Wow, your low riders were getting close to too low.
<nods> Yeah I was sinking fast, George, and it was tough pushing at the "shoreline". As you can see, the bike is standing on its own because the wheels have sunk so far.
I took this bike on that tour because I was a little short of time and reasoned 700x32C tires would be faster on the paved roads between home and desert and on the hardpan playa. They were indeed fast as I made 200km/day but when I arrived, I saw I had miscalculated and paid the price as the narrow tires sliced through the soft stuff.Except for seasonal trends, I can't really tell how the playa will be until I get there. It would have been a lot more fun with the Nomad that trip. Also, by the time I returned home I had put a lot of wear on a cassette that was almost new when I left home.
Wider tires might or might not have made much difference in flotation on that trip given how very soft the play was until I hit hardpan, but the Nomad has worked as well for me on 200km days, its much sturdier frame would have been much a lot more stable and pleasant with the load I was carrying, and the Rohloff drivetrain would surely have helped.
I've generally had no problems with the height of the Thorn lowriders, but there was one instance in Croatia where an oncoming driver made a foolish pass causing my front bags to rub-through on a bridge apron. See:
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=12758.msg95077#msg95077 I was very lucky to come through unscathed but in that instance it would indeed have helped to have my panniers ride a little bit higher that day. Generally, though, they have been fine except for a few instances. Back in the 1980s I used high-riding racks, but generally prefer the better handling that comes from carrying the load a bit lower.
Pulling things back on topic a bit...
The bicycle in the photo is equipped with a B&M e-Werk. It uses sealed, screw-type connections that do a very good job keeping out moisture and dirt. I generally attach one lead to the little box that contains the e-Werk circuitry and then connect the dedicated B&M cabling that terminates in the B&M USB port, which I keep snake into my waterproof handlebar bag.
It has adjustable voltage and current and completely solves the socket shielding problem (cover the main unit or tilt it so it doesn't get direct exposure to continuous rainwater), so has much to recommend it. B&M make a separate cache battery that can be readily integrated. See:
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/dynamos/busch-muller-ewerk/?geoc=US...and...
http://en.bumm.de/produkte/e-werk/e-werk.html...and...
https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/ewerk.php <== This link contains another link to a downloadable manual
The adjustable nature of the e-Werk can be its Achilles heel. It is important to match the voltage and current demands to the gadget being charged or damage can occur to the gadget; that's something to keep in mind if you swap in different gadgets with varying demands. I generally keep mine set to approximate the USB 2.0 standard 5vdc @ 500mA/0.5A (the e-Werk settings are not exact but close with 0.7v charging increments) and occasionally tweak the amperage upward for devices that can handle charging at a higher rate. Devices with nonadjustable outputs like the Cycle2Charge avoid such problems when one is tired or loses track. Still, the e-Werk works well enough I am transferring it to my gravel bike and expect to use it for some years ahead.
Best,
Dan.
