Dumb Newbie Qs on Gears and Speed

[Elisa Francesca]

Ok, so the first one is really dumb: does the gear setting affect how fast you go when you are
coasting? My instinct tells me no, since coasting involves not using the pedals, and I presume the
only thing affecting speed as you coast down a hill is the gravitational accelleration that Galileo
proved. But perhaps the chain setting can affect how fast the wheels are allowed to turn?

Second one: can a bike with 30 gears actually go faster in top gear than a bike with only 5 gears?
Or is it just a mattter of the 5 speed having less nuance between slowest and fastest speed? If
faster, is it proportional

Third one: is the coasting speed of a bike without use of brakes its maximum speed? Say I coast
freely down a hill and the online counter shows me at 29 kmph. That is faster than I can pedal in
my highest, fifth gear (or would want to). But if I were a speed freak on a different bike, could
I "refill" the pedalling by upping the gear to thirtieth and outrun gravity by pedalling at my
normal rpm?

Fourth: I know I'm not allowed to change gear when the bike is not moving. But can I change gear
during a coast, or does it have to be when I am actually pedalling? Not long ago I tried changing
gear while coasting and there was a problem, the gear did not change well. Since then I have not
tried it again, but I don't know whether I did something wrong or it was just a common and garden
gear malfunction, due to poor indexing or insufficient greasing.

Thanks for your patience. I only coasted for the first time about 3 weeks ago.

Elisa Roselli Ile de France

 

[Archer]

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> Ok, so the first one is really dumb: does the gear setting affect how fast you go when you are
> coasting? My instinct tells me no, since coasting involves not using the pedals, and I presume the
> only thing affecting speed as you coast down a hill is the gravitational accelleration that
> Galileo proved. But perhaps the chain setting can affect how fast the wheels are allowed to turn?

Nope. Air resistance and gravity are the only factors, so your instinct is correct.

> Second one: can a bike with 30 gears actually go faster in top gear than a bike with only 5 gears?

Only if the gear ratio is higher on the 30-speed, which it typically is. A common size for the
smallest cog on a 5-speed is 14 teeth, while a 27- or 30-speed might have a 11 or 12 tooth smallest
cog. The front (chainwheel) on a 5-speed is often smaller than the largest cog on a 30 as well. My
10 speed (2 on the front, 5 on the back) has 52 and 39 teeth chainwheels on the front, and 14 to 28
tooth cogs on the back. A 5-speed would likely have something like 46 teeth on the front chainwheel.

Whether or not you can use the hightest gears depends on your leg strength and how well your knees
will handle the pressure. I have pretty strong legs, but I rarely get into my top gear on the flats
unless I'm going with the wind.

> Or is it just a mattter of the 5 speed having less nuance between slowest and fastest speed?

That is the main reason for many speeds; it makes it easier to get the exact gearing you want for
any given conditions. I often find myself wishing I had a gear between my 7th and 8th gear speeds.

> If faster, is it proportional
>
> Third one: is the coasting speed of a bike without use of brakes its maximum speed? Say I coast
> freely down a hill and the online counter shows me at 29 kmph. That is faster than I can pedal in
> my highest, fifth gear (or would want to). But if I were a speed freak on a different bike, could
> I "refill" the pedalling by upping the gear to thirtieth and outrun gravity by pedalling at my
> normal rpm?

If your gear ratios are high enough, you can can easily pedal yourself to speeds higher than you
could achieve just by coasting. You will probably find that as you ride more, you can comfortably
pedal faster than you could at first, so you can drive yourself faster down the same hills.

> Fourth: I know I'm not allowed to change gear when the bike is not moving. But can I change gear
> during a coast, or does it have to be when I am actually pedalling? Not long ago I tried changing
> gear while coasting and there was a problem, the gear did not change well. Since then I have not
> tried it again, but I don't know whether I did something wrong or it was just a common and garden
> gear malfunction, due to poor indexing or insufficient greasing.

You just need to have the pedals turning to shift gears. It doesn't much matter how fast they are
moving (as long as it's more than just barely turning), and if you are coasting, you can just turn
the pedals against no resistance if you want to shift. Turn them at whatever speed feels comfortable
to you and it should shift ok.

> Thanks for your patience. I only coasted for the first time about 3 weeks ago.

Keep at it; coasting is your reward for cranking your way up the hill!!

