karimdiatoubajie

Hi - just answering some of the questions I got: Storage Storage wise - we live in a top floor flat. Luckily we do have outside storage and the Tern GSD can be stored vertically like this: Dimensions wise, it's a bit deceiving as these have smaller wheels. Its actually the same length as an average adult bike (180cm). What might make the most sense is having access to shared E-Bikes either through docks or dedicated on street storage. Cost These are expensive bikes but I've found that it covers most local trips and would be far cheaper than say a BMW i3 (from ?33,000 - so 7X more expensive) and I can charge the battery at home and when it runs out I can still ride it :) Also it costs 30X less to run energy wise than an E-Car. I was luckily able to afford this as I saved ?5900 cycling to work since I used the cycle-to-work scheme to get a Boardman Hybrid in 2011. This is largely by the bye as I think these would be much better in a shared scheme to bring the price down for everyone and make it more widely accessible to society (and the assets more utilised) and negate the need to store it.

Hi Everyone 👋🏾🙇🏾‍♂️ Just thought I'd share some more recent trips from my cargobike experiments all around LTNs incl. Dulwich Village, East/West Dulwich and into Peckham. These are trips which 12months ago I never, ever thought I would be able to use a bike for. 1. Southwark Recycling Centre * I have been to this place 18 times since 2014 (src: Google Location Data) every time with a car. On one of those trips I got ?130 fine on Peckham High Street for stopping in a box junction! Lol. Thought I would try hauling a load of cardboard, some fence spikes (in the bags), paint and oil containers and a hairdryer for good measure. Total haul was about 50kg. It took the same amount of time as it used to in a car (assuming smooth run) - only downside was I needed to park at the bottom of the steps. Bikes aren't allowed in the offloading bit. There are likely a few times I will need to use a car here but now I know that at least 80% of my trips here won't use a car now (this was much more fun). 2. Delivering a Sandpit and 20kg of Sand This was delivering to someone via this forum actually. It was not far but this was heavy. I would definitely have used a car 12 months ago but this was actually much easier and only half a mile. Also no sand in the car. WIN! 3. Buying stuff from garden centres In my previous post I showed a video getting a Christmas tree from West Dulwich. This time I just picked up a plant. Not even a big one. But because its kind of awkward on normal bike it was super easy on here. I always used a car to go the garden centres around here but actually didn't enjoy it - they have limited parking and its always a bit stressful. If I can carry a tree on this (which I did) then pretty sure I can use my bike 95% of the time. 4. Delivering groceries to vulnerable folks During lockdown I have been delivering some groceries to folks who have been shielding. Here was a haul of groceries from Sainsburys. Again, I would have used a car for this last year but wouldn't bother now as its too much faff. I also recently discovered that the crates supermarkets use for home deliveries fit perfectly on the rear rack so might invest in a few. Anyway, I just thought I would give an insight into what might be possible for some people and make it local and relevant. If there are any trips you would like me to test - I can have a go and feedback.

Hi Everyone 🙌🏾 I posted this in another thread but thought its worth sharing here too: Would anyone who is severely affected by the local LTNs like to try out an Electric Cargobike? I was really interested to see if these new modes of transport would really help being a regular car user myself. Since September 2020 I've been testing out a Tern GSD to try out different scenarios many which cross all the local LTNs. Previous to the LTNs I was only using a car for most local trips. Here are some examples of trips I've not used a car: -Taking wife and daughter to Oxford Street (parking outside the shops) and back with Shopping -Carrying a Christmas Tree through the village from the Alleyn Garden Centre to East Dulwich (video: ) -Regular trips to sport activities with child (in West Norwood) -Going to the Southwark Recycling Centre -Carrying 100kg of Books to the Charity Shop -Dropping some IKEA Shelves to a local resident -Carrying 50kg of shopping from Sainsburys -Carrying my 80 year old father-in-law who is registered disabled to the coffee shop. -Carrying another bike to the bike shop I think right now I am able to use this for about 90% of my local trips, I honestly never thought this would be possible. Not only that, but all the trips I've tried it for are faster (the bike is still assisted upto 16mph), cheaper and more pleasant that the car trips i was making before the LTNS even existed. I calculated I am saving about ?1,500 in fuel alone per year. If anyone who is affected wants to have a go on mine they are more than welcome, just let me know. I also have various attachments based on what needs you might have e.g. transporting shopping, children, tools, another adult (max load is 250kg)...

Haha, sorry that was my poor writing - have tried to make it clearer. Those trips including one to Oxford Street are ones using the E-Cargo Bike, not driven there for a long time! It was just much easier as you can "park" right outside the shops you want to go to, probably a bit like it was in London in the 1950s before there were 33 Million Cars in UK! We tend to use 2 X Gold Standard Locks + a couple of others when we lock it up. This one actually stands vertically so you can keep it inside pretty easily or on trains.

Hi Everyone 🙌🏾, Would anyone who is severely affected by the local LTNs like to try out an Electric Cargobike? I was really interested to see if these new modes of transport would really help being a regular car user myself. Since September 2020 I've been testing out a Tern GSD to try out different scenarios many which cross all the local LTNs. Previous to the LTNs I was only using a car for most local trips. Here are some examples of trips I've not used a car: -Taking wife and daughter to Oxford Street (parking outside the shops) and back with Shopping -Carrying a Christmas Tree through the village from the Alleyn Garden Centre to East Dulwich (video: ) -Regular trips to sport activities with child -Going to the Southwark Recycling Centre -Carrying 100kg of Books to the Charity Shop -Dropping some IKEA Shelves to a local resident -Carrying 50kg of shopping from Sainsburys -Carrying my 80 year old father-in-law who is registered disabled to the coffee shop. -Carrying another bike to the bike shop I think right now I am able to use this for about 90% of my local trips, I honestly never thought this would be possible. Not only that, but all the trips I've tried it for are faster (the bike is still assisted upto 16mph), cheaper and more pleasant that the car trips i was making before the LTNS even existed. I calculated I am saving about ?1,500 in fuel alone per year. If anyone who is affected wants to have a go on mine they are more than welcome, just let me know. I also have various attachments based on what needs you might have e.g. transporting shopping, children, tools, another adult...

Just posting here for visibility as a lot of people walk around the park! /forum/read.php?31,2089219

Good morning everyone, I am conducting some research sessions at Toyota Connected this week at our office in Kings Cross (90 minutes). We'd love to speak to Toyota Hybrid customers. Sessions will be a mix of questions about your Toyota experience and getting your feedback on a new product prototype. Participants will be provided with a ?100 Amazon voucher as a thank you for their participation. If you are interested in taking part or want more details please check out the form here: https://surveys.hotjar.com/s?siteId=1247839&surveyId=133875&utm_source=ToyotaOwnersClub&utm_medium=ForumLinks Many thanks, Karim (Toyota Connected EU and East Dulwich Resident of Crystal Palace Road)

Good evening, I've received a quote from Plusrooms recommended tiling team (Kovac Constructions Limited) to tile a wetroom (approx 13m2 of tiles including tanking the floor and two walls with Impey Waterguard). Tiles are 30cmx30cm. The quote I've received is ?3,168. Has anyone else ever had a wetroom installed or is a tiler and could give an opinion on this? Many thanks

Hello there, Can anyone recommend a staircase joinery / carpentry company they have used. Looking for a company who can do a bespoke staircase with glass risers and glass balustrade to ascend about 1.3m. Many thanks, Karim

Hi ED_moots, Good question! With the Google Play store, you can only specify paid or free. Once you choose free there is no going back. I've decided to monetise the download of the app in the short term, though it looks like this will change as I am currently working on a Bearingz Adventures concept which will best suit in-app purchases. The first 'adventure' is actually going to be a Street Art Adventure around the Dulwich area. You won't know where you are going, you will just be directed and discover art by yourself. The plan is to expand these adventures and walks around the UK. Here are some design concepts:

Good day to you, I am a local resident of Crystal Palace Road who has recently designed Bearingz an Android App, which helps you find things more easily than Google Maps. What does it do? -Finds your tent or friends at a festival -Navigating anywhere on your bike or when walking (uses Google Places) -Anytime you just need the general direction to travel -Finding where you parked your car I am looking for beta testers to try out the app and so am giving away free downloads to all residents of East Dulwich. If you are interested in taking part, message me and I will send you a free download code. You can download the app here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kadito.bearingz Background This idea came about when I had problems navigating around London on the Cycle Hire bikes. I found maps too complicated when all I needed to know was the general direction I needed to go. I then found that this approach worked really well in other situations like travelling on foot (e.g. when you just come out of a station) or you are out and about in the countryside. This type of navigation requires a lot less brain power, as you just head in the general direction. Many thanks, Karim http://www.bearingz.io

*UPDATE June 2017* I am currently in the planning & preparation phase with Plusrooms. This is the 3rd building project I have been involved with, first with Plusrooms. In April/May 2017, I experienced a delay in communication for over a month and subsequently reached out on the forum to see if anyone else had issues. I am subsequently updating the post to reflect the recent events which have been very positive. Since then: -I received a personal phone call from the company director, James Bernard who apologised and explained that an employee had left the company and so their was a period where they were stretched. Since then there has been a major improvement in communication. They appear to take feedback very seriously and so it was great to see this being acted upon. -I also received a personal email from their team to apologise for the delay and explained what had happened. -I have been working through the design planning with the design manager Vincent, who has been excellent. Many elements on our project are non-standard and have required some creative workarounds in order to preserve the architectural space. The turn-around on technical drawings has been remarkable. Currently we are still awaiting planning permission, ironing out some design elements and the project is not set to begin until mid-July 2017.

Thanks a lot.Do you have a link? I contacted James Barber but no reply as usual.

I would also pushback any double yellow line extension plans. It will just make parking extremely frustrating in East Dulwich for very little gain. Even with the 2m proposal, that?s still 2km of lost parking space. With the average UK car length of 4.8m and allowing for a 60cm gap between vehicles that means (2000m / (4.8m+1.2m)) = 300 lost parking spaces. There should hopefully be no need for any of these short-term strategies (permits, double yellows or otherwise) if we can last out another 4 years. TfL are pushing hard on autonomous vehicles which will, overtime, reduce the requirement for parking as Londoners begin to transition into an on-demand model of personal transportation (think UBER without humans). It will essentially make taxis slightly more expensive than the train but much more convenient. As such, parked vehicles (in London) will reduce over time as it will be more cost effective and much more convenient to not own a car. With our current model of car ownership, cars spend 94% of their time parked up which is total waste. Compare this to airplanes which are pretty much running 95% of their lifetime. The new autonomous-ready mass market Teslas go into production next year and other car manufacturers like Volvo are pushing hard. This may all seem like Blade Runner nonsense but it?s happening right now.