Sheldon "I ain't dead yet" Brown appreciation thread!

[landotter]

Sheldon's been posting recently! Woo Hoo!

I bet there's not one among you that's not been helped by the goodly
feller's resources.

I just wanna know, is Sheldon riding *anything* now, considering his
MS, and if he is, what baddass mods does said vehicle have!!

Come on' Sheldon, you say the disease is just waist down--so your
noggin is good, what kind of cool new crazy ya got going on now??

 

[Ryan Cousineau]

In article
<c684dc00-6379-426f-bc39-22102d0bd1ef@x69g2000hsx.googlegroups.com>,
landotter <[email protected]> wrote:

> Sheldon's been posting recently! Woo Hoo!
>
> I bet there's not one among you that's not been helped by the goodly
> feller's resources.
>
> I just wanna know, is Sheldon riding *anything* now, considering his
> MS, and if he is, what baddass mods does said vehicle have!!
>
> Come on' Sheldon, you say the disease is just waist down--so your
> noggin is good, what kind of cool new crazy ya got going on now??

He doesn't make a big deal about it, but he does still update his
medical journal. He's more or less limited to riding his Greenspeed
trike at bike-path speeds due to balance issues, be he's still riding
that!

http://sheldonbrown.org/journal/health.html

Many of his riding details can be gleaned from "The Bright Side of MS":

http://sheldonbrown.org/ms.html

I sometimes give recumbents and their champions a lot of stick, but the
recumbent trike is really working well for Sheldon. Okay, a bit of
stick: he says it's great for riding really slowly .

Sheldon's dirty secret: handicapped parking spots really are as good as
you suspect: "This feature alone makes the whole thing almost
worthwhile!"

--
Ryan Cousineau [email protected] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"My scenarios may give the impression I could be an excellent crook.
Not true - I am a talented lawyer." - Sandy in rec.bicycles.racing

 

[Paul Myron Hobson]

landotter wrote:
> Sheldon's been posting recently! Woo Hoo!
>
> I bet there's not one among you that's not been helped by the goodly
> feller's resources.
>
> I just wanna know, is Sheldon riding *anything* now, considering his
> MS, and if he is, what baddass mods does said vehicle have!!
>
> Come on' Sheldon, you say the disease is just waist down--so your
> noggin is good, what kind of cool new crazy ya got going on now??

His website has been invaluable to me. Best part is, I've used it as
resource mainly when fixing up friends old bikes while teaching them
everything I've learned about bike mechanics. I'd say I've gotten at
least 7 people cycling some of the time (2 or 3 of those ride a lot)
thanks to him.

All the best to ya, Sheldon!
\\paul

 

[Tom Sherman]

landotter wrote:
> Sheldon's been posting recently! Woo Hoo!

Brown nose!

> I bet there's not one among you that's not been helped by the goodly
> feller's resources.

Yeah, but will garage mechanics in Rogers, Arkansas admit to it?

> I just wanna know, is Sheldon riding *anything* now, considering his
> MS, and if he is, what baddass mods does said vehicle have!!
>
> Come on' Sheldon, you say the disease is just waist down--so your
> noggin is good, what kind of cool new crazy ya got going on now??

I thought Sheldon was riding his Greenspeed trike, due to its
self-balancing nature.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
"Localized intense suction such as tornadoes is created when temperature
differences are high enough between meeting air masses, and can impart
excessive energy onto a cyclist." - Randy Schlitter

 

[Just A User]

Tom Sherman wrote:
> landotter wrote:
>> Sheldon's been posting recently! Woo Hoo!
>
> Brown nose!
>
>> I bet there's not one among you that's not been helped by the goodly
>> feller's resources.
>
> Yeah, but will garage mechanics in Rogers, Arkansas admit to it?
>
>> I just wanna know, is Sheldon riding *anything* now, considering his
>> MS, and if he is, what baddass mods does said vehicle have!!
>>
>> Come on' Sheldon, you say the disease is just waist down--so your
>> noggin is good, what kind of cool new crazy ya got going on now??
>
> I thought Sheldon was riding his Greenspeed trike, due to its
> self-balancing nature.
>

If Sheldon is riding his trike, it's a good thing. And about self
balancing aspect of trikes, a while back I was out riding and ran into a
guy riding a Catrike that admitted that he used to ride two wheeled
bikes but had a stroke and had balance issues but wanted to start riding
again so he bought the trike and loved being able to ride again.

