Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

il padrone wrote:My panniers are already full . The three-legged stool has a nice home in the rack-top dry bag.


That Helinox is nice, but does have a bit of a weight penalty compared to my stool - 850g versus 400g

ip, I never though I'd hear you quibbling over few hundred grams

Ah, I do watch the weight. If something is heavier I would need to be able to justify its use (eg. my heavier Andros CSS rims, because they are bomb-proof, and I like to ride rough roads and tracks loaded). The camp-stool I value for around-camp cooking use rather than as a lounge, which the Helinox appears to be.

Time will tell, I'll have to see how clackers goes with it on tours.

It does look awful comfy and I have to admit the ground isn't my favorite place to sit.
The older I get the harder it is to get up ( and that's nothing to do with how many red wines I've imbibed)

rifraf wrote:It does look awful comfy and I have to admit the ground isn't my favorite place to sit.
The older I get the harder it is to get up ( and that's nothing to do with how many red wines I've imbibed)

Well I've decided to buy one. Whether or not I'll take it touring is another thing though.

il padrone wrote:Ah, I do watch the weight. If something is heavier I would need to be able to justify its use (eg. my heavier Andros CSS rims, because they are bomb-proof, and I like to ride rough roads and tracks loaded). The camp-stool I value for around-camp cooking use rather than as a lounge, which the Helinox appears to be.

Time will tell, I'll have to see how clackers goes with it on tours.

Take back all I said. I just sat on one this weekend. Several people did. Their responses (and mine) went something like this.

"What ever is that?"

"A bit much on a bike ride really?"

"How much did you pay?!!"

"OK, I'll give it a try"

"Hmm, that is comfy"

"Ooh, that is really nice!!"

"You don't need this back for an hour or so do you?"

Drat it, apparently they're sold out until later in February

il padrone wrote:Drat it, apparently they're sold out until later in February

Hehe - that good eh?

It's a bugger that the initial price has risen.

And yes, mine has been placed on back order too.

il padrone wrote:My panniers are already full . The three-legged stool has a nice home in the rack-top dry bag.


That Helinox is nice, but does have a bit of a weight penalty compared to my stool - 850g versus 400g

your thoughts after sitting in the chair this weekend pete ??

Weight-wise, yes it is heavier than the Coghlan's three-legged stool (which is aluminium.... lots of other stools that are sold are steel and real heavy), but the weight was not at all noticeable - so much so that I had to hold both in either hand to gauge the difference. Yes, it's heavier but not enough to be a real concern. The 400g would be readily outweighed by the comfort.

Comfort - yes, mmmmmmmm...... Sit back and it seems to caress your body, holds you nice and secure with no pressure points.

Use around the camp - if you sit up in the chair it seemed that it would be quite OK to do the normal camp cooking and food preparation with ease, as much ease as my stool.

So I am in the market, shall possibly have to save some pennies and order one for later delivery. $97 with free shipping from http://www.helinox.com.au/pages/home.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Helinox chairs are back in stock - mine arrived today, much sooner than I had expected.

It's quite astonishing how roomy and comfortable this chair is - but there will have to be some sacrifices before it finds its way into my touring outfit.

Fortunately after last tour there were a number of unused items which will be jettisoned, starting with a down jacket and a bunch of unnecessary spares, so there's a good chance it can be included for next tour.

RonK wrote:Helinox chairs are back in stock - mine arrived today, much sooner than I had expected.

It's quite astonishing how roomy and comfortable this chair is - but there will have to be some sacrifices before it finds its way into my touring outfit.
.

Goes with me on the kayak, too, Ron!

clackers wrote:Goes with me on the kayak, too, Ron!

Yeah, the Helinox Chair One has turned out to be a good find.
Hehe - seems there are quite a few closet yakkers here.
Not surprising I suppose, cycling and paddling are in many ways quite complimentary.
Perhaps a yakkers/yak touring thread would be in order?

RonK wrote: Perhaps a yakkers/yak touring thread would be in order?

I'd be with you, Ron - I just did an event at Lilydale Lake today that had MTB, kayaking and trail running legs, but such a thread would be using up bandwidth for "What should my first roadie be?" and Mandatory Helmet Law discussions.

Maybe throw it over here??

clackers wrote:

RonK wrote: Perhaps a yakkers/yak touring thread would be in order?

I'd be with you, Ron - I just did an event at Lilydale Lake today that had MTB, kayaking and trail running legs, but such a thread would be using up bandwidth for "What should my first roadie be?" and Mandatory Helmet Law discussions.

