Newbie to a laid back view

DIscuss anything relating to non-standard cycles and their equipment.
Stradageek
Posts: 1657
Joined: 17 Jan 2011, 1:07pm

Re: Newbie to a laid back view

Post by Stradageek »

steve6854 wrote: My main problem is stop/start riding. Can't seem to get the hang of elegantly coming to a halt at a junction and pulling away. The mantra practice, practice, practice springs to mind.

Absolutely! I always unclip well before I need to stop and then dangle the legs as I coast to a halt. I wait with both legs down and only clip in the starting leg just before I need to restart - then push away confidently.
a.twiddler
Posts: 347
Joined: 4 Jun 2009, 12:17am

Re: Newbie to a laid back view

Post by a.twiddler »

Clip? Unclip? What sorcery is this? Despite having initial qualms about foot retention, on my Linear I find that my feet stay put without mechanical assistance on flat wide BMX type pedals with ordinary shoes or trainers. In comparison with my folder which has smooth plastic folding pedals where they are prone to slip in the wet, or on my tourer with the security of toeclips and straps, on the recumbent they stay put until I want to come in to land. No frantic attempts to clip/ unclip involved, they just work through friction.

When I first came to the darkside I thought that clips or some kind of retention would be essential to keep my feet from dropping once I became weary on a long ride but this just has not happened. As it's a recumbent bike it would not be a disaster if it even happened rarely, unlike on a tadpole trike where you might run over your own leg. Now that I've been riding it for a few months even stop start riding and hill starts, or even stop start hill starts, have lost their terror. It just takes a bit longer to get started again than an upright.The flat wide pedals also give you something to aim for -if you don't get your foot square on immediately you can shuffle it about a bit once you get rolling. However, it's a LWB recumbent with the BB axle slightly lower than the seat, it might be a bit different on a SWB with the BB axle mounted higher. Anticipation, conservation of momentum and loads of practice are the thing.

The Linear is not the thing for trackstands but I have found that by giving a little extra space to traffic in front (traffic almost invariably gives you plenty of space) you can often delay the moment of having to put your foot down to the extent that you can avoid it as they get moving while your wheels are just still turning.

Some weeks ago I was having a go at getting through an "A" frame barrier uphill. Earlier on that day I had passed through it successfully going down hill without stopping or putting my feet down, by putting my elbows out. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get into a low enough gear going up and stalled. I then fell over into a small but strategically placed clump of nettles. I feel steve6854's pain! First time I've fallen off this bike, though, and apart from the stinging nettles, it was a soft landing. Must guard against too much hubris next time round.
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[XAP]Bob
Posts: 19793
Joined: 26 Sep 2008, 4:12pm

Re: Newbie to a laid back view

Post by [XAP]Bob »

Clips are important on a trike, not so much on a bike, though I still used them. My feet would occasionally be bounced off the pedals hitting speed bumps at, well .. speed.
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
a.twiddler
Posts: 347
Joined: 4 Jun 2009, 12:17am

Re: Newbie to a laid back view

Post by a.twiddler »

Perhaps speed or the lack of it is the key. Other riders may be able to get more speed out of the Linear (though I don't claim to be fast on anything) but it definitely is built for comfort over speed. Even over the worst unexpected potholes my feet just stay in place when my backside is being jarred about. Over expected unavoidable ones I have found you can brace yourself against the pedals and spare your behind some trauma. Maybe tomorrow I will hit some crater and find my feet fly around all over the place, but up to now it's all been good. Also, it's early days yet, in the interests of more effciency I could in the future become a convert to clipless, particularly if I were to venture into the world of SWB recumbents.

Speed is relative, of course. Earlier this year it was an occasion to hang the flags out when I managed to maintain 12mph average for 20 miles on my steel tourer. I haven't tried the same course on the Linear but I will wait for a calm day and try it for size. Of course being nagged by a cycle computer could be the pathway to misery, as I've only this year been using them again after a long break during which I've enjoyed the innocence of ignorance.
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[XAP]Bob
Posts: 19793
Joined: 26 Sep 2008, 4:12pm

Re: Newbie to a laid back view

Post by [XAP]Bob »

On the rapto my backside never felt any bumps, the load was so easily distributed across my back - it is an extreme riding angle, but a very comfortable and efficient one. I regret not making it to a WWC audax on it.

Though I might have been on the brakes for some of those hills, I hit 50mph on the trike... the rapto would probably have done 60, and the increased risk of falling from two wheels would probably have had me braking out of self preservation.
I did consider heading to MT Ventoux, and taking tome motorbike leathers to the top, then seeing what she would do on the descent if I felt comfortable at speed...
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
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