Saturday 3 October 2009

Laid back

I spotted a rare breed today - a non-upright cyclist commuter. I see the odd one on the weekends, being ridden for sport or pleasure, but only rarely do they venture out onto the roads during working hours.


This bastard was quick though. I had a hard time catching him and keeping up, and his action seemed to be so effortless and smooth. He hardly seemed to be working at all, whilst I was building up a nice case of sweat and puffing.

Whilst I like the idea of them, I prefer sitting up a foot or so higher and being able to see over the traffic. That's just my thing.

4 comments:

Wand said...

I saw a couple of laid back riders like this in the Spring cycle last weekend.

To me they look uncomfortable and I do wonder how quickly they could turn in an emergency. But after looking at your video clip I have to admit his centre of gravity and wind resistance would be lower than for a conventional riding position. And perhaps his lower wind resistance explains the speed?

Interesting. I wonder how he starts off and dismounts?

kae said...

I wondered about the mount/dismount and start-off... and what about stopping, how's he put his foot down?

Hey Wand, how was the ride?

Boy on a bike said...

I've done a long ride with a bloke who had a bike like this - stopping and starting was never a problem for him, but I think he'd had a lot of practice. Me - I'd be toppling over at every set of lights.

Wand said...

Kae,

The ride was fine - a little chilly to start with and there would have been many people who were cold. It was just comfortable enough after 20km to shed the outer layer. All in all an easy trip - and hey I've even got my photo snapped on the bridge though I won't upload it because someone might recognise me.