BHF - London to Brighton

[Gary]

? Cheers man

 

[PhilBaker]

Just to answer the previous question around how much off-road is it, not very much at all.

There are a few part's which are bridleways, or paths running along the river, and one section of single track off-load which was good while it lasted.

From memory it felt like half to 2/3rds was on the road.

With the right bike and fitness level, it should be possible to do it one one charge but DB would take a fair chunk out of your remaining battery...

I did it 3 years ago on my acoustic lightweight XC and only saw a couple of eMTB's but a lot has changed in the last 3.5 years

The stops didn't have any charging facilities that I can recall but perhaps the cater for eBikes now.

I would potentially be up for it...

 

[Pivot]

Once you're at the top of Ditchling Beacon there's 7 miles mainly downhill to the finish line. It's possible to do it with the motor off.

If it's 54 miles long then you'll get to the foot of DB around the 46 miles mark. I'm not sure what route it takes over the North Downs but there's a few mini-hills to traverse over the high weald (the bit right in the middle between the two Downs).

I just wonder how easy it'll be to climb DB by pushing or cycling with no motor. Very hard I presume. They should let you peel off the route and use the flatter cycle lane beside the A23 instead

Very insightful [mention]John K [/mention], how is the 46mi up to the DB? Any opportunities to ride with motor off?
To date, my battery range is ~35mi, so I am seriously short of Wh

 

[PhilBaker]

There are sections you can ride without the battery for sure, but overall I remember feeling like every time you went round a bend there was another hill!!!

 

[Pivot]

Just to answer the previous question around how much off-road is it, not very much at all.

There are a few part's which are bridleways, or paths running along the river, and one section of single track off-load which was good while it lasted.

From memory it felt like half to 2/3rds was on the road.

With the right bike and fitness level, it should be possible to do it one one charge but DB would take a fair chunk out of your remaining battery...

I did it 3 years ago on my acoustic lightweight XC and only saw a couple of eMTB's but a lot has changed in the last 3.5 years

The stops didn't have any charging facilities that I can recall but perhaps the cater for eBikes now.

I would potentially be up for it...

[mention]PhilBaker [/mention], I have heard that most people ride on hard tails, so the terrain cannot be too difficult, except for the DB climb. Is that correct and fair assumption?

I want to do it on eMTB, but analogue HT might be a more intelligent proposition

 

[#lazy]

50 miles on a non ebike hardtail would finish me off ! Then again the 1st 10/15 miles are on roads so the 16 mph ass cutoff would finish me off too !

Think I’ll give it a miss

 

[Gary]

A hardtail with high pressure slicks can keep up with roadbikes. it's just not as aero

 

[Pivot]

50 miles on a non ebike hardtail would finish me off ! Then again the 1st 10/15 miles are on roads so the 16 mph ass cutoff would finish me off too !

Think I’ll give it a miss

This is the dilemma. HT off road will finish my butt off... the 16 mph doesn’t worry me... but the hill with 45 miles in the legs does call for ebike treachery
I think I need to do some measurements and careful planning

 

[Beekeeper]

I’m thinking about it. How do we get back home afterwards?

 

[Jimbo Vills]

Hate to be the bearer of bad news chaps. But the L2B OFF ROAD is 75 miles..... ??

 

[Zimmerframe]

I’m thinking about it. How do we get back home afterwards?

Have you heard of the Brighton to London ride ?

 

[Jimbo Vills]

Have you heard of the Brighton to London ride ?

It’s only 50 miles

 

[Ripping g]

Yes me and rail5 are booked on still from last year ????

 

[Zimmerframe]

It’s only 50 miles

Using your stats, should it be -75 miles ? and 1,464m of descending ?

 

[PhilBaker]

[mention]PhilBaker [/mention], I have heard that most people ride on hard tails, so the terrain cannot be too difficult, except for the DB climb. Is that correct and fair assumption?

I want to do it on eMTB, but analogue HT might be a more intelligent proposition

Hardtail is perfect for the L2B offroad route. When I road it my mate was on a Gravel bike and there were only a couple of small sections where suspension would have been nice but not essential (although he did get 3 punctures) .

Whilst it's called London to Brighton offload, it's majority on road, with some offload paths. I don't recall any section that actually required suspension, other than a few small sections. If your thinking "Lets do it and put the bikes to the test!", then this is not the route for you...

 

[PhilBaker]

Here's the 2018 Off-road L2B route also showing the elevation along the bottom.
Ignore the fact I'm over 80 miles, I stayed at a friends in Richmond and road to the start and then road to a hotel at the end

• 82.97mi Distance
• 8:03:47 Moving Time
• 4,340ft Elevation
• Speed Avg-10.3mi/h Max-32.0mi/h (remember I'm on an acoustic MTB in large crowds of other cyclists

 

[EebStrider]

Given that the start point is nowhere near London, shouldn't it be called the Surrey to Brighton ride?

