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Do Recumbents Crash More Than Regular Bikes?



 
 
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  #21  
Old July 28th 05, 09:37 AM
Edward Dolan
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"Mark Leuck" wrote in message
...

"Bruce Davis" wrote in message
...

(p.s. I think the reason I find Ed so entertaining is that he reminds me

of
my favorite fictional character -- Ignatius J. Reilly of "A Confederacy
of
Dunces." I hope Ed doesn't take offense at that -- I'm sure Ed isn't

nearly
as fat as Ignatius.)


Ed reminds me of the Salad Fingers cartoon character



(to anyone who does know who that is do a Google lookup)


Mark Leuck is a guy who has way too much time on his hands. Salad Fingers
may or may not be a great cartoon figure, but who has time for this kind of
mindlessness. What I would really like to know at this point is the age of
Mark Leuck?

That Mark finds this cartoon character worth looking at tells us everything
about him and nothing about me. But isn't that always the way it is when you
recommend something to someone else.

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota




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  #22  
Old July 29th 05, 05:41 PM
Edward Dolan
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"Mike Rice" wrote in message
news [...]

Edward Dolan wrote:

The RANS V2 is a long wheel base much like the Tour Easy, except that it
has
a much higher crank. The Mueller Fairing may have prevented me from seeing
the road crack as it lines up all wrong for good road viewing.


I thought about the V2 when I wsa deciding which bent to get. But I
haven't had the pleasure of riding any RANS product. The V2 intrigues
me, so does the V-Rex. If I ever get a second recumbent I think it
will be something in the nature of a V-Rex, Volae, or P-38.

Although those dual 26's are interesting as well.

Heck, I liked all the recumbents I test rode that first day. It would
be interesting to see how the different styles feel now that I have a
couple year's experience with the TE.


All the bikes that you are presently thinking about have a high BB. This is
a critical difference when it comes to recumbents. Your TE has a low crank;
my V2 has a high crank. You sit on the V2 pretty much as you would sit on a
V-Rex and other SWB's. Your legs are at the level of your hip when pedaling.
This is good for aerodynamics, maybe not so good for physiology. It also
creates a more difficult handling condition overall. The major advantage of
a recumbent with a high crank is that you can get the seat laid back more,
thereby getting some weight off of your rear. On long tours this can be
important.

Before you get a high BB recumbent, make sure that you will not have foot
numbness from the high crank. You need to ride the bike continuously for
about an hour or so to make sure.

Ed Dolan - Minnesota


  #23  
Old July 29th 05, 06:08 PM
Edward Dolan
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"Mike Rice" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 28 Jul 2005 02:02:33 -0500, "Edward Dolan"
wrote:
Big Snip

may get rid of the fairing too as it prevents me from seeing the road
right
ahead of me well.

Regards,

Ed Dolan - Minnesota


My fairing doesn't seem to interfere on the Tour Easy. With the higher
bb are you normally more reclined on the V2?

Indiana Mike


Mike, I have a Zipper faring on my TE too and it does not interfere with
seeing the road surface up ahead. But the Meuller fairing does. It is
because you are much more laid back on the RANS V2. We sit more upright on
our TE and this makes all the difference in the world. You cannot sit too
upright on a high crank recumbent unless you like the feeling of your legs
chugging into your gut. The P-38 is notorious for giving you this sensation.

The main advantage of a more laid back seat is comfort. I can actually
experience a bit of seat discomfort on the TE after many hours on it. That
never happens when you are sufficiently laid back.

The old Visions were the most comfortable recumbents ever made. I had mine
set up LWB and really laid the seat back. Riding around on my Vision is as
comfortable as sitting here at home in my easy chair. That Vision seat was a
miracle (however, I did have to layer in a higher quality of foam for the
seat base).

The secret to all day comfort on a recumbent is to get the seat laid back.
You can only do this on a recumbent with a reasonably high crank (but not
too high). I think the optimum level for the crank is slightly below the
seat base. The RANS Tailwind got it about right in my opinion. The current
crop of recumbents are getting the crank way too high. Thus spake
Zarathustra.

