Seoul Cycle Design Competition Winner

On 12/9/2010 10:20 PM, James Steward wrote:
Tºm Shermªn™ °_° wrote:
On 12/9/2010 8:27 PM, Michael Press wrote:
If trikes/bents are so much more comfortable why are the roads not
flooded with them? If you really want one you can buy one. Why don't
people do that? You can blame only yourself.
Most people prefer to resemble Eddy Merckx;
rather than resembling a circus clown.

Indeed, many are too weak to resist peer pressure.


Or clever enough to realise what's better.


Yes, most are not clever enough to realize most have it wrong.

--
Tºm Shermªn - 42.435731,-83.985007
I am a vehicular cyclist.

Tºm Shermªn™ °_° wrote:
On 12/9/2010 10:20 PM, James Steward wrote:
Tºm Shermªn™ °_° wrote:
On 12/9/2010 8:27 PM, Michael Press wrote:
If trikes/bents are so much more comfortable why are the roads not
flooded with them? If you really want one you can buy one. Why don't
people do that? You can blame only yourself.
Most people prefer to resemble Eddy Merckx;
rather than resembling a circus clown.

Indeed, many are too weak to resist peer pressure.


Or clever enough to realise what's better.


Yes, most are not clever enough to realize most have it wrong.


Is there a right or wrong answer? We are all individuals. We all have
to work it out for ourselves.

JS.

Tºm Shermªn™ °_° wrote:

The Electra Townie is a crank-forward design, and not a traditional
upright geometry bicycle:
http://coolmaterial.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/electra-townie-bike.jpg.

TUCNR.

(To Ugly, Could Not Ride).

JS.

Michael Press wrote:
In article ,
James wrote:

Tºm Shermªn™ °_° wrote:
On 12/9/2010 10:20 PM, James Steward wrote:
Tºm Shermªn™ °_° wrote:
On 12/9/2010 8:27 PM, Michael Press wrote:
If trikes/bents are so much more comfortable why are the roads not
flooded with them? If you really want one you can buy one. Why don't
people do that? You can blame only yourself.
Most people prefer to resemble Eddy Merckx;
rather than resembling a circus clown.
Indeed, many are too weak to resist peer pressure.

Or clever enough to realise what's better.

Yes, most are not clever enough to realize most have it wrong.

Is there a right or wrong answer? We are all individuals.

_I'm_ not.

Really? How do you know?

We all have
to work it out for ourselves.

Tell me how to work it out for myself.

Oh, I don't know that. Whaaaaa.

JS.

On 12/9/2010 10:56 PM, James Steward wrote:
Tºm Shermªn™ °_° wrote:

The Electra Townie is a crank-forward design, and not a traditional
upright geometry bicycle:
http://coolmaterial.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/electra-townie-bike.jpg.


TUCNR.

(To Ugly, Could Not Ride).


That could also be said about any compact geometry bike.

--
Tºm Shermªn - 42.435731,-83.985007
I am a vehicular cyclist.

On 12/9/2010 10:55 PM, James Steward wrote:
Tºm Shermªn™ °_° wrote:
On 12/9/2010 10:20 PM, James Steward wrote:
Tºm Shermªn™ °_° wrote:
On 12/9/2010 8:27 PM, Michael Press wrote:
If trikes/bents are so much more comfortable why are the roads not
flooded with them? If you really want one you can buy one. Why
don't
people do that? You can blame only yourself.
Most people prefer to resemble Eddy Merckx;
rather than resembling a circus clown.

Indeed, many are too weak to resist peer pressure.


Or clever enough to realise what's better.


Yes, most are not clever enough to realize most have it wrong.


Is there a right or wrong answer? We are all individuals. We all have to
work it out for ourselves.


Always correct, I am.

--
Tºm Shermªn - 42.435731,-83.985007
I am a vehicular cyclist.

Tºm Shermªn™ °_° wrote:
On 12/9/2010 10:56 PM, James Steward wrote:
Tºm Shermªn™ °_° wrote:

The Electra Townie is a crank-forward design, and not a traditional
upright geometry bicycle:
http://coolmaterial.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/electra-townie-bike.jpg.



TUCNR.

(To Ugly, Could Not Ride).


That could also be said about any compact geometry bike.


I don't ride one of them either ;-)

JS.

