Start 'em young

Danny Colyer said:

Someone enjoyed riding Daddy's bike on today's ride:
<URL:http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/z-05041618charliehelga.jpg>

Chuffed or what? Mind you, you're going to have to come up with
something special to bridge the feet - pedal gap!

--
Brian G

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Someone enjoyed riding Daddy's bike on today's ride:
<URL:http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/z-05041618charliehelga.jpg>

Aah, early indoctrination. Cunning.

Tell me, what is the attraction of riding a 'bent? I've only been back
on a bike (mountain) since last summer, and just tootle around the
highways and bridleways of Herefordshire, so I doubt such a machine
would be of any use to me, but why do people choose recumbents over your
standard upright tourer/commuter bike? Are they difficult to get used
to when you first ride them? Is there more efficient delivery of power
from the engine through the drivetrain to the wheels? More comfy?

They certainly look interesting, and from what people say about powering
past "boy racers" on their super-light road bikes, I imagine they are
quite satisfying to ride, but what is it about them that makes their
riders love them so much?

--
Hywel

Hywel Jenkins said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Someone enjoyed riding Daddy's bike on today's ride:
<URL:http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/z-05041618charliehelga.jpg>

Aah, early indoctrination. Cunning.

Tell me, what is the attraction of riding a 'bent?

Quoted message said:

what is it about them that makes their
riders love them so much?

Mine's a trike 'bent, which means I don't fall off when running over
dogs ;-)

John B

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

Quoted message said:

Someone enjoyed riding Daddy's bike on today's ride:
<URL:http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/z-05041618charliehelga.jpg>

Seriously cute :-)

Cheers, helen s

wafflycat said:

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

Quoted message said:

Someone enjoyed riding Daddy's bike on today's ride:
<URL:http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/z-05041618charliehelga.jpg>

Seriously cute :-)

The kiddie's not bad either.

John B

Hywel Jenkins said:

Tell me, what is the attraction of riding a 'bent?

When I first read about recumbents I was drawn by the lure of greater
speed (due to the superior aerodynamics of many recumbents compared to
many uprights) and by the supposed extra comfort for those with back
problems (having, at the time, recently injured my back playing judo).

By the time I was able to afford a recumbent of my very own (nearly 7
years later), I decided comfort was the priority. The Street Machine is
no slouch (it compares favourably with upright touring bikes for speed),
but it's certainly no racing machine. It is, however, very comfortable.

Quoted message said:

but why do people choose recumbents over your
standard upright tourer/commuter bike?

I think speed and comfort have to be the main reasons.

Quoted message said:

Are they difficult to get used
to when you first ride them?

YMMV. I've never found a recumbent that I couldn't ride within a few
seconds. Mind you, I've also never tried the Flevobike that bends in
the middle...

Quoted message said:

Is there more efficient delivery of power
from the engine through the drivetrain to the wheels?

There shouldn't be a great deal of difference, although realistically
there may be some loss of efficiency from having a much longer chain,
which may need to be routed around pulley wheels or through tubes. The
extra length of chain also adds a fair bit of weight, which isn't a good
thing.

Quoted message said:

More comfy?

Very much so. I have ridden an upright road bike that was nearly as
comfy as my Street Machine (must have been a near perfect fit for me),
but even so it wasn't nearly as pleasant to ride simply because it was
so much harder to see where I was going.

(BTW, the reason I was riding that road bike was so that its owner could
have a go on my Street Machine. He was instantly hooked and now rides a
Speed Machine.)

Quoted message said:

what is it about them that makes their
riders love them so much?

For me, it's not speed. I could go just as fast on a decent upright
bike. I'd love to get a second, faster recumbent though.

It's not manoeuvrability. That's a definite negative point.

Comfort is important. A well chosen recumbent is *so* much more
comfortable than a wedgie (although it's important to choose a recumbent
that fits you well, just as it is for an upright bike).

Visibility is a big plus for me. Sitting in my comfy chair, I'm
perfectly positioned to look where I'm going without getting a crick in
my neck. That also makes it easier to make eye contact with motorists
(as does the fact that I'm sat at about the same height as them).

