#11
|
|||
|
|||
Pedal Forward Bike
On Oct 7, 1:18 pm, "Tom \"Johnny Sunset\" Sherman"
wrote: We would all benefit from more bicycles and less motor vehicles on the public roads. However, there is an elitist element that (on some level) disparages those who do not do their "thing", and sees no need to accommodate these people. Who are these "elitists" and what accommodations are they refusing to make? In the context of bikes on the road the only elitists I've encountered are a small percentage of motorists and they don't think *anything* other than cars and light trucks belong on the street. They certainly don't differentiate between recumbents and conventional bikes. If OTOH you're not referring to a need for some unspecified accommodations but simply elitist attitudes in the cycling community, you're right. No group of cyclists has more members with elitist attitudes than the 'bent crowd. Just review all the "this is the greatest bike ever built for any purpose" posts in this NG. ;-) Regards, Bob Hunt |
Ads |
#12
|
|||
|
|||
Pedal Forward Bike
In article . com,
Bob writes: On Oct 7, 1:18 pm, "Tom \"Johnny Sunset\" Sherman" wrote: We would all benefit from more bicycles and less motor vehicles on the public roads. However, there is an elitist element that (on some level) disparages those who do not do their "thing", and sees no need to accommodate these people. Who are these "elitists" City Councils who kow-tow to motorheaded Business Improvement Associations, and cringingly & handwringingly heed their whinings about how anything that might impede motorized traffic will adversely affect The Economy. and what accommodations are they refusing to make? Anything which allows non-driving, local traffic to freely move about, to the supposed detriment of drivers who'd rather, on their suburban commutes, just shoot through your city without stopping anyway. cheers, Tom -- Nothing is safe from me. I'm really at: tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca |
#13
|
|||
|
|||
Pedal Forward Bike
On Oct 8, 1:03 pm, DougC wrote:
... we're back to the age-old question: do the chairs in your house look like bicycle saddles, or recumbent seats? How about where you sit in your car? On a bus? On a plane? If conventional upright bicycle saddles are as comfortable as you claim, then why isn't the seat design used on any other vehicle or chair? When bicycle shops stop selling padded shorts, you'll know that they finally figured out how to make a comfortable bicycle saddle. Seats in cars, buses and planes are not designed to support you during muscular work. In that sense, they do a very different job than a bicycle saddle. In my experience, bicycle saddles do quite well, once the proper one is chosen. The complication is that, since people differ in riding style and in butt sizes and shapes, a person must find one that fits properly for the intended use. And many people simply don't realize that. http://www.bicyclinglife.com/PracticalCycling/Sore.htm may help. Oh - and I suppose when we no longer hear about the affliction of "recumbutt" we'll know that recumbent makers have finally figured out how to make a comfortable recumbent seat. Right? ;-) http://www.bentrideronline.com/messa...ead.php?t=4785 http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/in.../t-115989.html - Frank Krygowski |
#14
|
|||
|
|||
Pedal Forward Bike
Chalo Colina wrote:
Tom \"Johnny Sunset\" Sherman wrote: Ryan Cousineau wrote: Crank-forward bikes, as I have seen them, are a nice solution for people who have a hard time riding conventional bikes due to balance issues. The comfort might be a nice advantage, too, but they're yet another solution to a niche problem, not a fundamental failing of conventional bicycle design. The target market is not relatively young, fit riders like Ryan, or older fit riders who are lucky enough to not have comfort problems. People in these categories (for the most part) lack the experience to have empathy for those who try "conventional" [1] bicycles and give up soon afterwards due to discomfort. These people are not going to stick with cycling long enough to benefit from "proper fitting". Sorry, I just don't buy it. Anyone who can't muster enough gumption to make him or herself comfortable on a normal bike is not going to do it on an abnormal bike either. (Although having to spend a few thousand bucks on a 'bent rather than a few hundred on a normal bike might tend to serve as an incentive to stick with it.) I have ridden to work daily, in work clothes, on robust but normal bikes, when I weighed over 400 pounds. Almost anybody of relatively normal size and physical ability who can't get comfortable on a regular bike just isn't trying. While I'm sure there are exceptions, lack of motivation usually can't be fixed by using a weird and expensive bike. I gave up distance riding on uprights due to discomfort. For the few years when I had better health and many fewer demands on my time, I rode my recumbents thousands of miles per year. Chalo's 99.9 percentile mass does not necessarily mean that he will have more discomfort problems. As a counter example, my feet hurt from standing still much sooner than most other peoples, even when I was in high school and was 1.78 meters (5'10") tall with a mass of 55 kilograms (120 pounds). -- Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia A Real Cyclist [TM] keeps at least one bicycle in the bedroom. -- Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com |
#15
|
|||
|
|||
Pedal Forward Bike
Ryan Cousineau wrote:
In article , (Tom Keats) wrote: In article , Ryan Cousineau writes: At any rate, the most successful solution so far was a rather oddball tandem I bought. One of those half-mixte thingies? Nooo. Rather weirder than that. http://www.flickr.com/photos/rcousine/413380853/ Graziella by Carnielli. 1970-vintage sorta-folding tandem made from two reinforced shopping-bike frame kits. 3-speed S-A gearing, complete bottle-gen light set. The advantage over the other solutions is that my lovely bride needs to manage neither static nor dynamic balance, and I am good enough now to do that for two people. Funky but cool. Any issues with excessive frame flexure? -- Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia A Real Cyclist [TM] keeps at least one bicycle in the bedroom. -- Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com |
#16
|
|||
|
|||
Pedal Forward Bike
Paul Cassel wrote:
Chalo wrote: Sorry, I just don't buy it. Anyone who can't muster enough gumption to make him or herself comfortable on a normal bike is not going to do it on an abnormal bike either. (Although having to spend a few thousand bucks on a 'bent rather than a few hundred on a normal bike might tend to serve as an incentive to stick with it.) I have ridden to work daily, in work clothes, on robust but normal bikes, when I weighed over 400 pounds. Almost anybody of relatively normal size and physical ability who can't get comfortable on a regular bike just isn't trying. While I'm sure there are exceptions, lack of motivation usually can't be fixed by using a weird and expensive bike. Perhaps you are right. I'm hardly able to argue counter to this. I can only add that I found the 'comfort' style safety bicycles absolutely miserable to ride. They had unresponsive 'sodden' feeling frames, were very heavy on hills and not at all comfortable compared to my 'racing' style bikes. Yet they are sold to out of shape newbies and hopeful commuters. Personally speaking, if I had to ride what's sold as a comfort bike, I'd walk. OTOH, I found the RANS to be truly comfortable and pleasant riding from a bicycle view. It weighed maybe 24 lbs but felt responsive and fun to ride where the comfort bikes didn't. From my narrow and inexpert view, putting a newbie on a comfort bike is to get them to swear off bicycling. The RANS is a good solution for my enthusiast friend whose injuries prevent him from riding conventional bikes. I think a newbie would also prefer riding a good bicycle instead of a overweight lead pipe junker (my read). Damn it - now I am considering going to my local RANS dealer to try one of these crank-forward bikes for casual riding. -- Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia A Real Cyclist [TM] keeps at least one bicycle in the bedroom. -- Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com |
#17
|
|||
|
|||
Pedal Forward Bike
Officer Bob Hunt wrote:
On Oct 7, 1:18 pm, "Tom \"Johnny Sunset\" Sherman" wrote: We would all benefit from more bicycles and less motor vehicles on the public roads. However, there is an elitist element that (on some level) disparages those who do not do their "thing", and sees no need to accommodate these people. Who are these "elitists" and what accommodations are they refusing to make? In the context of bikes on the road the only elitists I've encountered are a small percentage of motorists and they don't think *anything* other than cars and light trucks belong on the street. They certainly don't differentiate between recumbents and conventional bikes. If OTOH you're not referring to a need for some unspecified accommodations but simply elitist attitudes in the cycling community, you're right. No group of cyclists has more members with elitist attitudes than the 'bent crowd. Just review all the "this is the greatest bike ever built for any purpose" posts in this NG. ;-) I have encountered enough attitude in bike shops to know that there is a considerable element that considers anyone who is not a racer or at least a "serious" club rider to be unworthy. On Usenet we have those who disparage the notion that anyone could not be comfortable on a conventional upright through "proper fitting" with the suggestion that those who can not should find another activity besides cycling. -- Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia A Real Cyclist [TM] keeps at least one bicycle in the bedroom. -- Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com |
#19
|
|||
|
|||
Pedal Forward Bike
Tom "Johnny Sunset" Sherman wrote:
On Usenet we have those who disparage the notion that anyone could not be comfortable on a conventional upright through "proper fitting" with the suggestion that those who can not should find another activity besides cycling. On Usenet, you can find somebody who will disparage anything: folders, ultralite bikes, old indestructable Schwinns, hybrids, downhill bikes, steel, carbon, aluminum, titanium, fixed gear, etc. etc. You post it, somebody will hate it. |
#20
|
|||
|
|||
Pedal Forward Bike
On Oct 8, 7:21 pm, "Tom \"Johnny Sunset\" Sherman"
wrote: Officer Bob Hunt wrote: On Oct 7, 1:18 pm, "Tom \"Johnny Sunset\" Sherman" wrote: We would all benefit from more bicycles and less motor vehicles on the public roads. However, there is an elitist element that (on some level) disparages those who do not do their "thing", and sees no need to accommodate these people. Who are these "elitists" and what accommodations are they refusing to make? In the context of bikes on the road the only elitists I've encountered are a small percentage of motorists and they don't think *anything* other than cars and light trucks belong on the street. They certainly don't differentiate between recumbents and conventional bikes. If OTOH you're not referring to a need for some unspecified accommodations but simply elitist attitudes in the cycling community, you're right. No group of cyclists has more members with elitist attitudes than the 'bent crowd. Just review all the "this is the greatest bike ever built for any purpose" posts in this NG. ;-) I have encountered enough attitude in bike shops to know that there is a considerable element that considers anyone who is not a racer or at least a "serious" club rider to be unworthy. On Usenet we have those who disparage the notion that anyone could not be comfortable on a conventional upright through "proper fitting" with the suggestion that those who can not should find another activity besides cycling. -- Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia A Real Cyclist [TM] keeps at least one bicycle in the bedroom. -- Posted via a free Usenet account fromhttp://www.teranews.com- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - I don't usually frequent bike shops aimed solely at racing types. Maybe that attitude is more common in those shops but then, why would anyone expect otherwise? They are simply geared toward their target market just as any successful business must. Do you label your LBS "elitist" because they don't seem to care about how often you change the oil in your car or your local garage for not stocking 700x23 tires? Face it- neither is considering you "unworthy". Your complaint could be fairly summarized as wanting all those round holes adapt to your square peg. Sorry, neither business nor life in general works like that. Regards, Bob Hunt |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Pedal Forward Bike | Paul Cassel | Techniques | 197 | October 26th 07 12:40 AM |
Why is my seat so far forward? | [email protected] | Racing | 4 | October 3rd 07 07:20 AM |
Should my seat be that far forward? | [email protected] | General | 3 | October 1st 07 09:14 AM |
Looking forward to the RR on this one ... | RobM | Australia | 0 | September 3rd 06 02:56 AM |
Right foot forward or Left foot forward? | uni412 | Unicycling | 10 | March 30th 04 03:16 PM |