 

[PhilBaker]

That was as much as I could fit on the screen without it being super small and the London part is definitely flat with no off-road sections so didn't show it...

 

[EebStrider]

That was as much as I could fit on the screen without it being super small and the London part is definitely flat with no off-road sections so didn't show it...

I meant the actual BHF ride, as they call it London to Brighton. But it isn‘t! ?

 

[spittyholly]

Was on road till byfleet 2016 so turn on your motor then ..look@ my effort??hard work walked up the beacon i aint no hero

 

[PhilBaker]

How much do you reckon is off-road, as from memory is seemed barely a quarter of it at best was off-road, but hard to remember exactly.

I guess the question to ask is can you make your battery/s last 76 miles with 3,000ft of climbing.

Time for some Eco mode test rides ;-)

On a 25kg Bosch Gen 4 bike with a 500w battery the best I've managed (cycle fit and 75kg), is 75 miles, half on Eco and half on Tour with 2,000ft of climbing and that was me riding very gently with high rolling tyres...

 

[RustyMTB]

Quite a lot of that from Guildford on looks like the Downslink? If so, most of it is pretty easy going I'm only working off the maps posted above & haven't ever ridden the L2B, so tell me to push orf as necessary.

Ditchling is a prick though.

 

[mxh]

I don't ride a Specialized myself, but I thought their 'Mission Control' app had a feature where you could plug in the end point of your ride and it would regulate the assistance given to ensure that you got there on the charge available. Obviously there must be a limit to how far you can go - but has anyone tried a long ride using this feature?

 

[Zimmerframe]

I don't ride a Specialized myself, but I thought their 'Mission Control' app had a feature where you could plug in the end point of your ride and it would regulate the assistance given to ensure that you got there on the charge available. Obviously there must be a limit to how far you can go - but has anyone tried a long ride using this feature?

I tried it on the kenevo and did my longest ever ride. It worked really well, except for the last few miles.

The phone controls the motor assistance, slipping you a bit more for hills over your route. My phone you double twist to turn the torch on. Unfortunately, the torch had come on on some bends.... Which flattened the phone battery. So I ended up flattening the bike battery early and riding the last bit unassisted.

Other than that, it was quite impressive.

 

[Planemo]

I have done the LBF twice on an acoustic, many years ago though when I was somewhat fitter lol. I don't remember ANY of it being offroad (unless counting the start in the park), but it sounds like they have changed the route since. The 1st time I didn't attempt the hill, the 2nd time I vowed I would do it (and I did- just) but it's virtually impossible mainly because of the sheer amount of cyclists bunching up at the foot. I was going slower than walking speed as a result, it's only worth doing for self reasons. Other than that, just walk it, most people did from what I saw. I reckon I could do it on the eeb with a 625Wh batt but walking the hill. The downhill after saw my highest top speed on a pushbike to this day, around the 50mph mark IIRC. Shit my pants tbh but I wasn't gonna brake

I must admit I wouldn't mind doing it again, it's a great feeling to be in such a large group of cyclists, it was the main highlight for me. It's not like it's just the start either, theres just so many (I think it was 27,000?) that it's enough to keep plenty of people all around you throughout the entire ride. The nutters who do the whole lot in restrictive, hot fancy dress must be superhuman.

 

[jupiter]

I cycle the Holes Bay cycle route/footpath on my Stilus a couple of times a week. As largely flat, I cycle either “off” or “eco” depending on how I feel, the wind, whether I’m in a rush, etc.

There’s short cropped grass with a firm surface underneath, alongside the tarmac. It’s been noticeable just how much extra drag there is on short cropped firm grass than tarmac.

I get great mileage out of a battery because I’m 97% in eco. Whether you can do L2B on one battery depends crucially on ratio of tarmac to grass/paths in my view.

 

[EebStrider]

We should have a forum challenge to see who can complete the ride with the most battery left at the end. That‘d make things a bit more interesting.

 

[Pivot]

Do we have a conclusive distance of L2B race? I see a range from 50 — 75 miles. That is a big diff!

 

[Zimmerframe]

Do we have a conclusive distance of L2B race? I see a range from 50 — 75 miles. That is a big diff!

There's a shortcut or teleport section ?

 

[Jimbo Vills]

Do we have a conclusive distance of L2B race? I see a range from 50 — 75 miles. That is a big diff!

That’s because people are quoting the normal L2B ride and not the off road ride

It’s quite clear on the BHF website mate