Land Rider W/Auto Shift!

In article <[email hidden]>,

TomP said:

While channel surfing, the this morning, I
came across an infomercial about an Exciting
New Bike called the "Land Rider", and best of
all, it shifts the gears (all 14) for you!
What will they think of next?

The mercial is on now (8:45am pst) on cnbc.
Tune in for a laugh...

That's more interesting than you think. I don't get CNBC; is it shifting
a front derailleur, or are they using a modified Rohloff?

The Autobike that I have had a chance to examine up close was a 7-speed:
no front derailment, and their interesting moving swashplate for
shifting the rear (there's also a Shimano derailleur back there,
presumably to keep things in line and tensioned).

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden] http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine/wiredcola/
President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

"Ryan Cousineau" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

TomP said:

While channel surfing, the this morning, I
came across an infomercial about an Exciting
New Bike called the "Land Rider", and best of
all, it shifts the gears (all 14) for you!

Quoted message said:

The Autobike that I have had a chance to examine up close was a 7-speed:
no front derailment, and their interesting moving swashplate for
shifting the rear (there's also a Shimano derailleur back there,
presumably to keep things in line and tensioned).

I rescued one of these from the trash. It was a remarkably Rube Goldberg-ish
mechanism. Sliding *weights* on the rear wheel spokes caused a linkage to push
the chain into smaller sprockets as the rpm increased. The chainwheel/crank
assembly has a freewheel, the rear wheel doesn't. The drivetrain weighed a
ton. The only thing I was able to salvage off the bike was the frame/fork.
Although it was gas pipe material, the angles were nice and it had braze-ons,
and the 26" wheel design made it an OK commuter for my wife. I'm sure none of
the parts on that bike were Shimano, certainly not the derailer-ish thing
tensioning the chain, the parts quality was several levels below even the
lowest Shimano.

Peter Cole said:

"Ryan Cousineau" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

TomP said:

While channel surfing, the this morning, I
came across an infomercial about an Exciting
New Bike called the "Land Rider", and best of
all, it shifts the gears (all 14) for you!

Quoted message said:

The Autobike that I have had a chance to examine up close was a 7-speed:
no front derailment, and their interesting moving swashplate for
shifting the rear (there's also a Shimano derailleur back there,
presumably to keep things in line and tensioned).

I rescued one of these from the trash. It was a remarkably Rube Goldberg-ish
mechanism. Sliding *weights* on the rear wheel spokes caused a linkage to push
the chain into smaller sprockets as the rpm increased. The chainwheel/crank
assembly has a freewheel, the rear wheel doesn't. The drivetrain weighed a
ton. The only thing I was able to salvage off the bike was the frame/fork.
Although it was gas pipe material, the angles were nice and it had braze-ons,
and the 26" wheel design made it an OK commuter for my wife. I'm sure none of
the parts on that bike were Shimano, certainly not the derailer-ish thing
tensioning the chain, the parts quality was several levels below even the
lowest Shimano.

I was given an AutoBike as a gift. The worst thing other then the
general poor quality was that the auto shift mechanism was designed for
very low cadence. As I recall, it would shift up at around 50 rpm and
down at around 40 rpm. As a result, I could never get into the proper
gear but wound up hammering in too high of a gear or poking along way
too slow. I did maybe five miles on it before I gave up. As a gift I had
to keep it at least for a while. So after spending two years with it
hanging from the rafters in my garage the only other time I rode it was
to the charity thrift shop when I gave it away. As I recall, the
components were all no-name stamped sheet metal stuff worst then the
lowest end discount store bikes.

Lorenzo L. Love
http://home.thegrid.net/~lllove

"Americans are broad-minded people. They'll accept the fact that a
person can be an alcoholic, a dope fiend, a wife beater, and even a
newspaperman, but if a man doesn't drive there's something wrong with him."
Art Buchwald

Suspiciously, they did not provide any "detailed" operational information,
of how "it" shifted the bike. But there were many testimonials from
everyday people, on how great the riding position and the auto shifting
was. Not to knock the "stars" of the infomercial, but it looked, to me,
like Land Rider went out to a park and enlisted people on the spot for the
commercial.

Any-who, I figured it was worth posting for a laugh.

Ryan Cousineau said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

TomP said:

While channel surfing, the this morning, I
came across an infomercial about an Exciting
New Bike called the "Land Rider", and best of
all, it shifts the gears (all 14) for you!
What will they think of next?

