back to the Vision R40
Thu, 3 Nov 2016 20:35:47
Since my Grasshopper fx was crumpled Saturday, I've been riding my Vision R40 to work this week. I stayed home Monday (last day of month) because I had too many hours on my timesheet, so today is the 3rd day on the Vision.
The bikes are very different.
ATC Vision R40HPV Grasshopper fxComments
long wheelbaseshort wheelbasesmaller turning radius
steel framealuminum frame
long, springy frameshorter, stiffer/more-solid frame
no suspensionfront + rear suspensionseem to get fewer (snakebite) flats?
softer tires have more effect on the ride than suspension
bouncy, loose feelsolid, tight, controlled feel
20" front + 26" rear wheels2 x 20" wheelsharsher ride
carry 1 spare tube/tire size
higher seatlower seat
more upright/vertical seat backmore reclined seatmore aerodynamic position; less drag
less visible in traffic; less able to see over/around others
standard cranksshort cranksbetter for shorter people, but I don't have shorter legs,
so maybe I should go with standard cranks?
24-speed27-speedreplacement would be 30-speed - special narrow chains
heavier bikelighter bike (even with suspension)faster
foam seat cushionthin foam over molded shell
mesh seat back over tube framesculpted carbon-fibre shell
twist-grip shiftingbar-end shiftingbar-ends seem to be gentler to the cables
narrower handlebarsfits through tighter spaces
Vision handlebars go under seat;
one hand can't brake or shift on tight turns
rim brakesdisc brakesbetter braking; easier to adjust; longer-lasting pads
toe clips with strapstoe clips without strapseasier to flip into
allow twisting foot to clear front wheel for tight turns
no mudguards (fenders)mudguardsride on wet pavement or muddish towpath
standard rackcustom racksexpensive, better quality/fit, more capacity (4 panniers)
I'm having to re-learn my low-speed balancing for the old bike. I'm finding it very hard to start going uphill. It's like it's a new-to-me bike again. ☹
The boom needs to be longer. I'm surprised I rode with it set up short like this all those years. Adjusting it will mean adding links to the chain though, so it's not trivial.
I was concerned about rust on the frame before, and I still am. I have no good way to evaluate this. I can't inspect the inside of the tubes.
The left (front) shifter is very stiff. I suspect it may be broken/breaking, and need replacement (again).
The whole thing feels very loose and bouncy, and it seems that balance and control take a lot of my attention. Maybe those are reflexes that just need to be re-established, but I didn't feel that going on with the Grasshopper. (I'm sure I did at first though, and those reflexes developed. But it doesn't seem like it should take a week to recover skills that were developed over 14 years; they should be firmly ingrained somewhere.)
I don't accelerate as well on the Vision. It's heavier, and the boom needs to be longer. My initial balance is still shaky too, so fast starts when the traffic lights change just aren't happening yet.
There were 2 sets of blinkers on the back of the Vision - 2 high-brightness Cateye blinkers, and 4 (older) VistaLight blinkers. One of the VistaLite mounts got broken (in the office bike cage!), so there were only 3 left on the bike. After sitting unused in the shed, the lenses for the VistaLights no longer stay on reliably. The 2 older lights' popped off on the way to work Tuesday (one on a bump on pavement, and the other on the rough towpath), and the 3rd popped off coming home (rough CCT pavement). So I've taken those 3 lights (and the 4 mounts) off the bike. I could probably hold the lenses on with clear tape, but I was using those lights as back-ups to the Cateyes, and additional lights for poor conditions (e.g. biking in the rain - which I don't intend to do on the Vision).
Since I don't want to ride the Vision in wet weather, I expect I'm going to be taking transit more.
I don't know whether the insurance adjuster is going to say replace the bike or repair it. (If he says repair, can a local shop do it, or will it need to go back to the factory? In Germany?) I don't know whether he's checked the HPV website to see what the bike cost. I'm sure he doesn't know yet that the options I put on it added another 2/3 to its cost. This isn't a WalMart bike. This is your high-end bike-shop wet dream. This is the bike I planned to ride for 20 years, an investment in my health and leisure. (And staying active and fit is important for golden years.)
Build/shipping/delivery took 2 months; build backlog might be less this late in the season. (Most people buy bikes in the spring/summer, not November. (The southern hemisphere is not a big market.))