 

[Werehatrack]

On Tue, 11 Dec 2007 07:02:23 -0500, Just A User
<[email protected]> wrote:

>If Sheldon is riding his trike, it's a good thing. And about self
>balancing aspect of trikes, a while back I was out riding and ran into a
>guy riding a Catrike that admitted that he used to ride two wheeled
>bikes but had a stroke and had balance issues but wanted to start riding
>again so he bought the trike and loved being able to ride again.

Yeah, I'm still trying to figure out how to put together a tadpole on
a shoestring for a friend who has balance issues. The problem at my
end is that I don't have access to the kind of machine shop
capabilities that I'd need for any of the potential solutions that I
know how to execute, and I have to provide a physically robust result
because there's a significant initial load to carry. Trying to get
the most critical assembly (the steering axle) by itself from one of
the existing manufacturers has been an exercise in frustration; none I
have contacted has yet been willing to even quote me a price for just
that portion.

--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

 

[Just A User]

Werehatrack wrote:
> On Tue, 11 Dec 2007 07:02:23 -0500, Just A User
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> If Sheldon is riding his trike, it's a good thing. And about self
>> balancing aspect of trikes, a while back I was out riding and ran into a
>> guy riding a Catrike that admitted that he used to ride two wheeled
>> bikes but had a stroke and had balance issues but wanted to start riding
>> again so he bought the trike and loved being able to ride again.
>
> Yeah, I'm still trying to figure out how to put together a tadpole on
> a shoestring for a friend who has balance issues. The problem at my
> end is that I don't have access to the kind of machine shop
> capabilities that I'd need for any of the potential solutions that I
> know how to execute, and I have to provide a physically robust result
> because there's a significant initial load to carry. Trying to get
> the most critical assembly (the steering axle) by itself from one of
> the existing manufacturers has been an exercise in frustration; none I
> have contacted has yet been willing to even quote me a price for just
> that portion.
>

They do look like it would be a serious challenge to build one from
scratch with out a really good machine shop. You might want to try
looking here for articles on home built trikes : http://www.ihpva.org/
and you might try the message board for homebuilders over at
http://www.bentrideronline.com/ some have successfully built homebrew
trikes, so it is possible.

 

[[email protected]]

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On Dec 11, 11:14 am, Werehatrack <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Tue, 11 Dec 2007 07:02:23 -0500, Just A User
<deleted>
> Yeah, I'm still trying to figure out how to put together a tadpole on
> a shoestring for a friend who has balance issues. The problem at my
> end is that I don't have access to the kind of machine shop
> capabilities that I'd need for any of the potential solutions that I
> know how to execute, and I have to provide a physically robust result
> because there's a significant initial load to carry. Trying to get
> the most critical assembly (the steering axle) by itself from one of
> the existing manufacturers has been an exercise in frustration; none I
> have contacted has yet been willing to even quote me a price for just
> that portion.
>
> --
> Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
> Some gardening required to reply via email.
> Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

 

[JeffWills]

On Dec 10, 10:35 pm, landotter <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Come on' Sheldon, you say the disease is just waist down--so your
> noggin is good, what kind of cool new crazy ya got going on now??

Forget waist down- riding a recumbent trike will make you wear funny
socks:
http://home.comcast.net/~jeff_wills/aerocoupe/pages/river11.htm
and give you bad hair:
http://home.comcast.net/~jeff_wills/aerocoupe/pages/track07.htm

Come to think of it, Sheldon would probably appreciate some hair:
http://sheldonbrown.org/journal/images/640/scb-harrisjersey-5-16-07b.jpg

Jeff

 

[Werehatrack]

On Tue, 11 Dec 2007 12:40:45 -0500, Just A User
<[email protected]> may have said:

>Werehatrack wrote:
>> ...I'm still trying to figure out how to put together a tadpole on
>> a shoestring for a friend who has balance issues. The problem at my
>> end is that I don't have access to the kind of machine shop
>> capabilities that I'd need for any of the potential solutions that I
>> know how to execute, and I have to provide a physically robust result
>> because there's a significant initial load to carry. Trying to get
>> the most critical assembly (the steering axle) by itself from one of
>> the existing manufacturers has been an exercise in frustration; none I
>> have contacted has yet been willing to even quote me a price for just
>> that portion.
>>
>
>They do look like it would be a serious challenge to build one from
>scratch with out a really good machine shop. You might want to try
>looking here for articles on home built trikes : http://www.ihpva.org/

I look at that one periodically to see if any new useful ideas have
been posted, but so far it hasn't resulted in much. The information
is good, but I keep seeing things that either aren't going to make the
grade on strength, or require tooling I don't have.

>and you might try the message board for homebuilders over at
>http://www.bentrideronline.com/ some have successfully built homebrew
>trikes, so it is possible.

That's one I hadn't seen before; I'll give it a look.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

 

[Sheldon Brown]

Quoth landotter:

> Come on'Sheldon, you say the disease is just waist down--so your
> noggin is good, what kind of cool new crazy ya got going on now??

Well, I upgraded the tires to Scorcher slicks, made a special mount
for a video camera and other accessories.

Most recent mod was the installation of a NuVinci continuously-
variable "gear" hub in place of the rear derailer setup.

I've only had the opportunity to ride it a couple of miles since this
upgrade, but it seems pretty nice so far!

Sheldon "How Many Speeds?" Brown
+---------------------------------------+
| There's nothing like not being dead |
| to improve a fellow's outlook. |
| -- Michael Flynn |
+---------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com
Useful articles about bicycles and cycling
http://sheldonbrown.com

 

[Ryan Cousineau]

In article
<a696000b-7754-43c7-a937-1cd1962fee24@x69g2000hsx.googlegroups.com>,
Sheldon Brown <[email protected]> wrote:

> Quoth landotter:
>
> > Come on'Sheldon, you say the disease is just waist down--so your
> > noggin is good, what kind of cool new crazy ya got going on now??
>
> Well, I upgraded the tires to Scorcher slicks, made a special mount
> for a video camera and other accessories.
>
> Most recent mod was the installation of a NuVinci continuously-
> variable "gear" hub in place of the rear derailer setup.
>
> I've only had the opportunity to ride it a couple of miles since this
> upgrade, but it seems pretty nice so far!
>
> Sheldon "How Many Speeds?" Brown

If the NuVinci catches on, cyclists will start to think of their gearing
in terms of ratio of the lowest to highest gears (ie, 305% gearing
indicating that the top gear has about three times the development as
the low gear).

And then maybe we'll finally get a 55/26 combined with a 11-34 3-speed
rear end.

--
Ryan Cousineau [email protected] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"My scenarios may give the impression I could be an excellent crook.
Not true - I am a talented lawyer." - Sandy in rec.bicycles.racing

 

[Alan Hoyle]

On Wed, 12 Dec 2007 18:09:33, Ryan Cousineau wrote:

> If the NuVinci catches on, cyclists will start to think of their gearing
> in terms of ratio of the lowest to highest gears (ie, 305% gearing
> indicating that the top gear has about three times the development as
> the low gear).

You'll still need to worry about the absolute development of either
the high or low gear. E.g. an otherwise identical 305%
drivetrain on both a 700C wheelset and a 16" wheelset, won't give
nearly the same experience to the rider.

