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Main
Date: 10 Oct 2007 07:08:45
From: stratrider
Subject: That looks dangerous (high racer).
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Yesterday a man pulled up along side of me at a light. With his window
already rolled down, he said to me "That looks dangerous.". I told
him that it took a little getting used to. I didn't give it much
thought. Yet for some reason I thought more about what he said on my
commute to work this morning. The truth is he is right. I love my
Strada. It's fast and fun! I have come to prefer it over my
Stratus. But the BB is so high, putting me feet so far off the ground
that I would have to say that it is not as safe as the Stratus in
emergency situations. Also, I have dropped the bike a couple of times
on slow tight turns when my heel struck the front tire and created an
instant brake. Clearly the aero design of the high racer comes with a
practical cost.
Jim
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Date: 17 Oct 2007 22:13:16
From: nget
Subject: Re: That looks dangerous (high racer).
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On Oct 17, 5:05 pm, Tom Sherman <sunsetss0...@yahoo.com > wrote:
> Do you have a front fender on the Rocket? I cut the front fender off on
> my Rocket about 6 inches in front of the fork, and got rid of the front
> fender struts after a low speed crash caused when my shoe caught on the
> struts. The cut-down fender eliminates the hardware that can easily
> catch a shoe, but still keeps spray off the boom/BB/crank area.
>
> --
> Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
> Beer - It's not just for breakfast anymore!
I just bought this Rocket and want to use it for this wet season but
it does not as yet have fenders. When fenders are installed I will
take into account that shorter is better where heel strike is to be
avoided. My fall was 100% human error.
Note to self...do not carry golf club( found on road) and try to turn
bike at slow speed onto bike trail.
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Date: 18 Oct 2007 00:33:57
From: Tom Sherman
Subject: Re: That looks dangerous (high racer).
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"nget" wrote:
> On Oct 17, 5:05 pm, Tom Sherman <sunsetss0...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> Do you have a front fender on the Rocket? I cut the front fender off on
>> my Rocket about 6 inches in front of the fork, and got rid of the front
>> fender struts after a low speed crash caused when my shoe caught on the
>> struts. The cut-down fender eliminates the hardware that can easily
>> catch a shoe, but still keeps spray off the boom/BB/crank area.
>>
> I just bought this Rocket and want to use it for this wet season but
> it does not as yet have fenders. When fenders are installed I will
> take into account that shorter is better where heel strike is to be
> avoided. My fall was 100% human error.
> Note to self...do not carry golf club( found on road) and try to turn
> bike at slow speed onto bike trail.
No bicycle polo for "nget" on the Rocket, then.
--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
Beer - It's not just for breakfast anymore!
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Date: 14 Oct 2007 20:40:34
From: nget
Subject: Re: That looks dangerous (high racer).
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On Oct 10, 7:08 am, stratrider <jrei...@enter.net > wrote:
> Yesterday a man pulled up along side of me at a light. With his window
> already rolled down, he said to me "That looks dangerous.". I told
> him that it took a little getting used to. I didn't give it much
> thought. Yet for some reason I thought more about what he said on my
> commute to work this morning. The truth is he is right. I love my
> Strada. It's fast and fun! I have come to prefer it over my
> Stratus. But the BB is so high, putting me feet so far off the ground
> that I would have to say that it is not as safe as the Stratus in
> emergency situations. Also, I have dropped the bike a couple of times
> on slow tight turns when my heel struck the front tire and created an
> instant brake. Clearly the aero design of the high racer comes with a
> practical cost.
>
> Jim
I have found that I have better balance on the high racer and
therefore for me it is a safer ride than a duel 20 in wheeled bike.
The comment you got from the guy in the automobile I have also
received while on a bent. I tell them that the reality is that no one
can be safe on the highway and that our odds of being hurt or killed
are about the same for both car and bike.
I also did the heel strike today when I entered the bike lane and
went down , lucky for me no one was watching. I was riding a RANS
Rocket. It is not a problem with the bike but rather human error.
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Date: 17 Oct 2007 19:05:10
From: Tom Sherman
Subject: Re: That looks dangerous (high racer).
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nget aka Mark wrote:
> ...
> I have found that I have better balance on the high racer and
> therefore for me it is a safer ride than a duel 20 in wheeled bike.
Dueling is generally not safe, even on a recumbent. ;)
> The comment you got from the guy in the automobile I have also
> received while on a bent. I tell them that the reality is that no one
> can be safe on the highway and that our odds of being hurt or killed
> are about the same for both car and bike.
> I also did the heel strike today when I entered the bike lane and
> went down , lucky for me no one was watching. I was riding a RANS
> Rocket. It is not a problem with the bike but rather human error.
>
Do you have a front fender on the Rocket? I cut the front fender off on
my Rocket about 6 inches in front of the fork, and got rid of the front
fender struts after a low speed crash caused when my shoe caught on the
struts. The cut-down fender eliminates the hardware that can easily
catch a shoe, but still keeps spray off the boom/BB/crank area.
--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
Beer - It's not just for breakfast anymore!
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Date: 10 Oct 2007 15:31:24
From: Peter Clinch
Subject: Re: That looks dangerous (high racer).
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stratrider wrote:
> But the BB is so high, putting me feet so far off the ground
> that I would have to say that it is not as safe as the Stratus in
> emergency situations.
That's a relative danger rather than an absolute one. It's more
dangerous going down hills fast than freewheeling and popping the brakes
on every now and then to check your speed, but that doesn't mean that
going down fast is a Bad Idea and one you need to avoid. A sit up and
beg wedgie is probably safer than an out-and-out UCI racer because your
default view is where you're going, rather than the tarmac a couple of
meters in front, but again that doesn't make the arse-in-the-air
position intrinsically bad and a safety black-spot.
Is your bike safe /enough/? Very probably, I would say.
> Also, I have dropped the bike a couple of times
> on slow tight turns when my heel struck the front tire and created an
> instant brake. Clearly the aero design of the high racer comes with a
> practical cost.
Main practical cost on any sort of racer is not so much safety as
practicality for anything other than getting you (and precious little
else) from A to B quickly.
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 p.j.clinch@dundee.ac.uk http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/
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