Friday, March 10, 2006
Helping out our brothers and sisters
NK from the Bolts and Nuts bike gang gets published! Maybe that means Leah McLaren will be able to read his blog now. Click through his site to read the article in The Varsity (I didn't link directly to the article because of the registration, but you might be lucky and not need to register).
Joe of Biking Toronto has given away 3 of his 8 cycling secrets. Great advice so far. Hopefully I won't need the other 5 secrets this weekend.
And while I'm linking everywhere, here's an article in Wired about bikes. I learned a new word from it: crank-forward. It's sort of like a recumbent without the seriousness. So you can be more comfortable on it, but your local recumbent bike club probably won't let you join, and may make fun of you. The Rans version shown in the article was shown at the Urbane booth at the Bicycle Show this past weekend.
Joe of Biking Toronto has given away 3 of his 8 cycling secrets. Great advice so far. Hopefully I won't need the other 5 secrets this weekend.
And while I'm linking everywhere, here's an article in Wired about bikes. I learned a new word from it: crank-forward. It's sort of like a recumbent without the seriousness. So you can be more comfortable on it, but your local recumbent bike club probably won't let you join, and may make fun of you. The Rans version shown in the article was shown at the Urbane booth at the Bicycle Show this past weekend.
Darren J 3/10/2006 02:01:00 p.m.
5 Comments:
That Wired article is by Bryan Ball, the guy from Bentrideronline.com that we had dinner with last Friday night before the bike show. :)
The RANS crank-forward bikes are really nice. Too many other recumbent-wannabe bikes were built over the last few years, but RANS really got it right. I wouldn't classify these as recumbent either, but they sure are comfy from my limited experience riding them. I would definitely consider one of them as an around-town bike.
I ride a recumbent, but my stable of ass-hatchet bikes outnumbers it 3 to 1. :-)
The RANS crank-forward bikes are really nice. Too many other recumbent-wannabe bikes were built over the last few years, but RANS really got it right. I wouldn't classify these as recumbent either, but they sure are comfy from my limited experience riding them. I would definitely consider one of them as an around-town bike.
I ride a recumbent, but my stable of ass-hatchet bikes outnumbers it 3 to 1. :-)
Hi Darren, I think you probably know my 5 remaining tips (actually, 4 now...) already, but in case you don't... be safe out there. :)
A co-worker of mine bought a hybrid last year that has the crank a bit more forward than her old mountain bike, and she still doesn't like it. I tried it out on Wednesday and understood... you feel too relaxed on it. She says hills are harder because she isn't "attacking" the hills anymore.
I wonder if people on recumbents have this feeling too?
A co-worker of mine bought a hybrid last year that has the crank a bit more forward than her old mountain bike, and she still doesn't like it. I tried it out on Wednesday and understood... you feel too relaxed on it. She says hills are harder because she isn't "attacking" the hills anymore.
I wonder if people on recumbents have this feeling too?
"Attacking" a hill is a bit different on a recumbent. You can't stand up on the pedals. Most recumbent riders learn how to gear down and spin quickly to get up the hills.
For short bursts when you need the extra power, you can really dig in on the pedals by bracing up against the seat.
But overall, most people say recumbents are a little slower going up the hills. I would say I'm about even when comparing my heavy recumbent and my clunky mountain bike. I'd like to compare a nice light/fast 'bent and road bike someday.
For short bursts when you need the extra power, you can really dig in on the pedals by bracing up against the seat.
But overall, most people say recumbents are a little slower going up the hills. I would say I'm about even when comparing my heavy recumbent and my clunky mountain bike. I'd like to compare a nice light/fast 'bent and road bike someday.
Darren,
Thanks for the shout-out. I am sad that I couldn't work out a spot for biking blogs in the article.
Emilio (NK)
Thanks for the shout-out. I am sad that I couldn't work out a spot for biking blogs in the article.
Emilio (NK)
No problem, Emilio. It was a great article.