On 9 dec, 23:19, Tºm Shermªn™ °_° ""twshermanREMOVE\"@THI
$southslope.net" wrote:
On 12/9/2010 4:15 PM, Lou Holtman wrote:





Op 9-12-2010 22:41, T m Sherm n _ schreef:
On 12/9/2010 1:37 PM, Duane H bert wrote:
On 12/9/2010 2:19 PM, Doc O'Leary wrote:
In ,
Tºm Shermªn™ " wrote:

Well, I have been in exactly one (1) LBS in the US where they both
have
fully equipped commuter bicycles for sale on the shop floor and would
not act with at least some disdain when inquired about them.

Again, and? I even noted that many bike shops in the US are poorly run,
but you can probably look at the culture they exist in to see why. I
mean, who do you think they *expect* to be coming in looking for a
comfort bike? Someone with a lot of cash to spend now and in the
future, or someone who is just looking to "try out" biking by buying
the
lowest-margin thing they can find and then stick it in the back of the
garage after 1 month?

You can't run a business supplying comfort bikes if the demand just
isn't there. If the industry had half a clue they'd be taking more
long-term steps to shift the balance over by fitting cycling in with
the
existing culture. Instead, they're doing short-term targeting of the
existing high-end recreational market.

What do you actually mean by comfort bikes? Bents? Touring? Something
else?

The bikes that would be really comfortable to the newbie are
crank-forward (CF) uprights and recumbents. The CF upright is certainly
an easier sell.

Why is that? I find bikes with a slack seattube angle uncomfortable. I
had some trouble to find a commuter that did not have a slack seattube
angle like the so called comfort bikes here in the Netherlands.

Lou

With a slack enough angle, a real seat [1] instead of a saddle with high
pressure points can be used.

Why is that? A saddle/seat is very personal. A slack seat angle
doesn't change that.

*The slack angle also takes all the
pressure off the rider's hands.

Is that the problem? If all the pressure is off your hands all the
pressure is on your butt. The right saddle/seat choice is even more
important in that case. With crank forward designs you push yourself
into the seat while pedalling, increasing the pressure even more. Why
is that more comfortable?


[1] http://www.ransbikes.com/Zenetik09/Enlarge09.html

I really don't get these bikes.

Lou

On 12/9/2010 4:41 PM, Tºm Shermªn™ °_° wrote:
On 12/9/2010 1:37 PM, Duane Hébert wrote:

What do you actually mean by comfort bikes? Bents? Touring? Something
else?

The bikes that would be really comfortable to the newbie are
crank-forward (CF) uprights and recumbents. The CF upright is certainly
an easier sell.

Ah. Not sure if I agree with that. Most of us started riding uprights
as kids and kept with that style. CF looks odd to me as if my center of
gravity would be skewed. Just an observer's opinion though as I've
never tried one. But I find my Bianchi Volpe and my Specialized Tarmac
both pretty comfortable. The Bianchi slightly more so for rides over
140k or so but neither is very bad. I think that it's what you're used to.

On 12/9/2010 10:41 PM, Chalo wrote:
Duane Hébert wrote:

Doc O'Leary wrote:

You can't run a business supplying comfort bikes if the demand just
isn't there. If the industry had half a clue they'd be taking more
long-term steps to shift the balance over by fitting cycling in with the
existing culture. Instead, they're doing short-term targeting of the
existing high-end recreational market.

What do you actually mean by comfort bikes? Bents? Touring? Something
else?

The bicycle industry defines "comfort bikes" as MTB-derived bikes with
steeply sloping top tubes, rudimentary suspension forks and seatposts,
and high adjustable stems with riser bars. Oddly, most of these bikes
also have steep seat angles, making for a uniquely impotent rider
position.

http://www.chicagobikeblog.com/2007/...ort-bikes.html

Yikes. My ass hurts just looking at that.

Most of the people who buy typical comfort bikes don't ride them very
much, from what I can tell. The Electra Townie is an exception, in my
neck of the woods anyway, with noticeable representation among daily
transportational riders.

One of my friends has a Giant hybrid with the shocks and "comfy seat"
that he swears by. He's always chortling about how roadies don't
understand comfort. Then after 100k or so, he's complaining about his
sore ass, bitching about the wind and generally having a miserable time.
I've offered to let him try my touring bike but he tells me he's into
more comfortable rides. Go figure.

Sitting straight up, catching the wind directly in my chest with all of
my weight on my ass and the wide saddle chafing my thighs doesn't sound
like my idea of comfort.