recumbent video

[[email protected]]

Recumbent video
This is a promotional video I made about twenty years ago. Due to the
fact that misinformation about recumbents is as common today as it
ever was, I thought that maybe the old cliche about a picture being
worth a thousand words might apply. About 40 seconds is missing from
the tape that I hope to fix shortly, (shows the riders passing the
upright bike on the downhill). The rider in the downtown Boston part
of the tape was myself. The riders in the suburbs were Harry Wallace
on the bike with the camera, a bike racer from Fat City Cycles. The
other rider was Steve Bussolari from M.I.T. who was one of the
Daedalus project engineers.

**** Ryan

http://youtube.com/watch?v=6O0Q_HQ6FVk

 

[Tom Sherman]

[email protected] aka **** "The Godfather of Recumbents" Ryan wrote:
> Recumbent video
> This is a promotional video I made about twenty years ago. Due to the
> fact that misinformation about recumbents is as common today as it
> ever was,

Especially on Usenet where the "experts" with minimal to no experience
reign.

> I thought that maybe the old cliche about a picture being
> worth a thousand words might apply. About 40 seconds is missing from
> the tape that I hope to fix shortly, (shows the riders passing the
> upright bike on the downhill). The rider in the downtown Boston part
> of the tape was myself. The riders in the suburbs were Harry Wallace
> on the bike with the camera, a bike racer from Fat City Cycles. The
> other rider was Steve Bussolari from M.I.T. who was one of the
> Daedalus project engineers.
>
> **** Ryan
>
> http://youtube.com/watch?v=6O0Q_HQ6FVk
--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
"Localized intense suction such as tornadoes is created when temperature
differences are high enough between meeting air masses, and can impart
excessive energy onto a cyclist." - Randy Schlitter

 

[Robert Maskill]

[email protected] wrote:
> Recumbent video
> This is a promotional video I made about twenty years ago. Due to the
> fact that misinformation about recumbents is as common today as it
> ever was, I thought that maybe the old cliche about a picture being
> worth a thousand words might apply. About 40 seconds is missing from
> the tape that I hope to fix shortly, (shows the riders passing the
> upright bike on the downhill). The rider in the downtown Boston part
> of the tape was myself. The riders in the suburbs were Harry Wallace
> on the bike with the camera, a bike racer from Fat City Cycles. The
> other rider was Steve Bussolari from M.I.T. who was one of the
> Daedalus project engineers.
>
> **** Ryan
>
> http://youtube.com/watch?v=6O0Q_HQ6FVk

An interesting video, found it of interest as I have not really looked
at the recumbent before.

Thanks for posting it and the link

Robert

 

[Jay]

"Tom Sherman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> [email protected] aka **** "The Godfather of Recumbents" Ryan wrote:
>> Recumbent video
>> This is a promotional video I made about twenty years ago. Due to the
>> fact that misinformation about recumbents is as common today as it
>> ever was,
>
> Especially on Usenet where the "experts" with minimal to no experience
> reign.
>
>> I thought that maybe the old cliche about a picture being
>> worth a thousand words might apply. About 40 seconds is missing from
>> the tape that I hope to fix shortly, (shows the riders passing the
>> upright bike on the downhill). The rider in the downtown Boston part
>> of the tape was myself. The riders in the suburbs were Harry Wallace
>> on the bike with the camera, a bike racer from Fat City Cycles. The
>> other rider was Steve Bussolari from M.I.T. who was one of the
>> Daedalus project engineers.
>>
>> **** Ryan
>>
>> http://youtube.com/watch?v=6O0Q_HQ6FVk
> --
> Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
> "Localized intense suction such as tornadoes is created when temperature
> differences are high enough between meeting air masses, and can impart
> excessive energy onto a cyclist." - Randy Schlitter
>
You are right Tom,
On the Internet, one can be whomever...
J.

 

[Paul Myron Hobson]

[email protected] wrote:
> Recumbent video
> This is a promotional video I made about twenty years ago...

Man. Are you still as uniformed about the dangers of cycling as you
were then?

