[python] Re: Pedal Induced Steering
- From: "25hz" <25hz@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <python@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 27 Apr 2006 21:55:31 -0400
No problem on using my comments - they are just as likely to offend as help
:)
The thing that both I don't understand and that bugs me about people and
recumbents is the following . . .
Everyone can go into some sort of "bulk" store and grab an inexpensive bike
off the rack, pay a minimal amount of money, and away they go happy as a
lark. Most are completely oblivious to frame size, crank length, seat
height, handle bar height and extension, any kind of comfortable ergonomic
set-up, etc. If you ask them how it "feels" or "fits", they sort of look up
in the air and shrug their shoulders and say "I guess it's ok . . ." I have
also lost track of people I see on DFs that have a seat pointed up like it's
ready to launch into space, handle bars that aren't even close to being
lined up with the front wheel, front and rear wheels that don't track in
line with each other, loose or bent pedals that wobble and twist completely
out of plane with each other, derailleurs that are so un-adjusted that they
only get a couple gears (if more than one), one brake on one wheel with pads
that are completely fried, or my personal favorite, the people who ride with
one crank so loose, that it can rotate nearly 1/4 turn without ever moving
the BB axle.
The point of the little rant, is that people simply adapt to whatever it is
they're riding unless they're the kind of person who is willing to pay the
cash for a "boutique" bike along with the fees to test the ergonomics and
set it up perfectly for themselves. Even numbers of these, though, can have
the same observations from above applied to them. What I don't get is how
when it comes to recumbents, all of a sudden people are afficionados that
need to immediately micro-manage the smallest details of a recumbent's
configuration, on something they've quite likely never even ridden, yet they
are nearly oblivious to the same concerns on the bike they're riding now?
Every bike and bent out there is a collection of compromises. They are all
designed for a specific purpose, like any other type of transportation, and
if you start getting to the edge or outside their design limits, they start
behaving badly. If they are a Jack-of-all-trades, then they might be
mediocre at many things, and that in itself might become a problem. I
really enjoy riding any kind of new bent and seeing what its personality and
quirks are. I know what I like and what I find comfortable, but that
doesn't mean that some other type is lacking merit because it sits outside
my preferences. Every time I see someone ride a bent and come back with a
long list of "suggestions", if I'm in the mood, I explain why their
suggestions will or won't work (if I know), and if I don't feel like it, I
just tell them "It is what it is. You can't carry 20 sheets of plywood on
top of your car because it wasn't built for it. If this bent isn't doing
something, it's simply because it wasn't built for it."
This isn't any kind of a slam on you Doug, or on anyone in the list. This
is just an observation on what I've learning since being "bent". In the
end, like I said, if someone really doesn't want to have pedal steer,
they'll likely succeed if they put the effort into it. :)
> 25hz, I take a lot of encouragement in what you say,
> because although I've been working on the bikes for
> about a year, I haven't had the opportunity for much
> seat time, and the bike does respond well to circular
> pedalling and forced relaxation (is that an oxymoron?)
> of the shoulders. Come to think of it, I also
> experience some pedal steer on my Vision R40 SWB. And
> as you observe, it gets more pronounced as my legs
> become tired.
>
> I guess one of my background concerns is that on a
> moving bottom bracket FWD, pedal steer can work the
> upper body and shoulders, and things that are a minor
> annoyance on short rides can become endurance issues
> on long rides (I intend to ride this bike on a 150
> mile, two-day charity ride in early June.) So if there
> is a mechanical route to lessen the effect, I'm
> interested.
>
> Perhaps practice and discipline are the first order of
> the day however...
>
> Dirk, thanks for describing in detail the effect of
> increasing the trail dimension on your Camel Bike. You
> have saved me another path of experimentation, as I
> was about to increase the trail dimension as a test.
>
> 25hz, I would like to post your observations about
> riding style on the Cruzbike Yahoo group. Is this
> acceptable to you?
>
> Again, thanks for your observations.
>
> Doug
============================================================
This is the Python Mailinglist
//www.freelists.org/list/python
Listmaster: Jürgen Mages jmages@xxxxxx
To unsubscribe send an empty mail to
python-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
with 'unsubscribe' in the subject field.
============================================================
Other related posts:
