Learning to ride the Ordinary Bike

[leakyduck]

http://www.thewheelmen.org/sections/publications/pdf/02.pdf

Cruz didn't invent pedal steer. It was common with the Penny Farthing/Ordinary Bike. If you read the pdf file on Page 2, bottom right column, last paragraph

"One must overcome the turning torque that pedaling causes by holding back on the opposite side handlebar. "

 

[John Tolhurst]

singing, by instinct

It occurs on children's tricycles too. No one tells them it is 'torque steer' and how to correct it, they just do. My marvellous brother solved the problem of over thinking by singing. Round the block he went singing away on his first ride. His instinct was to take his right brain thought process out of the equasion and let his left brain cope with the experience holistically. How he was able to do this by instinct I will never know.

 

[aaronjoseph]

Most important thing you

Most important thing you should learn while riding an ordinary bike is to do the balancing act. Then it would be very easy for you to learn the bike.

 

[mickjordan]

Arm stress

One would hope that eventually the legs figure it out otherwise continually fighting the pedal steer with your arms will induce a lot of stress. Probably not as much as a DF bike on the wrists but noticeable none the less. Indeed, one of my first surprises was how much arm stress I experienced trying to control the pedal steer. It's diminished now and I can actually ride with one hand without losing it. It's still there a little bit though, more than on a RWD bent.

 

[billyk]

considering the dangers of "headers"

Nice article on the Ordinary. But considering the dangers of "headers" (going over the handlebars when braking) on these machines, I wonder why they didn't make the bike more recumbent-like, simply by decreasing the "head angle" and moving the seat back and down the curved "frame" bar? (Of course, following this evolution, it seems that they would have quickly invented the single-speed Cruzbike).

And speaking of headers, has anyone done one on a Cruzbike? With the excellent brakes on the Quest, and the position of the rider closer to the front wheel axis than on many recumbents, it seems possible. I have, indeed, lifted the rear wheel off the ground once in an emergency stop. (Yes, I wear a helmet).

BK

 

[Kim Tolhurst_2]

just saying

If the cruzbike was invented 130 years ago and John T. put the DF together in 2004 would people be swapping to the DF. ? don't think so.

K.

 

[billyk]

why we were stuck with DFs for so long

My impression was that the reason the DF became dominant was the lower quality of metals available to bike designers until the past few decades. The two triangles of the DF are inherently rigid and strong. I thought it wasn't until wide availability of chromoloy and stiff alumin(i)um that bicycle designers were freed from the 2-triangle constraint.

But here's a picture of an early "Cruzbike" (????)

(wood engraving sketched by Theodore R. Davis and published in Harper's Weekly, December 19, 1868)

BK

 

[Vargas]

The most important sentence in the article:

Ridden with due respect, however, the Ordinary bicycle brings its rider the utmost pleasure and sense of
accomplishment.