My 'Bent Is Starting to Annoy Me - Page 2

12-26-2006, 09:22 PM

Can you guys take this off the R.B.M list please?

12-26-2006, 09:27 PM

"KERRY MONTGOMERY" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:t7ikh.3987$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].pas.earthl ink.net...
>
<snip>
> I've been around bikes for the past 40 years, around this world for 56,
and
> in fact can live with upright bicycles.
> Kerry
>
Sniveling, dirty legged kid, 55 and 63 respectively.

I tried riding a bent for a few minutes about 30 years ago and I just felt
to uncomfortable trying to keep it balanced.

I can appreciate that for some people with physical limitations, a bent is
the only way that they can enjoy cycling. That's great for them.

Chas.

12-26-2006, 09:53 PM

"Gareth" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...

ALL TOP POSTERS ARE IDIOTS!

> Can you guys take this off the R.B.M list please?

What the **** for? There is nothing on RBM except a bunch of idiots
blathering away about nothing at all. All cycling newsgroups are equally
stupid. The sooner you learn this, the better.

Regards,

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota

12-26-2006, 09:57 PM

"* * Chas" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:Wmokh.585016$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].worldnet.att.net...
>
> "KERRY MONTGOMERY" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
> news:t7ikh.3987$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].pas.earthl ink.net...
>>
> <snip>
>> I've been around bikes for the past 40 years, around this world for 56,
> and
>> in fact can live with upright bicycles.
>> Kerry
>>
> Sniveling, dirty legged kid, 55 and 63 respectively.
>
> I tried riding a bent for a few minutes about 30 years ago and I just felt
> to [too] uncomfortable trying to keep it balanced.
>
> I can appreciate that for some people with physical limitations, a bent is
> the only way that they can enjoy cycling. That's great for them.
>
> Chas.

It has nothing to do with physical limitations. It has everything to do with
comfort. What an idiot you are!

Regards,

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota

12-26-2006, 10:53 PM

* * Chas wrote:
> "KERRY MONTGOMERY" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
> news:t7ikh.3987$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].pas.earthl ink.net...
> >
> <snip>
> > I've been around bikes for the past 40 years, around this world for 56,
> and
> > in fact can live with upright bicycles.
> > Kerry
> >
> Sniveling, dirty legged kid, 55 and 63 respectively.
>
> I tried riding a bent for a few minutes about 30 years ago and I just felt
> to uncomfortable trying to keep it balanced.
>
> I can appreciate that for some people with physical limitations, a bent is
> the only way that they can enjoy cycling. That's great for them.
>
> Chas.

You would be surprised at how far the recumbent world has come in
30 years Chas. It is always a curiosity to me when people think I must
be
uncomfortable to be on a bent. Uncomfortable could be like you say,a
balance
problem. I also have upright bikes but for shame the tires are flat and
no one will
take the time or effort to pump them up.

12-27-2006, 05:19 AM

In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> ,
"Edward Dolan" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

> "Tim McNamara" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
> news:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...
> > In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> ,
> > "Edward Dolan" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> 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.

12-27-2006, 06:27 AM

Remember who you are talking to Tim-
Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota

Tim McNamara wrote:
> In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> ,
> "Edward Dolan" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> 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.
>
> 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!
>
> 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.

12-27-2006, 07:59 AM

If I can ride a bike for 4-6 hours I consider it comfortable. My
Lemond road bike and C;dale cross bike fit that bill fine. I have the
bars only slightly below saddle, a Brooks seat and I;m fine. My MTB's
are torture machines and cannot ride for more than an hour before neck
shouler wrist pain start!!