The mercial is on now (8:45am pst) on cnbc.
Tune in for a laugh...

That's more interesting than you think. I don't get CNBC; is it shifting
a front derailleur, or are they using a modified Rohloff?

The Autobike that I have had a chance to examine up close was a 7-speed:
no front derailment, and their interesting moving swashplate for
shifting the rear (there's also a Shimano derailleur back there,
presumably to keep things in line and tensioned).

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden] http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine/wiredcola/
President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

--
Tp,

-------- __o
----- -\<. -------- __o
--- ( )/ ( ) ---- -\<.
-------------------- ( )/ ( )
-----------------------------------------

No Lawsuit Ever Fixed A Moron...

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

Quoted message said:

While channel surfing, the this morning, I
came across an infomercial about an Exciting
New Bike called the "Land Rider", and best of
all, it shifts the gears (all 14) for you!
What will they think of next?

A few months ago, I complained to the company, because
the infomercial shows a rider pedalling in the "door zone".
While the rider in the informercial was able to avoid injury when
the driver opened a car door, real riders might not be so lucky.
I asked them to remove this bit, since it might encourage riders
to ride in the door zone.

Was that bit still in there?

-- Paul

I don't think so. Mostly I saw people riding in park and quiet
residential settings. I was more interested in seeing how they
accomplished the auto shifting. To that end, all I caught a glimpse
of was something twirling away at the "stamped steel" rear derailleur
pivot. Kind of reminded me of bladed chariot wheels in Ben Hur.

Paul A. Steckler said:

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

Quoted message said:

While channel surfing, the this morning, I
came across an infomercial about an Exciting
New Bike called the "Land Rider", and best of
all, it shifts the gears (all 14) for you!
What will they think of next?

A few months ago, I complained to the company, because
the infomercial shows a rider pedalling in the "door zone".
While the rider in the informercial was able to avoid injury when
the driver opened a car door, real riders might not be so lucky.
I asked them to remove this bit, since it might encourage riders
to ride in the door zone.

Was that bit still in there?

-- Paul

--
Tp,

-------- __o
----- -\<. -------- __o
--- ( )/ ( ) ---- -\<.
-------------------- ( )/ ( )
-----------------------------------------

No Lawsuit Ever Fixed A Moron...

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

Quoted message said:

I don't think so. Mostly I saw people riding in park and quiet
residential settings. I was more interested in seeing how they
accomplished the auto shifting. To that end, all I caught a glimpse
of was something twirling away at the "stamped steel" rear derailleur
pivot. Kind of reminded me of bladed chariot wheels in Ben Hur.

Paul A. Steckler said:

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

Quoted message said:

While channel surfing, the this morning, I
came across an infomercial about an Exciting
New Bike called the "Land Rider", and best of
all, it shifts the gears (all 14) for you!
What will they think of next?

A few months ago, I complained to the company, because
the infomercial shows a rider pedalling in the "door zone".
While the rider in the informercial was able to avoid injury when
the driver opened a car door, real riders might not be so lucky.
I asked them to remove this bit, since it might encourage riders
to ride in the door zone.

Was that bit still in there?

-- Paul

I've seen that ad lately. I've seen it before. What strikes me as funny is
how they say it'll get women out riding because they won't find them as
intimidating as road bikes. Duhhhh.... since we're such utter morons we
can't even walk and chew gum at the same time. Mind you, if you're
intimidated by a bike, maybe you shouldn't drive?

The funny thing is that many people actually buy into the whole image of
bikes being 'intimidating', and I've seen them buy these huge, heavy bikes
that are pieces of [censored], weigh a ton, and aren't even properly measured for
them. The reason is that they find gears to be too complicated, but without
ever even trying. However,riding these huge pieces of heavy [censored] aren't any
less of a hassle, because they're the wrong size, difficult to maneuver, can
barely get up a driveway and are useless for going more than 5k distance.

The Land Rider Bike, as is the case with many "New, Exciting, Improved,
Innovative, etc..." products advertised, IS, designed only to sell. Period.
What becomes of it after the sale, no one cares.
I've often said that if you wrapped a piece of dog [censored] in foil, gave it a
snappy name. Some one would buy it!

