Getting used to tiller steering, tips?

[UpWrong]

I also find Open Cockpit bars/ Superman/ Tweener/Aero bars more manageable than tiller bars. (However, the cabling on my Nazca Paseo with its Aero bars is proving to be a challenge.) The more tiller there is (distance from the steering axis) the trickier it becomes. Staying relaxed is easier said than done. A wider/heavier front tyre might increase resistance and give a better feel.

[squeaker]

A wider/heavier front tyre might increase resistance and give a better feel.

Good point: bigger tyre = more trail / less twitch?

[pjclinch]

Though putting a wider, heavier tyre on to increase resistance is a bit... odd on a Speedmachine, which has its design priorities as, well, there's a clue in the name!

[[XAP]Bob]

As a learning aid though... it's perfectly valid.

I shall no doubt put some faster tyres on my rapto when I replace the wheels (which I have the hubs for)

One issue is the complications over the rear disk mounting being wrong... Might force me to go for 180mm discs...

[squeaker]

One issue is the complications over the rear disk mounting being wrong... Might force me to go for 180mm discs...

Isn't it a front disk mount? (As it's a front wheel used at the back.) Or have I remembered it incorrectly?

[[XAP]Bob]

One issue is the complications over the rear disk mounting being wrong... Might force me to go for 180mm discs...

Isn't it a front disk mount? (As it's a front wheel used at the back.) Or have I remembered it incorrectly?

It's a front disc mount - but my frame wasn't correctly finished. The offset between the mounting post and the disc location is wrong (by about negative 4mm).

To take that much material off a mounting post I need one that is tall enough not to result in the bolts clashing with the mounting post - that means it needs to be a 180 (at least). Frankly even 180 seems overkill for me, given how easily the rear can be locked up anyway...

I kind of wish I's looked harder at a 70mm Drum+Dynamo from SA. I might still lean that way, but I might also be thinking about swapping in a motorised wheel at times (depends on job and commute)

[UpWrong]

Though putting a wider, heavier tyre on to increase resistance is a bit... odd on a Speedmachine, which has its design priorities as, well, there's a clue in the name!

Increased resistance to turning (as felt in the bars) rather than increased rolling resistance is what I'm getting at .

[Brucey]

My speedmachine has a tiller (hamster bars) which I don't find intuitive at all. I am at the stage where I can ride in roughly a straight line, but if I need to turn I am more likely to need an emergency stop and if I loose my line any attempts at correcting just seem to make it worse. It seems like half the time the steering is too twitchy, but then when I try and turn there's a lag before anything happens.
I wonder whether this is just part of me learning to ride a bent or whether it is particular to hamster bars. A long time ago I tried a tadpole trike (uss) which I found really natural to steer. I also tried a lwb with uss, which was impossible to start on but easy to control.
So, is it the bike (learning to ride a bike) or the bars? Any tips/suggestions?

It is a bit of everything, I'd have said. Part of the problem is that one's sense of balance is (if you are attuned to riding upright bikes) likely to be not at all 'calibrated' for tipping over in a different axis.

FWIW my 'horrible thing' was similarly awkward to learn to ride on. Steering feels twitchy, but when you want to deliberately initiate a turn, everything happens in slow motion. Part of the trouble is that part of the normal balancing action (on an upright) is being able to shift body weight around, and that doesn't work the same way any more. It feels a bit weird to have to countersteer as much as you must on a recumbent when you want to tip in to a corner, and the way the machine settles into a turn is different too.

One tip I have is (if you can do when you are starting out) to sit upright and let your legs dangle whilst coasting down a slight slope. You will have more confidence (you can dab a foot at any time) plus the feel of the balance will be less unfamiliar to you.

Feeling how the machine behaves when you deliberately put an input into the steering is a very useful exercise; the longer the tiller, the less force is required, but remember that (likewise) the force at the bars arising from the self-centring of the steering is very small too. Any kind of 'death grip' on the bars is likely to end in tears!

cheers