Then there's safety. Of course there are no useful studies to show
whether recumbents are safer than uprights, but I feel much safer in my
comfy chair with my relatively low CoG than I do perched on an upright
bike with a higher CoG that could so easily pivot around the handlebar
in the event of a crash.

--
Danny Colyer (the UK company has been laughed out of my reply address)
<URL:http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/danny/>
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

Brian G said:

Chuffed or what? Mind you, you're going to have to come up with
something special to bridge the feet - pedal gap!

*BIG* blocks of wood attached to the pedals.

--
Danny Colyer (the UK company has been laughed out of my reply address)
<URL:http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/danny/>
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

Hywel Jenkins said:

Tell me, what is the attraction of riding a 'bent?

Don't so much think of them as fundamentally different from any
upright bike as just another tourer/racer/urban bike whatever, and
compare what a given model offers for your particular needs. My
bike is the same model as Danny's and it's designed from the ground
up as a tourer. What do I want from a touring bike? All day
comfort, well built, comfortable. good view of the scenery and able
to carry heavy loads without compromising the handling much, and I
think the Streetmachine is at /least/ as good as any upright I've
ever come across, including made to measure custom builds, for
those particular criteria, so that's the bike I got.

Quoted message said:

on a bike (mountain) since last summer, and just tootle around the
highways and bridleways of Herefordshire, so I doubt such a machine
would be of any use to me, but why do people choose recumbents over your
standard upright tourer/commuter bike?

Whatever floats their boat: in my case comfort is a primary issue
but aside from anything else I just enjoy riding it more than an
upright.

Quoted message said:

Are they difficult to get used to when you first ride them?

It takes a few sessions before you're at ease in many cases, though
some people take straight to them and others take longer. Lower,
sportier bike models take a bit more getting the hang of,
especially on hill starts, but it's not really /that/ different as
long as you're happy staying in the saddle of an upright and using
gears rather than standing up.

Quoted message said:

Is there more efficient delivery of power
from the engine through the drivetrain to the wheels?

Almost certainly less, at least for rear wheel drive, due to the
length of chain. OTOH the aerodynamics tend to compensate.

Quoted message said:

More comfy?

If you get a seat that fits you well, about an order of magnitude
more comfy IME. As well as a seat that supports your weight all
the way from your sit bones and up your spine, there's no weight on
hands, wrists and arms and your head usually has a natural heads-up
view of where you're going. You get that and from higher on a
really upright bike like a Dutch style roadster, but very few
people in the UK ride those so most people have to consciously
raise their head to look at something beyond the tarmac in front of
the leading wheel, which is fatigueing over a few hours.

Quoted message said:

They certainly look interesting, and from what people say about powering
past "boy racers" on their super-light road bikes, I imagine they are
quite satisfying to ride, but what is it about them that makes their
riders love them so much?

Grin Factor 9+ is the main thing. At the more practical level,
comparing my tourer to a "normal" one, it has better aerodynamics,
is more efficient on rough roads thanks to the suspension, carries
luggage better (practically zero effect on bike handling with heavy
weights on board the lowrider luggage rack), gives me a better view
of the landscapes I pass through, doesn;t require me to wear
contrived padded clothing over long distances and leaves me feeling
better when I get off thanks to the significantly greeater comfort.
With that set of advantages, why would I want to be "normal"?
Less weight and, errrrrr, that's it. And with touring weight isn't
that fundamental anyway, especially if you're carrying camping gear
for a week.

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/

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

Quoted message said:

Someone enjoyed riding Daddy's bike on today's ride:
<URL:http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/z-05041618charliehelga.jpg>

--
Danny Colyer (the UK company has been laughed out of my reply address)
<URL:http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/danny/>
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

That's brilliant, thanks for sharing such a cute photo!

