manuvirablitiy
- Thread starter jhjanek
- Start date
Lief
Guru Schmuru
As always - It depends
jhjanek,
The biggest factor (after you get used to riding the MBB) that I have found is choice of handlebars.
I run straight drops - and your knees can get in the way of the sharpest, very low speed, turns.
If you have bullhorns - which I did for about 4 weeks - you can almost pedal through anything you can turn safely turn through.
If you use flare-bars - you are almost as good as bullhorns but might find minor problems at turns where your knee and bar end are aligned - you can usually move your knee and these are typically VERY low speed turns.
Anything over ~7mph, turns aren't sharp enough to have any real problems pedalling like normal.
Lief
jhjanek,
The biggest factor (after you get used to riding the MBB) that I have found is choice of handlebars.
I run straight drops - and your knees can get in the way of the sharpest, very low speed, turns.
If you have bullhorns - which I did for about 4 weeks - you can almost pedal through anything you can turn safely turn through.
If you use flare-bars - you are almost as good as bullhorns but might find minor problems at turns where your knee and bar end are aligned - you can usually move your knee and these are typically VERY low speed turns.
Anything over ~7mph, turns aren't sharp enough to have any real problems pedalling like normal.
Lief
Lief
Guru Schmuru
What didn't I like about bullhorns...
I didn't like the reach and the angles I was left with.
I'm 5'10 (178cm) on a Silvio 1.0
I can't bring the the TTT (telescoping top tube) horizontal enough because I don't have a chainstay extender and still have the cross-portion of handlebar low enough to make bullhorns comfortable (or angled correctly) for ease-of-use and leverage (leverage isn't much of a problem tho).
If I ever pull the trigger on a chainstay extension - or perhaps upgrade to a newer bike - then I will probably go with the bullhorns.
I already run bar-end-shifters, not the greatest on the drops but simpler and more reliable than SRAM brifters (I've broken 3 of them).
Lief
I didn't like the reach and the angles I was left with.
I'm 5'10 (178cm) on a Silvio 1.0
I can't bring the the TTT (telescoping top tube) horizontal enough because I don't have a chainstay extender and still have the cross-portion of handlebar low enough to make bullhorns comfortable (or angled correctly) for ease-of-use and leverage (leverage isn't much of a problem tho).
If I ever pull the trigger on a chainstay extension - or perhaps upgrade to a newer bike - then I will probably go with the bullhorns.
I already run bar-end-shifters, not the greatest on the drops but simpler and more reliable than SRAM brifters (I've broken 3 of them).
Lief
trplay
Zen MBB Master
Most people have
My first bike was a HPV MBB. A red, blazingly fast, fixie (no brakes, single speed). You Probably did also. In 1957 they just called them tricycles and they were actually affordable. I spent hours on the porch honing my skills. Soon afterwards I moved on to "traditional" bikes and hadn't touched another MBB until now. It's funny when you think about it. A MBB isn't so strange after all. I suspect the majority of riders learn on a MBB first.
My first bike was a HPV MBB. A red, blazingly fast, fixie (no brakes, single speed). You Probably did also. In 1957 they just called them tricycles and they were actually affordable. I spent hours on the porch honing my skills. Soon afterwards I moved on to "traditional" bikes and hadn't touched another MBB until now. It's funny when you think about it. A MBB isn't so strange after all. I suspect the majority of riders learn on a MBB first.
Charles.Plager
Recumbent Quant
My first bike was a HPV MBB.
Ha!!
Ha!!
John Tolhurst
Zen MBB Master
I have one of those, with
I have one of those, with only one wheel behind!
I have one of those, with only one wheel behind!
Ivan
Guru
Tricycle or no tricycle,
Tricycle or no tricycle, that's still a quick learning curve to do figure eights that smoothly! To answer the original question...no problem with street corners, or tight and narrow lanes in the park, but now after a few months I still can't navigate a messy bunch of cars at traffic lights as well as I can on a DF. But that is an extreme case with me commuting in a busy city and not one that bothers me significantly.
Tricycle or no tricycle, that's still a quick learning curve to do figure eights that smoothly! To answer the original question...no problem with street corners, or tight and narrow lanes in the park, but now after a few months I still can't navigate a messy bunch of cars at traffic lights as well as I can on a DF. But that is an extreme case with me commuting in a busy city and not one that bothers me significantly.
trplay
Zen MBB Master
Ivan, do you sit up in those
Ivan, do you sit up in those conditions? This was my major fitting problem, (still working on it). I find if I sit straight up and pedal I can negotiate in those dicey situations. This can be hard to do based on where one places their handlebars.
Ivan, do you sit up in those conditions? This was my major fitting problem, (still working on it). I find if I sit straight up and pedal I can negotiate in those dicey situations. This can be hard to do based on where one places their handlebars.
Ivan
Guru
I can't fully sit up straight
I can't fully sit up straight due to my low handlebar position (due to chainstay extender). Also my BB is quite high so sitting up is not all that comfortable. I start/stop all while lying down. When it gets REALLY tight then I disengage pedals and fully sit up. I can only fully sit up by scooting back up the seat and sitting on the seat back. I am fine with this compromise as I really like the handlebar position for the 99.9% of the rest of the time.
I can't fully sit up straight due to my low handlebar position (due to chainstay extender). Also my BB is quite high so sitting up is not all that comfortable. I start/stop all while lying down. When it gets REALLY tight then I disengage pedals and fully sit up. I can only fully sit up by scooting back up the seat and sitting on the seat back. I am fine with this compromise as I really like the handlebar position for the 99.9% of the rest of the time.
Jeremy S
Dude
I sit up often in tight
I sit up often in tight trafficky situations, and I find the Silvio to be very maneuverable when I do. I would guess (based on past reading about recumbents) that the reasons are (1) better control over balance with the torso upright and free to shift around, and (2) better judgment of steering angles with the eyes closer to the steering axis. I have no chainstay extension, a fairly low bottom bracket, and lots of room to sit up. I do pedal while sitting up and turning.
I sit up often in tight trafficky situations, and I find the Silvio to be very maneuverable when I do. I would guess (based on past reading about recumbents) that the reasons are (1) better control over balance with the torso upright and free to shift around, and (2) better judgment of steering angles with the eyes closer to the steering axis. I have no chainstay extension, a fairly low bottom bracket, and lots of room to sit up. I do pedal while sitting up and turning.