Sigh yes - but at least it would be something else to talk about (or argue that it doesn't belong). So I think I'll make a thread in the Half Way Cafe as ip suggested.

OK, started a thread here.

RonK wrote:Helinox chairs are back in stock - mine arrived today, much sooner than I had expected.

It's quite astonishing how roomy and comfortable this chair is - but there will have to be some sacrifices before it finds its way into my touring outfit.

Fortunately after last tour there were a number of unused items which will be jettisoned, starting with a down jacket and a bunch of unnecessary spares, so there's a good chance it can be included for next tour.

I am 6'3", will it be too small for me?

FatGuts wrote:I am 6'3", will it be too small for me?

Well, I'm 181cm or just a tad under 6' so can't be sure, but I don't think your height would be a problem. And it has plenty of width.

There's a bit of a banana lounge posture to them, FG. Your legs will probably just extend out further than other people.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ7yO4L79mE&[/youtube]

Andrew

FatGuts wrote:
I am 6'3", will it be too small for me?

Ordered mine on Monday in Melbourne, arrived Tuesday before lunch
I'm 183 cms and no lightweight, it's what I expected for such a seat, just big enough. I wouldn't be simply dropping into it but lowering myself down to it carefully but if treated well, I think it will last for quite awhile.

Now this is the ultimate outback tourer - forget trailers, this bike has it all. Rifraff you need one of these.



Scroll for detailed images.

Truely impressive weight of that build
"All in – chainsaw included – the nearly 100 percent titanium machine weighs in at a surprisingly svelte 19kg (42lb)" - Amazing
I expected it to be heaps heavier

Beer and chainsaw

Kinda disturbing mix, to my mind

Not quite here yet, but I thought this one might interest those not keen for one reason or another to shell out for a dyno-hub:

One-euro device that recharges mobile on the go

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/mp/1624551 ... on-the-go/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

BARCELONA (AFP) - A transparent film that costs just one euro to make could bring an end to the anguish of mobile phone users facing the dreaded dead-battery message.

Wysips, a start-up based in Aix-en-Provence, southern France, has developed a photovoltaic film which can be built seamlessly into a mobile phone screen and deliver the joy of life to a flat battery.

At the world's biggest mobile fair in Barcelona, Spain, the gadget was luring interest from handset manufacturers and its inventors said they hoped the first mobiles equipped with the Wysips film will be in stores by the end of this year.

Wysips chief executive Ludovic Deblois showed off a prototype of a smartphone equipped with the film at the Mobile World Congress. By just shining a torch on its screen, the mobile's battery icon showed that it had started to recharge.

"With 10 minutes in the sun you will be able to communicate for two minutes. To recharge completely you will have to expose it for six hours, so our technology is not necessarily for a full recharge but rather for an energy boost for specific applications," Deblois said.

"For example, for security if you have to make an emergency call. So if you arrive at the airport and you have your boarding pass on the mobile you can't have a telephone that runs out of battery so you can just put it in the light and recharge it."

Similarly, the film can get mobile phone users out of a fix when batteries go flat just when the time comes to pay a restaurant bill, or buy a train ticket.

But in developing regions it could be even more important, Deblois said.

"The African continent interests us in terms of market because there are more than 500 million people with a mobile telephone but it is a continent that is only 40 percent electrified, which means people need energy to recharge their telephones," he said.

"And the usage is not the same so the telephone is exposed much more to the sun, so you could even get to complete autonomy of the telephone in that region."

Wysips plans to license the technology to handset manufacturers, who would decide the final price to be paid by consumers. The cost of the film, however, is only about one euro per unit, Deblois said.

After three years of research and development, the prototype is complete and a manufacturing line with a capacity of eight million units is being prepared in Aix-en-Provence to start output in April, he said.

The factory is aimed only at proving that the product can be mass produced, however. Wysips expects handset manufacturers to produce the screens themselves, and it hopes the first such phones will be on the market by the end of 2013.

Later, the new factory will be used to produce similar films for other products. "We are in the midst of developing applications for watches, electronic price tags in supermarkets, and home thermostats," the company chief said.
"There are plenty of other applications."

il padrone wrote:Beer and chainsaw

Kinda disturbing mix, to my mind

Seems a rather carping comment. We are looking at a novel bike design that just might make a good desert touring bike, and not the display props used to illustrate its load carrying capabilities.

rifraf wrote:Wysips, a start-up based in Aix-en-Provence, southern France, has developed a photovoltaic film which can be built seamlessly into a mobile phone screen and deliver the joy of life to a flat battery.

About time! It seems odd that solar-powered watches, calculators and other portable devices have been available for years but not mobile phones.