--
\\paul
broken collar bone/fractured free since 1982

 

[[email protected]]

On Dec 2, 11:33 pm, Paul Myron Hobson <[email protected]> wrote:
> [email protected] wrote:
> > Recumbent video
> > This is a promotional video I made about twenty years ago...
>
> Man. Are you still as uniformed about the dangers of cycling as you
> were then?
>
> --
> \\paul
> broken collar bone/fractured free since 1982

I take it that the riding in Boston traffic appeared dangerous to you.
I can assure you it wasn't, I doubt that I went over fifteen miles per
hour during the ride. The camera perhaps makes the clearances between
the bike and the traffic look tighter than it is. If you want to see
some dangerous riding check out some of the bike messenger videos.
**** Ryan

 

[Paul Myron Hobson]

[email protected] wrote:
> On Dec 2, 11:33 pm, Paul Myron Hobson <[email protected]> wrote:
>> [email protected] wrote:
>>> Recumbent video
>>> This is a promotional video I made about twenty years ago...
>> Man. Are you still as uniformed about the dangers of cycling as you
>> were then?
>>
>> --
>> \\paul
>> broken collar bone/fractured free since 1982
>
> I take it that the riding in Boston traffic appeared dangerous to you.
> I can assure you it wasn't, I doubt that I went over fifteen miles per
> hour during the ride.

Boston traffic didn't look dangerous at all. I was referring to the
"common injuries such as broken collar bones and fractured skulls."

Cycling, upright or 'bent, simply ain't that hazardous.

\\paul

 

[It's Chris]

The only reason I don't like 'bents is not a myth. Recumbents are like
sitting in a Sports car, you're pretty much stuck in one position the
whole ride. Upright's let you change more, reducing stiffness.

- -
Compliments of:
"Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

If you want to E-mail me use:
ChrisZCorner "at" webtv "dot" net

My website:
http://geocities.com/czcorner

 

[DougC]

It's Chris wrote:
> The only reason I don't like 'bents is not a myth. Recumbents are like
> sitting in a Sports car, you're pretty much stuck in one position the
> whole ride. Upright's let you change more, reducing stiffness.
>

With recumbents (and assuming the bike fits you properly) there
basically is no stiffness to alleviate--at least for the first three or
four hours or so. And by that time you're going to legitimately need a
bathroom break anyway.

You don't have to do the "45 minutes on, 15 minutes off" routine that
you see with uprights. You know the one, where cyclists stop and drink a
bit and stand around to rest their "legs"... (-if their legs are tired,
why not sit down?!?!? Because the only place they have to SIT hurts
their ASS-)
~

 

[Chalo]

Tom Sherman wrote:
>
> **** Ryan wrote:
> >
> > Recumbent video
> > This is a promotional video I made about twenty years ago. Due to the
> > fact that misinformation about recumbents is as common today as it
> > ever was,
>
> Especially on Usenet where the "experts" with minimal to no experience
> reign.

You conveniently overlook the fact that some of us, myself included,
used to think recumbents were a good idea-- until we tried them!

It was only my experience with riding 'bents that demonstrated to me
how much they don't measure up to regular bikes. And I may have tried
a lousy couple of 'bents (Infinity LWB and BikeE), but that doesn't
fully account for my impression. As a member of a chopper and
tallbike club, I've ridden a whole bunch of completely effed-up bikes
that were not able to sour me on the categories they belonged to (even
if some of them happened to be the only examples within their
categories). My first couple of normal bikes (a too-big drop bar
Huffy and a 26" AMF 10-speed) were just terrible, but they didn't turn
me off of riding them the way that my first few rides on a 'bent
did.

I think the bewildering array of 'bents available (in spite of their
tiny number) illustrates what I'm saying about them-- lots of folks
keep applying their minds to solving the problem, but nobody has yet
come up with a design that's good enough to warrant adopting the way
that safety bikes were so quickly adopted. At best, that means that
'bents are no further along after more than 100 years than upright
bikes were after 50 years-- even though they have the benefit of a
huge knowledge base and engineering principles developed for their
predecessors. But I think it's worse than that. I believe that the
lack of a compelling solution to the problem of the recumbent bike
after so many years of attempts strongly suggests that no satisfactory
solution is forthcoming, and that like the dicycle, the recumbent
bicycle is fated to remain a curiosity for all time.

