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The Bicycling thread

Why my Schwinn was Faster....

Why my Schwinn was Faster...(previously posted on I-BMW)

I got into bicycle racing back in the 70s.

At the time my ride was a Schwinn Super Le Tour 12.5.

The 12.5 optimistically stood for the weight in kilograms but was actually 13 kilos or 28.5 lbs.

It had Schwinn Components, 27 inch clincher wheels, and 1 1/4 " tubed tires.

After training with a club for one summer (Queen City Wheelmen), it was set aside for a custom bike ordered from the Yellow Jersey in Madison, WI.

San Rensho criterium frame, Campy Record groupo, Araya aerodynamic rims, narrow sew-up tires, Swiss DT spokes, Cinelli handlebars.

The club had a weekly time trial along the Ohio and Miami rivers, just west of Cincinnati.

As I recall, the route went past Harrison's Tomb.

Good pavement and only rare traffic.

Plus the finish line was a short hop back to the starting line where we parked our cars if we didn't ride to get there.

The Schwinn had several TTs under its belt with respectable times (at least for a Cat IV).

But the San Rensho/Campy was going to shame the previous times.

I least that was the expectation.

The San Rensho never performed as well, not even close.

I couldn't figure it out.

Training was going well, but the times just weren't there.

The suspicion at the time was that the stiffness of the new bike was causing enough discomfort to slow things down.

Replaced the steel forks with aluminum and still couldn't make it work.

So tonight, decades later, I'm looking at Cycling Weekly and there's an article about Campy's new tubeless wheels, ceramic bearings and all.

And, midway though the article:

Knowing that wider tyres are aerodynamically faster, Campagnolo has designed the wheels with 25 and 28mm tyres. It has also recognised that rolling resistance is affected by the standard of tyres used, with tubular tyres being the slowest and tubeless the fastest with clinchers in-between.

Read more at https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/product-news/campagnolo-releases-tubeless-ready-bora-wto-wheels-375973

I miss that Schwinn.
 
I got on my road bike this past summer for the first time in 3 years for a short scoot. I need to get back riding more than to the beach with a surfboard plus my cruisers are just about done after 12 years of zero maintenance besides air in the tires.
 
Recumbent Terra Trike Tandem with electric assist???

Our next ride may be a recumbent Terra Trike Tandem with electric assist.

As these are low to the ground with low visibility, we would restrict our riding to bike trails.

This model decouples for easy transport.
 
Our next ride may be a recumbent Terra Trike Tandem with electric assist.

As these are low to the ground with low visibility, we would restrict our riding to bike trails.

This model decouples for easy transport.

I was not able to find the electric assist tandem on the Terra Trike site.
 
TerraTrike with Electric Assist

TerraTrike has two models that come with electric assist now, but these are singles.

It might be that you could kit one of these with a TerraTrike single up front. TerraTrike does offer kits to make a single into a tandem. Not sure about using one of these electric assist models.

Or you could go aftermarket at a good bike shop.

https://www.ebikekit.com/blogs/news...ricycle-using-the-e-bikekit-conversion-system

Electric assist on a tandem may only provide modest assist but enough to keep the "stoker" from being overtaxed if the other rider tires out.

I was recently left in the dust by a pair of octagenarians on TerraTrikes singles, one with assist. In my defence, it had been a long day.
 
I own a bicycle shop, specializing in tandems & recumbents. About 30 days ago I converted a CaTrike to "e-assist", using a Bafang kit. This is a mid-drive unit, and replaced the front crankset. You lose the double/triple crankset, giving you a 1x setup. However, the Bafang offers 1-3-5-9 levels of assist (IIRC), plus a "throttle" to help you up the hills when your assist isn't enough. To put the Bafang on a tandem, you'd need to remove the front BB/crank and convert your tandem to same-side drive, again losing at least one, probably 2 chainrings from the back crankset. If I were to convert a tandem, I'd drop the rear crankset to a single drive ring, install an 11-speed cassette on the rear wheel (you can use an 11/40 11-sp cassette on a "10-speed" road wheel), and install the battery on the front down tube.

Bafang kits add about 15 pounds to the weight of a bike, but you do remove a pound or so by removing the extra chainring(s) and front derailleur.

YMMV
 
Any safety concerns for the e-bikes? I ride a roadie mostly on park land, one circuit about 16 miles. This season, more than once, saw e-bikes scooting along at a pace way faster than the rider seemed capable of controlling. I thought, " How is that rider passing me on this hill?" Then I saw the battery bulge.

Safety is always on my mind not because of my age but because of liability. Also the laws posted everywhere saying, "No motorized vehicles." Trails are multiuser sometimes with horse traffic in a few areas. Not unusual to see skate boarders, inline skaters, lots of dogs on the retracting leashes, joggers, cross country skiing on wheels, all of which are mostly on the weekends.

Personally cycling seems great aerobic with human motor. Don't know how e-bikes fit in to cycling. Not to mention ear buds. Saw a rider using iPhone too. Is cycling insurance in our future?
 
Great question! I wish I could answer it definitively. However, state legislators are wrestling with how to treat these machines -- are they bicycles or low-powered motorcycles? I've resisted them in my shop, only do this conversion because the owner of the bike bought the Bafang kit for me to install. The owner needs the e-assist to ride, as he's battling stage 4 cancer and is beaten down by treatments.
 
Recumbent tandem conversion to electric...

I own a bicycle shop, specializing in tandems & recumbents. ....

Good info.

Thanks.

I would be doing most of the work with the wife and I riding together.

The electric assist will allow more time and distance together.
 
Riding Tanem with the disabled...

Inviduals with Parkinson's Disease benefit by passive bicycling.

That is, riding on the back of a tandem, even though they are not doing much of the effort.

One study suggests that this type of exercise is as good as medication for treating Parkinsons.

People with other disabilities, such as stroke or cerebral palsy, may simply enjoy bicycling with a friend or companion.

Recumbant tandems would appear to be ideal for these purposes.
 
Any safety concerns for the e-bikes? I ride a roadie mostly on park land, one circuit about 16 miles. This season, more than once, saw e-bikes scooting along at a pace way faster than the rider seemed capable of controlling. I thought, " How is that rider passing me on this hill?" Then I saw the battery bulge.

Safety is always on my mind not because of my age but because of liability. Also the laws posted everywhere saying, "No motorized vehicles." Trails are multiuser sometimes with horse traffic in a few areas. Not unusual to see skate boarders, inline skaters, lots of dogs on the retracting leashes, joggers, cross country skiing on wheels, all of which are mostly on the weekends.

Personally cycling seems great aerobic with human motor. Don't know how e-bikes fit in to cycling. Not to mention ear buds. Saw a rider using iPhone too. Is cycling insurance in our future?

The Trump administration decided in September that e-bikes are "non-motorized bicycles" so are now allowed on trails in National Parks. See: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...e-humming-along-national-park-trails-n1048771
 
"I smoked a Ferrari with my bicycle." :)

I wonder how long the run out area is, on that track. I have to think they would need about a kilometre.
 
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