Bye Bye!

Quoted message said:

The matter of speed is so important to so many people; it amuses me!
In a pile of photos- I came across a picture of an early 1980s bike/
trike speed record. Over 60 - but WHY? I also saw a pic of a cartoon
of a snail losing to a bent. I just don't get it. Aside from humor,
what is the importance?

More speed can be more fun, and it can just be the buzz of doing
something remarkable under your own steam.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Peter Clinch said:

Quoted message said:

The matter of speed is so important to so many people; it amuses me!
In a pile of photos- I came across a picture of an early 1980s bike/
trike speed record. Over 60 - but WHY? I also saw a pic of a cartoon
of a snail losing to a bent. I just don't get it. Aside from humor,
what is the importance?

More speed can be more fun, and it can just be the buzz of doing
something remarkable under your own steam.

Pete.

This whole country is into the aspect of speed. I myself found that when
asking about replacement tires for my trike, I said I wanted these
specifications: Fast, puncture resistance, durability. As you can see
the first word was "FAST". I want to replace my great Scorcher TR tires
with one as fast and puncture resistant and as durable but narrower. I
think I won't find anything.

Quoted message said:

The matter of speed is so important to so many people; it amuses me!
In a pile of photos- I came across a picture of an early 1980s bike/
trike speed record. Over 60 - but WHY? I also saw a pic of a cartoon
of a snail losing to a bent. I just don't get it. Aside from humor,
what is the importance?

Hey, speed is great, BTW i want to beat up on you, need to win some
more $$$$$

[email hidden] wrote:
:: The matter of speed is so important to so many people; it amuses me!
:: In a pile of photos- I came across a picture of an early 1980s bike/
:: trike speed record. Over 60 - but WHY? I also saw a pic of a cartoon
:: of a snail losing to a bent. I just don't get it. Aside from humor,
:: what is the importance?

Fun = importance.

So, why don't you ask why it is important to have fun, because going fast is
fun?

"Roger Zoul" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] wrote:
:: The matter of speed is so important to so many people; it amuses me!
:: In a pile of photos- I came across a picture of an early 1980s bike/
:: trike speed record. Over 60 - but WHY? I also saw a pic of a cartoon
:: of a snail losing to a bent. I just don't get it. Aside from humor,
:: what is the importance?

Fun = importance.

So, why don't you ask why it is important to have fun, because going fast
is fun?

Jock mentality/ego stroking. The fastest guy gets the chix. It is hilarious
though. There are probably twenty to thirty fairly fast bent racers in the
world and they for the most part couldn't beat their DF counterparts with a
stick. So the speed thing is all mostly head tripping [censored]. Some of the
best bent racers are still hobby racers. They have jobs and families and NO
PROFESSIONAL contracts for international quality races.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

gotbent said:

Jock mentality/ego stroking. The fastest guy gets the chix. It is hilarious
though. There are probably twenty to thirty fairly fast bent racers in the
world and they for the most part couldn't beat their DF counterparts with a
stick. So the speed thing is all mostly head tripping [censored]. Some of the
best bent racers are still hobby racers. They have jobs and families and NO
PROFESSIONAL contracts for international quality races.

I don't care about racing, but point me down a big hill on a 'bent
and I'll do my best to spin it out because it's *fun*.

There isn't a pro HPV circuit AFAICT, so it's hardly surprising
nobody's got contracts to do it. As for "couldn't beat their DF
counterparts with a stick", that would depend what sort of race it
was. A track based race with fairings on the 'bents would mean the
pros on the DFs getting a bloody good hiding, for example. IIRC
Rob English took the GB national pursuit squad, working together,
to the cleaners on the unfaired Kingcycle Hachi at Manchester
Velodrome, and the HPV hour record is about 30% than the UCI one,
even the better one without the even more braindead restrictions.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

"Peter Clinch" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

gotbent said:

Jock mentality/ego stroking. The fastest guy gets the chix. It is
hilarious though. There are probably twenty to thirty fairly fast bent
racers in the world and they for the most part couldn't beat their DF
counterparts with a stick. So the speed thing is all mostly head tripping
[censored]. Some of the best bent racers are still hobby racers. They have
jobs and families and NO PROFESSIONAL contracts for international quality
races.

I don't care about racing, but point me down a big hill on a 'bent and
I'll do my best to spin it out because it's *fun*.

There isn't a pro HPV circuit AFAICT, so it's hardly surprising nobody's
got contracts to do it. As for "couldn't beat their DF counterparts with
a stick", that would depend what sort of race it was. A track based race
with fairings on the 'bents would mean the pros on the DFs getting a
bloody good hiding, for example. IIRC Rob English took the GB national
pursuit squad, working together, to the cleaners on the unfaired Kingcycle
Hachi at Manchester Velodrome, and the HPV hour record is about 30% than
the UCI one, even the better one without the even more braindead
restrictions.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

How about one of the spring classics? Rain, mud and cobbles. How about a
cyclocross? Don't think the Hachi would do too well there, although Rob
might do OK on a 'cross bike. But overall the Hans' and Robs are few and far
between. If the world of fast pro and semi-pro racers were a SI swimsuit
model, bent racers might barely amount to a pimple on her ass. So when the
swagger starts on places like ARBR and BROL it's a mostly a bunch of
wannabe's blowing smoke out of their asses.