Marlene Blanshay said:

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

Quoted message said:

I don't think so. Mostly I saw people riding in park and quiet
residential settings. I was more interested in seeing how they
accomplished the auto shifting. To that end, all I caught a glimpse
of was something twirling away at the "stamped steel" rear derailleur
pivot. Kind of reminded me of bladed chariot wheels in Ben Hur.

Paul A. Steckler said:

"TomP" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
> While channel surfing, the this morning, I
> came across an infomercial about an Exciting
> New Bike called the "Land Rider", and best of
> all, it shifts the gears (all 14) for you!
> What will they think of next?

A few months ago, I complained to the company, because
the infomercial shows a rider pedalling in the "door zone".
While the rider in the informercial was able to avoid injury when
the driver opened a car door, real riders might not be so lucky.
I asked them to remove this bit, since it might encourage riders
to ride in the door zone.

Was that bit still in there?

-- Paul

I've seen that ad lately. I've seen it before. What strikes me as funny is
how they say it'll get women out riding because they won't find them as
intimidating as road bikes. Duhhhh.... since we're such utter morons we
can't even walk and chew gum at the same time. Mind you, if you're
intimidated by a bike, maybe you shouldn't drive?

The funny thing is that many people actually buy into the whole image of
bikes being 'intimidating', and I've seen them buy these huge, heavy bikes
that are pieces of [censored], weigh a ton, and aren't even properly measured for
them. The reason is that they find gears to be too complicated, but without
ever even trying. However,riding these huge pieces of heavy [censored] aren't any
less of a hassle, because they're the wrong size, difficult to maneuver, can
barely get up a driveway and are useless for going more than 5k distance.

--
Tp,

-------- __o
----- -\<. -------- __o
--- ( )/ ( ) ---- -\<.
-------------------- ( )/ ( )
-----------------------------------------

No Lawsuit Ever Fixed A Moron...

This thing has been around for decades. Maybe it wrks, at least for the
first few rides, then the mechanism (which you know the kind of service
people who actually pay good money for these things will not give it)
will gunk up and cease functioning.

- -

"May you have the wind at your back.
And a really low gear for the hills!"

Chris Zacho ~ "Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

Chris'Z Corner
http://www.geocities.com/czcorner

I love the way the commercial describes the auto shift derailleur as
being so much easier to use than "confusing" conventional derailleurs.
Then they go on to talk about the special High/Low feature that gives
you seven "high" gears for the flats and seven "low" gears for the
hills. How do they accomplish this amazing feat? With a conventional
front derailleur that shifts between two chainrings, of course. And
never mind that some of what they call "high" gears are going to be
lower than some of the low gears and some of the low gears are going
to be higher than some of the high gears.

"Rob Lipsey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I love the way the commercial describes the auto shift derailleur as
being so much easier to use than "confusing" conventional derailleurs.
Then they go on to talk about the special High/Low feature that gives
you seven "high" gears for the flats and seven "low" gears for the
hills. How do they accomplish this amazing feat? With a conventional
front derailleur that shifts between two chainrings, of course. And
never mind that some of what they call "high" gears are going to be
lower than some of the low gears and some of the low gears are going
to be higher than some of the high gears.

The funniest thing of all is that for the money you pay for that piece of
[censored], you could probably buy a decent mountain bike and take five minutes
learning how to use it.

Marlene Blanshay said:

"Rob Lipsey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I love the way the commercial describes the auto shift derailleur as
being so much easier to use than "confusing" conventional derailleurs.
Then they go on to talk about the special High/Low feature that gives
you seven "high" gears for the flats and seven "low" gears for the
hills. How do they accomplish this amazing feat? With a conventional
front derailleur that shifts between two chainrings, of course. And
never mind that some of what they call "high" gears are going to be
lower than some of the low gears and some of the low gears are going
to be higher than some of the high gears.

The funniest thing of all is that for the money you pay for that piece of
[censored], you could probably buy a decent mountain bike and take five minutes
learning how to use it.

And more important, are you up and running again?
Bernie on the sunny warm west coast

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

Quoted message said:

Marlene Blanshay said:

"Rob Lipsey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I love the way the commercial describes the auto shift derailleur as
being so much easier to use than "confusing" conventional derailleurs.
Then they go on to talk about the special High/Low feature that gives
you seven "high" gears for the flats and seven "low" gears for the
hills. How do they accomplish this amazing feat? With a conventional
front derailleur that shifts between two chainrings, of course. And
never mind that some of what they call "high" gears are going to be
lower than some of the low gears and some of the low gears are going
to be higher than some of the high gears.

