Three bents

I said:

I think I've seen about 9 bents in Bristol & Bath in the last 3 years.

Ooh, ooh, I've just remembered a 10th. There's a chap I've seen a couple of times on a hand-cranked
trike, I can't believe I forgot about him.

I always wondered how he coped with the cyclepath barriers.

--
Danny Colyer (remove safety to reply) ( juggler.netdannyOpen ↗ ) Recumbent cycle page:
speedy5.freeserve.co.ukrecumbentsOpen ↗ "He who dares not offend cannot be honest." -
Thomas Paine

Richard Goodman said:

Well, Guy, as you know, they say some of us are built for comfort and some of us are built for
speed.... Me, I'm built for speed..

Heh! When was the last time Myra complimented you on /your/ legs then?

Guy
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Richard Goodman said:

And all this talk of 'bents has had me dreaming of them.

These are the bikes you are looking for. Move along to the bike shop now...

Guy
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Danny Colyer said:

I said:

I think I've seen about 9 bents in Bristol & Bath in the last 3 years.

Ooh, ooh, I've just remembered a 10th. There's a chap I've seen a couple of times on a
hand-cranked trike, I can't believe I forgot about him.

I always wondered how he coped with the cyclepath barriers.

The trice fits through the hoop of all the anti-bicycle staggered barriers round here (though
there's one that's a very, very close fit vertically).

regards, Ian SMith
--
|\ /| no .sig
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Ian Smith said:

The trice fits through the hoop of all the anti-bicycle staggered barriers round here (though
there's one that's a very, very close fit vertically).

There's one barrier in particular on the Bath-Bristol path (this one:
speedy5.freeserve.co.ukvc10.jpgOpen ↗ ) where I think you'd have a
problem (especially if you weren't able to stand up and lift the trike).

The hoop that you can see on the right hand side is no longer there, but it would still be
rather tight.

Both times I've seen the hand-cranked trike he's been within a mile of this barrier, riding towards
it. Both times were before that hoop was removed.

--
Danny Colyer (remove safety to reply) ( juggler.netdannyOpen ↗ ) Recumbent cycle page:
speedy5.freeserve.co.ukrecumbentsOpen ↗ "He who dares not offend cannot be honest." -
Thomas Paine

Danny Colyer wrote:
:: Richard Goodman wrote:
::: Actually, I can also claim to have seen more than 3 bents in the wild, if you count beyond
::: London and my cycle commuting days. One in London pre-cycle commuting - a rather high machine
::: with a big bulbous yellow nose
::
:: That sounds like a Kingcycle with a front fairing. A Google image search for "Kingcycle" finds a
:: few pictures:
::

Ah, yes, I never got to study it closely but it looked exactly like that - must have been
one of those.

Rich

What can I say...I have three of them myself, and my next door neighbour also has three. Scary huh?
Or am I dreaming? Quick garage check - no, they are there, luckily outnumbered by MTBs

"Just zis Guy, you know?" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Richard Goodman said:

And all this talk of 'bents has had me dreaming of them.

These are the bikes you are looking for. Move along to the bike shop now...

Guy
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Ian Squires said:

What can I say...I have three of them myself, and my next door neighbour also has three. Scary huh?

You are Darth Ian & ICMFP :-D

Guy
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This thread seems to show that there is a correlation between owning a bent and spotting them. Just
to add to that, aside from the couple I've ridden I've seen a fair number in and around Aberdeen.
I'm not even the only Windcheetah rider up here. I've seen one fairly regularly commuting into the
city, one turned up (complete with rider) at a hill race a year or so back and I've been told of a
couple of others in the vicinity. There is also a girl on a hand cranked trike who has had a couple
of pieces published in Cycle. As for two wheelers I've seen two seperate Kingcycles and a guy on a
lowracer (hurricane I think but he's always moving too quickly for me to tell!). I dare say there
have been others.

Also spotted two recumbent tandem trikes in the wild. One being ridden around the lake district and
one waiting at Euston station.

Cheers,

Andy

Richard Goodman said:

Well, Guy, as you know, they say some of us are built for comfort and some of us are built for
speed.... Me, I'm built for speed..

So is the holder of the hour record. The HPV one is about 30% better than the UCI. So is the holder
of the End to End record, and that's held on a recumbent too. And Sam Whittingham hit 81 mph on the
flat at Battle Mountain not too long ago with no drafting, and he was using a 'bent too...