--
David Kerber An optimist says "Good morning, Lord." While a pessimist says "Good Lord,
it's morning".

Remove the ns_ from the address before e-mailing.

 

[George]

Elisa Francesca Roselli wrote:
> Ok, so the first one is really dumb: does the gear setting affect how fast you go when you are
> coasting? My instinct tells me no, since coasting involves not using the pedals, and I presume the
> only thing affecting speed as you coast down a hill is the gravitational accelleration that
> Galileo proved. But perhaps the chain setting can affect how fast the wheels are allowed to turn?

No

>
> Second one: can a bike with 30 gears actually go faster in top gear than a bike with only 5 gears?
> Or is it just a mattter of the 5 speed having less nuance between slowest and fastest speed? If
> faster, is it proportional

To speak of the number of "speeds" for a bicycle is an error. The more correct term would be gear
"ratios" -- the relation between the pedalling cadence (RPM) and the rear wheel revolutions per
minute. A ratio of 1:1 would mean that one revolution of the pedals would produce one revolution of
the rear wheel. That would be a "high" gear used for going fast on level or downhill roads. A ratio
of 3 or 4 pedal revolutions to produce one wheel revolution would be a "low" gear suitable for
uphill travel.

Speed depends on gear ratio and pedalling speed (RPM), not the number of ratios available. The
"5-speed" usually has greater gaps between its 5 gear ratios than one with more ratios but not
always. It depends on the manufacturer and the purpose, not the number.

> Third one: is the coasting speed of a bike without use of brakes its maximum speed? Say I coast
> freely down a hill and the online counter shows me at 29 kmph. That is faster than I can pedal in
> my highest, fifth gear (or would want to). But if I were a speed freak on a different bike, could
> I "refill" the pedalling by upping the gear to thirtieth and outrun gravity by pedalling at my
> normal rpm?

You can always make the bike go faster by pedalling faster (if you are able).

> Fourth: I know I'm not allowed to change gear when the bike is not moving. But can I change gear
> during a coast, or does it have to be when I am actually pedalling? Not long ago I tried changing
> gear while coasting and there was a problem, the gear did not change well. Since then I have not
> tried it again, but I don't know whether I did something wrong or it was just a common and garden
> gear malfunction, due to poor indexing or insufficient greasing.

Changing gears is accomplished by "derailing" the chain from one ring to another, hence the name of
the mechanism "deraileur". Just as a train could not be derailed when standing still, the chain
cannot be derailed unless it is moving (you are pedalling). It is often possible to make a single
change in the setting when not pedalling which will not actually happen (cause the derailment) until
you begin pedalling again.

>
> Thanks for your patience. I only coasted for the first time about 3 weeks ago.
>
> Elisa Roselli Ile de France

 

[Dan Musicant]

On Fri, 18 Jul 2003 14:14:32 +0200, Elisa Francesca Roselli
<[email protected]> wrote:

:Ok, so the first one is really dumb: does the gear setting affect how :fast you go when you are
coasting? My instinct tells me no, since :coasting involves not using the pedals, and I presume the
only thing :affecting speed as you coast down a hill is the gravitational :accelleration that
Galileo proved. But perhaps the chain setting can :affect how fast the wheels are allowed to turn?

No, your instinct is correct. If you put a car in neutral and coasted down a hill it would be the
same thing. Your bike is essentially in neutral when coasting and anyway there's no engine drag like
with a car.
:
:Second one: can a bike with 30 gears actually go faster in top gear than :a bike with only 5 gears?
Or is it just a mattter of the 5 speed having :less nuance between slowest and fastest speed? If
faster, is it roportional

A bike with 30 gears is apt to have a higher top gearing than a 5 speed and therefore you would have
a higher maximum speed in certain conditions.
:
:Third one: is the coasting speed of a bike without use of brakes its :maximum speed? Say I coast
freely down a hill and the online counter :shows me at 29 kmph. That is faster than I can pedal in
my highest, :fifth gear (or would want to). But if I were a speed freak on a :different bike, could
I "refill" the pedalling by upping the gear to :thirtieth and outrun gravity by pedalling at my
normal rpm?

