Eternal outskirts of Moscow and beyond (LOTS of pics!)

[markz]

That is the best picture

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[goatman]

i thought sandals and socks was a british thing

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did you have to sell your riding boots to buy the sur-ron?

[markz]

No, there is a fella near you who wears sandals and socks. Quite odd, yes.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Linus ... 22.7061965

i thought sandals and socks was a british thing

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did you have to sell your riding boots to buy the sur-ron?

[goatman]

you need glasses Z those are chuck taylor all stars

[markz]

Scroll through the pictures, the odd person wears sandals with socks a lot.

you need glasses Z those are chuck taylor all stars

[Skorohod]

That is the best picture

Yes, thanks! This pic and the other one (where i sit beside a bike on a hilltop) quite a sums up my whole experience in that trip!

i thought sandals and socks was a british thing

No, it's a worldwide thing and totally normal in modern society! I've came out as openly sandal-and-socks person more than 20 years ago and i'm proud of it!

did you have to sell your riding boots to buy the sur-ron?

Ha, that's a nice one But no, seriously - i've never had a proper riding boots. And i'm really an avid sandal-and-socks man, and sometimes i walk in sandals through the snow during winter. I like the feeling when my feet got proper air circulation, and if they got wet - they can be dried up rapidly. Of course i have some closed boots, but i use them only when it's raining, when puddles or snow sludge outside, or during time with extreme cold temperatures. For all other occasions - i walk in my clogs. With socks!

And, yes, i'm aware there always some controversy about sandals and socks i've never be able to understand. Using socks with sandals - it's a helathy thing to do, when i rememer how it feels when my bare feet rubs against leather or polyurethane of sandals, then sweat and dirt comes into mix... ugh, never again! I'll better hurt aesthetical feelings of someone, than my own feet

[ZeroEm]

I'm with you! I go barefoot until I need to go to the store or riding.

[Skorohod]

In the first days of november, when national holidays and new days off forced by COVID got mixed i've took a family trip to my relatives in Anapa. And, of course, brought my Sur-Ron with me!

But when i've just about to start a ride, i've found my seat taken!

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[Skorohod]

There was no one to fill up my e-moped on this gas station.

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An empty fuel tank was all empty and forgotten behind roses and rosehips.

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And that tank truck was empty and forgotten too.

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[Skorohod]

Abandoned poultry plant. Abandoned poultry plant. My aunt, my uncle and my cousin - they all worked there until late 90's. Then this plant was closed and remain closed ever since. Something very fishy was going back then, when owners rights was passed from owner to owner.

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Some poultry blocks are abandoned, some are used for small business purposes or whatever.

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[Skorohod]

Then i've ride uphill and this magnificent views was opened to my sight.

A view to Anapa bay:

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This blue hills on the distance was haunting my imagination since i was a kid. What's up there, and what's behind them? Now i finally can find out, since i've got a perfect vehicle for this sort of activity!

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But, of course, i've found long ago all what i wanted to know (through the might of Internet). For instance, those hills right behind Anapa town is the most western mountains of the Caucasus Mountains! But they is isolated on Abrau Peninsula, so they are not a part of Caucasus Main Ridge.

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All my childhood there was a "dinosaur eggs" on this hills. Now i know there was a radomes for a radar stations. Some time ago "dinosur eggs" was turned to "lollypops". Dinosaur eggs was more romantic!

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The Black Sea:

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And that blue hills - a true western end of the Main Caucasus Ridge! And a perfect view to a Novorossiysk TV Tower:

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[Skorohod]

Anapa is perfect for a natural sightseeing. This is the place, where mountains meet the steppes beside the sea! A perfect combo.

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Anapa train station. Now it has an electric railroad, in my childhood there was only diesel trains.

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If you want place with a good view to a sea north-west from the Anapa - go to city landfill. The local landfill always got a nice views!

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"Beware [electric] wire!", says this thick rubber mat:

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That's all for now, but as always, there will be more pics from Anapa! Stay tuned!

[SlowCo]

Great photos.
How does the Sur Ron compare to your previous bike? What is the range with the trails you ride?

[Skorohod]

Great photos.

Thanks

How does the Sur Ron compare to your previous bike? What is the range with the trails you ride?

Range is about 50 kilometers with stock battery. So when i planning my routes, i considering no more than 40 kilometers (10 kilometers goes to overhead just in case).

