oval chainrings

Mike Causer said:

How have you got hold of a copy in the UK so quickly? My
LBookS says it's due for publication on 30th May and they
will not take an order "so far in advance". Worried I'm
going to order a copy then skip the country perhaps...

I got a review copy direct from MIT Press. The delights of
being an FLJS...

--

Dave Larrington - legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uklegslarry.beerdrinkers.co.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================
Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
bhpc.org.ukbhpc.org.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================

On Fri, 2 Apr 2004 10:20:02 +0100, Dave Larrington <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Mike Causer said:

How have you got hold of a copy in the UK so quickly? My
LBookS says it's due for publication on 30th May and they
will not take an order "so far in advance". Worried I'm
going to order a copy then skip the country perhaps...

I got a review copy direct from MIT Press. The delights of
being an FLJS...

Talking of books, has anyone looked at The Recumbent
Bicycle, which came out in January, yet?

see amazon.co.uk1892590581Open ↗

For those who do have a copy amazon.co.uk don't yet have a
review so you could earn yourself 50 quid by submitting one.

Colin
--

Colin Blackburn said:

Talking of books, has anyone looked at The Recumbent
Bicycle, which came out in January, yet?

I haven't yet gotten around to ordering one, because I am an
idiot, though I do have the previous edition (and the German
original).

Correction: I /have/ now ordered it (along with Sharp and
series 2 of "Black Books"😉

--

Dave Larrington - legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uklegslarry.beerdrinkers.co.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================
Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
bhpc.org.ukbhpc.org.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================

Quoted message said:

Those funny curly bars are butterfly bars and they are

hardly lost in the mists of time.

They're quite new, aren't they. Wonder if they'll catch on...

Quoted message said:

I spent a week touring with butterfly

bars once and I found them very comfortable and easy to
get used to.

Sounds like they might be worth investigating further. But how did you have them set up? Every time I've seen them they've been pointing upwards, ie no 'drop' - wouldn't be much good for getting into aerodynamic positions.

d.

Quoted message said:

The newish Giant EZB looks rather better

value if you're after a semi-recumbent but I'm not: strikes
me you might as well go the whole way and have a proper
comfy chair, and if you're weight's on the seat

My sister reckons traditional 'diamond frame' bikes cause her back problems so I suggested she try a recumbent but she says she couldn't because she'd be worried about the low profile and getting flattened by a lorry - maybe an upright like the EZB or the Equinox would be suitable for her.

d.

On Fri, 02 Apr 2004 13:00:57 GMT, davek <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I spent a week touring with butterfly

bars once and I found them very comfortable and easy to
get used to.

Sounds like they might be worth investigating further. But
how did you have them set up? Every time I've seen them
they've been pointing upwards, ie no 'drop' - wouldn't be
much good for getting into aerodynamic positions.

They're not designed as an alternative to drops but as an
alternative to straights with curved bar ends. They just
curve all the way back to the start!

Colin
--

davek said:

My sister reckons traditional 'diamond frame' bikes cause
her back problems so I suggested she try a recumbent but
she says she couldn't because she'd be worried about the
low profile and getting flattened by=

Quoted message said:

a lorry - maybe an upright like the EZB or the Equinox
would be suitable for her.

It's a common worry amongst those who haven't tried, but
those of us=20 that have don't find it's been a problem (and
most of us, I think it's=20 fair to say, had *some* concerns
before going 'bent). Not all=20 recumbents are actually that
low. Mine has the seat the same as typical =

car seat height: does she worry about her low profile in a
car? If not, =

no reason to on a Streetmachine! And the Streetmachine isn't
the=20 highest by a fair way, with various 26"/26" from the
likes of M5 and=20 Optima being a fair bit taller. The
design and position of the seat itself will also affect how
one=20 feels in traffic. I'd personally suggest something
like the HP=20 Velotechnik Spirit (demos available in the UK
at either Kinetics or=20 Bikefix), which has fairly similar
seating position to the Giant and=20 Equinox but a *vastly*
more comfortable seat. For immediate comfort (as =

opposed to all-day) it's the most comfortable bike I've
ever sat on.

So personally I'd suggest having a broader look at 'bents
before writing =

them off, and preferably try some of the higher ones like
the Spirit.=20 Beyond that, some people find that going
*very* upright makes matters=20 better by eliminating the
usual crouch one associates with diamond=20 frames, or at
least the sportier ones pushed in the UK. Maybe she=20
should try a classic roadster with a bolt-upright posture

Back to the Giant, it's real advantage is it's mass produced
so comes in =

a good deal cheaper than the Spirit. The Equinox is mucho
=A3=A3=A3s tho= ugh.

