Re: Why Do People Fall Down?

frkrygow@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 aka Frank Krygowski wrote:
> On Oct 27, 5:17 pm, Tom Sherman <sunsetss0...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>> Prisoner at War wrote:
>>> There was a guy with a hand-cranked trike...I was happy to see him.
>>> But I don't know what the big deal with trikes is...'bent bikes are
>>> already safe enough.  Why a trike, exactly?  What real advantage does
>>> it offer?  So you needn't worry as much about balance (except on
>>> turns, I guess!)...so what?
>> Ride a well designed tadpole trike for an extended distance. You will
>> either get it, or you are a lost cause. ;)
> 
> Perhaps the one hanging in my garage isn't well designed... but the
> original owner rode it on only a few occasions before giving it up for
> his normal bike.

More details - what exactly is it?

> The next owner took only a couple test rides and stored it in his
> basement.
> 
> The guy he gave it to passed it on to me.
> 
> My wife, a couple friends, and I each took our turns at test rides.
> For all of us, it failed the test.
> 
> The low-racer configuration seems good only for "toy" use.

Seems, as opposed to actual practice? Plenty of people ride low seat 
trikes and lowracer re***bents on the road. The very oddity of it appear 
to make drivers give one more room when passing.

> The
> turning circle is inconveniently large (you can't do a U-turn on a 20'
> road)

I have never found this to be an issue.

> and getting in and out of the trike is an extreme yoga
> exercise.  

Proper technique is needed here - if you put your feet in the right 
place it is easy, but the wrong place makes it difficult.

Getting on a DF upright is not easy for some people either.

> The need for three tracks through the potholes, plus it's
> low visibility, seems risky for the roads, and the extra width makes
> it inconvenient on MUPs.

Again, the "seems" risky. As for width, most trikes are no wider than 
the bars on the average ATB - are those too wide for the MUP?

> And of course, you'd better have a pickup
> truck to take it anywhere.

Or a Honda Civic (works for my trike).

> It's interesting as a design exercise.  But that's its only virtue,
> from what I can tell.
> 
> So I suppose the whole crew of us are lost causes!

Indeed. Preconceived notions are hard to overcome.

-- 
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
When did ignorance of biology become a "family value"?