The only difference between the two bikes that is better for the Vision is being up higher, to be a bit more visible in traffic. It's still not high enough to look over cars like a standard bike. And the times I've been hit - on either recumbent - I wouldn't have been more visible on a standard bike. The 2 times I was rear-ended there was nothing blocking the drivers' view; blinkers going, no other traffic. (One couldn't tell how fast I was going; I was stopped, waiting for oncoming traffic before I could turn. The other also had no excuse whatsoever, especially with an empty lane available for passing.) This Saturday's driver had a completely unobstructed view when she hit me broadside. I was wearing a bright orange jacket. She simply wasn't looking. Or wasn't seeing what she didn't expect to see.
I rode the new bike faster and harder. I was more comfortable on it, and more confident (more in control). Perhaps too confident, but in all these incidents but one I was not someplace I shouldn't have been, and I was not hard to see. Nothing was obstructing the driver's (or passenger's, in one case) view of me. People were just not looking. There was one near-incident where the driver couldn't see me through a truck, but he also could not have seen a regular bike, or a motor scooter, or a motorcycle, or a pedestrian in the crosswalk; he had no business making a rushed turn in front of oncoming traffic when he could have no idea what was beyond the truck he could see. (I became aware of another hazardous situation I could encounter, but not one I could prevent.)
Date: Fri, 4 Nov 2016 23:35:05 +0000
I also go faster on the new bike because the brakes are better. You don't want to go faster than you can stop. The better you can stop, the faster you are comfortable going.
I don't take the R40 down the north end of Glebe Road to Chain Bridge. (This is because of both the effectiveness of the brakes and the general sense of control.) I'm fine going down that hill at 30mph (48kmph) on the Grasshopper. I think the Grasshopper would feel like it's under control at 35 or 40 mph (56 or 64kmph). (Even 30mph is too fast for Glebe Rd because of the curves and sight lines. You can't see what's ahead of you around the curves - backed up traffic? And cars following too closely to be able to stop if you have a problem in front of them.)
The braking ability of a bike is still limited because of the small patch of contact between the tire and the road (only a few square inches) and the low weight. I can lock the wheels, and once I'm in a skid I'm at my maximum braking force. But if I'm skidding, I can't steer. (And if I can't steer, I can't maintain balance.)
[This entry was originally posted as https://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/847637.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]
Since my Grasshopper fx was crumpled Saturday, I've been riding my Vision R40 to work this week. I stayed home Monday (last day of month) because I had too many hours on my timesheet, so today is the 3rd day on the Vision.
The bikes are very different.
ATC Vision R40HPV Grasshopper fxComments
long wheelbaseshort wheelbasesmaller turning radius
steel framealuminum frame
long, springy frameshorter, stiffer/more-solid frame
no suspensionfront + rear suspensionseem to get fewer (snakebite) flats?
softer tires have more effect on the ride than suspension
bouncy, loose feelsolid, tight, controlled feel
20" front + 26" rear wheels2 x 20" wheelsharsher ride
carry 1 spare tube/tire size
higher seatlower seat
more upright/vertical seat backmore reclined seatmore aerodynamic position; less drag
less visible in traffic; less able to see over/around others
standard cranksshort cranksbetter for shorter people, but I don't have shorter legs,
so maybe I should go with standard cranks?
24-speed27-speedreplacement would be 30-speed - special narrow chains
heavier bikelighter bike (even with suspension)faster
foam seat cushionthin foam over molded shell
mesh seat back over tube framesculpted carbon-fibre shell
twist-grip shiftingbar-end shiftingbar-ends seem to be gentler to the cables
narrower handlebarsfits through tighter spaces
Vision handlebars go under seat;
one hand can't brake or shift on tight turns
rim brakesdisc brakesbetter braking; easier to adjust; longer-lasting pads
toe clips with strapstoe clips without strapseasier to flip into
allow twisting foot to clear front wheel for tight turns
no mudguards (fenders)mudguardsride on wet pavement or muddish towpath
standard rackcustom racksexpensive, better quality/fit, more capacity (4 panniers)
I'm having to re-learn my low-speed balancing for the old bike. I'm finding it very hard to start going uphill. It's like it's a new-to-me bike again. ☹
The boom needs to be longer. I'm surprised I rode with it set up short like this all those years. Adjusting it will mean adding links to the chain though, so it's not trivial.
I was concerned about rust on the frame before, and I still am. I have no good way to evaluate this. I can't inspect the inside of the tubes.
