[python] Re: News from Canada

Thanks for the comments :)

My friend Larry made the fender for me after seeing the hideous fibreglass
one I made.  It's very stiff and I will use it to mount a water bottle and
quite likely a couple lights.  I wanted it to go all the way to the front so
that I wouldn't get wind blowing the water off the tire, up and into my face
on wet days.

I finished the "repairs" to my python and took it for a test ride tonight.
It handles a little differently again because I changed a fair number of
things.  The cool thing is, after a minute or two, it feels "normal" - errr
. . . as "normal" as a python can feel :)  I detailed some of the changes I
made on the site again, and the newest(hopefully last) specs are here:
http://bikes.jkcc.com/python%20clone.htm#specs
The details of some of the latest changes are listed above the specs table.
Pictures will follow tomorrow.  :)

One thing I am very impressed about with the python's design, is it's
toughness.  I have had well over a dozen wipeouts at speeds in excess of 30
kph and if I had have been on a df bike, it would have been toast after the
3rd or 4th one, quite likely.  That isn't mentioning the damage to ME that
would have occured on each one had I been riding an upright.  It is a very
cool bent, very cool design, and a whole ton of fun to ride.  The most
satisfying thing, for me and my friend, is taking a bike that felt
absolutely unrideable, and now we can cruise at 35 kph without much effort
at all, and on even the slightest downhill, we can stretch it out to 45 kph+
and hold them at that speed.  I can hardly wait til we have enough time on
the pythons to cruise at a speed that makes our legs and cardio work.  Right
now the average is the low to high 30s, but again, the bents want to go
faster, it's just that we're too wobbly to "relax" and cruise in the 40s
yet.  I remember when we first started learning on them, we had to ride the
rear brake constantly to stay around 20 to 25kph, otherwise we got going too
fast.

After getting the python painted for the races on Saturday, I'll tackle the
tailbox so I can use it for work again.  The old under-seat box is too big
now.  If anyone is interested in one of the seats I use, I listed the whole
build process here:
http://bikes.jkcc.com/tth3.htm#seatframe

Enjoy :)


> At 02:06 AM 9/14/2005, you wrote:
> >I like the carbon front fender very much. Very entertaining
> >to read his latest experiences ;-)
>
> The fender looks really nice, and the cargo box is good too. The seat is a
lot higher than mine, so he has room - not a lot of ground clearance
though...
> I also have added a small front "fender" to keep sand out of my lap. The
most helpful part seems to be the shield between the pivot and brake caliper
(white vinyl thing barely visible:
http://www.rjs.org/gallery/electric_python.jpg) It is "C" shaped and
conforms to the tire/rim closely, ~2mm clearance, keeping most dirt out of
the pivot and my face. I had a rear fender before the new rack - I had found
that my hair and neck got sand from the boardwalk.
>
> I would also like to try the hammock-type seat too, vs. my padded model;
probably a bit cooler.
> The more I ride, the more I think I'd like to have a more upright seat
position with lower seat bottom - about the same C.G., but would allow more
gluteus use in pedalling.
>
> I think that if I build again, it will be a faired streamliner. Not
practical, but, I now have lots of practical bikes ;-)
>
> Ray

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