My 'Bent Is Starting to Annoy Me - Page 4

12-28-2006, 09:28 PM

<[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:1167238745.392424.193130@i12g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...

ALL TOP POSTERS ARE IDIOTS!

> 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!!

4 to 6 hours in one day is not nearly good enough. Can you ride 8 to 10
hours a day for 2 weeks at a time? I thought not! No, if you want to be able
to do that you will have to get a recumbent. There is no other way.

Regards,

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

> 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
>> cyclists 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.

12-28-2006, 09:43 PM

"Jim Behning" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:kcHkh.4452$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].pas.earthli nk.net...
> Prisoner at War wrote:
>> [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.
>>
> I do better with the sore back issues if I keep up with core muscle
> training. I got a pretty sore back on an 8 hour mountain bike ride/race
> but part of that is a way to tight left quad. I need to stretch that
> muscle more. Massage therapists have said I have tight hamstrings. I need
> to a lot more stretching I guess.

Jim proves my point about uprights being essentially uncomfortable unless
you are in tip top shape. I refuse to do any kind of training just so I can
ride a bike. Perish the thought! I ride a bike strictly for the fun of it
and if I have to train in order to do it, then it is no longer any fun.

Back problems especially won't go away unless you do some kind of
strengthening exercise to get those back and abdominal muscles into shape.
Furthermore, the older you get, the more this becomes a losing proposition.
I will not do any kind of training or exercise just so I can ride a bike.
What foolishness!

> My cross bike is more comfortable than my road bike. I need to get a
> shorter stem and maybe raise the stem a bit on the road bike. Little
> things can make big differences.

All you are doing is rearranging the deck chairs on a sinking ship. Get a
recumbent and forget all this nonsense about trying to be comfortable on an
upright. It ain't ever going to happen.

Regards,

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

12-28-2006, 09:45 PM

<[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:1167362345.503827.139210@a3g2000cwd.googlegro ups.com...
>
> Edward Dolan wrote:
>>
>> 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 ....
>
> Damn, we were this close. (He says holding his finger and thumb only a
> mm. apart.)
>
> Ken

I throw in lines like the above in order to give types like Ken something to
say.

Regards,

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

12-28-2006, 10:32 PM

In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> ,
"Edward Dolan" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> writes:
.....
[his usual, typical, nonconsequential razmatazz tripe]

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

>> 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.

Looks like you struck a nerve by mentioning dementia.

Maybe that's a contributing factor in old, grumpy pudges deciding
to ride -- nay, /purchase/! recumbents (pedal-powered wheelchairs.)

I suppose they need hirelings following them around, to assist them
to pluck their lard-butts from their comfy plushy Laz-e-Boys when
they deign to park their rides.

Y'know what? I think JFK would have ridden a Peugot (or Mercier)
10-speed ('cuz that was pretty much all that was available in
his time.) Maybe he'd have been a tandem guy. Eisenhower rode
whatever it was that he rode. But at least he rode. Johnson
would have thought about bicycles as a Communist plot, as he
forked potatoes off of other people's plates or picked doggies
up by their ears. Nixon would have changed the subject if he
was asked if he ever rode a bike. Gerald Ford ... ? I liked him.
He had a way of making nothing happen, which is often a good thing.
Carter would be concerned about climate change. Ray-Gun might have
been dismayed by the current progressiveness in Bogota, and tried
to invade it to set their minds right. George Bush Sr. had a
fairly good handle on domestic policy; Clinton had a pretty good
handle on international policy. I can't see either of them giving
serious consideration to cycling.

cheersies,
Tom

--
Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

12-28-2006, 11:03 PM

"Tom Keats" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:8ag2ne.eb5.ln@bud.garden.local...
> In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> ,
> "Edward Dolan" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> writes:
> ....
> [his usual, typical, nonconsequential razmatazz tripe]
>
>> "Tim McNamara" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
>> news:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...
>
>>> 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.
>
> Looks like you struck a nerve by mentioning dementia.
>
> Maybe that's a contributing factor in old, grumpy pudges deciding
> to ride -- nay, /purchase/! recumbents (pedal-powered wheelchairs.)

Tom Keats has a strong back no doubt, laboring as he does as a longshoreman
on the Vancouver docks. Now he needs to work badly on developing a mind to
go with his strong back but I fear this may be beyond him.

> I suppose they need hirelings following them around, to assist them
> to pluck their lard-butts from their comfy plushy Laz-e-Boys when
> they deign to park their rides.

If I were as stupid as Tom Keats, I would be jealous of everyone who was
smarted than me too even though it included the whole of mankind.

> Y'know what? I think JFK would have ridden a Peugot (or Mercier)
> 10-speed ('cuz that was pretty much all that was available in
> his time.) Maybe he'd have been a tandem guy. Eisenhower rode
> whatever it was that he rode. But at least he rode. Johnson
> would have thought about bicycles as a Communist plot, as he
> forked potatoes off of other people's plates or picked doggies
> up by their ears. Nixon would have changed the subject if he
> was asked if he ever rode a bike. Gerald Ford ... ? I liked him.
> He had a way of making nothing happen, which is often a good thing.
> Carter would be concerned about climate change. Ray-Gun might have
> been dismayed by the current progressiveness in Bogota, and tried
> to invade it to set their minds right. George Bush Sr. had a
> fairly good handle on domestic policy; Clinton had a pretty good
> handle on international policy. I can't see either of them giving
> serious consideration to cycling.

