TdF and recumbents

In alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent on Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:12:51 +0200
Jon Bendtsen wrote:
Ben C wrote:

If recumbents weren't better why would they be banned?

To level the playing field? so it is the rider and not the
bike that decides who wins? F1 racing also bans some technology.

Doesn't make sense.

If the bikes aren't good enough then no one would choose them.

Zebee

Zebee Johnstone wrote:
In alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent on Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:12:51 +0200
Jon Bendtsen wrote:
Ben C wrote:
If recumbents weren't better why would they be banned?
To level the playing field? so it is the rider and not the
bike that decides who wins? F1 racing also bans some technology.

Doesn't make sense.

Sorry, let's just get this straight...

A UCI ruling not making sense is in some way, shape or form indicative
of anything beyond it coming from the UCI? ;-/

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

On 29 Lug, 03:56, Tom Sherman
wrote:
Tom Kunich wrote:
"Tom Sherman" wrote in message
...

What Ed is missing is that the proper recumbent climbing technique
involves a higher cadence than the upright climbing technique.

What you're missing is that you can stand on an upright and crawl over
rough ground at 2 mph. You cannot balance a recumbent at that speed nor
could you pedal up the very steep hills that require standing like that.

Who is advocating a recumbent for technical off-road anyhow???

How many paved roads are steep enough to slow an average rider down to
2-mph? Almost none.

Well, almost none in the US, but around here....

http://www.salite.ch/zoncolan1.asp?M...empriseH =661

http://www.salite.ch/sormano1.asp?Ma...empriseH =661

http://www.salite.ch/mortirol1.asp?M...empriseH =661

http://www.salite.ch/sanluca.asp?Map...empriseH =661

http://www.salite.ch/fedaia1.asp?Map...empriseH =661

or

http://www.salite.ch/grossglo1.asp?m...empriseH =661

etc etc

Ciao
Luca

On Jul 29, 4:18 am, Tom Sherman
wrote:
snip
Faired uprights are rare to nonexistent - and for good reason. However,
recumbents with fairings can also get blown all over the road in strong
winds. In certain situations, it is extremely dangerous to ride a recumbent
with a fairing.

The most wind I ever rode in with a body sock was 30 mph with gusts to
45 mph.

Hello recumbent enthousiasts,

I have had some problems with my quest recumbent. There was a
windforce 10 (about 50 mph) and warning for wind speeds up to 62 mph.
From then i travel by car if wind speeds exceeds 30 mph.
The quest is a three wheel bike, so very stable. Also the fairing is
very forgiving in harsh conditions.
I have made several trips at the WC in France and the Ecotrip in
England. Both very hilly, but i was always in the front of the group.
Although the weight could be considered as the most important item i
cannot explain one experience. During the eco trip i switched bikes
with the owner of Westcountry Recumbents in England. He had a
specially prepared very light greenspeed trike. He thought that he
could take the hills easily, i thought that it was still very tough to
cope with them.
Afterwards i read a story in Velovision on a man in Wales, he
mentioned Static energy or something like that.
The fairing of the bike still seems to do something, even at lower
speeds.
Greetings,
Jack

Jack wrote:

Afterwards i read a story in Velovision on a man in Wales, he
mentioned Static energy or something like that.
The fairing of the bike still seems to do something, even at lower
speeds.

IIRC the main thing he'd found is if you hit the bottom of the hill
doing 10 mph more than you'd be doing without the fairing, that was
often enough to get you over smaller hills, and a good start on bigger
ones, before the weight disadvantages cut in.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

"Luca Magnoni" wrote in message
...
On 29 Lug, 03:56, Tom Sherman
wrote:
[...]

How many paved roads are steep enough to slow an average rider down to
2-mph? Almost none.

Well, almost none in the US, but around here....

http://www.salite.ch/zoncolan1.asp?M...empriseH =661
[...]

Cyclists in mountainous areas are often quite strong riders and can outdo
those of us from the flats. I also think that those who reside in the
mountains live longer and healthier because of all the activity they get
walking up and down steep hillsides. You almost have to be a mountain goat
to live some areas of Italy.

Regards,

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota

On Tue, 29 Jul 2008 02:52:13 -0500, Ben C wrote:

On 2008-07-29, Tom Kunich cyclintom@yahoo wrote:
"Tom Sherman" wrote in message
...

Whats up with bringing off-road cycling into the discussion?

Lost track of which thread I was in. Nevertheless it is perfectly fine in my
book to try to race the Tour de France with a recumbent. Just try to ride
down those Alps roads fast enough to make up for the time lost on the climb.

If recumbents weren't better why would they be banned?

Just because.

On Mon, 28 Jul 2008 21:06:29 -0500, "Edward Dolan"
wrote:


"Tom Sherman" wrote in message
...
....snip...
The faired upright would get blown of the road by the first wind gust.

Faired uprights are rare to nonexistent - and for good reason. However,
recumbents with fairings can also get blown all over the road in strong
winds. In certain situations, it is extremely dangerous to ride a recumbent
with a fairing.

I've been out on a faired Rotator Pursuit in 40-50 mph winds. It was
fun but a lot of work. Cold, too. It would have been much nicer in
warm weather.

Steeing was OK and there was a bit of lean to make up for sidewinds.
YMMV.

** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

On Jul 27, 11:01*am, Tom Sherman
wrote:
aka Andres Muro wrote:

There are a couple of guys that ride recumbents and show up to up to
our weekend rides occasionally. One of them would never be able to
keep up with our group and the other could on regular bikes. With
recumbents they keep up with the group without problems. One of them
takes pulls at 25+ mile per hour without braking a sweat. On flats,
recumbents transform average cyclists into animals. The lower the
recumbents the faster these guys become. One has a very low racing
recumbents and he built an aero contraption in the back. He goes
really fast in that apparatus and because he is very low, it is hard
to draft him. He makes a great training partner. It's sort of like
motor pacing. On hills, he slows down quite a bit though. It is not
just the weight. His racing recumbent is not that heavy.

For the sake of argument, let us assume that that a particular recumbent
is 20% faster on the flats and equal on the climbs to the group members'
uprights. If the recumbent rider is just the equal of the group on the
flats, that means he is a considerably weaker rider, so it is no wonder
he gets dropped on the hills. What is being demonstrated is not the poor
climbing ability of the recumbent (which is typically the false
conclusion made by the upright riders), but rather its performance
advantage on flatter terrain.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
“Mary had a little lamb / And when she saw it sicken /
She shipped it off to Packingtown / And now it’s labeled chicken.”

"For the sake of argument"..boy, that speaks volumes.........

John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:
On Tue, 29 Jul 2008 02:52:13 -0500, Ben C wrote:

On 2008-07-29, Tom Kunich cyclintom@yahoo wrote:
"Tom Sherman" wrote in message
...
Whats up with bringing off-road cycling into the discussion?
Lost track of which thread I was in. Nevertheless it is perfectly fine in my
book to try to race the Tour de France with a recumbent. Just try to ride
down those Alps roads fast enough to make up for the time lost on the climb.
If recumbents weren't better why would they be banned?

Just because.

Yup, that sounds like the UCI! ;-/

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/