#1
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I become a crank
Surgery to repair the latest injury - a broken back - has made riding
any conventional diamond frame bike uncomfortable. Since some of my spine no longer bends, I need to hyper bend the rest of it to be able to see ahead. Also the general bendy position is pretty miserable. I'm not willing to become a full on old crank and get on a 'bent so my compromise is a Rans CF. The one I chose is called a Dynamik - sort of a bit of a hybrid and a bit of a CF mountain bike. I'd have preferred it come with 29" wheels, but I wonder if I'd really notice the difference between its 26" and the 29's. I borrowed a friend's to try it and liked the practicality of the entire thing. Here is my first bicycle since childhood which didn't really demand a full on 'get up' to enjoy. Street clothes work well as do normal walking shoes although I suppose bike shoes would be slightly better due to the stiff sole. In fact, my friend tells me that bicycle specific pants impede you on this sort of bike. My friend made the comment about how much fun bicycles are when they are comfortable instead of torturous exercise devices. I am coming over to his POV. Too bad Sheldon's no longer around. I'd be curious to hear his take on this sort of bike. Any of you guys tried one? -paul |
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#2
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I become a crank
On Sat, 01 Nov 2008 15:36:44 -0600, slide
wrote: Here is my first bicycle since childhood which didn't really demand a full on 'get up' to enjoy. Street clothes work well as do normal walking shoes although There are many bikes like that in the world. Many, many bikes like that http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/a...e3_546336a.jpg http://www.w3.org/2008/02/sb_www2008...ina-mobile.jpg Ride. |
#3
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I become a crank
On Nov 1, 2:36*pm, slide wrote:
Here is my first bicycle since childhood which didn't really demand a full on 'get up' to enjoy. Street clothes work well as do normal walking shoes although I suppose bike shoes would be slightly better due to the stiff sole. In fact, my friend tells me that bicycle specific pants impede you on this sort of bike. Glad you've found a bike style that still lets you enjoy cycling after your injury. But I'm a bit puzzled by the above comment since I've never experienced any difficulty using any of my bikes while wearing normal street clothes. The only modification needed is to either tuck my pants legs into my socks or to use some clips/bands to keep them from getting caught in the chain. On occasion I've even ridden fairly long distances wearing regular tennis shoes and using SPD pedals although I don't really recommend that combination. |
#4
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I become a crank
peter wrote:
On Nov 1, 2:36 pm, slide wrote: Here is my first bicycle since childhood which didn't really demand a full on 'get up' to enjoy. Street clothes work well as do normal walking shoes although I suppose bike shoes would be slightly better due to the stiff sole. In fact, my friend tells me that bicycle specific pants impede you on this sort of bike. Glad you've found a bike style that still lets you enjoy cycling after your injury. But I'm a bit puzzled by the above comment since I've never experienced any difficulty using any of my bikes while wearing normal street clothes. The only modification needed is to either tuck my pants legs into my socks or to use some clips/bands to keep them from getting caught in the chain. On occasion I've even ridden fairly long distances wearing regular tennis shoes and using SPD pedals although I don't really recommend that combination. No issue if I wish to take a ride of 2 or 3 km down to the store, but longer rides demand special pants for me to not feel chafed and in some pain. I didn't enjoy the longer rides with conventional shoes and my SPD's although I suppose that's an individual thing. |
#5
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I become a crank
John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:
On Sat, 01 Nov 2008 15:36:44 -0600, slide wrote: Here is my first bicycle since childhood which didn't really demand a full on 'get up' to enjoy. Street clothes work well as do normal walking shoes although There are many bikes like that in the world. Many, many bikes like that http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/a...e3_546336a.jpg http://www.w3.org/2008/02/sb_www2008...ina-mobile.jpg Ride. The bikes I've found locally which are comfortable in street clothes (I'm in the USA) are rather unwieldy for longer rides. My daughter has a Chinese copy of an Electra Townie which is very pleasant to ride up to about 5 miles and slowly but I used to enjoy 40-50 mile rides on weekend mornings. I wish to resume that. The Townie sort of bike would make such riding, especially hills, daunting. Also my wife is still a rather competitive rider and I'd like a bike I can ride with her and not ask her to slow for me. I'm expecting the Rans is such a bike where the Townie isn't. |
