[Sidehaas]

Anyone rented one / used one in Provence?

Getting the TGV to Avignon and a rental Fiat 500 electric is an option for the same or less than the petrol version. Used the latter earlier this year in Spain which was perfectly adequate for our needs.

It's unclear but I'm presuming it will be the 24kW version with a range of ~120 miles - a shopping trolly - not far enough to get us to La Palud. 

Thoughts?

No, but charging infrastructure has developed massively in France in the last year. Have a look on the chargemap app, that's the most comprehensive over there. You need to make sure you have the right payment method as most French chargers don't take contactless, an RFID card is often easiest.
I thought a new 500e was 42kwh? Worth checking anyway. It's obviously pretty small for climbing kit etc.

[duncan]

Thanks everyone. We've used a petrol 500 earlier this year in Siurana. Small and cheap-feeling but adequate for two people.

There are two electric versions available and I've assumed it will be the smaller capacity one on the principle that hire car fleets are made up of the runts of the litter that are not selling to private buyers. The Hyundai Kona is also available for not much more and has a much more reassuring range so might go for that.

[Paul B]

If you're towards the smaller end of the hire car fleet then a Panda can fit a hell of a lot more than most would suspect (as it's essentially a box on wheels).

[ben]

I'd second the chargemap app for France, plus we used the chargemap RFID card which worked seamlessly

[tomtom]

Heading to Font in Oct in an EV. Car has decent range (70+kwh) - so won't need many stops and I'm not overly concerned, but wondering if there were any recommendations for

(a) charging places around the forest (inc ones to avoid!)
(b) for the Calais > Font leg where I might need a top up (and coffee).. both there and back, it would be good not to arrive back in the UK searching for a charge.

I've checked the usual aggregator/charger map sites so have some idea, but suggestions welcome.
Cheers.

[ben]

(a) charging places around the forest (inc ones to avoid!)
(b) for the Calais > Font leg where I might need a top up (and coffee).. both there and back, it would be good not to arrive back in the UK searching for a charge.

We drove from St. Malo so not the same route but just used motorway aire + supermarche chargers enroute which were fine with a chargemap pass (card). We also got plugsurfing and fulli cards but didn't use them
Around the forest, we were staying in Acheres and just used the Tesla chargers at the Novotel in Ury which were reliable (non-tesla owner but you can charge via their app)

[tomtom]

Thanks Ben - I'd got my eye on the Tesla chargers there..

I've an electroverse card which seems to have quite a lot of networks covered (inc Ionity) so hoping that helps. I'll investigate the chargemap pass.

[andy_e]

Anyone any experience with bike racks affecting range of vehicles? I'm getting an MG5 and wondering what type of bike rack to get (for big bouncy mountain bikes). I'm guessing the roof rack type will be way worse for range than boot door mounted ones?

[Paul B]

You'd be best off with a tow bar mounted rack IMO. Most tip forward so you can still open the boot.

We have the front wheel off type (https://www.yakima.eu/highspeed) that I bought for a few reasons including security but in reality, it wouldn't take much to get our bikes off the roof (although the armoured cable that's integral through the stays and roof rails are hopefully enough of a deterrent).

The one benefit of ours is that their low footprint when they're fitted during the summer but without the bikes doesn't seem to make too much difference to my MPG and doesn't create too much wind noise. I have Yakima aero bars too (bought secondhand from eBay).

[andy_e]

Yeah, what's security like on tow-bar mounted ones too? My feeling is that roof is more secure but canes the range. Security is not the biggest issue up here but I still don't want to invite an opportunistic holidaymaker if I'm parked up in Torridon kipping in the back of my car...

[Paul B]

Can't comment as with our dog I couldn't rely on her being able to jump into the boot past bikes mounted that way successfully (so it just wasn't an option), likewise the A6 has a tailgate that isn't rated for rear racks (it's electric so I'm guessing one false press of the key fob and something expensive would happen).

I used the Roof Box Company:
https://www.roofbox.co.uk/bike-carriers/bike-carriers-racks-range-towbar-mounting.php

They're based in Sedbergh and were really helpful when I had a few queries.

[T_B]

I was just about to buy one of them there Thule 591 roof racks. What’s the advantage of the Yakima where you take the front wheel off Paul? Is that security or a fuel economy thang?

[Paul B]

I was just about to buy one of them there Thule 591 roof racks. What’s the advantage of the Yakima where you take the front wheel off Paul? Is that security or a fuel economy thang?

I bought it for the added security that with the cable that comes out of the back of it you can go through your stay and the fixed roof rails of my vehicle. Likewise, the front wheel is then inside the vehicle and the front axle is locked to the car too (I'd imagine you can get this out fairly easily on a thru axle and on QR you'd just open the lever). If anyone is buying this kind of system I'd recommend Thule instead as they supply a 'packer' for thru axles whereas Yakima clamp the axle and there's quite a bit of flex in your forks.

To put this all into perspective the keys they use are readily available from Amazon and the whole rack itself could be removed with a bit of force to remove the plastic covers and then a 5mm allen key!

The Yakima system is VERY quiet when it doesn't have bikes on it which was another reason.

In your instance T_B I'd imagine you'll likely need to fit people/mini people into your car? Wheels still take up quite a lot of room. Three UKBers with two bikes on the roof, the wheels and a bike in an A6 and we didn't have much space on a recent day trip to the Lakes.

[T_B]

OK good to know. I’m less worried about security as I’d mainly be driving from home to somewhere that I could store it securely (though there’s always service stations I guess). Yeah having the wheel inside would be a PITA. Should have got a tow bar fitted when we bought the car, but it’s a bit old now to maybe bother.

[Paul B]

I'd like to say it means I worry about them less when they're left on the car and we go and grab some food etc. but in reality it doesn't work that way; people are brazen and at a nearby festival (Beatherder) people's roof tents were being stolen by someone with an angle grinder in the car park.

The other issue we had was Nat's previous frame had externally routed cables that ran underneath the down tube. The traditional racks simply mashed these into the paint which didn't seem ideal.

[webbo]

I see you got a full page spread on Road cc Paul. Not a good way to make the headlines, I hope it hasn’t put you and Natalie off riding.

[Paul B]

Indeed. It seemed the only way to actually get a response. The article is here if anyone else is interested:
https://road.cc/content/news/motorist-escapes-punishment-swerving-female-cyclist-305757

The main thing it's put me off is the Police and the Lancs. Police and Crime Commissioner (and given my Dad was a PC for years I perhaps started with more sympathy for their job than most).

What I've seen is that instead of dealing with a mistake and learning from it they just close up entirely and the PCC is too busy chasing positive headlines about crime falling to actually fulfil his role. I can't get beyond the fact the office think asking 'why' breaches their impartiality.

She now has a Cyliq Fly 12 as it's one of the only cameras to record for a decent length of time but TBH I was hoping that if either of us bought a camera it'd be for Safa Brian type descents (although with a little more care for our own safety in traffic) than recording motorists.

[Bradders]

Well thanks for reporting it and pursuing it Paul. Important to shout about these things.

[Hugh]

Anyone any experience with bike racks affecting range of vehicles? I'm getting an MG5 and wondering what type of bike rack to get (for big bouncy mountain bikes). I'm guessing the roof rack type will be way worse for range than boot door mounted ones?

I'd be interested to hear how you get on the with this (plus bike rack). Our elderly Touran is on its last legs and I can't summon up any enthusiasm for getting another diesel shed, so considering going electric and the MG5 looks like it might do the job. Range looks reasonable as does price (although still spendy for a previously committed shed buyer  ).

[andy_e]

Yeah I'll report back! Was actually thinking about blogging the experiences of being an electric boulderer in the Highlands. If you're in Scotland you can apply for an interest-free loan for used EVs through the Energy Saving Trust, which is how I'm funding mine.

[Scouse D]

I have a Kia niro EV which we get 205 miles out of with roof box on, 2 adults 3 kids.(64kwh battery) The boot is pretty big as you can strip out the space where the spare tyre would go. Think there are plenty around 2nd  hand

[tomtom]

Anyone any experience with bike racks affecting range of vehicles? I'm getting an MG5 and wondering what type of bike rack to get (for big bouncy mountain bikes). I'm guessing the roof rack type will be way worse for range than boot door mounted ones?

I've got a roofbox - and that increases motorway consumption by about 30% (ie commensurate drop in range etc..). I imagine bars and bikes will be similar. Mounting at the rear can make a big difference I've heard..

On smaller roads/lower speeds it makes far less of a difference.

Aero efficiency makes a huge difference to EV's (hence their quest for ever lower CD's) - same as driving an EV into a strong headwind kills range/efficiency.

One final thing to consider, IIRC the first batch of MG5's had roof bars - but the roofs were not strong enough to hold more than about 20kg - so they were effectively just for decoration..  It has now been sorted, but if you are buying an early one then bear that in mind. MG5/EV forums will give you a more definitive answer on that.

[andy_e]

Ah I hadn't realised that! Yeah i'm getting the Exclusive model, which has those roof bars. Sounds like rear mount is the way to go, but for the amjority of the time the bike can just get bunged in the boot.

[tomtom]

The Mg5’s have a good rep. Cleevely EV garage have three of them for mobile servicing. One over 100k now with no issues. Taxi drivers favourite too..

https://x.com/katefantom/status/1698329302566076499?s=46&t=IZ3oEhAJLTR1G-A78VKqww

[tk421a]

I was looking at the mg5 but went with the mg4.
2 main reasons:
1) the mg5 is a converted ic engine base which means the rear seats have terrible leg height space as the battery sits underneath. So adults sitting at the back have their knees quite high and found that really uncomfortable.
2) even though it's an estate its still quite small, boot space is closer to a hatchback than to an octavia / superb estate. So decided if we needed more space we'd have to go suv / petrol / diesel.

It's been great to drive, steering is super light and ev acceleration is amazing.