Comments on: Freewheeling is evil

By: Francis Sedgemore

Francis Sedgemore — Sat, 23 May 2009 11:39:08 +0000

Most expensive car evva, eh?

I’ve found that, in such situations, a bunch of readily accessible keys in a cyclist’s pocket is a great all-round leveller.

By: SnoopyTheGoon

SnoopyTheGoon — Sat, 23 May 2009 09:05:39 +0000

“You keep pedalling, and your legs increase in suppleness.” Gee, I do detect a Luddite sympathizer here.

If I didn’t hate driving on the wrong side of the road and if I had the $10M necessary, this is what I would have paraded near you and your bike:

http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2009/04/shelby-cobra-coupe-may-become-most-expensive-car-ever.html

While chewing a double-decker hamburger with big fries and a milkshake. Of course.

By: Gadjo Dilo

Gadjo Dilo — Thu, 21 May 2009 13:15:03 +0000

Getting off and pushing it!! And there was I thinking you were a purist ;-) You argument is still impressive, but I still remember the (probably rather childish) pride of climbing Llanberis Pass without dismounting and then zooming down the other side.

By: Francis Sedgemore

Francis Sedgemore — Wed, 20 May 2009 08:11:37 +0000

Most people would balk at doing the Llanberis Pass on a multi-geared bike. And if they tried, it would be in such a low gear that they’d be overtaken by pedestrian hikers on the way up.

Thereis no shame in wheeling a fixed-gear bike up the steepest stretches, but you’d be surprised how steep they need be to force riders off their machines. The drive train of a fixed-gear bike is much more efficient than a derailleur mechanism at the same gear ratio, as the chain does not have to pass through a complicated setup of friction-inducing twists and turns.

On my fixed-gear bike I am very often faster uphill than cyclists of similar physical strength on geared road bikes. Coming down the other side is never fast on a fixie, but then I don’t particularly care for freewheeling speed when so exposed to the elements and hard tarmac.

By: Gadjo Dilo

Gadjo Dilo — Wed, 20 May 2009 05:52:08 +0000

Hmm. Your argument is impressive and certainly the lighter a bike is the more it feels like a (rather elegant) part of one’s own body, but the phrase “It probably depends where you live” keeps returning to me. I wouldn’t fancy doing Llanberis Pass on it.

By: Francis Sedgemore

Francis Sedgemore — Tue, 19 May 2009 08:43:39 +0000

You keep pedalling, and your legs increase in suppleness. One gear should be enough for anyone, if chosen well. With a fixed-gear you have more control, you can feel the variations in traction under the wheel, it encourages you to ride smoothly and efficiently, it builds strength, the bike has much lower maintenance overheads that a multi-geared machine, and its weight is very low.

Nightmare? Not at all. In fact it’s a lot of fun.

By: Gadjo Dilo

Gadjo Dilo — Tue, 19 May 2009 05:27:06 +0000

Phoarrr. What do you do with your feet though? They just have to keep spinning round with the pedals? And only one gear?? Sounds like a nightmare… please explain.

By: Francis Sedgemore

Francis Sedgemore — Mon, 18 May 2009 19:27:50 +0000

The garden here is protected by a couple of foxes, who are often to be found in the daytime curled up half-asleep under the kitchen wall. No bastard blackbirds would dare come anywhere near the place.

By: Anja

Anja — Mon, 18 May 2009 19:20:38 +0000

Pity we can’t swap (swop?) cuttings. This year we have a serious surplus in aquilegia, Moroccan mint and sweet william. The lemon balm is growing like wildfire and so are the lupins. The gooseberries are doing fine, though the beans not so. Eaten by the bastard blackbirds.

By: Francis Sedgemore

Francis Sedgemore — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:58:10 +0000

The entire garden’s lovely. There may only be a few square metres of soil in an L-shape, but I have much growing in them, including vegetables and herbs as well as nasturshums and stuff.