Pete. --=20 Peter Clinch University of Dundee Tel 44 1382
660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44
1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net
[email hidden] dundee.ac.uk~pjclinchOpen ↗

davek said:

My sister reckons traditional 'diamond frame' bikes cause
her back problems so I suggested she try a recumbent but
she says she couldn't because she'd be worried about the
low profile and getting flattened by a lorry

Top of the list of objections raised by people who've never
ridden a recumbent. The relevant RFQ now requires that
every recumbent rider who reads it posts to say it's never
been a problem, and the "WTF?" factor more than balances
the lower profile.

So, it's never been a problem, and the "WTF?" factor more
than balances the lower profile

--
Guy
===
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after
posting. chapmancentral.co.ukchapmancentral.co.ukOpen ↗

88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at
Washington University

On Fri, 02 Apr 2004 13:00:57 GMT, davek <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

My sister reckons traditional 'diamond frame' bikes cause
her back problems so I suggested she try a recumbent but
she says she couldn't because she'd be worried about the
low profile and getting flattened by a lorry

If she's that worried then she needs one of these:

atomiczombie.com018.htmOpen ↗

The high one, not the low one.

Colin
--

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

Quoted message said:

Leather straps round your hubs to keep them clean.

Simon

Or even the milk bottle brushes made into a loop to do the
same thing. Think they went the way of leather padded
hlemets, into Anne Summers shops!

Quoted message said:

Back to the Giant, it's real advantage is it's mass
produced so comes in

a good deal cheaper than the Spirit. The Equinox is mucho
£££s though.

Thanks for the comments, Pete. I did tell my sis that I
thought she was mistaken but not being all that
knowledgeable anout recumbents myself I couldn't really cite
any evidence.

d.

Quoted message said:

So, it's never been a problem, and the "WTF?" factor more
than balances

the

Quoted message said:

lower profile

ROFL. Thanks, Guy. I shall point my sister in the direction
of your website.

d.

Quoted message said:

If she's that worried then she needs one of these:
atomiczombie.com018.htmOpen ↗

Good grief! How do you get on?

d.

davek said:

Thanks for the comments, Pete. I did tell my sis that I
thought she was mistaken but not being all that
knowledgeable anout recumbents myself I couldn't really
cite any evidence.

There really is no substitute for trying one out to see.
There are all sorts of very understandable worries given
that people *know* uprights work, and 'bents are different.
Sucking it and seeing is better than any number of thought
experiments though. They're not for everyone, but once
you've tried one the usual off-putter isn't that the bike is
very low as much as the price tag generally isn't... ;-/

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee Tel 44 1382 660111 ext.
33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382 640177
Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net [email hidden]
dundee.ac.uk~pjclinchOpen ↗

Colin Blackburn said:

Talking of books, has anyone looked at The Recumbent
Bicycle, which came out in January, yet?

see amazon.co.uk1892590581Open ↗

For those who do have a copy amazon.co.uk don't yet have
a review so you could earn yourself 50 quid by
submitting one.

I got a copy of this last week and found it very enjoyable
and useful. It covers history, design, science, speed
records. The title is very strict, the author only considers
bicycles, no trikes at all other than in one hand-cycling
photo. It reads a bit oddly now and then but this is
probably the translation. The history chapter is
aprticularly enlightening to those who regard the recumbent
as a 20th century bicycle, they have a cartoon from the late
1800s showing a recumbent cyclist taking it easy while those
on uprights struggle.

What might also be of interest is another book by the same
author on the folding bicycle. It is scheduled for April
2004 publication (in the US) but it hasn't yet appeared on
amazon.co.uk

Colin
--

This book plus other recumbent stuff as a single lot is on Ebay at present.
John
pbase.comjohn28julyOpen ↗

--
No direct reply option available. "Colin Blackburn"
<[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Colin Blackburn said:

Talking of books, has anyone looked at The Recumbent
Bicycle, which came out in January, yet?

see amazon.co.uk1892590581Open ↗

For those who do have a copy amazon.co.uk don't yet have
a review so you could earn yourself 50 quid by
submitting one.

I got a copy of this last week and found it very enjoyable
and useful. It covers history, design, science, speed
records. The title is very strict, the author only
considers bicycles, no trikes at all other than in one hand-
cycling photo. It reads a bit oddly now and then but this
is probably the translation. The history chapter is
aprticularly enlightening to those who regard the
recumbent as a 20th century bicycle, they have a cartoon
from the late 1800s showing a recumbent cyclist taking it
easy while

those

Quoted message said:

on uprights struggle.

What might also be of interest is another book by the same
author on the folding bicycle. It is scheduled for April
2004 publication (in the US) but it hasn't yet appeared on
amazon.co.uk

Colin
--