The left (front) shifter is very stiff. I suspect it may be broken/breaking, and need replacement (again).
The whole thing feels very loose and bouncy, and it seems that balance and control take a lot of my attention. Maybe those are reflexes that just need to be re-established, but I didn't feel that going on with the Grasshopper. (I'm sure I did at first though, and those reflexes developed. But it doesn't seem like it should take a week to recover skills that were developed over 14 years; they should be firmly ingrained somewhere.)
I don't accelerate as well on the Vision. It's heavier, and the boom needs to be longer. My initial balance is still shaky too, so fast starts when the traffic lights change just aren't happening yet.
There were 2 sets of blinkers on the back of the Vision - 2 high-brightness Cateye blinkers, and 4 (older) VistaLight blinkers. One of the VistaLite mounts got broken (in the office bike cage!), so there were only 3 left on the bike. After sitting unused in the shed, the lenses for the VistaLights no longer stay on reliably. The 2 older lights' popped off on the way to work Tuesday (one on a bump on pavement, and the other on the rough towpath), and the 3rd popped off coming home (rough CCT pavement). So I've taken those 3 lights (and the 4 mounts) off the bike. I could probably hold the lenses on with clear tape, but I was using those lights as back-ups to the Cateyes, and additional lights for poor conditions (e.g. biking in the rain - which I don't intend to do on the Vision).
Since I don't want to ride the Vision in wet weather, I expect I'm going to be taking transit more.
I don't know whether the insurance adjuster is going to say replace the bike or repair it. (If he says repair, can a local shop do it, or will it need to go back to the factory? In Germany?) I don't know whether he's checked the HPV website to see what the bike cost. I'm sure he doesn't know yet that the options I put on it added another 2/3 to its cost. This isn't a WalMart bike. This is your high-end bike-shop wet dream. This is the bike I planned to ride for 20 years, an investment in my health and leisure. (And staying active and fit is important for golden years.)
Build/shipping/delivery took 2 months; build backlog might be less this late in the season. (Most people buy bikes in the spring/summer, not November. (The southern hemisphere is not a big market.))
The only difference between the two bikes that is better for the Vision is being up higher, to be a bit more visible in traffic. It's still not high enough to look over cars like a standard bike. And the times I've been hit - on either recumbent - I wouldn't have been more visible on a standard bike. The 2 times I was rear-ended there was nothing blocking the drivers' view; blinkers going, no other traffic. (One couldn't tell how fast I was going; I was stopped, waiting for oncoming traffic before I could turn. The other also had no excuse whatsoever, especially with an empty lane available for passing.) This Saturday's driver had a completely unobstructed view when she hit me broadside. I was wearing a bright orange jacket. She simply wasn't looking. Or wasn't seeing what she didn't expect to see.
I rode the new bike faster and harder. I was more comfortable on it, and more confident (more in control). Perhaps too confident, but in all these incidents but one I was not someplace I shouldn't have been, and I was not hard to see. Nothing was obstructing the driver's (or passenger's, in one case) view of me. People were just not looking. There was one near-incident where the driver couldn't see me through a truck, but he also could not have seen a regular bike, or a motor scooter, or a motorcycle, or a pedestrian in the crosswalk; he had no business making a rushed turn in front of oncoming traffic when he could have no idea what was beyond the truck he could see. (I became aware of another hazardous situation I could encounter, but not one I could prevent.)
Date: Fri, 4 Nov 2016 23:35:05 +0000
I also go faster on the new bike because the brakes are better. You don't want to go faster than you can stop. The better you can stop, the faster you are comfortable going.
I don't take the R40 down the north end of Glebe Road to Chain Bridge. (This is because of both the effectiveness of the brakes and the general sense of control.) I'm fine going down that hill at 30mph (48kmph) on the Grasshopper. I think the Grasshopper would feel like it's under control at 35 or 40 mph (56 or 64kmph). (Even 30mph is too fast for Glebe Rd because of the curves and sight lines. You can't see what's ahead of you around the curves - backed up traffic? And cars following too closely to be able to stop if you have a problem in front of them.)
The braking ability of a bike is still limited because of the small patch of contact between the tire and the road (only a few square inches) and the low weight. I can lock the wheels, and once I'm in a skid I'm at my maximum braking force. But if I'm skidding, I can't steer. (And if I can't steer, I can't maintain balance.)
[This entry was originally posted as https://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/847637.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]