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This article seems to be pointing to, but never quite saying, that the most perfectly-evolved bike is a recumbent. Or maybe even the crazy one at the bottom of
by egypturnash 5y ago
This article seems to be pointing to, but never quite saying, that the most perfectly-evolved bike is a recumbent. Or maybe even the crazy one at the bottom of the page that puts the rider on a weird frame that has them lying down on their front with their chin a half an inch above a fenderless front wheel.
And, yeah, maybe that thing goes faster than my shitty $300 Retrospec, and is much more efficient at converting muscle energy into forwards motion. But there is no way I would want to get on that contraption and ride it around the pothole-strewn streets of New Orleans. Never mind issues like only being eye-to-eye with dogs people are walking down the trails, being completely invisible to people driving cars, stopping at a light being super-awkward, and having absolutely nowhere to put my laptop bag or my groceries. I am quite happy to sacrifice speed and efficiency for all of those. I spend a lot of my riding sitting straight up because it makes my back happier; I don't give a shit if it increases wind resistance and decreases my maximum speed.
This is not to say there could potentially be a better design for a two-wheeled device powered by its rider's muscles. But there's a lot more to consider than just "how fast can it go on a racing track".
(But apparently Cyclefit is a business focused solely on racing bikes, so for them, I guess that's the only measure.)
- SeanLuke 5y agoYou seem to be mixing up recumbents with low-racer recumbents or trikes. There are are also high-racer recumbents where the rider is as high as on a standard bike. And by potholes, I think you seem to think that recumbents must have small wheels? Finally, recumbents have tons of places to put shopping and laptops. The #1 benefit of recumbents [especially trikes!] isn't speed. It's that they are far more comfortable than uprights.
- egypturnash 5y agoWith regards to potholes and lack of carrying capacity and whatnot, I am specifically throwing shade at this thing featured in this article: https://www.cyclefit.co.uk/uploads/obree1.jpg https://www.cyclefit.co.uk/uploads/obree1.jpg This article ends with a list of bullet points; the final one is "[the guy who made that bike] is a genius".
- mariusor 5y agoHis dedication to going as fast as possible on human power is legendary (they even made a movie about him). At no point did he have in mind the practicality of his devices for the average commuter. They are extreme machines and nobody will force you to don your spandex and show your butt to the skies on your weekend ride.
- egypturnash 5y agoAs I said in my root comment, this article seems to be vaguely waving in the direction of saying that his speed-at-any-cost contraption is THE ULTIMATE EVOLUTION OF THE BICYCLE!!!, and I am noting that there are a lot of fitness criteria for a bicycle that this ignores.