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 ↗

Peter Clinch wrote:
:: Richard Goodman wrote:
::
::: Well, Guy, as you know, they say some of us are built for comfort and some of us are built for
::: speed.... Me, I'm built for speed..
::
:: So is the holder of the hour record. The HPV one is about 30% better than the UCI. So is the
:: holder of the End to End record, and that's held on a recumbent too. And Sam Whittingham hit
:: 81 mph on the flat at Battle Mountain not too long ago with no drafting, and he was using a
:: 'bent too...
::

Hmm, impressive, but I wasn't talking about cycling performance ;-)

Rich

10 Feb 2003 said:

This thread seems to show that there is a correlation between owning a bent and spotting them.

Same thing applies to Bromptons. Never saw any till I got one for myself. Now I see them all over
the place.

--
Jose Marques

Jose Marques said:

10 Feb 2003 said:

This thread seems to show that there is a correlation between owning a bent and spotting them.

Same thing applies to Bromptons. Never saw any till I got one for myself. Now I see them all over
the place.

Obviously I own one of each and don't know it.
--
David Damerell <[email hidden]> flcl?

"Richard Goodman" said

Quoted message said:

..is how many I've seen in the wild (on the road) since starting commuting in London nearly three
years ago (amazing how times flies). The first was nearly a year ago, but in the last week I've
seen two more. Does this

mean

Quoted message said:

there are more 'bents on the road than ever before ;-)?

In a remarkable coincidence to this thread there also happen to be three bents advertised in Loot at
the moment! Optima condor @ £950 (very similar to my Dragon, but not the small front wheel) Orbit @
£500 only ridden for 1 mile! Radius C4 @ £690 lwb, convertible between USS and OSS

Jim

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

Quoted message said:

"Richard Goodman" said

Quoted message said:

..is how many I've seen in the wild (on the road) since starting commuting in London nearly
three years ago (amazing how times flies). The first was nearly a year ago, but in the last week
I've seen two more. Does this

mean

Quoted message said:

there are more 'bents on the road than ever before ;-)?

In a remarkable coincidence to this thread there also happen to be three bents advertised in Loot
at the moment! Optima condor @ £950 (very similar to my Dragon, but not the small front wheel)
Orbit @ £500 only ridden for 1 mile!

For anyone up in Newcastle Cyclogical in Jesmond has an s/h Orbit bent for sale. Someone told me it
was £199 but I can't vouch for it.

Colin

Smudger said:

"Richard Goodman" <[email hidden]> wrote ...

Quoted message said:

..is how many I've seen in the wild (on the road) since starting commuting in London nearly
three years ago (amazing how times flies). The first was nearly a year ago, but in the last
week I've seen two more. Does this

mean

Quoted message said:

there are more 'bents on the road than ever before ;-)?

I've only ever seen one in years of cycling in Hampshire. And then it was on a local charity ride
when there were thousands (probably hundreds but I'd been drinking) on the road.

I used to see a few bents about Oxford from time to time, but it seems ages since I last noticed
one. Two years, perhaps?

Quoted message said:

I used to work in London though and I've seen quite a few up there. London is full of weirdos so
there are tons of Bromptons around so I would expect to see many more bents there than you would
in, say, Shepton Mallet.

Ah, Bromptons: we have folding bicycles of all sorts coming out of our ears. (It's cheaper that
way.) I put it down to people who carry one in the boot of the car when they commute into Oxford,
because we make them park further out than most of us live; although there are clearly a few that
are for train and bus commuting into the Great Smoke.

There seem to be a few prop-shaft driven uprights about here too.

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

Quoted message said:

Smudger said:

Bath doesn't count 'coz isn't that where the Bicycle Plus people are and they're always testing
wierd machines.

Yeah, but I don't write for C+, nor does my next door neighbour, and none of the other 7 was
ridden by anyone I recognised as a C+ contributor.

I've bumped into Richard Grigsby a couple of times while out cycling, though not while either of
us was bent, and I'm pretty sure I was passed one morning by Paul Vincent while I was fixing a
puncture (yes, of course he slowed down and asked if I was OK). But no, I've never seen any of the
C+ crew out testing bents.

(In addition to the 9 bents I've seen round here, I once chatted to a chap on the cyclepath who
told me he had a Windcheetah at home. And a

Ah, thats me, I think. I am currently building the trike from a kit I bought from AVD. I'm still
gluing the frame together at the moment. Expect to see me on the path in about a months time...

Dan.