Simply Amazing

[Trekster]

Ran across this video a day or two ago. I personally have been riding my Quest about 2 months now. Been getting out on it just about daily, for 8 to 12 miles on local bike trails. Also traveled to a nearby trail that was very smooth concrete with only 2% grades, and did 20 miles with a small group of my riding friends. Lots of fun, and no problems. The Quest is so comfortable and easy to pedal I really have to work at it to get my heart rate up.

Have attempted many times to learn/train myself to ride with little or no input from my hands - but still, that particular skill has eluded me. Though I can ride with very light input if I am not pushing or pedaling up an incline, and riding with only one hand is of course possible.

Then I saw the video, that I referenced above. To put it mildly, I was awestruck. My mind races to find an explanation for - how can that fellow make it look so easy, and yet I can't even imagine EVER being able to accomplish such a feat.

I was wondering; do you suppose the Flevobike is easier to accomplish the no-hands riding? It doesn't look that much different from a Cruzbike, except for the "huge" chain ring, but perhaps the pivot point of the headset in relation to the rider's center of gravity is quite a bit different.

In either case... all I can say is.... simply amazing.

 

[Charles.Plager]

Flevobikes are actually

Flevobikes are actually notoriously difficult to learn how to ride. Many of those who can ride then, however can ride then very well.

There are those who ride Cruzbikes with similar aptitude (although I'm not quite one, yet..

 

[Trekster]

Flevobike

So, have you actually tried one, or do you know someone that has one?

They seem to be most popular in Europe, though that is just a guess based on what I see on YouTube. As I look closer at the bike, it is obvious the pivot point for the steering is situated just about exactly under the center of the rider. I rather imagine that does present an interesting challenge, although if you asked a brand new rider of a Cruzbike (after only their first 15 minutes) they would probably conclude it is rather difficult to learn to ride, as well.

 

[counterpoint]

Flevo - not a good experience

I did try a Flevobike when they came out, a friend owned one. It was really really hard to learn, potentially very dangerous and a recipe for wearing out your knees.

 

[Charles.Plager]

 No, I've never ridden one,

No, I've never ridden one, but I've heard from people who have ridden both and Cruzbikes are supposed to be much easier.

And if it's not true, then you can't say it, right?

 

[Trekster]

Good comments

Well, all good comments; and I'll take your word for "them" being hard to learn to ride. I guess some folks are just super talented, and could probably learn to ride just about anything with a wheel on it. For instance, I couldn't imagine myself ever learning to ride a unicycle, but lots of folks do ride them - and rather well.

 

[dave.g]

Best out of three

I spent an afternoon with a Flevobike years ago and can say that it is the most difficult 2-wheeler I have ever ridden. By the end of the day I could just about stay balanced but had little control over where I was going.

In contrast I could ride the Quest straight away albeit with some involuntary veering about. It did however take me many months to lose the feeling of being hinged in the middle.

As for the unicycle that I had years ago, trying to learn was just repeated falling off until I realized that you "stand on the pedals" rather than "sit on the saddle".

Of the three I would recommend the Cruzbike.

 

[Eric Winn]

Hmmm, I sometimes make the

Hmmm, I sometimes make the same sound effects on John's video when I'm practicing hands free riding

-Eric

 

[ak-tux]

A cruzbike and similar MBB

A cruzbike and similar MBB recumbents can be ridden hands free with significant ease. Infact some people can start off hands free!!

The reason is that the feet can and do steer the bike. At first, when learning to ride this format, the rider fights the pedal induced steer. But soon the same pedal induced steer can be harnessed for hands-free riding. I personally find it easier to ride hands free on my MBB than my upright DF bike.

Here is a video of John starting off hands free: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQrgZCXedK0

Some more hands free rides on Cruzbike/MBBs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRhpM_DZ51s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4pXqb4-DCg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkxilRacXz4

 

[John Tolhurst]

What? ... Oh, that sound

What? ... Oh, that sound effect is courtesy of the videographer; the only useful sound among the terrible wind noise and street traffic. I'd sort of forgotten about that. I didn't know it was possible to do start off hands free, but one day I was fooling around waiting for other riders to saddle up and discovered it was possible. Never practiced to build up to it, but had practiced slow speed hands free.

 

[Trekster]

Not everyone can develop the same proficiency

Attaining a certain proficiency level at a particular skill is not something that can be done by everyone that sets out to do so (unfortunately).

A good example of this is the game of golf. Some folks take up the game after seeing it done on TV, and immediately assume that if a certain group of individuals (pro golfers) can perform at that skill level, then the only thing standing in "everyone's" way is the amount of practice and dedication they devote to attaining that level of play. That is a very erroneousness assumption, but it does prove very lucrative for teaching pros, instructional video producers and book editors. Sometimes it takes many years and thousands of wasted dollars on lessons, videos, training aids and devoted practice - but eventually, most figure out that there are two very different golf games. One is that golf game the pros play on TV; while the other is very different and is relegated to the casual amateur golfer (those millions of folks whose time and money supports the few that actually play the pro game).

The truth is; not all humans are blessed (or put together) with the same set of building blocks, nervous systems and muscle groups. We may all look similar, in construct, but may have very different inner workings and capabilities. One of the areas that separate us are our muscle groups. Athletic success depends to a large degree on fast-twitch/slow-twitch muscle fiber composition. Since we are not all constructed in the same way - likewise we don't have the same proportion of fast and slow twitch muscle groups.

IMO, the riding (starting) of a MBB-FWD recumbent with no hands is a skill like many others (and similar to the golf example) and as such is not something that can be attained by all who try to attain that level of proficiency.

 

[counterpoint]

terrible wind noise

when you (or anyone) is planning another bike video: google "?dead cat microphone cover". These fur covers eliminate wind noises like you wouldn't believe it. DIY or ebay.