Sur-Ron pros:
Light
Agile
Well built, can take the hit
Can absorb any bumps, smooth ride on every surface imaginable
Can fit in compact MPV car without any hustle (except of compressing front suspension)
Battery is easily removable, can be handy in some scenarios

Sur-Ron cons:
Primitive controller screen (not possible adjustments at all)
Lots of serviceable parts in transmission (in comparison to hub motors)
No luggage rack, no seat place to ride along with passenger (you need ride alone and carry anything on yourself, in pockets or in a backpack)
Real life range with stock battery is 50 km tops

My DIY hubmotor moped pros:
Nucular controller
As little of serviceable parts as possible
You can ride with a passenger AND you can use a luggage rack at the same time
Almost 6 kW*h of electric energy - it's 100 kilometers of guaranteed range in most extreme conditions imaginable, 150 kilometers of range in real-life scenarios

My DIY hubmotor moped cons:
Lots of unsprung weight due to a heavy hub motor, you can't storm bumps at speed, it's uncomfortable and affects ride stability
Overall size and weight of a vehicle is borders to an impractical amounts (can't fit in a car without partial disassembling, can be difficult to manually move around some obstacles when off roading)
Battery is practically non-removable due to weight, size and construction

It's all about of one's use cases, as you see. If you want to toss your bike in a car and go some places with lots of off roading - Sur-Ron is perfect. When you want to start a journey on your bike from a doorstep of your home, took some stuff with you or/and take a passenger, then ride through city, then do some mild offroading and then return home while still sitting on your bike without charging a batery on your way - hub-motor DIY moped with an big-ass battery is your choice. And a lots of choices in between the extremes, of course!

[markz]

You would want a high powered diy mid drive which I would be very hesitant on building for remote riding, unless you can use a 2nd chain from motor to other side of the wheel so you can use stronger chain. I get about the same range for 1500wh on bicycle, 15-20mph, but I'd want double that for any country riding, long distance riding but I'd also want a high output charger for normal wall outlets, 48V 21A output for 120VAC is good for 13A input, which allows you to get 1kwh of charge for each hour. If you have carrying capability bring along two but be sure not to use both chargers on the same circuit, which you wont know.

[Skorohod]

You would want a high powered diy mid drive which I would be very hesitant on building for remote riding, unless you can use a 2nd chain from motor to other side of the wheel so you can use stronger chain.

And i would hesitate to build a powerful mid drive using bicycle frame and transmission too! AFAIK, all above 1 kW of motor rated power is to much for bicycle chain and sprockets. Hence the 420 moto chain on Sur-Ron - that chain is a way much bigger than bicycle chain, so no need for exotic solutions to carry all that torque.

I get about the same range for 1500wh on bicycle, 15-20mph, but I'd want double that for any country riding, long distance riding but I'd also want a high output charger for normal wall outlets, 48V 21A output for 120VAC is good for 13A input, which allows you to get 1kwh of charge for each hour. If you have carrying capability bring along two but be sure not to use both chargers on the same circuit, which you wont know.

Converted telecom PSUs is a good choice as powerful charger, they got one of the best power-to-weight ratio amongst obtainable solutions. And many of them has adjustable current in a very wide range, so you can use one charger and choose adequate current on the fly.

So, that's a not an issue. The problem is - can a battery handle so much of a charging current? That's what always stopped me from "fast charging" way.

[Skorohod]

You know, what i've found near Anapa outskirts? My own personal highway!

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Never saw not one car riding this highway. Only me.

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Ah, i see. Highway ends up in a rock.

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[Skorohod]

There is some good views opens up from that highway. Steppes, mountains, a sea and houses, small and big.

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There was a strong flood rains in Kuban region this summer. That rains caused so much trouble! Part of a brand new highway was washed away.

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[Skorohod]

There was a big industrial zone near Voskresensky settlement ("Voskresenie" means "resurrection" or a "sunday"). There was a deep cutting for a railroad all alongside this zone. Now a new highway build in this cutting. Industrial zone became just a bunch of small concrete plants. But some old artifacts still remained! A giant writing on a wall right from a soviet era: "THE PEOPLE AND A PARTY IS AN ONE".

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[Skorohod]

Rocks or rains, but roadworks must go on!

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[Skorohod]

My own personal highway at night and some stray dogs - there is a combination not worse than others.

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[Skorohod]

As is said before, there was a major flood rains. And some washouts became very dangerous traps. And i've got caught in one of those! A lost my moped and my precious Crocs in this vicious clay. Knee-deep, i've start to dive in to save my belongings.

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It took me more time to wash it all away, than i've ride:

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That's all for now. More Anapa photos to come later!

[SlowCo]

That is some serious mud riding
Great photo's again

[markz]

Why do they need street lights every 15'?


viewtopic.php?f=1&t=102124&p=1687397#p1687288

[Skorohod]

That is some serious mud riding
Great photo's again

Thanks!

I must say, that was not a riding, that was a clay diving There was merely a couple of meters of that clay and i've dove right from the start, the inertia force just dragged me further and deeper... Ugh!

Why do they need street lights every 15'?

The road building regulatory laws in Russia, i guess! Category of the road, width of a lanes, hight of a lighting masts, type of lighting equipment, the proximity of intersections, road bends, residential buildings - all that goes in the consideration.

And believe me, it's not a 15 feets between masts, it's much further. I've measured distance through the Google Earth Pro app, it's exactly ten times further - a 150 feets. That's an effect from telephoto lens - it's "compresses" distances.

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