I don't get your question. If you can pedal fast enough and get force on the pedals, you can
increase your speed, even if going down hill. If you are going too fast to allow you to add speed by
pedaling, then gravity has gotten you past the speed where you can add anything by pedaling. These
things should become obvious to you shortly and you won't have to think about them.
:
:Fourth: I know I'm not allowed to change gear when the bike is not :moving. But can I change gear
during a coast, or does it have to be when :I am actually pedalling?

You will find that you have to be pedaling to change gears. You don't have to use force, but you
must pedal.

:Not long ago I tried changing gear while :coasting and there was a problem, the gear did not change
well. Since :then I have not tried it again, but I don't know whether I did something :wrong or it
was just a common and garden gear malfunction, due to poor :indexing or insufficient greasing.
:
:Thanks for your patience. I only coasted for the first time about 3 :weeks ago.
:
:Elisa Roselli :Ile de France

Enjoy your bike. It's a fun way to get around.

 

[John Bartley K7]

On Fri, 18 Jul 2003 14:14:32 +0200, Elisa Francesca Roselli
<[email protected]> wrote:

<snip>
>Fourth: I know I'm not allowed to change gear when the bike is not moving.
This is true only for external gearing.

Internally geared hubs (the Classic Sturmley-Archer, SRAM, et al.) require shifting while _not_
pedalling. If you can't see gears, then you shift while not pedalling; if you can see gears, you
shift while pedalling.

<snip>

--
Nobody but a fool goes into a federal counterrorism operation without duct tape - Richard Preston,
THE COBRA EVENT.

 

[Bill Davidson]

Elisa Francesca Roselli wrote:
> Ok, so the first one is really dumb: does the gear setting affect how fast you go when you are
> coasting?

No. A coaster gear/freewheel is not like an automotive transmission and so it won't slow you on a
downhill (at least not enough that you'll notice).

> My instinct tells me no, since coasting involves not using the pedals, and I presume the only
> thing affecting speed as you coast down a hill is the gravitational accelleration that
> Galileo proved.

Essentially correct. Your speed is also affected by your initial velocity when you begin coasting
and, of course, wind direction and velocity.

> But perhaps the chain setting can affect how fast the wheels are allowed to turn?

No.

> Second one: can a bike with 30 gears actually go faster in top gear than a bike with only 5 gears?
> Or is it just a mattter of the 5 speed having less nuance between slowest and fastest speed? If
> faster, is it proportional

Not exactly. The number of gears here is less important than the gear ratios of the two bikes. You
could have a single gear bike that has a higher gear than a 30 gear bike's highest gear. In fact,
when one has many gears, the gears will be a lot closer together than on a 5 speed bike. The
highest gear will probably be higher but not by a huge amount. The lowest gear will also probably
(but not neccessarily) be lower. It all depends upon how the people who put the bikes together set
up the gears.

> Third one: is the coasting speed of a bike without use of brakes its maximum speed?

It depends upon the gearing and how fast you can pedal.

> Say I coast freely down a hill and the online counter shows me at 29 kmph. That is faster than I
> can pedal in my highest, fifth gear (or would want to). But if I were a speed freak on a
> different bike, could I "refill" the pedalling by upping the gear to thirtieth and outrun gravity
> by pedalling at my normal rpm?

Yes. If you have a high enough gear you can go faster down almost any hill by pedaling though
somewhere around 75kph it starts to get a little on the crazy side. A gear big enough to pedal at
that speed is almost useless anywhere but on a long steep downhill.

> Fourth: I know I'm not allowed to change gear when the bike is not moving. But can I change gear
> during a coast, or does it have to be when I am actually pedalling? Not long ago I tried changing
> gear while coasting and there was a problem, the gear did not change well. Since then I have not
> tried it again, but I don't know whether I did something wrong or it was just a common and garden
> gear malfunction, due to poor indexing or insufficient greasing.

You can move the lever but the gear won't usually change until you pedal. You can pedal to change
gears even when you're going too fast to pedal to make the bike go faster.

I do this every time I ride. Typically, when I'm approaching a red light, I will coast and shift to
a lower gear, pedaling only enough to change the gear but not enough to make the bike go faster or
even maintain speed. That way, I can start from the green light in a lower gear; which tends to be
easier and get me back up to speed faster.

> Thanks for your patience. I only coasted for the first time about 3 weeks ago.

Keep at it!

--Bill Davidson
--
Please remove ".nospam" from my address for email replies.