Chalo

 

[Paul O]

Chalo wrote:
> Tom Sherman wrote:
>> **** Ryan wrote:
>>> Recumbent video
>>> This is a promotional video I made about twenty years ago. Due to the
>>> fact that misinformation about recumbents is as common today as it
>>> ever was,
>> Especially on Usenet where the "experts" with minimal to no experience
>> reign.
>
> You conveniently overlook the fact that some of us, myself included,
> used to think recumbents were a good idea-- until we tried them!
>
<snip>
>
> Chalo

And as the flames climbed high into the night, To light the sacrificial
rite.
I saw Satan laughing with delight
The day the flame war started...

--

Paul D Oosterhout
I work for SAIC (but I don't speak for SAIC)

 

[It's Chris]

From: [email protected] (DougC)

>With recumbents (and assuming the bike
>fits you properly) there basically is no
>stiffness to alleviate--at least for the first
>three or four hours or so. And by that
>time you're going to legitimately need
>bathroom break anyway.

>You don't have to do the "45 minutes on,
>15 minutes off" routine that you see with
>uprights. You know the one, where
>cyclists stop and drink a bit and stand
>around to rest their "legs"... (-if their legs
>are tired, why not sit down?!?!? Because
>the only place they have to SIT hurts
>their ASS-)

To each his (or her) own. I wasn't saying it was better or worse, just
commenting on why I personally don't find them comfortable. I can't stay
in the same position for too long, regadless of how comfortable the
chair.

And I usually go 100-120 minutes between rest breaks, for what it's
worth. And you're right. bike fit has more to do with comfort than any
other factor.

- -
Compliments of:
"Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

If you want to E-mail me use:
ChrisZCorner "at" webtv "dot" net

My website:
http://geocities.com/czcorner

 

[Chalo]

It's Chris wrote:
>
> The only reason I don't like 'bents is not a myth. Recumbents are like
> sitting in a Sports car, you're pretty much stuck in one position the
> whole ride.

With a sports car, there is some possibility that a pretty girl will
want to ride with you.

Chalo

 

[Paul O]

Chalo wrote:
> It's Chris wrote:
>> The only reason I don't like 'bents is not a myth. Recumbents are like
>> sitting in a Sports car, you're pretty much stuck in one position the
>> whole ride.
>
> With a sports car, there is some possibility that a pretty girl will
> want to ride with you.
>
> Chalo

Another nice thing about a sports car is that you can easily complete a
century ride in less than 1 hour and 40 minutes... ;-)

(Actually, pretty much any type of car is capable of doing that.)
--

Paul D Oosterhout
I work for SAIC (but I don't speak for SAIC)

 

[[email protected]]

On Dec 3, 2:30 pm, Chalo <[email protected]> wrote:
> It was only my experience with riding 'bents that demonstrated to me
> how much they don't measure up to regular bikes. And I may have tried
> a lousy couple of 'bents (Infinity LWB and BikeE), but that doesn't
> fully account for my impression.

I like recumbents, but I hated the BikeE and how it handled! I tried
it and some other bikes like it a few times and I could never "get"
it.

I never rode an Infinity, but I can see how someone wouldn't like the
USS steering system it had.

So I can see how someone whose primary experiences with recumbents
were with these two particular bikes would be turned off. I can't
comment on those other effed up bikes you mentioned and how badly they
may have ridden.

....

> I think the bewildering array of 'bents available (in spite of their
> tiny number) illustrates what I'm saying about them-- lots of folks
> keep applying their minds to solving the problem, but nobody has yet
> come up with a design that's good enough to warrant adopting the way
> that safety bikes were so quickly adopted.

Some will find it blasphemous, but I think The Design That's Good
Enough (tm) exists now. It is the "high racer stick bike". It makes
for a very high performance bike without fairings, as well as a fat
tired urban commuter or trail bike.

Bike makers who in the past that have derided that type of frame are
now making similar bikes (see the new RANS F5).

It works, and it works well--much better (for me anyway) than any of
the recumbent bikes I've tried in the past. I have no further desire
to try some other type of recumbent bike. This one is it.

Please give it one more chance.