My 3 year old keeps wanting rides on my hurricane. In all the recumbent
shops we went to he kept insisting he could have a ride on the big bikes,
and was gutted when I couldn't let him play around too much. My fault for
taking him to London Recumbents first where he was given one of the
childrens' hire bikes to ride around. Oh, and like someone else on here, he
was my "deposit" when I rode the bikes at Bikefix.

On 16/4/05 6:37 pm, in article
[email hidden], "Hywel Jenkins"

Quoted message said:

Tell me, what is the attraction of riding a 'bent?

They are much lighter that uprights once you take your wallet into account..

...d

LSMike said:

My 3 year old keeps wanting rides on my hurricane. In all the recumbent
shops we went to he kept insisting he could have a ride on the big bikes,
and was gutted when I couldn't let him play around too much.

My 3yo insists that my Street Machine will be hers when she's older.
Fortunately (for me), it's unlikely that her legs will ever grow long
enough to ride it (her mother, at 5'0", can't reach the floor with her
feet if she sits on the SM).

Unfortunately (for me), her baby brother seems to like it even more and
is going to be a lot bigger.

Quoted message said:

Oh, and like someone else on here, he
was my "deposit" when I rode the bikes at Bikefix.

And you took the bike back? I made that mistake when I left DW as a
deposit when I test rode the Street Machine. Mind you, it was a blue
one so probably wasn't quite as pretty as the missus (who regards my
nice shiny red Street Machine as competition).

--
Danny Colyer (the UK company has been laughed out of my reply address)
<URL:http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/danny/>
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

Danny Colyer said:

LSMike said:

My 3 year old keeps wanting rides on my hurricane. In all the recumbent
shops we went to he kept insisting he could have a ride on the big bikes,
and was gutted when I couldn't let him play around too much.

My 3yo insists that my Street Machine will be hers when she's older.

BEWARE.

I rode the Test Valley Tour today on the trice and for some inexplicable
reason suffered :-(
My daughter rode with me and at the finish 'claimed' saddle-soreness
followed by "can I ride the trice and you ride my bike?"

Like a sucker (as most fathers are towards daughters) I succumbed.

I didn't see her again 'til I got home, 10 miles away.
She shot off- while I suffered more grovelling on a bike far too small :-(

John B

On Sat, 16 Apr 2005 18:37:29 +0100, Hywel Jenkins
<[email hidden]> wrote in message
<[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

Aah, early indoctrination. Cunning.

Indoctrination? Pah! Wait till you set them on a KMX Kart!

Quoted message said:

Tell me, what is the attraction of riding a 'bent?

Less wind resistance, more comfort, and "ahead grin factor nine"

Quoted message said:

Are they difficult to get used to when you first ride them?

Some people find them so, others are off and away immediately. I took
to it straight away. I was riding a short wheelbase low bike at speed
ten minutes after I sat on my first ever 'bent, and the following
weekend I went back and bought the display model because I /had/ to
have it.

Guy
--
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

"To every complex problem there is a solution which is
simple, neat and wrong" - HL Mencken

Danny Colyer <[email hidden]> wrote in news:d3udfh$bud$1
@news8.svr.pol.co.uk:

Quoted message said:

Unfortunately (for me), her baby brother seems to like it even more and
is going to be a lot bigger.

Surely the time when he fits it will be the time when you can *upgrade* to
whatever takes your fancy and he gets you hand-me-down? 🙂

Graeme

I said:

Quoted message said:

Unfortunately (for me), her baby brother seems to like it even more and
is going to be a lot bigger.

and Graeme suggested:

Quoted message said:

Surely the time when he fits it will be the time when you can *upgrade* to
whatever takes your fancy and he gets you hand-me-down? 🙂

I like the way you think :-)

--
Danny Colyer (the UK company has been laughed out of my reply address)
<URL:http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/danny/>
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

Danny Colyer said:

and Graeme suggested:

Quoted message said:

Surely the time when he fits it will be the time when you can
*upgrade* to whatever takes your fancy and he gets you hand-me-down? 🙂

I like the way you think :-)

Won't work like that. At least, assuming he's a _teenager_ when he
reaches big and assertive enough to fit it.

--
Nick Kew