I'm a 17 year veteran of usenet -- you'd think I'd be over it by now

 

[Mark Freedman]

Elisa Francesca Roselli <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...

Not to discourage you from asking questions here, but there are many other useful resources.

I think you'll find a lot of information at the fount of all knowledge, aka

http://www.sheldonbrown.com

There's a glossary of terms, articles for beginners, as well as articles on repair, links to
other bicycle sites, etc. Even if you don't plan to fix your own bike, it's good to know why
they're charging you $30 for a new lefthanded framwhizzer bolt.

www.chainreactionbicycles.com is another site I've found handy.

Probably tons more - I often find what I need with a GOOGLE search of the web, or GOOGLE GROUPS
search for old articles posted here. The latter can be confusing, since a lot of mythology and
opinion and general pigheadedness is mixed in with useful information.

There's a frequently asked questions (link posted here periodically). A GOOGLE search turned up:

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/bicycles-faq/part1/

Re: number of speeds and how it affects top speed, there is a gearing calculator at
www.sheldonbrown.com which shows speed in a given combination (front chainring and rear cog) at a
given crank rpm.

> Third one: is the coasting speed of a bike without use of brakes its maximum speed?

Coasting speed depends on the length and slope of the hill and factors such as wind (tailwind
helps, headwind hinders) and rolling resistance (related to tire width, tread, and inflation
pressure.)

I can coast faster down some hills than I can pedal on a flat road, but I'm a puny weakling. I
can usually increase my downhill speed by pedalling. I choose to limit my top speed, so usually
coast, and have been known to brake. Oh, the shame :-(

>
> Fourth: I know I'm not allowed to change gear when the bike is not

I infer that you have a derailleur-equipped bike, rather than an internally geared one.

Now to illustrate why you're better off reading sheldon brown's explanations

If you're at a bike shop (or at home with a co-operative friend) ask to see how the chain is
moved from one rear cog to the next.

This means holding the rear wheel off the floor and shifting the dearilleur(s) back and forth
while turning the pedals. A shop may put the bike in a work stand.

You'll watch the chain run over the rear pulleys which shift it sideways so that it "walks" from
one cog to the next. If you move the pulley without rotating the cranks the sideways force just
bends the chain, it doesn't "walk" from one cog to the next. If you shift several steps without
pedalling, the chain is bent at a sharper angle and will complain loudly when you next try to
pedal. "Ho-ow can you treat a poor chai-ain so ...."

The front derailleur nudges the chain from one chainring to the next - nowhere near as elegantly
IMO as the rear, and if you move the front cage (metal part through which the chain passes)
without pedalling, it can just jam against the chain.

It's also possible for the chain to drop inside the smallest chainring or outside the largest
chainring (misadjusted derailleur and/or faulty technique). I've had the chain drop between the
chainrings on my older bike (new chains are narrower than old).

And the chain can drop bewteen the largest rear cog and the spokes (ouch) or outside the smallest
rear cog (ouch). This is usually due to misadjusted or bent rear derailleur. I consider the
embarassment of having a plastic spoke protector (prevents the chain from jamming into the
spokes) a small price to pay.

I'm sure there are illustrations of front and rear derailleur operation somewhere. Picture is
worth 1000 words, etc.

hth

 

[Risto Varanka]

Elisa Francesca Roselli <[email protected]> wrote:

: Third one: is the coasting speed of a bike without use of brakes its maximum speed?

The maximum speed is when you drop your bike from an airplane...

But really, I think you meant to ask if it's somehow related to gears. Well not really.

Bicycles are not automobiles, but when it comes to speed they are quite similar. I see two factors
limiting the maximum speed: power and resistance. If your engine is a high-performance one, it can
push very hard to overcome resistance and achieve high speed. The other part of the equation is
having low resistance on your vehicle. For cars and bicycles this means mainly that they need (for
speed) good aerodynamics.

Aerodynamics is one reason why racing bikes are faster: you have a lower riding position so your
upper body provides less resistance. It is one reason why some recumbents are faster than racing
bikes: the riding position is very low, so your body in general provides little air resistance.
People obsessed with maximum speed can build a fully closed cover around the recumbent, still
dramatically improving aerodynamics. World-class athletes are occasionally able to reach speeds of
120 km/h or so on such bikes, in short sprints on flat ground.