-alan

--
Alan Hoyle - [email protected] - http://www.alanhoyle.com/
"I don't want the world, I just want your half." -TMBG
Get Horizontal, Play Ultimate.

 

[Sheldon Brown]

Ryan Cousineau a écrit:

> If the NuVinci catches on, cyclists will start to think of their gearing
> in terms of ratio of the lowest to highest gears (ie, 305% gearing
> indicating that the top gear has about three times the development as
> the low gear).

That's one way to calculate it, but I don't think it's the _best_ way
to calculate it.

My gear calculators provide not only values for the individual gears,
but also show the percentage difference between adjacent gears. There
has been some confusion about this, so here's the skinny:
The percentages are mainly of use with derailer or hybrid gearing,
where they help the rider determine the most efficient shift pattern,
where there are two or three different shifters to be considered.

The algorithm is pretty simple. Look at two adjacent gears, then
express the higher one as a percentage _increase_ over the lower of
the two.

For instance, if one gear is 80 inches and the next gear up is 88
inches, that's a 10% increase. The higher gear is 110% of the lower
gear, but the increment is only 10%.

Manufacturers of internal gear hubs tend to tout the total gear range
of their hubs, but they commonly calculate it in a different way. For
instance, if there was an internal-gear hub that only covered a range
from 80 inches to 88 inches, the manufacturer could say this was a
range of 110%.

This is a legitimate way to represent the overall range of a gear
system, though I prefer the incremental approach, and would call it
10%.

Using the overall percentage is not really a good basis for
comparison. For example, take this hypothetical gear that gives 80
and 88 inches with some particular set of sprockets. Compare it with,
say, a SRAM 7-speed or Sturmey-Archer 8-speed. If you use the
"overall" gear to express the range, they're 110% and 305%, so it
seems that the 7- or 8-speed has a bit less than 3 times the "range"
of the other system.

My algorithm would list these hubs as having "ranges" of 10% and 205%
respectively, which I think is a more reasonable expression of the
gear ranges.

I have a work-in-progress Web page that shows the ranges of various
hub gears and derailer systems expressed graphically. Check it out at
http://sheldonbrown.com/gear-range.html

Sheldon "Numbers" Brown

 

[sergio]

On 13 Dic, 20:59, Sheldon Brown
> My gear calculators provide not only values for the individual gears,
> but also show the percentage difference between adjacent gears.

To visualise the progression wouldn't it be better to graph it on a
logarithmic scale?

Sergio
Pisa

 

[Michael Press]

In article
<[email protected]
groups.com>,
sergio <[email protected]> wrote:

> On 13 Dic, 20:59, Sheldon Brown
> > My gear calculators provide not only values for the individual gears,
> > but also show the percentage difference between adjacent gears.
>
> To visualise the progression wouldn't it be better to graph it on a
> logarithmic scale?

For personal use I put the differences in decibels,
a logarithmic scale.
0.3 db is about 1.07 times, or a 7% change.
For example:

46 49
14 88.7 94.5
16 77.6 82.7
18 69.0 73.5
21 59.1 63.0
24 51.8 55.1
28 44.4 47.2
32 38.8 41.3

38.8
41.3 0.27438
44.4 0.30554
47.2 0.27438
51.8 0.39509
55.1 0.27438
59.1 0.30554
63.0 0.27438
69.0 0.39509
73.5 0.27438
77.6 0.23714
82.7 0.27438
88.7 0.30554
94.5 0.27438

Here is a conversion table for ratio to decibel.
1.00 0.0000
1.01 0.0432
1.02 0.0860
1.03 0.1284
1.04 0.1703
1.05 0.2119
1.06 0.2531
1.07 0.2938
1.08 0.3342
1.09 0.3743
1.10 0.4139
1.11 0.4532
1.12 0.4922
1.13 0.5308
1.14 0.5690
1.15 0.6070

--
Michael Press