Reconciling contradictory advice on riding Quests

[billyk]

With 2 months and about 300 miles on my Quest, I'm trying to reconcile two apparently contradictory pieces of advice:

1) Relax your arms and shoulders.
It took me a couple of weeks to let go of the death grip I had on the handlebars, muscling the bars through turns. I started feeling comfortable on the bike when I could ride it like other recumbents: the upper body doing basically nothing. Now I just have a small alternating pulling with the hands against the pressure of the pedals.

2) Comments by John Tolhurst and others here that Cruzbikes are different because your arms are connected solidly to the frame, that you use your whole body, etc.

These two ideas seem contradictory.

Similarly, I had absorbed the idea that MBB bikes could be ridden no-hands because you can control the steering with your feet. I'm not there yet but I can feel it coming. But that is the ultimate of NOT having the arms "solidly connected to the frame".

I believe there must be a resolution to this apparent contradiction, but I don't see it. Anyone can explain this?

 

[John Tolhurst]

1) The body needs feedback,

1) The body needs feedback, to learn. NO feedback, NO learning.

The death grip completely masks out the feedback, and BLOCKS learning. Therefore, to learn, OPEN YOUR PALMS, resist with just sufficeint pressure pushing forward on the palms of the hands. It really is that simple.

Knowing as I do that anyone can learn to ride. its very frustrating when folks have trouble because they don't follow our advice. Frustrating, but ultimately if someone refuses to acknowledge and follow the learning instructions, its not really my problem.

2) If you know how to ride, you can increase the pressure on the right pedal by pulling on the right handlebar. You will feel a lot of other muscles come into play this way. With practice, you can sustain power outputs a little longer or increase power output by putting more muscles into oxygen deficit. If you are having trouble getting your heart rate up, this will fix that!

 

[Kim Tolhurst]

initial cruzbike riding lessons.

Hi Billyk,

The CB initial riding lessons work beautifully from people who have not been on any bike for years through to very experienced traditional bike and other recumbent riders.

Do intermediate or experienced cruzbike riders use these instuction? possibly or probably not, they have advanced. Personal techniques take over.

Some can pull like crazy and power up a hill. Some can push like crazy and go so fast their bottom rises of the seat. Some can do standing starts hands free, some can peddle for over 20 minutes hands free. And some never go hands free.

You have come past the beginers stage and your body is starting to sing the tune your cruzbike is playing, press on, leave your head for the scenery and you too will be surprised at how many versers there are in the song.

There are A. the technicalities of riding a cruzbike and its jargon and there is B. the begining how to jargon, including just do it, and we all fit in between the A and the B. However the result is in the end the same, C. Competant.

 

[Jim Parker]

Complimentary, not contradictory

Hi Billy, you wrote:

"1) Relax your arms and shoulders.
It took me a couple of weeks to let go of the death grip I had on the handlebars, muscling the bars through turns. I started feeling comfortable on the bike when I could ride it like other recumbents: the upper body doing basically nothing. Now I just have a small alternating pulling with the hands against the pressure of the pedals.

2) Comments by John Tolhurst and others here that Cruzbikes are different because your arms are connected solidly to the frame, that you use your whole body, etc.

These two ideas seem contradictory."

You can ride in different modes on a Cruzbike, just like a regular road bike. You can ride with your arms completely relaxed (even hanging by your side or flapping like a bird, if you've mastered "no-hands" riding)... or in "power-climbing" mode working the upper body very hard. They are just different modes of riding, not contradictory, but complimentary. If I'm accelerating or climbing, my upper body is definitely engaged. If I'm holding a steady easy-to-moderate pace, my upper body is relaxed.

It will all come together with time.

Jim