Having said all that, it has some downsides that are difficult to
overcome:

- adapting to shorter riders, below maybe 5' 8" or so, (requiring
smaller wheels, but then that can be said of safety bikes too)

- inadequate air flow across your back during warm weather riding

- difficult to view cross traffic from one side at intersections that
are not designed properly

 

[DougC]

Chalo wrote:
>
> With a sports car, there is some possibility that a pretty girl will
> want to ride with you.
>
> Chalo

Yea but in that regard is a recumbent any worse than an upright bike?
I'd say maybe a /tiny/ bit perhaps, but honestly, both chances are about
the same most days.....
~

 

[Roger Zoul]

"Chalo" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Tom Sherman wrote:
>>
>> **** Ryan wrote:
>> >
>> > Recumbent video
>> > This is a promotional video I made about twenty years ago. Due to the
>> > fact that misinformation about recumbents is as common today as it
>> > ever was,
>>
>> Especially on Usenet where the "experts" with minimal to no experience
>> reign.
>
> You conveniently overlook the fact that some of us, myself included,
> used to think recumbents were a good idea-- until we tried them!
>
> It was only my experience with riding 'bents that demonstrated to me
> how much they don't measure up to regular bikes. And I may have tried
> a lousy couple of 'bents (Infinity LWB and BikeE), but that doesn't
> fully account for my impression.

Seems to.

As a member of a chopper and
> tallbike club, I've ridden a whole bunch of completely effed-up bikes
> that were not able to sour me on the categories they belonged to (even
> if some of them happened to be the only examples within their
> categories). My first couple of normal bikes (a too-big drop bar
> Huffy and a 26" AMF 10-speed) were just terrible, but they didn't turn
> me off of riding them the way that my first few rides on a 'bent
> did.

So? Just because you got soured doesn't prove anything.

>
> I think the bewildering array of 'bents available (in spite of their
> tiny number) illustrates what I'm saying about them-- lots of folks
> keep applying their minds to solving the problem, but nobody has yet
> come up with a design that's good enough to warrant adopting the way
> that safety bikes were so quickly adopted.

This is just one way to look at things....another view is that other than
trying to solve a problem, folks are looking to provide more options for
HPVs.

At best, that means that
> 'bents are no further along after more than 100 years than upright
> bikes were after 50 years-- even though they have the benefit of a
> huge knowledge base and engineering principles developed for their
> predecessors.

That's just steer nonsense.

But I think it's worse than that. I believe that the
> lack of a compelling solution to the problem of the recumbent bike
> after so many years of attempts strongly suggests that no satisfactory
> solution is forthcoming, and that like the dicycle, the recumbent
> bicycle is fated to remain a curiosity for all time.

You're simply narrow-minded in your view that there must be just "one"
recumbent bike that will suit all. Just as DFs have pros/cons so do the
various types of 'bents. Yet, plenty of people can learn to ride all of them
if they are not so closed-minded that they cannot give them a fair chance.

>
> Chalo

 

[Zoot Katz]

On Mon, 03 Dec 2007 17:34:06 -0600, DougC <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Chalo wrote:
>>
>> With a sports car, there is some possibility that a pretty girl will
>> want to ride with you.
>>
>> Chalo
>
>Yea but in that regard is a recumbent any worse than an upright bike?
>I'd say maybe a /tiny/ bit perhaps, but honestly, both chances are about
>the same most days.....
>~
That's when a longtail bike comes in handy.

The Xtracycle has provided transportation for two impromptu dates and
done taxi service a few times too.

Sober passengers are easier to carry than drunks.
--
zk

 

[DougC]

Zoot Katz wrote:
> On Mon, 03 Dec 2007 17:34:06 -0600, DougC <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>> Chalo wrote:
>>> With a sports car, there is some possibility that a pretty girl will
>>> want to ride with you.
>>>
>>> Chalo
>> Yea but in that regard is a recumbent any worse than an upright bike?
>> I'd say maybe a /tiny/ bit perhaps, but honestly, both chances are about
>> the same most days.....
>> ~
> That's when a longtail bike comes in handy.
>
> The Xtracycle has provided transportation for two impromptu dates and
> done taxi service a few times too.
>
> Sober passengers are easier to carry than drunks.

Yea but when it comes to dates, I prefer the drinking ones. I find the
conversation is shorter and more to the point.
~

 

[[email protected]]

, the recumbent
> bicycle is fated to remain a curiosity for all time.
>
> Chalo

Wheel and Sprocket in Wisconsin (one of the top 100 shops in the
country according to Bicycle retailer and industry news) sells
approximately 800 recumbents a year. Do you think they consider
recumbents a curiosity?

**** Ryan