Edward Dolan wrote:
> <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
> news:1167157428.453941.321050@a3g2000cwd.googlegro ups.com...
> > Get a real bike and more people can fix it!!!
>
> Big Jim has a good point here, but he does not realize how much we recumbent
> cyclist insist on comfort, something that you can never get on an upright.
>
> When I ride an upright and it starts to cause me pain I get so freaking mad
> I could kill myself for being so stupid as to think an upright could ever be
> comfortable for more than half an hour. Screw all uprights all the way to
> hell and back! The g.d. things are nothing but torture racks. One thing is
> for sure, they were never designed for the human anatomy.
>
> Regards,
>
> Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
> aka
> Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota
>
>
>
>
> > Prisoner at War wrote:
> >> Okay, so I've been putting through my HP Velo SMGTe through all kinds
> >> of conditions around town for almost a year now. After all the
> >> potholes, rain, mud, grit, heat and cold I finally managed to really
> >> **** it up Sunday. A chainring got bent slightly, and eventually the
> >> chain itself broke and messed up some drivetrain components in the
> >> process!
> >>
> >> I only wonder how folks manage to take this model 'bent on them Third
> >> World tours if I'm having issues with it from simply riding around
> >> town! From the beginning the rear air shock suddenly stopped working.
> >> In another two weeks I managed to shred the top teflon tube somehow.
> >> Then the front disc brake rotor became permanently warped. Then the
> >> back ones. Did I mention the rear mudguard cracking in two? Sunday,
> >> about the whole drivetrain came undone: broken chain, a bent chainring,
> >> the idler spring clamp kaputt. Interestingly, the Thracian wheelset
> >> has held up just fine, AFAIK.
> >>
> >> Good God, but this is starting to be like dealing with your PC: "now
> >> what???" comes to mind more and more. And this seems to me
> >> recumbency's fatal flaw preventing it from wider adoptation: it's too
> >> ****ing complicated! And I can't believe how many of the nuts and
> >> bolts on my SMGTe do not seem to be off-the-shelf stuff you can get at
> >> a hardware store. Also, there should be a re-assembly instruction
> >> sheet for owners included with the bikes, since not all LBSes know or
> >> care about servicing 'bents.
> >>
> >> Recumbents are fun when they work, but mine is finally going to make a
> >> grease-monkey out of me! The HP Velo SMGTe is still the most
> >> comfortable 'bent around, but it requires a lot of attention, not like
> >> my other bikes which I just ride and take to the shop maybe once or
> >> twice a year. So far, I think I've spent $250 getting my 'bent
> >> serviced and refitted in one way or another. JFC!!
> >>
> >> I've now almost completely disassembled my 'bent, so as to clean out
> >> all the grit and grime and reinstall the chain, etc. Damn, this is
> >> going to be some education in bike mechanics! I'm really learning the
> >> hard way...on my own. I'm kind of looking forward to it, out of
> >> curiosity. Just wish I had the space to lay things down properly and
> >> leave them around.
> >

12-27-2006, 08:59 AM

Edward Dolan wrote:
> "Gareth" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
> news:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...
>
> ALL TOP POSTERS ARE IDIOTS!
>
>> Can you guys take this off the R.B.M list please?
>
> What the **** for? There is nothing on RBM except a bunch of idiots
> blathering away about nothing at all. All cycling newsgroups are equally
> stupid. The sooner you learn this, the better.
>
> Regards,
>
> Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
> aka
> Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota
>
>
If your postings are any example, I'd have to agree.

However, I should have been more specific. Please take this discussion
off rec.bicycles.MARKETPLACE. It is creating a lot of noise, rivaling
the guy posting about M.I.5.

As for your remark about top posting, that is a religious issue, no need
to shout.

12-27-2006, 09:05 AM

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] wrote:
> If I can ride a bike for 4-6 hours I consider it comfortable. My
> Lemond road bike and C;dale cross bike fit that bill fine. I have the
> bars only slightly below saddle, a Brooks seat and I;m fine. My MTB's
> are torture machines and cannot ride for more than an hour before neck
> shouler wrist pain start!!

I can ride my uprights all day continously and be comfortable.

The problem is that within two weeks my back will be aching like crazy.
And I am likely one of the few young 'bent-riders around at age 34.

I never had a problem with my wrists or shoulders from upright biking,
though. I do change hand positions for comfort, but no regular problem
has ever developed. It's only my back that's really affected. I agree
that frame geometry and a proper saddle do a lot for comfort on an
upright, and I don't blame bike-riding per se for my bad back -- it
kind of started in childhood and was really messed up in the Army but
upright bikes and even jogging exacerbates it.

My sports doc recommended a 'bent, and that was my excuse to splurge
thousands.

It's been great fun, but getting annoying now with all the break-downs.