Does anybody have any experience with Free to Ride Road books? http://www.f2r.pt/epages/f2r.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/f2r/Products/RB730/SubProducts/RB730-001 We might need it this year, so I am looking for electrical road book. Any other electrical would do. It must be big enough to use 145 mm wide road book. If someone know for some used ones, also interested. Please for some answers. Thank you.
There were also a couple of group buys in the Aussie forum last year, feedback has been very positive from what I have seen. Definitely a good value for the money.
The two most popular roadbook holders are from MD and Touratech. The most popular choice being the MD one as it works with rubber bands and urban legend has it that it is more reliable than the Touratech. Most of this opinion is based on Touratech roadbooks from a few years back that had plastic gears that made them prone to failure. The later Touratech roadbooks have metal gears and are very reliable. Both are available on the the web for purchase, google them : Toratech MD The roadbook holder discussion has happened a few times on ADVRider, search for the threads as some also discuss the Free-To-Ride roadbook.
Yes, I have the F2r roadbook holder- I have used it probably 6 days of roadbook rides, plus probably 20 days of practice with it on the bike, and I've had zero problems with it. Also talk to Neduro; he's used them all and recently got rid of a MD in favor of the F2r. It simply works, and the price is very reasonable. I also noticed that Tina Meier is using one in Dakar, so it's good enough for me.
Thanks guys. MD and Touratech are too expensive if buying new. Would buy MD or TT second handed for that value as Free to Ride new. So if someone know for any, just let me know. Did check Amazon, Ebay... none for sale...
We've used the F2R in our Rally Schools without any trouble. I think they are fine, even for a long rally. MD is the gold standard and most people use them on rallies so you can always find spare parts when racing. MD did a minor re-design this year so that the MD can now handle very big roadbooks better. (I have MDs and F2Rs in stock now.) The touratech roadbook reader is junk, in my opinion. I used one in a rally in Tunisia, and one of our customers had one in the Dakar. We've also ridden practice routes with plenty of people using touratech roadbooks. Everyone had reliability issues with the touratech roadbooks.
The KTM rally department, BMW, Yamaha France and David Casteu Sherco are using MD roadbooks since years. For the MD you get every detail part you need. It is so easy to handle, an alluminium box and a swiss engine are the main parts. MD sold 2010 about 450 roadbooks. The Touratech roadbook holder is not a good one, you can't it repair by your self. About the F2R i don't know nothing. Ask me for a good price for new MD roadbooks !!!
Not exactly from MD, but a replica that my Portugese friend (who just happens to be running 4th overall in Dakar ATM) told me about and is running on his bike. For 180 it's a real bargain!!! :eek1 Yeah, just watch Charley Boorman's "Race To Dakar". Even on day 1 you can see how messed up their reader is Plus I've seen many a TT reader that has worn out metal gears from being chewed up from sand getting through :eek1
Those look good. I'll have to try to get some after the race, even though I never like straight-up knock-offs. But, that's not the way to mount a roadbook to handlebars! (too far back to read while standing). Try these: http://www.rallymanagementservices.com/collections/universal/products/universal-navigation-clamps fun fun Charlie
I think that pic is just a demo he has lying around in his shop, not an actual setup If Hélder Rodrigues uses them in all his races and can win stages in Dakar, then they have to be reliable, or not?
I have used the tourtech holder and the MD holder. The tourtech did work but you could tell that if you had a problem...you would have a hard time fixing it. I do have a nearly new tourtech unit I got for my 950 a while back. It has the metal gears...but there are a ton of gears in there and it doesn't look like it would take much to cause a problem. I found the MD to be very easy to use and the only problem I had was due to me winding my paper roll too tight...this causes the rubber bands to slip. I did some road book prototyping a few years ago but never finished. My idea was to have two driven rolls and one paper guide making things as compact as possible. Had an idea for using a single chain and 2 1 way roller clutches. Never built it but could do so someday
Well, you better look again closely! That motor is round and not squared like the MD one! Plus the cable comes out from the side and not from behind...
If anyone is interested. I have a MD roadbook I haven't used very much. I could give a good deal on.. just PM me.