#6
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I become a crank
"slide" wrote:
John Forrest Tomlinson wrote: On Sat, 01 Nov 2008 15:36:44 -0600, slide wrote: Here is my first bicycle since childhood which didn't really demand a full on 'get up' to enjoy. Street clothes work well as do normal walking shoes although There are many bikes like that in the world. Many, many bikes like that http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/a...e3_546336a.jpg http://www.w3.org/2008/02/sb_www2008...ina-mobile.jpg Ride. The bikes I've found locally which are comfortable in street clothes (I'm in the USA) are rather unwieldy for longer rides. My daughter has a Chinese copy of an Electra Townie which is very pleasant to ride up to about 5 miles and slowly but I used to enjoy 40-50 mile rides on weekend mornings. I wish to resume that. The Townie sort of bike would make such riding, especially hills, daunting. Also my wife is still a rather competitive rider and I'd like a bike I can ride with her and not ask her to slow for me. I'm expecting the Rans is such a bike where the Townie isn't. What is a "Rans"? -- Tom Sherman - 42.435731,-83.985007 1999 RANS Wave to Tailwind Conversion 2000 RANS Rocket |
#7
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I become a crank
On Nov 2, 10:34*am, slide wrote:
No issue if I wish to take a ride of 2 or 3 km down to the store, but longer rides demand special pants for me to not feel chafed and in some pain. I didn't enjoy the longer rides with conventional shoes and my SPD's although I suppose that's an individual thing. I wonder what problems you have with pants. I'll admit that blue jeans, with their thick fabric and thicker seams, aren't ideal. Some thick-seamed underwear may be uncomfortable. But I have very few problems riding in any ordinary pants with thinner fabric, and in underwear that aren't overly thick. I pin my cuffs aside with safety pins. Because I want the ability to use my bikes with conventional shoes, I don't use clipless pedals. For me, that tradeoff is worth it. - Frank Krygowski |
#8
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I become a crank
Tom Sherman wrote:
The bikes I've found locally which are comfortable in street clothes (I'm in the USA) are rather unwieldy for longer rides. My daughter has a Chinese copy of an Electra Townie which is very pleasant to ride up to about 5 miles and slowly but I used to enjoy 40-50 mile rides on weekend mornings. I wish to resume that. The Townie sort of bike would make such riding, especially hills, daunting. Also my wife is still a rather competitive rider and I'd like a bike I can ride with her and not ask her to slow for me. I'm expecting the Rans is such a bike where the Townie isn't. What is a "Rans"? http://www.ransbikes.com/Dynamik07.htm Check it out. |
#9
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I become a crank
Frank Krygowski wrote:
On Nov 2, 10:34 am, slide wrote: No issue if I wish to take a ride of 2 or 3 km down to the store, but longer rides demand special pants for me to not feel chafed and in some pain. I didn't enjoy the longer rides with conventional shoes and my SPD's although I suppose that's an individual thing. I wonder what problems you have with pants. Saddles really, not pants themselves. |
#10
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I become a crank
"slide" wrote:
Tom Sherman wrote: The bikes I've found locally which are comfortable in street clothes (I'm in the USA) are rather unwieldy for longer rides. My daughter has a Chinese copy of an Electra Townie which is very pleasant to ride up to about 5 miles and slowly but I used to enjoy 40-50 mile rides on weekend mornings. I wish to resume that. The Townie sort of bike would make such riding, especially hills, daunting. Also my wife is still a rather competitive rider and I'd like a bike I can ride with her and not ask her to slow for me. I'm expecting the Rans is such a bike where the Townie isn't. What is a "Rans"? I have it on good authority [1] that RANS is always written with all capital letters [2]. http://www.ransbikes.com/Dynamik07.htm Check it out. I might get a RANS CF bike some day to go along with my 1999 RANS Wave to Tailwind conversion and 2000 RANS Rocket. [1] John Schlitter, former RANS employee and brother of RANS proprietor Randy Schlitter. [2] http://groups.google.com/group/alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent/msg/d38f4253c556c402?hl=en&dmode=source. -- Tom Sherman - 42.435731,-83.985007 If you are not a part of the solution, you are a part of the precipitate. |
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