..mysterious ways...darkside urges

Earlier this year I acquired a TEAM Raleigh frame. I hung it on the wall in the shop and insisted
that I was going to build it up. My DF racerhead buddies were pressuring me to build it up. So two
weeks ago it got a bottom bracket, wheels, stem and handlebars. I began to wonder what it would ride
like? Started to think about the feeling of rising out of the saddle and stomping on the pedals?
Dismissed the ..OTHER seat issue. Well anyway a higher power works in mysterious ways. As soon a it
looked as if I was serious about building it for myself, a long time customer that was fondling it
for months made me a offer I could not refuse. It is gone and the temptation to slip back into the
darkside has diminished...for now. Possibly I could supress future return of darkside urge with a
BARON or a CatTrike. Ya think? Jude////Bachetta AERO///bikeE AT....BARON???CatTrike Speed????

 

I have supped on the ...Dark Side.... out of curiosity I bought a 10.5 kilo carbon fork road bike to
see what all the fuss was about..... after the initial novelty (?) of uphill speed, I started to get
backache and aches and neck ache and pains blah blah... (I'm a 'senior...')

In terms of any comparison of uphill speed, the road bike is 10.5 kilos and the trike more than 17.
The large difference is because when I ride the road bike I put my spare tube, toolkit and jacket in
my wifes panniers... this is the fastest way to lighten a bike.....

Overall it is maybe 3 kph faster over 25 kms than my MR Swift tadpole...but at what price! I feel
totally vulnerable to a fall, HATE the clips for the same reason. Side and head winds knock me
around. I have to think about braking and avoid gravel and soft edges.

Interesting stats from my heart monitor too. On the trike, I find it difficult to get my pulse up
into the 'zone' of 130 plus. On the road bike it hits 133 on the flat and will peak to the 145 max
on anything of a hill.

So I'm using less energy on the trike (we knew that, but it's another confirmation.) The road bike
is slower downhill (about 4 kph on a short (300 metre) very steep hill) but I can maintain a sprint
(at my age it's not much of one...) for longer and get moderately higher max speeds on the flat.

On the positive side, a bit of wedgie cross-training has improved my 'bent performance.

The experience has persuaded me to order a lightweight trike - I'll only use the road bike for
social rides with other wedgies (so they won't feel inferior!!!)

Paul Worden - MR Swift

 

Paul Worden wrote:
> ... In terms of any comparison of uphill speed, the road bike is 10.5 kilos and the trike more
> than 17. The large difference is because when I ride the road bike I put my spare tube, toolkit
> and jacket in my wifes panniers... this is the fastest way to lighten a bike.....

Until your wife gets annoyed by being loaded down with all your junk and rides by without stopping
when you get a flat.

Tom Sherman

 

New wedgie seat design: http://www.saddleco.com/index.html

This looks very interesting - I want to see the real thing. I could easily picture a 'bent seat made
in the same way.

 

A nice design of a not-so-new concept - reminiscent of the Pedersen hammock saddle.

Surely a mesh recumbent seat works in exactly the same way?

Paul W

 

As I see it the difference is that the Flow seat uses a fairly firm mesh in a shape that's convex as
seen from above the top, and has some 'springiness that limits how far it deforms inward under
pressure. Many recumbent seats have mesh backs and some have mesh bottoms but they are more-or-less
slack 'hammock' designs.

My instincts are telling me that the Saddleco design is going to work and we'll be hearing
more about it.

"Paul Worden" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> A nice design of a not-so-new concept - reminiscent of the Pedersen
hammock
> saddle.
>
> Surely a mesh recumbent seat works in exactly the same way?
>
> Paul W

 

Looks good. I may have to try one, if they're not heinously expensive. Now, if they can find a way
to relieve the pains in my back and wrists........

 

Oh yes, they are heinously expensive - didn't you expect that?

"Duncan Cooper" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Looks good. I may have to try one, if they're not heinously expensive. Now, if they can find a way
> to relieve the pains in my back and wrists........