Author: Bob Walton
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In the old days bicycles had tiny thin saddles, you were all crouched up and your feet couldn't touch the ground without getting off the saddle. If you put the brakes on too hard you would go over the handlebars and if you crashed you would hit things head first. But now........ This bike's got a proper seat and you can reach the ground while sitting in it. The steering makes it rock steady and it goes faster than it looks. Recumbents are often faster than normal racing bikes on a flat road because they are more aerodynamic, but they are often very low to the ground and awkward to ride. Anyone can ride this one, but is still quite laid back, and the seat height is the same as a family car. The idea here is to incline the steering head in the opposite direction from a conventional bike. On this bike the wheel tends to centre when you go straight ahead, but it will also naturally steer the way you lean to help you balance. Even though this bike is long and low, and it has a small front wheel it balances really well, as I hoped to show in the video. No hands riding is easy - and I don't mean cheating by using your feet. The other thing is that on a normal bike to push hard on the pedals, you tend to pull on the handlebars. Your upper body is strained. On this bike, when you push hard on the pedals your back pushes against the seat rest and your upper body is unloaded. It feels much more relaxed. It reminds me of those ruck sacks you can get that have a substantial belt around the waist. Your legs still carry the weight of you and your bag, but the weight of the bag is carried mostly on your hips, leaving your shoulders and back unburdened. Braking is much better too. On a normal bike, no matter how good your brakes are, you will eventually lift the back wheel in the air if you brake too hard. There is no chance of that on this bike, so your stopping distance is much smaller. If you do crash its much nicer to hit things feet first, and there isn't far to fall either! I haven't seen another homemade bike like it. Let me know if you have. I don't know how many garden shed inventors there are out there these days. I have seen some cool bike concepts. But why does this bike of the future look so old fashioned? also see my homebuilt motorbike https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECzFl...