On Monday, March 4, 2019 at 10:25:03 AM UTC-5, Ralph Barone wrote:
Frank Krygowski wrote:
On Sunday, March 3, 2019 at 11:35:53 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On Sunday, March 3, 2019 at 3:12:12 PM UTC-6, Frank Krygowski wrote:
New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) currently features an exhibition
called "The Value of Good Design." See

https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/5032

Unfortunately, they include the 1960's Spacelander bicycle as an example
of good design! See
https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibi...image_index=34

I took one for a brief test ride many years ago. MoMA's standards are
certainly far different from mine. It's hard to imagine a heavier,
clumsier rattletrap of a bike. Heck, I'd prefer that Fiat 500!

But then, the rest of the exhibition seems to glorify the 1950s and
1960s as an era of "good design." Weird.

--
- Frank Krygowski

Frank, you rode the moon bike? Tell us how that came about.

It was back in the 1980s or maybe 1990s at some big bike
rally. Maybe in Michigan, but I'm not sure.

They had a bunch of oddball bikes at that one, and
people were allowed to test ride some of them. That
was one.

At other rallies, I got to do a short ride on my first
ever recumbent (Avatar 2000) and a British upright
racing tricycle. The Avatar was frustrating for 100 feet
or so, until I was able to relax and let it do its own
balancing. The tricycle was just scary - it seemed
very unstable.

My wife and I also got to try a semi-recumbent tandem,
I forget the brand name, where she was in a front
recumbent seat but I was on a normal upright seat behind
her. That worked surprisingly well, but I guess it
didn't make it in the market.

At those rallies and other places I've gotten to ride
"ordinaries" or high-wheelers and other odd machines.

- Frank Krygowski


Semi-recumbent tandems are truly a niche market, but they do exist. The
Hase Pino is perhaps the best known one. It does solve the "if you're not
the lead dog, the view never changes" problem with regular tandems.

https://hasebikes.com/95-1-Tandem-PINO-ALLROUND.html

I remember being on a sort of group tour where one
couple had one. They seemed very happy with it.

- Frank Krygowski