
Moderator: Soñadora
LarryHoward wrote:I'm in the "why a recumbent" as well. I used to urban commute on a basic mountain bike (due to tram tracks, an unpaved path and a bit of "crossing a park off road" on the route) and had the requisite "Oh, I didn't see you" cutoffs by drivers and the ability to jump the curb or bail and grab the bike to avoid death and destruction was extremely handy.
Being lower, less visible and less maneuverable doesn't appeal to me much.
LarryHoward wrote:I'm in the "why a recumbent" as well. I used to urban commute on a basic mountain bike (due to tram tracks, an unpaved path and a bit of "crossing a park off road" on the route) and had the requisite "Oh, I didn't see you" cutoffs by drivers and the ability to jump the curb or bail and grab the bike to avoid death and destruction was extremely handy.
Being lower, less visible and less maneuverable doesn't appeal to me much.
kimbottles wrote:As a former ABLofA/USCF racer I can testify that a proper low racer has much better Aero than a UCI legal road bike.
MUCH BETTER!
Here is mine (Velokraft VK-2), good for at least 3 MPH increase if not more.
Other riders stop laughing when they realize they can't keep up because not only do you have better Aero, you offer much less drafting opportunities.
And it is possible to learn how to climb well on them, it just takes the discipline to spin the gear. (Spinning the gear is also the best way to climb on a UCI legal bike.)
Orestes Munn wrote:kimbottles wrote:As a former ABLofA/USCF racer I can testify that a proper low racer has much better Aero than a UCI legal road bike.
MUCH BETTER!
Here is mine (Velokraft VK-2), good for at least 3 MPH increase if not more.
Other riders stop laughing when they realize they can't keep up because not only do you have better Aero, you offer much less drafting opportunities.
And it is possible to learn how to climb well on them, it just takes the discipline to spin the gear. (Spinning the gear is also the best way to climb on a UCI legal bike.)
I believe all that (at least for a trained cyclist who can already spin the big meat on a regular bike), but for me, commuting is all about the acceleration you need to hold a lane (like sailing), not top speed.
As for the real world, I have never, not once, had a recumbent keep up with me even on flat ground.
Orestes Munn wrote:They make bike frames out of carbon composite?
Soñadora wrote:and here's a velomobile based on an ICE VTX
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jePRQoWyMz4[/youtube]
kimbottles wrote:Soñadora wrote:and here's a velomobile based on an ICE VTX
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jePRQoWyMz4[/youtube]
That speedo is reading in KPH.
Orestes Munn wrote:So, why the trike? More stable at woo-hoo-hoo speed?
BeauV wrote:You guys haven't lived until you're ridden a wooden RENOVO!!
Tucky wrote:Anytime I see folks talking about bikes I think of the story I read as a kid about Mile-A-Minute Murphy, the man who rode a bicycle one mile in one minute . . . . in 1899. Any of you ever heard of him.
kimbottles wrote:Tucky wrote:Anytime I see folks talking about bikes I think of the story I read as a kid about Mile-A-Minute Murphy, the man who rode a bicycle one mile in one minute . . . . in 1899. Any of you ever heard of him.
Of course! They laid a wood track between the rails and he tucked (almost a pun Tucky) behind a passenger train and rode 60 MPH.
(BTW, my brother Scott and I both exceeded 60 MPH going down the back side of the feared Giant of the Provence in 2005: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Ventoux.)
Then a crazy Frenchman Jose Meiffret hit 200km (120mph) behind a 300SL MBZ in 1962
John Howard (who I raced with in the 70's) hit 152mph in the 80's
Fred Rompelberg is the current record holder with 167mph in 1995.
I guess no one is stupid enough to try and break his record.
LarryHoward wrote:While on active duty, I carried a mountain bike on deployment with me. A great way to get away from the ship and enjoy the country side. On Mallorca, when the highway MA-1 was completed but not open, a group of us rode from Old Palma to Palmanova and ran the highway. One section drops from 400' MSL to about 90' MSL over a 1 mile section. Even with 60 psi in the fat tires, I got into "speed wobble" and sat up about 80% through the descent. No speedo on my bike but the guy with me on a road bike told me I hit 60. Not recommended on fat tires. In those days, padded shorts, a shirt and no helmet was the uniform of the day. Sometimes, it's amazing to me that I survived my younger days.
Orestes Munn wrote:LarryHoward wrote:While on active duty, I carried a mountain bike on deployment with me. A great way to get away from the ship and enjoy the country side. On Mallorca, when the highway MA-1 was completed but not open, a group of us rode from Old Palma to Palmanova and ran the highway. One section drops from 400' MSL to about 90' MSL over a 1 mile section. Even with 60 psi in the fat tires, I got into "speed wobble" and sat up about 80% through the descent. No speedo on my bike but the guy with me on a road bike told me I hit 60. Not recommended on fat tires. In those days, padded shorts, a shirt and no helmet was the uniform of the day. Sometimes, it's amazing to me that I survived my younger days.
The wobbles might have had more to do with the lack of "trail" in the front-end geometry of that mountain bike than the tires.
You probably survived your youth more from what was inside than outside your head. I wear a helmet all the time these days, but I never forget that it won't prevent a concussion and will only help save my bacon in the rather narrow range of events potentially resulting in a skull fracture.
JoeP wrote:Beau, I am beginning to suspect that the siding of your house is finished bright...