I keep mine hard all the time

Post #43,241 by kmself 6/23/02 12:55:34 PM Reply	I keep mine hard all the time ...actually, checked pressure and added air front and rear before heading out on this ride. Tires are 1.25" front and 1.50" rear, slicks (no tread), rated to 85psi. I keep them at 100 psi. The bike itself is a mountain bike, but rigged for commute / touring. Slicks, Scott bars, modified stem & seat post, and a good lighting system. For mountain biking (for real, off-road, which isn't where I'm usually at these days), before hitting the dirt, you'll drop pressure to 20 lb (most nobbies are rated to 45), and before the downhill, you'd drop the seat hight. This improves both balance (lowered center of gravity) and back-end abuse, if you get my drift. Incidentally, this is why Mt. Bikes have quick-release seat post fastners, though most people don't seem to get this.... I did lower my seat about an inch before hitting the Oakville Grade, both for balance (there are a couple of turns on the way down) and to lower my profile -> less wind resistance. Seems to have helped. I love that ride.... `-- Karsten M. Self [link\|mailto:kmself@ix.netcom.com\|kmself@ix.netcom.com] [link\|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/\|[link\|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/\|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/]] What part of "gestalt" don't you understand? Keep software free. Oppose the CBDTPA. Kill S.2048 dead. [link\|http://www.eff.org/alerts/20020322_eff_cbdtpa_alert.html\|[link\|http://www.eff.org/alerts/20020322_eff_cbdtpa_alert.html\|http://www.eff.org/...a_alert.html]]`
Post #43,246 by Ashton 6/23/02 3:32:20 PM Reply	When I think of the actual 'tire patch contact area' on these flimsy contrivances - and simple physics... I deem 55 mph on one of those dinky minimalist "tires" (tyres) - akin to 130 mph down The Grapevine (er, the SoCal one outta LA, that is) on a proper motorcycle. Only worse.. when you consider the huge tire dia. and flexibility of Everything. And that dinky patch. Well.. it's gotta be a good forced Attention akin to meditation to keep the sucker properly under you. No daydreaming, y'hear? As to dirt - yes quite: you say that some don't get it about lowering the seat? A good primer for illustrating that is: English Trials, usually on single-cylinder machines with Lots of v.low speed torque, smoothly applied with the skill of a dancer. But on a m/cycle - the pegs you stand on (to lower your CG as much as possible, natch) aren't moving!. You Never "sit on the seat", at any height, for same obvious reason. Are you saying that bike riders do Not (well, try to) stand on the pedals ?? If they 'sit' - sounds like lots of fall-offs. Hmmm I see a tech mod needed: a switch on handlebar + a solenoid which locks the pedal crank solidly, allowing use of body weight on the feet - to exert proper English as Newton intended. (Obviously you can't do this Up-hill. D'Oh) (Ugh - a bizness opportunity) Ashton Da Vinci
Post #43,254 by kmself 6/23/02 4:48:52 PM Reply	Staying on top Um...no problems here. You're familiar with the road (and if you're not, become one with it...in the metaphysical sense only). It's 1.5 miles dropping 800 feet with four swooping turns as you drop into the valley. Physics tends to say that objects moving in straight lines tend to stay that way. Worst problem I've had on on a bike is shimmey, usually caused by poorly distributed weight. On Oakville, the issues are ratty pavement (it's pretty good in general, though there's a couple of rough spots), oncoming traffic, wildlife, and your hardware flying apart on you. Plenty to focus on at that speed, but keeping the bike upright really isn't the issue. More than enough angular momentum to see to that. As for for standing in the pedals, amazingly enough, my weight distributes pretty evenly across the pedals. No need for a lock-out. And if I need motive power, all I've got to do is start spinning. `-- Karsten M. Self [link\|mailto:kmself@ix.netcom.com\|kmself@ix.netcom.com] [link\|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/\|[link\|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/\|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/]] What part of "gestalt" don't you understand? Keep software free. Oppose the CBDTPA. Kill S.2048 dead. [link\|http://www.eff.org/alerts/20020322_eff_cbdtpa_alert.html\|[link\|http://www.eff.org/alerts/20020322_eff_cbdtpa_alert.html\|http://www.eff.org/...a_alert.html]]`
Post #43,311 by drewk 6/24/02 11:26:20 AM Reply	Here's a video for you of some trials action Go [link\|http://www.gasgas.com\|here] and click on one of the video links at the top left. Some of the things these guys do don't look possible. (Real or WMP only, sorry.) === Microsoft offers them the one thing most business people will pay any price for - the ability to say "we had no choice - everyone's doing it that way." -- [link\|http://z.iwethey.org/forums/render/content/show?contentid=38978\|Andrew Grygus]
Post #43,346 by Ashton 6/24/02 4:40:19 PM Reply	Thanks!___Great site ..and captures the flavor of the Impossibility - for us mere mortals. Think the flic is more like ~ Int'l Grade Moto-Cross meets Skateboarders with a Death Wish though. Motocross in past has been likened to aviation: typically people ricochet around a course at humongous speeds.. merely touching 'ground' long enough to alter airborne direction! (to miss an obstacle or 'use' it for launch). Virtually all of the Masters got their first micro-bike at about 2 years of age (some have guessed: One year, but..) and rarely got off them except maybe to eat, occasionally sleep. (They Know No Fear because they got so good so fast - rarely experienced the Second Law: Pain Hurts.) worse: you are Right At The Scene of the Accident 100% of the time, not 5000' ft. of thinking-time away. English Trials OTOH are mostly s l o w; feet must Never come off the pegs [Rule 1]. The course has been prepared by someone with the combined skills of Torquemada and Idi Amin and the conscience of a sleazy biznessman whose name begins with a G or a B: Greasy.. Slickern'shit MUD or mossy or mud-covered Rocks - as many reverse-camber "turns into wall-like obstructions" as possible. Dead stop is an often event, as various tactics are tried. Getting over decaying logs with a coefficient of friction of 0.001 is merely: usual. Get the pic? Ballet in slo-mo. Dick Mann, a (Pro) racer and all-round Master of all things kinetic.. used to come around to the "playground" of moderate hills & such at Point Richmond (Calif.). Sometimes he'd ride up, kill engine, carry on a conversation of 10 minutes or more -- all the while with feet on pegs, and remaining stationary! Then.. he'd kickstart (no namby-pamby Electric stuff on lean, mean machines) and ride off [or ^^Up^^]. A perfect illustration of the limits of brute-force, bravado - it's more like ballet than 'combat', and apparently for actual Pros, it's chess and not jousting. Loved the concrete cube! Now slather it with Slik-50.. :-\ufffd Ashton

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