View Single Post
Old 08-02-19, 01:15 PM
  #10  
Leisesturm
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 5,992
Mentioned: 26 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2495 Post(s)
Liked 738 Times in 522 Posts
There are a number of recumbent bikes and trikes known to be 'twitchy' or 'a handful'. The Windcheetah Hypersport is one such beast. There are others. Highracers and Lowracers are no ones idea of a 'docile' or 'easy' bicycle. And velomobiles? How many of those rare and expensive beasts have been lost to ... pilot error? And we just take it on the chin when we 'screw up' and strive to do better. If the first attempt didn't leave a lasting injury precluding further explorations. Nutz to that. Within weeks of building my Highracer, I fashioned a steering damper for it AND a powerful 'return to center' force moment that allowed me, at 60, to ̶r̶i̶d̶e̶ control the thing like someone half my age, by the end of the first riding season.

I have been roundly criticized for doing this on other recumbent specific forums. Its seen as cheating. It's seen as unnecessary. Maybe. But there is the evidence of those broken bikes (and their riders) and trikes and cracked open velomobiles. What about that? Just yesterday I had occasion to say that I believe trikes and velomobiles should all come with powerful 'return to center' spring mechanisms from the factory. Why from the factory? Because then it wouldn't seem like such a cheat to install one.
Leisesturm is offline