As for wheel left, I figured it was a skill I was unlikely to need since in the UK the road camber runs uphill to the right 99 per cent of the time. I used to hold a trackstand with back pressure on the fixed when I came across a left slope, on the free I just hope for the lights to change or give up :-)
This is on the fixed. The problem is that wheel right often puts me either some distance back from or some distance over, the stop line. Whereas I can now trackstand indefinately wheel right (Even on cobbled roads), wheel left just feels wrong and it's hit and miss. Ah well, practice makes perfect and all that!
Yes, that's what I expected, but it leans too much. If she doesn't slide off the saddle in time, she goes over.
Does everybody always slide forward when stopping?
Depends on the bike. The geometry of the Brompton is such that it's easy to put a foot down comfortably when stopped in the saddle, the 8 Freight is deliberately engineered with a low bottom bracket because load control when stopped is fundamental to the design.
But for a bike designed for /cycling/ rather than stopping it's certainly not unreasonable to expect to have to slide off the saddle. Takes a bit of getting used to, but it's okay once you have. To realise that it's not unprecedented, think of Penny-Farthings!
Pete. -- Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/
Two seconds... I dream of that world. If I ever have to bail out of a trackstand (Relatively frequent at the minute, I'm trying to learn "wheel left" instead of "wheel right"!) the lights change as my foot hits the floor. Allowing for the time taken to regain balance and be ready to move off, I've either lost my pole position at the lights, or someone is beeping me!
Definition of a New York second - the time between lights changing to green and the person behind you beeping.
"dkahn400" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
No, I doubt it. She should be able to put a toe down either side and hold the bike at a slight angle of lean. [ ]
Yes, that's what I expected, but it leans too much. If she doesn't slide off the saddle in time, she goes over.
I'd have to see it to make a judgement about whether it's excessive. It's important that she can stop safely, but being able to stand at the lights while remaining on the saddle comes well below riding position in importance.
Quoted message said:
Does everybody always slide forward when stopping?
I do usually although I can remain on the saddle with just a toe on the ground if the mood takes me.
Does everybody always slide forward when stopping?
Reading this thread I realised I didn't even know if I could reach the ground sitting in the saddle. Just tested it and I can't, but I do the sliding forward thing without actually noticing it. When I stop pedaling I have a bit of weight on one (stretched) leg, when the speed drops I increasingly stand on that leg so my weight comes off the saddle and I move a bit forward, and when the speed drops more I bend the knee a bit and the other leg stretches out toward the ground. If I don't have to come to a full stop that foot can scoot a bit to regain speed, and then all in reverse order until I'm back in the saddle. Never really thought about this 🙂
Maybe you are right. It's a bit like when driving the car, the moment you put the handbrake on and take it out of gear...
The lights must have very short cycle times by the Westminster gasworks. Or are you one of the annoying drivers that only takes his feet off the clutch & brake when they get tired? Whatever happened to putting the handbrake on and shifting into neutral immediately after stopping? Why does nearly everyone sit in front of me with their high-level brake lights on, right in my line of vision?
Reading this thread I realised I didn't even know if I could reach the ground sitting in the saddle. Just tested it and I can't, but I do the sliding forward thing without actually noticing it.
I used to do this quite unconsciously too, but what came as a difference between me and Roos was doing it with a back-pedal brake. First trip to Amsterdam we'd hired bikes with just a back-pedal brake and a geometry that meant the right saddle height for me left my feet well clear of the ground. It's easy enough to step off the saddle with a pedal at 6 o'clock, but of course you can't actually apply any useful braking force there... Cnnsiderable fun was justifiably poked my way for the first few attempts to stop smoothly, and I was quite pleased that Dutch drivers defer to cyclists (especially those with big discs saying "numpty on hire bike, extra caution!"😉.
Pete. -- Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/
Why does nearly everyone sit in front of me with their high-level brake lights on, right in my line of vision?
They're driving automatics?
No it's because if they take the car out of gear, like you are supposed to, the fule behind you (who probably is driving an automatic) will lean on the horn the second the amber light comes on. -- Phil Cook looking north over the park to the "Westminster Gasworks"
The lights must have very short cycle times by the Westminster gasworks. Or are you one of the annoying drivers that only takes his feet off the clutch & brake when they get tired? Whatever happened to putting the handbrake on and shifting into neutral immediately after stopping? Why does nearly everyone sit in front of me with their high-level brake lights on, right in my line of vision?
Rather scarily, some driving instructors are teaching this now. And in the current HGV test, you only need to use the "parking brake" (Slightly different to a normal handbrake) if you are stationary for more than five seconds at a junction.
Whatever happened to putting the handbrake on and shifting into neutral immediately after stopping? Why does nearly everyone sit in front of me with their high-level brake lights on, right in my line of vision?
</rant>
Automatic gearboxes?
-- Tony
"The best way I know of to win an argument is to start by being in the right." - Lord Hailsham
