| Re: My 'Bent Is Starting to Annoy Me
In article <uuudneO9CJRImg_YnZ2dnUVZ_vyunZ2d@prairiewave.com> ,
"Edward Dolan" <edolan@iw.net> wrote:
> "Tim McNamara" <timmcn@bitstream.net> wrote in message
> news:timmcn-4FDF4D.22431826122006@news.iphouse.com...
> > In article <zq6dnWrqwqzKMQzYnZ2dnUVZ_syunZ2d@prairiewave.com> ,
> > "Edward Dolan" <edolan@iw.net> wrote:
> >
> >> I have been around bikes for the past 35 years and consider myself
> >> an expert on the subject of comfort. If you are young and
> >> physically fit you can more or less be comfortable on an upright
> >> for several hours at best, but even then you cannot be comfortable
> >> on them all day every day for weeks at a time.
> >>
> >> A recumbent is the ONLY way to go if you want TOTAL comfort. You
> >> give up some speed, especially on hills, but the comfort is more
> >> than worth it. This is actually a subject not even worth talking
> >> about as anyone who knows recumbents can tell you.
> >>
> >> Those of you presently on uprights who think you can live with
> >> them will find out that as you age that you in fact cannot. At
> >> that point, you will either give up cycling - or you will graduate
> >> to recumbents.
> >
> > Oh bull**** as usual, Edward. I find my uprights comfortable
> > enough to ride up to 400 km in 24 hours. How much more comfortable
> > do I need my bike to be? I'm 47. I know people in their 50s and
> > 60s and even 70s who do this kind of riding on uprights quite
> > comfortably.
>
> But you do not get TOTAL comfort on an upright like you do on a
> recumbent. I am insulted when discomfort kicks in on a bike, but
> maybe you do not mind being insulted by discomfort. This is all a
> function of one's intelligence of course.
No, in this case it is a function of your self-righteousness.
> I do not know of anyone in their 70's who can ride an upright with
> any degree of comfort.
Then you don't know enough cyclists.
> Hey, live long enough and even you may get to be wise like me.
I'll pass on being wise like you, thanks.
> > Once again you are overgeneralizing. What is true for you may not
> > be true for others. If recumbents keep you riding I think that's
> > great and more power to you. If I develop some kind of health
> > problem which results in a choice between not riding and getting a
> > recumbent, I'll get a recumbent. A few friends of mine ride
> > recumbents because they just like 'em. Two friends of mine with
> > cervical disk problems have gone this route quite happily because
> > they don't aggravate their proximal and/or distal pain. I have a
> > cervical disk problem of my own and who knows? I might be on a
> > recumbent one of these days too. It's great that there are
> > options!
>
> It has nothing to do with health problems. It has everything to do
> with getting old and feeble.
Or you can skip the getting feeble part. A good exercise program can
prevent many of the losses stereotypically associated with aging.
Older people derive the same benefits from aerobic and resistance
training as young people, and in addition derive improved vigor and
mental capacity. The risk of dementia, falls, injuries due to falls,
and of nursing home placement is reduced by regular exercise.
> You will be more comfortable on a recumbent and you can leave speed
> to the teenagers where it belongs. The most pathetic sight in the
> world is a middle age slob attempting to keep up with teenagers,
> whether on a bike or in other department of life.
One of the most sights is a fit middle aged person leading the paceline
with the young 'uns struggling to keep up.
> > As far as the comfort question goes, for some reason most people I
> > see on recumbents around here are middle aged guys who are 50-75
> > pounds overweight. I think I have spotted the problem with normal
> > bikes being uncomfortable for them. I hear a lot of complaints
> > about "recumbent butt" to make it clear that recumbents are no
> > panacea.
>
> Yes, almost all Americans over a certain age are overweight. What
> else is new?
That's a fixable problem.
> Recumbent butt only kicks in for those too stupid to solve the
> problem. All that is required in most cases is just more foam padding
> and a sufficient lean back. It is the main reason why you do not want
> the BB to be too low.
I like the BB just behind my knees.
> Regards,
>
> Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota aka Saint Edward the Great - Order of
> the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota
>
> PS. Are you any relation to Jim McNamara, an adversary of mine on
> ARBR from Chicago that I have been feuding with for years?
No.
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