The funniest thing of all is that for the money you pay for that piece of
[censored], you could probably buy a decent mountain bike and take five minutes
learning how to use it.

And more important, are you up and running again?
Bernie on the sunny warm west coast

Thanks for asking! I'm at the gym and on the trainer. I'm almost at the
six-weeks when I'm supposed to be able to get back to 'normal'. I'll still
have to take it easy on the bike and I won't be where I was at this time
last year, that's for sure.

Fortunately, the weather hasn't been particularly great, so I haven't missed
much. It'sbeen quite chilly for most of april. Today it's mild,but raining.
I don' t think cyclists have been very happy around here.

Marlene Blanshay said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

And more important, are you up and running again?
Bernie on the sunny warm west coast

Thanks for asking! I'm at the gym and on the trainer. I'm almost at the
six-weeks when I'm supposed to be able to get back to 'normal'. I'll still
have to take it easy on the bike and I won't be where I was at this time
last year, that's for sure.

Fortunately, the weather hasn't been particularly great, so I haven't missed
much. It'sbeen quite chilly for most of april. Today it's mild,but raining.
I don' t think cyclists have been very happy around here.

Crappy spring weather just means it has no where to go but into better
weather!
;-) Bernie

TomP said:

The Land Rider Bike, as is the case with many "New, Exciting, Improved,
Innovative, etc..." products advertised, IS, designed only to sell. Period.
What becomes of it after the sale, no one cares.
I've often said that if you wrapped a piece of dog [censored] in foil, gave it a
snappy name. Some one would buy it!

I seem to recall a dadaist artist tinning his own [censored] and selling it
as merde d'artiste.

it was in a glass case at Tate Modern. I laughed so hard at the whole
joke of it, I heard myself echo.

-Luigi

Quoted message said:

Marlene Blanshay said:

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

Quoted message said:

I don't think so. Mostly I saw people riding in park and quiet
residential settings. I was more interested in seeing how they
accomplished the auto shifting. To that end, all I caught a glimpse
of was something twirling away at the "stamped steel" rear derailleur
pivot. Kind of reminded me of bladed chariot wheels in Ben Hur.

"Paul A. Steckler" wrote:

> "TomP" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
> news:[email hidden]...
> > While channel surfing, the this morning, I
> > came across an infomercial about an Exciting
> > New Bike called the "Land Rider", and best of
> > all, it shifts the gears (all 14) for you!
> > What will they think of next?
>
> A few months ago, I complained to the company, because
> the infomercial shows a rider pedalling in the "door zone".
> While the rider in the informercial was able to avoid injury when
> the driver opened a car door, real riders might not be so lucky.
> I asked them to remove this bit, since it might encourage riders
> to ride in the door zone.
>
> Was that bit still in there?
>
> -- Paul

I've seen that ad lately. I've seen it before. What strikes me as funny is
how they say it'll get women out riding because they won't find them as
intimidating as road bikes. Duhhhh.... since we're such utter morons we
can't even walk and chew gum at the same time. Mind you, if you're
intimidated by a bike, maybe you shouldn't drive?

The funny thing is that many people actually buy into the whole image of
bikes being 'intimidating', and I've seen them buy these huge, heavy bikes
that are pieces of [censored], weigh a ton, and aren't even properly measured for
them. The reason is that they find gears to be too complicated, but without
ever even trying. However,riding these huge pieces of heavy [censored] aren't any
less of a hassle, because they're the wrong size, difficult to maneuver, can
barely get up a driveway and are useless for going more than 5k distance.

Well Luigi, there you go!

Luigi de Guzman said:

TomP said:

The Land Rider Bike, as is the case with many "New, Exciting, Improved,
Innovative, etc..." products advertised, IS, designed only to sell. Period.
What becomes of it after the sale, no one cares.
I've often said that if you wrapped a piece of dog [censored] in foil, gave it a
snappy name. Some one would buy it!

I seem to recall a dadaist artist tinning his own [censored] and selling it
as merde d'artiste.

it was in a glass case at Tate Modern. I laughed so hard at the whole
joke of it, I heard myself echo.