There are some IMO less important nitty gritty details affecting maximum speed. For example, smooth
high pressure tires provide less rolling resistance. There are also some differences in how much
power you can put out in a certain riding position and type of bike.

The role of gears is simply that turning the cranks at a reasonable rpm must make the wheel turn at
the required speed. This is very easy to achieve, so we can assume that gearing is optimal.

: Say I coast freely down a hill and the online counter shows me at 29 kmph. That is faster than I
: can pedal in my highest, fifth gear (or would want to).

If you could pedal at a higher rpm you would go faster. I used to top at 40 km/h on an old 3-speed
upright bike on the flats.

: But if I were a speed freak on a different bike, could I "refill" the pedalling by upping the gear
: to thirtieth and outrun gravity by pedalling at my normal rpm?

That's actually a good question that I think hasn't been answered. I think theoretically, if you
want to go faster you need to provide power through pedals, ie. there needs to be some resistance
felt at the pedals. I think this only happens if your rpm * gear is higher than the speed you are
doing just by coasting. So you need to pedal fast or use a big gear, maybe both, depending on the
hill and the bike. (Dunno if this is comprehensive enough, and I'm not entirely sure of it
either...)

Practically though, pedalling can increase air resistance so you might not go faster by pedalling
than by simply coasting. I read about a guy who did some unscientific tests which yielded very
little benefit from pedalling. I guess there is a huge load of anecdotal evidence against this,
but still...

I know it's complicated but you like intellectual challenges I think

--
Risto Varanka | http://www.helsinki.fi/~rvaranka/hpv/hpv.html varis at no spam please iki fi

 

[David L. Johnso]

On Fri, 18 Jul 2003 14:14:32 +0200, Elisa Francesca Roselli wrote:

> Ok, so the first one is really dumb: does the gear setting affect how fast you go when you are
> coasting?

No

> involves not using the pedals, and I presume the only thing affecting speed as you coast down a
> hill is the gravitational accelleration that Galileo proved.

I think you mean Newton, but that's OK.

> Second one: can a bike with 30 gears actually go faster in top gear than a bike with only 5 gears?
> Or is it just a mattter of the 5 speed having less nuance between slowest and fastest speed?

Typically, a bike with 5 gears will not have as high a top gear, nor as low a bottom gear, nor as
many choices in between, as one with 30. The number of gears has nothing to do with the speed the
bike can go, however. The fastest bikes, land speed record machines, tend to have only one gear.
It's a matter of rider comfort, and adaptability to all sorts of riding conditions (like big hills),
that give the bike with more gears the advantage.

> Fourth: I know I'm not allowed to change gear when the bike is not moving. But can I change gear
> during a coast, or does it have to be when I am actually pedalling?

Depends on the type of gear. Internally-geared hubs are often changed by a momentary coast, but
derailleur-geared bikes need to be pedaled to change gears.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Accept risk. Accept responsibility. Put a lawyer out of _`\(,_ | business. (_)/ (_) |

 

[Tom Sherman]

archer wrote:
> ... If your gear ratios are high enough, you can can easily pedal yourself to speeds higher than
> you could achieve just by coasting. You will probably find that as you ride more, you can
> comfortably pedal faster than you could at first, so you can drive yourself faster down the same
> hills....

However, pedaling will also increase the overall drag. This can be demonstrated by coasting down a
hill, then pedaling backward at a normal cadence. At what point pedaling becomes counter-productive
will depend on rider strength and bicycle configuration, but I suspect in most cases it will be at a
speed of 70 kph or greater.

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities USA (Illinois side)

 

[Tom Sherman]

"John Bartley K7AAY (ex-KGH2126)" wrote:
>
> On Fri, 18 Jul 2003 14:14:32 +0200, Elisa Francesca Roselli
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> <snip>
> >Fourth: I know I'm not allowed to change gear when the bike is not moving.
> This is true only for external gearing.
>
> Internally geared hubs (the Classic Sturmley-Archer, SRAM, et al.) require shifting while _not_
> pedalling. If you can't see gears, then you shift while not pedalling; if you can see gears, you
> shift while pedalling.

The Rolex, er Rohloff 14-speed internally geared hub will shift under load.

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities USA (Illinois side)

 

[Elisa Francesca]

Thanks, that makes it all a lot clearer and more sensible.