I think only George W. Bush has ever ridden a bike. See what I mean about
Tom Keats being stupid! But I have never yet known a Canadian on these
newsgroups who was anything but stupid. It must be a national condition
related to the Great White North.

But Tom Keats should talk more about his own political leaders and less
about American political leaders or does not Canada have any political
leaders worth talking about? Quick now - who is the freaking prime minister
of Canada? Just as I thought. Nobody knows - or cares!

Regards,

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

12-28-2006, 11:59 PM

Prisoner at War wrote:

> 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.

I can't see any way to bend a chainwheel without a really good quality
crash. You're cursed would appear to be your problem.

> 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!

No, the problem isn't complication, it's your personal curse. Repair
work I have done to my similar bike in 5 years is... a couple of flats,
a minor fettle of spoke tension and, errrrr, that's it. That includes
plenty of off-road and fully loaded touring.

> 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.

I've yet to see anything on the bike that's so non-standard a decent
bike shop with basic mechanical competence can't work with it. Perhaps
your personal curse extends to your choice of bike shop too? I took
mine along to some bike maintenance classes and there wasn't anything in
general running we couldn't deal with using standard tools. The only
obvious changes between the original GT and e mechanically are a
different idler wheel and the seat, neither of which are exactly rocket
science.

> 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

You have no way of knowing that even for yourself: different people find
different things comfortable and you have ridden roughly 0 other
machines to compare to AFAICT.

> but it requires a lot of attention,

Only if you've got a personal curse. It does happen.

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 [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

12-29-2006, 05:40 AM

Edward Dolan wrote:

> I think only George W. Bush has ever ridden a bike.

There's a photo on the Internet of Nixon on a bike. It's mentioned in
at least one cycling book I have.

See what I mean about
> Tom Keats being stupid!

No, I don't. Or at least not Mr. Keats.

12-30-2006, 11:12 AM

"Qui si parla Campagnolo" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:1167233257.500570.66280@42g2000cwt.googlegrou ps.com...

ALL TOP POSTERS ARE IDIOTS!

> Remember who you are talking to Tim-

You bet - anyone stupid enough to want to get into a conversation with
someone who thinks Campy **** is the greatest ****? **** Campy and the g.d.
Italians all the way to Hell and back! "Breaking Away" anyone?

Regards,

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

12-30-2006, 11:45 AM

"The Historian" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:1167403241.522346.109380@i12g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...
>
> Edward Dolan wrote:
>
>> I think only George W. Bush has ever ridden a bike.
>
> There's a photo on the Internet of Nixon on a bike. It's mentioned in
> at least one cycling book I have.

Oh, for Christ's sakes, everyone knows that Nixon was no cyclist or much of
any sportsman whatever. He was a very great President, but that is about all
he ever was.

George W. Bush is the only President that I know of who ever really got into
cycling, even though I think it was only mountain biking (but I am not sure
about this).

> See what I mean about
>> Tom Keats being stupid!
>
> No, I don't. Or at least not Mr. Keats.

Mr. Keats is Tom Keats and is certainly no Mister. That would imply that he
is a gentleman - and I have NEVER seen a gentlemanly post from him. He is a
working slob (a longshoreman on the docks of soggy old Vancouver) who thinks
he is an intellectual, but I am here to prove him wrong about that each and
every time he posts his inanities to these newsgroups.

Tom Keats is the most arrogant creature I have ever yet encountered on these
newsgroups. He needs to model himself after ME and become more humble. I am
a paragon of virtue and humility and I urge all the rest of you cretins to
emulate ME!

Moreover, he needs to confine his political remarks to Canada and Canadians.
We Americans do not need his ******* comments about us, let alone our
Presidents. Surely there are enough stupid things he can say about his own
Prime Ministers and about Canadians. To never be critical of your own marks
you as an insecure jerk. I would like to hear from Tom Keats just once on
how Canadians are just as wretched as all the rest of us.

Canada is a great country (geographically), but a poor nation because of
liberal freaks like Tom Keats.

Regards,

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

12-30-2006, 11:51 AM

"Edward Dolan" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...
>
> "* * Chas" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
> news:Y0Hkh.287519$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].worldnet.att.net...
>>
>> "Edward Dolan" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
>> news:6dSdnZrjUMDqhA_YnZ2dnUVZ_s6onZ2d@prairiewave. com...
>>>
>>> "* * Chas" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
>>> news:Wmokh.585016$[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!
>>
>> Uffda!
>>
>> Chill out dude and have some more lutefisk and lefse.....
>>
>> Go ride your 2 wheeled piece of lawn furniture in peace!
>>
>> Also, learn to follow a thread. My comment was a response to KERRY
>> MONTGOMERY not YOU.
>
> Like I said before, what an idiot you are. Observe the newsgroups that a
> message is going to. Anyone on any of the groups who is following the
> messages can reply in whatever manner he so chooses. That is what Usenet
> is all about. Try to get up to speed why don't you?
>
> If you only want to talk to this other jerk, Kerry Montgomery, then do it
> via email and do not bother the rest of us.
>
> Regards,
>
> Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
> aka
> Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota
>
>
Ed,
Which part of my posting caused you to call me a jerk?
Thanks,
Kerry