-Luigi

Quoted message said:

Marlene Blanshay said:

"TomP" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
> I don't think so. Mostly I saw people riding in park and quiet
> residential settings. I was more interested in seeing how they
> accomplished the auto shifting. To that end, all I caught a glimpse
> of was something twirling away at the "stamped steel" rear derailleur
> pivot. Kind of reminded me of bladed chariot wheels in Ben Hur.
>
> "Paul A. Steckler" wrote:
>
> > "TomP" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
> > news:[email hidden]...
> > > While channel surfing, the this morning, I
> > > came across an infomercial about an Exciting
> > > New Bike called the "Land Rider", and best of
> > > all, it shifts the gears (all 14) for you!
> > > What will they think of next?
> >
> > A few months ago, I complained to the company, because
> > the infomercial shows a rider pedalling in the "door zone".
> > While the rider in the informercial was able to avoid injury when
> > the driver opened a car door, real riders might not be so lucky.
> > I asked them to remove this bit, since it might encourage riders
> > to ride in the door zone.
> >
> > Was that bit still in there?
> >
> > -- Paul
>

I've seen that ad lately. I've seen it before. What strikes me as funny is
how they say it'll get women out riding because they won't find them as
intimidating as road bikes. Duhhhh.... since we're such utter morons we
can't even walk and chew gum at the same time. Mind you, if you're
intimidated by a bike, maybe you shouldn't drive?

The funny thing is that many people actually buy into the whole image of
bikes being 'intimidating', and I've seen them buy these huge, heavy bikes
that are pieces of [censored], weigh a ton, and aren't even properly measured for
them. The reason is that they find gears to be too complicated, but without
ever even trying. However,riding these huge pieces of heavy [censored] aren't any
less of a hassle, because they're the wrong size, difficult to maneuver, can
barely get up a driveway and are useless for going more than 5k distance.

--
Tp,

-------- __o
----- -\<. -------- __o
--- ( )/ ( ) ---- -\<.
-------------------- ( )/ ( )
-----------------------------------------

No Lawsuit Ever Fixed A Moron...

Marlene Blanshay said:

Thanks for asking! I'm at the gym and on the trainer. I'm almost at the
six-weeks when I'm supposed to be able to get back to 'normal'. I'll still
have to take it easy on the bike and I won't be where I was at this time
last year, that's for sure.

Little feels better than getting back on after an enforced hiatus. And
it is a little discouraging to find yourself slower / hurting / tired.
But I'm sure you'll still enjoy it. 🙂

Quoted message said:

Fortunately, the weather hasn't been particularly great, so I haven't missed
much. It'sbeen quite chilly for most of april. Today it's mild,but raining.
I don' t think cyclists have been very happy around here.

Ahem. I'll carefully not mention what nice weather we've been having
on the weekends. I'm sure it will soothe you to hear that most of the
weekday's here in the Pacific NorthWet have been so-so. Drizzle, rain,
wet, cold, cloudy. Oh, it's terrible. 😉

--
Dane Jackson - z u v e m b i @ u n i x b i g o t s . o r g
You have all the characteristics of a popular politician: a horrible voice,
bad breeding, and a vulgar manner.
-- Aristophanes

"Dane Jackson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Marlene Blanshay said:

Thanks for asking! I'm at the gym and on the trainer. I'm almost at the
six-weeks when I'm supposed to be able to get back to 'normal'. I'll

still

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

have to take it easy on the bike and I won't be where I was at this time
last year, that's for sure.

Little feels better than getting back on after an enforced hiatus. And
it is a little discouraging to find yourself slower / hurting / tired.
But I'm sure you'll still enjoy it. 🙂

Quoted message said:

Fortunately, the weather hasn't been particularly great, so I haven't

missed

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

much. It'sbeen quite chilly for most of april. Today it's mild,but

raining.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I don' t think cyclists have been very happy around here.

Ahem. I'll carefully not mention what nice weather we've been having
on the weekends. I'm sure it will soothe you to hear that most of the
weekday's here in the Pacific NorthWet have been so-so. Drizzle, rain,
wet, cold, cloudy. Oh, it's terrible. 😉

Hahah... it's actually very warm here today, 21C (about 70f) but with
gale-force winds. Last night we actually had thunder and lightning, very
unusual for this time of year, and more expected today. I'll be on the
trainer later and, should the weather cooperate I'll be on my first ride
this weekend. The weather has not been great for the most part, but it
doesn't usually improve until the end of april anyways.