BTW, if you really like speed, point yourself UP the hill and try to spin it
out without Sir Issac helping.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

gotbent wrote:
:: "Roger Zoul" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
:: news:[email hidden]...
::: [email hidden] wrote:
::::: The matter of speed is so important to so many people; it amuses
::::: me! In a pile of photos- I came across a picture of an early
::::: 1980s bike/ trike speed record. Over 60 - but WHY? I also saw a
::::: pic of a cartoon of a snail losing to a bent. I just don't get
::::: it. Aside from humor, what is the importance?
:::
::: Fun = importance.
:::
::: So, why don't you ask why it is important to have fun, because
::: going fast is fun?
:::
::
:: Jock mentality/ego stroking. The fastest guy gets the chix. It is
:: hilarious though. There are probably twenty to thirty fairly fast
:: bent racers in the world and they for the most part couldn't beat
:: their DF counterparts with a stick. So the speed thing is all mostly
:: head tripping [censored]. Some of the best bent racers are still hobby
:: racers. They have jobs and families and NO PROFESSIONAL contracts
:: for international quality races.

going fast has nothing to do with racing.

gotbent said:

How about one of the spring classics? Rain, mud and cobbles. How about a
cyclocross?

In terms of absolute speed these will typically be much slower on /any/
bike than good tarmac or a velodrome.

Quoted message said:

But overall the Hans' and Robs are few and far
between. If the world of fast pro and semi-pro racers were a SI swimsuit
model, bent racers might barely amount to a pimple on her ass.

Though racing is about racing, not necessarily speed. And if you want
to race you'll want opponents and a busy racing calendar and structured
rules and a local chain gang to go out with for practice, and you get
that on the established DF bikes and you don't get that on HPVs. How
fast they go (or not) is incidental.
Battle Mountain is probably less fun to watch than a hotly contested
stage of Le Tour, but the *speeds* are much, much higher.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Peter Clinch said:

Battle Mountain is probably less fun to watch than a hotly contested
stage of Le Tour, but the *speeds* are much, much higher.

Pete.

True. It seems to be basically competition. Racing, records, even
shaving time used to go to the mailbox. Maybe the fastest bent sells
easier, or more, or higher priced. But the bent Mochet rode in the
1930s got recumbents left out from future competition to this day in
many races (around here).

Then that rear steer trike at Bonneville Salt Flats goes about 400+.
Interesting feat, but who in their right mind wants to go 400 or deal
with a motor or have a crew handy to solidly tape the door closed to
keep slick aerodynamics?

I would rather stop on a dime, give you nine cents change (thanks Bill
Cosby), look both ways, and pull out smoothly from the stop sign when
it is safe.

Quoted message said:

True. It seems to be basically competition. Racing, records, even
shaving time used to go to the mailbox. Maybe the fastest bent sells
easier, or more, or higher priced. But the bent Mochet rode in the
1930s got recumbents left out from future competition to this day in
many races (around here).

Note that Mochet designed and built the Velocar, he didn't ride it in
competition

Quoted message said:

I would rather stop on a dime, give you nine cents change (thanks Bill
Cosby), look both ways, and pull out smoothly from the stop sign when
it is safe.

Why does it have to be one or the other? ;-)

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Quoted message said:

Then that rear steer trike at Bonneville Salt Flats goes about 400+.
Interesting feat, but who in their right mind wants to go 400 or deal
with a motor or have a crew handy to solidly tape the door closed to
keep slick aerodynamics?

You seem to be more fixated on this than the people that you are
talking about. What's the problem? More directly, what's the point?
Moral superiority?

Among the most pointless threads I can think of are the 'Why do
diamond frame riders ride their diamond frames?' (never mind that you
still pretty much get more bang for the buck buying a diamond frame,
and if they are comfortable for you, why NOT ride them?) and the 'Why
do people ride their bikes for different reasons than I do?'.

What's next? All the commuters discuss how stupid it is to do
cyclotourism? Especially on diamond frames...

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...
Any two wheels...

Why fast? For some of us riding a bike is more about transportation
from point A to point B than it is about the bicycling experience.

Quoted message said:

From that perspective, time spent at point B is more valued than time

spent on the bike; therefore, faster is better. Why 60 mph? Well,
that does seem like it might be pushing the limits of safety, and
increasing the likelihood of arriving at the pine wood box at the head
of the line....but, pushing that limit might also be the groundwork
for lightweight, low energy, low cost, powered vehicles (and I want
one of those).
-BothellBob