Ed Dolan - Minnesota





  #24  
Old July 29th 05, 06:14 PM
Edward Dolan
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"Mike Rice" wrote in message
news [...]
This weekend I will put the Lo-o-ong panniers back on the underseat
racks and load them up. I plan to make a self supported camping ride
from my home in Lafaeyette, Indiana to Mammoth Cave Kentucky and back.
If the miles go well I will have four days or so to tour the bluegrass
stae (and ancestral home) before heading back to the banks of the
Wabash. I need to think about conditioning myself over the next month
leading up to the trip, and I think the best way will be to load up to
touring weight while stepping up the daily/weekly milage. (and I'd
better put in some time riding your favourites--hills)


Be on the look out for Larry Varney when you are in Kentucky. That is his
home stamping ground. He looks like Santa Claus, but he is cantankerous as
all get out. He will most likely be on his recumbent trike.

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota


  #25  
Old July 29th 05, 06:34 PM
Jeff Grippe
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"Edward Dolan" wrote in message
...

The old Visions were the most comfortable recumbents ever made. I had mine
set up LWB and really laid the seat back. Riding around on my Vision is as
comfortable as sitting here at home in my easy chair. That Vision seat was
a miracle (however, I did have to layer in a higher quality of foam for
the seat base).


I'll grant you that the Vision seat was very comfortable BUT as long as
we're on the topic of crashes. I've had two and both were on a Vision. The
first one was my fault (I rode smack into a railroad tie that I didn't see).
The second I blame on the Vision Seat.

The seat on my Vision was attached using velcro. It is the one element of
the bike that I wasn't thrilled with. Because I tip the scales at about 250
I was always worried that velcro was not really strong enough to do the job
of supporting me. The dealer told me that he had sold them to bigger people
than me and that I shouldn't worry. I guess the bigger people that bought
them didn't ride them very much.

One day, as I was riding at a pretty good clip, the velcro came undone and I
went down hard. Fortunately I was near a county park so I was able to get
myself patched up at a first aid stand but I never felt safe on that bike
again. Vision replaced the seat with a heavier duty model that used much
less velcro but I sold the bike without ever riding it again.

Jeff


  #26  
Old July 29th 05, 06:48 PM
HHS
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(p.s. I think the reason I find Ed so entertaining is that he reminds me
of
my favorite fictional character -- Ignatius J. Reilly of "A Confederacy of
Dunces." I hope Ed doesn't take offense at that -- I'm sure Ed isn't
nearly as fat as Ignatius.)


A Confederacy of Dunces is one of my favorites too. I once worked with a
fellow who was Ignatius J. Reilly.

Ed, while missing the mark in several ways, does manage to use ARBR in the
way Ignatius used Big Chief writing tablets.


  #27  
Old July 29th 05, 07:13 PM
Edward Dolan
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Posts: n/a
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"Jeff Grippe" wrote in message
...

"Edward Dolan" wrote in message
...

The old Visions were the most comfortable recumbents ever made. I had
mine set up LWB and really laid the seat back. Riding around on my Vision
is as comfortable as sitting here at home in my easy chair. That Vision
seat was a miracle (however, I did have to layer in a higher quality of
foam for the seat base).


I'll grant you that the Vision seat was very comfortable BUT as long as
we're on the topic of crashes. I've had two and both were on a Vision. The
first one was my fault (I rode smack into a railroad tie that I didn't
see). The second I blame on the Vision Seat.

The seat on my Vision was attached using velcro. It is the one element of
the bike that I wasn't thrilled with. Because I tip the scales at about
250 I was always worried that velcro was not really strong enough to do
the job of supporting me. The dealer told me that he had sold them to
bigger people than me and that I shouldn't worry. I guess the bigger
people that bought them didn't ride them very much.

One day, as I was riding at a pretty good clip, the velcro came undone and
I went down hard. Fortunately I was near a county park so I was able to
get myself patched up at a first aid stand but I never felt safe on that
bike again. Vision replaced the seat with a heavier duty model that used
much less velcro but I sold the bike without ever riding it again.


Jeff, your experience with the Vision seat I find very interesting. It is
why this newsgroup exists, to bring different views together for comparison.