Elisa Roselli Ile de France

 

[Elisa Francesca]

Tom Sherman wrote:

> At what point pedaling becomes counter-productive will depend on rider strength and bicycle
> configuration, but I suspect in most cases it will be at a speed of 70 kph or greater.
>

Gulp! I broke my speed record yesterday coasting a long, steep hill at 33 kph. That's plenty fast
enough for me! When the air is over 30 degrees C and you nevertheless start getting wind-chill ...

Elisa Roselli Ile de France

 

[Archer]

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
>
>
> Tom Sherman wrote:
>
> > At what point pedaling becomes counter-productive will depend on rider strength and bicycle
> > configuration, but I suspect in most cases it will be at a speed of 70 kph or greater.
> >
>
> Gulp! I broke my speed record yesterday coasting a long, steep hill at 33 kph. That's plenty fast
> enough for me! When the air is over 30 degrees C and you nevertheless start getting wind-chill ...

Great! You're coming along. My record is just over 30 mph (not kph), and I had to pedal hard down
what little hills we have to get there; I don't have any good long hills to get up to high speeds by
coasting. I would love to go faster, just to see what it's like.

--
David Kerber An optimist says "Good morning, Lord." While a pessimist says "Good Lord,
it's morning".

Remove the ns_ from the address before e-mailing.

 

[Luigi De Guzman]

Elisa Francesca Roselli <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> Tom Sherman wrote:
>
> > At what point pedaling becomes counter-productive will depend on rider strength and bicycle
> > configuration, but I suspect in most cases it will be at a speed of 70 kph or greater.
> >
>
> Gulp! I broke my speed record yesterday coasting a long, steep hill at 33 kph. That's plenty fast
> enough for me! When the air is over 30 degrees C and you nevertheless start getting wind-chill ...

....you go to the drops and adopt a more aerodynamic position to reduce your frontal area.

-Luigi

 

[Tom Sherman]

Luigi de Guzman wrote:
>
> Elisa Francesca Roselli <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:<[email protected]>...
> > Tom Sherman wrote:
> >
> > > At what point pedaling becomes counter-productive will depend on rider strength and bicycle
> > > configuration, but I suspect in most cases it will be at a speed of 70 kph or greater.
> > >
> >
> > Gulp! I broke my speed record yesterday coasting a long, steep hill at 33 kph. That's plenty
> > fast enough for me! When the air is over 30 degrees C and you nevertheless start getting
> > wind-chill ...
>
> ....you go to the drops and adopt a more aerodynamic position to reduce your frontal area.

Here is how I reduced frontal area: < http://www.ihpva.org/incoming/2002/sunset/Sunset001.jpg >
There are no long or steep grades in north/central Illinois, so I have only been able to get it up
to 90 kph.

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities USA (Illinois side)

 

[Luigi De Guzman]

Tom Sherman <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...

>
> Here is how I reduced frontal area: < http://www.ihpva.org/incoming/2002/sunset/Sunset001.jpg >
> There are no long or steep grades in north/central Illinois, so I have only been able to get it up
> to 90 kph.

Well that's all right, I guess.

just curious, since I note with interest the bike has a rack attached--can you go shopping with it?
and how do you lock it up when you do?

I ask, since I saw my first heavily-laden 'bent here in London (if you were cranking past Torrington
Place near UCL today, that was me and a buddy in the Marlborough Arms).

-Luigi

 

[Tom Sherman]

Luigi de Guzman wrote:
>
> Tom Sherman <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
>
> >
> > Here is how I reduced frontal area: < http://www.ihpva.org/incoming/2002/sunset/Sunset001.jpg >
> > There are no long or steep grades in north/central Illinois, so I have only been able to get it
> > up to 90 kph.
>
> Well that's all right, I guess.
>
> just curious, since I note with interest the bike has a rack attached--can you go shopping with
> it? and how do you lock it up when you do?
>
> I ask, since I saw my first heavily-laden 'bent here in London (if you were cranking past
> Torrington Place near UCL today, that was me and a buddy in the Marlborough Arms).

The rear rack came as standard equipment on the Earth Cycles Sunset [1] and will carry two standard
pannier plus a trunk bag. I have not used mine for shopping, but I am aware of one owner who has.

As for locking the bike, a U-lock through the rear stays would work to secure the bike.

[1] Custom made by the manufacturer to fit the bike.

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities USA (Illinois side)