Darling Range in December. Limited testing at this stage but I think sufficient use to give some feedback on the PedalPower+ Super-i-Cable.
PedalPower+ Super-i-Cable
I purchased PedalPower+ Super-i-Cable directly from the manufacturer when they had them on special for a delivered price of $153.00. The service from PedalPower+ was great; no issues at all with the delivery.
On my ride around the Darling Ranges I used the PedalPower+ Super-i-Cable to do two things for me: power my Busch & Muller Lumotec IQ Cyo Sensor front light and my Busch & Muller Toplight Line Plus rear tail light and to charge my Garmin Edge 800. The lights where set to sensor mode and the Garmin Edge 800 was plugged in full time to the PedalPower+ Super-i-Cable. This setup worked well with the Garmin Edge 800 maintaining charge over the full ride as long as the lights didn’t come on. As soon as the lights came on, power to the Garmin was lost. This seems at odds with both the PedalPower+ literature which suggests that the two should work together and others reports.
I have contacted PedalPower+ for advice on this issue and a second issue I am know having and that is the PedalPower+ Super-i-Cable is not charging my Google Nexus S phone, a pretty standard smart phone from what I can find out. Hopefully PedalPower+ will get back to me and I can update this blog posting with some positive news; in the meantime my assessment of the unit has gone down and I could no longer recommend it.
Please click through for the full review of the PedalPower+ Super-i-Cable