I weigh 150 pounds and I have ridden my Vision on every tour I have ever
done. I ride it hard and I ride it fast. I have never had the slightest
problem with the velcro. I did wear through the seat fabric though and had
to have it patched by the local upholstery shop.

I remember something I read once what Gardner Martin, the designer of the
Tour Easy, said about how to design recumbents. He said he designs them for
250 pound guys like you because they constitute a large share of the market
for recumbents. I think that is true. I do see very many heavy folks on
recumbents. This makes a lot of sense because it is very hard for big and
heavy guys to ever get any comfort on an upright.

I think your problem with the velcro on your Vison seat could have been
repaired by a leather shop with needle and thread. But I agree, once you
suffer a bad crash on a bike, the bloom is off and one gets discouraged.

Ed Dolan - Minnesota




  #28  
Old July 29th 05, 07:23 PM
Edward Dolan
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Posts: n/a
Default


"HHS" wrote in message
...

(p.s. I think the reason I find Ed so entertaining is that he reminds me
of
my favorite fictional character -- Ignatius J. Reilly of "A Confederacy
of Dunces." I hope Ed doesn't take offense at that -- I'm sure Ed isn't
nearly as fat as Ignatius.)


A Confederacy of Dunces is one of my favorites too. I once worked with a
fellow who was Ignatius J. Reilly.

Ed, while missing the mark in several ways, does manage to use ARBR in the
way Ignatius used Big Chief writing tablets.


Jeez, just when I thought that ARBR was nothing if not a Confederacy of
Dunces, I find that there are a few intellectuals lurking about the
premises. I will have to watch myself as we intellectuals are notorious back
stabbers riven with jealousy and spite.

By the way, I like big writing tablets too.

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota


  #29  
Old July 29th 05, 10:30 PM
Jeff Grippe
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Posts: n/a
Default


"Edward Dolan" wrote in message
news


I remember something I read once what Gardner Martin, the designer of the
Tour Easy, said about how to design recumbents. He said he designs them
for
250 pound guys like you because they constitute a large share of the
market
for recumbents. I think that is true. I do see very many heavy folks on
recumbents. This makes a lot of sense because it is very hard for big and
heavy guys to ever get any comfort on an upright.


I'm not surprised to learn this. I came to recumbents because of my search
for the ever more comfortable bicycle. I've done centuries on upright bikes
but the sensation of getting back on the bike after a rest stop was just
awful.

What makes recumbents bad for people my size is how terrible they are on
hills. I recall one hill in CT that I finally walked up after falling off my
bike (Infinity recumbent) 5 times because I couldn't keep up enough speed.

This is what led me to trikes. I test rode some trikes on a fairly hilly
test course and found that I could just drop it into low gear and make it up
anything at whatever speed I desired. As you know, I can even stop in the
middle of a hill to rest (I never do though but I've tried it just to
convince myself that it could be done.)

So I sold all my bikes and I now ride trikes exclusively.

Ah but then I discovered rail-trails which are essentially flat. I will
probably pick up a bike again just to take on "rail-trail only" trips.

BTW it is easy for heavy guys to get comfort on an upright. They just have
to lose weight. Losing weight is the hard part, however.

Jeff


  #30  
Old July 30th 05, 03:49 AM
Edward Dolan
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"Mike Rice" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 29 Jul 2005 12:14:13 -0500, "Edward Dolan"
wrote:

[...]
Be on the look out for Larry Varney when you are in Kentucky. That is his
home stamping ground. He looks like Santa Claus, but he is cantankerous as
all get out. He will most likely be on his recumbent trike.

[...]
Ed (Larry) lives considerably east of the area I'll be traversing. And the
relatives I plan on visiting are 70 miles or so west of the cave area.

I saw LV several times during the Hilly Hundred I rode two years ago.
He seemed plenty jolly, at least he had a giant smile each time I saw
him riding.


Well, you would have to read his posts to ARBR to know what he is really
like. He has gravitated from ARBR to BROL where I think he is a writer for
that website. Larry and I never seemed to be able to agree on anything. And
then it gets nasty to boot as you might suspect.

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota


 




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