SpokEasy

Search Results for: time trial wheel

Sawi Proba

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Sawi Proba “Sawi proba” is an expression that crops up in Agatha Christie-Mallowan’s “Come, Tell Me How You Live”. According to the book, it means “make trial”; and was a favorite saying of one of the drivers who worked for Max Mallowan while he was conducting archaeological work in Syria. Isn’t “sawi proba” what we cyclists do all the time? If we want to improve our speed, we might try interval work. If we have our sights set on a century, we try longer and longer rides to get our bodies ready. We try different food and drink on the bike, so we’ll know what agrees with us; and will be suitable for a long event. It could also pertain to girding one’s self up to go out and ride in foul weather. That’s a trial, all right, as is braving cold and wind to get in some miles. Since we’re only a week into December, there are at least three more months of it ahead of us! “Sawi proba” + bicycles of course brings to mind the time trial. That event even has its own special kind of bicycle! Sometimes when I’m out riding, I hear a peculiar whirring sound coming up from behind; and it turns out to be somebody riding a bicycle with one of those disc wheels. Gosh, will I ever get around to doing another century? Well … sawi proba.

Sawi Proba Read More »

Far-Reaching Subject?

BACK ISSUES /

What\’s this far-reaching subject? \”Reach\” is an important aspect of bicycle fit. You don\’t need to  be all scrunched up because you\’re too close to the handlebars. It seems to me that this would mean being unable to pedal efficiently, or use your arms freely;  and to be unable to breathe fully and deeply. Neither do you want to have to reach too far. I\’ve found out that reaching too far puts strain on the back of my neck, and on my lower back; and has an adverse effect on handling. Therefore I was surprised to read this about top tube length. Maybe I shouldn\’t have been. What do I really know about bicycle measurements, after all? I think I had the notion that, if you\’ve got the correct frame size, everything else sort of falls into place. Maybe I\’m not so far off. I\’ve learned a bit about the various frame geometries, though; that some are more \”aggressive\” than others. For example, a time trial bike\’s geometry is aggressive to allow the rider to get into the most aerodynamic position possible. A time-trial looks to me rather like trying to pedal while standing on your head! I bet that would make me dizzy. My own road bike has a more \”relaxed\” geometry; the kind that puts the rider in a more upright position. It\’s called an \”endurance\” bike. If it weren\’t properly fitted to me; if I had to reach too far to the handlebars; long rides would be uncomfortable. So yes; I say that bicycle fit is a far-reaching subject.

Far-Reaching Subject? Read More »

Gyroscopic Effect

BACK ISSUES /

There\’s gyroscopic effect; and there\’s gyroscopic effect. Ever play with a gyroscope? When I was about twelve, we kids got an old, metal one that older cousins handed down to us; and that thing provided a great deal of amusement. When we set it spinning, after about five seconds it started to make loud buzzing noises; and zip here and there for distances as great as six inches. It was hilarious! I have no idea what made it do that — perhaps some form of sympathetic vibration? — but we always laughed our heads off about it. Then there\’s the gyroscopic effect as it pertains to bicycling. It\’s why keeping your balance on a bike gets easier as you go faster. It\’s amazing how much harder it is to keep a bicycle erect, and on a straight line, as you go more and more slowly. Like that toy gyroscope, or a spinning top, the slower it goes, the more it wobbles; and ultimately, it falls over. As a beginner on two wheels, though, it seems counterintuitive. At that stage, it feels hard to control the bicycle at all. All this talk of gyroscopes has me thinking of Music of the Spheres; and from there, I start thinking about The Planets. Talk about spacing out!

Gyroscopic Effect Read More »

Shimmy!

BACK ISSUES /

There\’s the shimmy on the dance floor, the way Kate did it. It was considered quite naughty at the time. Now and then a cyclist\’s wheel goes naughty and starts to shimmy; and that\’s an entirely different matter. Look here for advice on the cause of this problem; and what you can do if it occurs. As with so many contingencies, the first rule is: Don\’t Panic. So far I\’ve been fortunate enough not to have had trouble with speed wobble. I guess I don\’t go fast enough. Yet. Since it\’s only two days until Christmas, \”shimmy\” gets me to thinking about \”shimmer\”, as in light glinting off of tinsel. Any other time, I\’d get to thinking of \”chamois\”, as in cycling shorts. Maybe I\’d better stop thinking about it.  

Shimmy! Read More »

Yet More Training

BACK ISSUES /

You can call this yet more training! I have to cross railroad tracks to get to my preferred biking path, which of course makes me very aware of trains. Not to mention that I live one block from the tracks, and hear them blasting their horns at any hour of the day or night. I can\’t not be aware of them! Widely given advice about riding a bicycle across tracks is, cross them as close to perpendicular as possible.  The narrower your bicycle\’s tires are, the more important that is. You don\’t want to have your front tire slip down into the \”slot\” along the rail. Remember what happens if anything stops your front wheel while you\’re riding. POW! You\’re down before you know what\’s happening. Be especially careful when it\’s wet, and the rails are likely to be slippery. Naturally there\’s the train factor itself to be taken into account. It\’s actually hard not to notice an approaching train. Those horns are very loud (and some of them have an obnoxious timbre as well), and the engineer starts blowing it a block or more short of the crossing. Add to that the noise of the locomotive itself. Darkness doesn\’t hide a train; it has a bright headlight. The bottom line: just take sensible precautions. Look both ways before crossing. If you don\’t feel confident riding across tracks, there\’s nothing wrong with walking your bike across them. In fact, there\’s a crossing I use frequently where the \”slots\” alongside the rails have long since become chasms! I nearly always walk my bike across that one. There\’s always yet more training. It never ends, does it?

Yet More Training Read More »

Progress Sort of

BACK ISSUES /

I\’ve made some progress, sort of; but I\’m glad I don\’t have to keep track of multiple gauges while riding. I\’d probably get too fixated on the instrument panel to watch where I\’m going! At any rate, my Garmin lets me see how fast I\’m moving. This morning I worked at keeping to 15 mph. Out-bound, with a bit of a following breeze (maybe 4 mph), I maintained an average of 15.5 mph for almost 6.5 miles! On the way home I couldn\’t keep that up, which worries me. True, an average of 14.69 mph isn\’t bad; and is a little better than I used to be able to do. That\’s progress, sort of. And adding together those two segments, I did average a hair over 15 mph🙂 But that\’s still not what I want to be able to do for Tour de Cure🙄 Now that the big day is three months away, I expect training rides to be announced any day. They\’ll probably say how fast a rider must be on each particular route; and then I\’ll know whether I\’m truly on track. BTW, speaking of instrument panels: a new bicycle computer, power meter, etc. seems to come out with every turn of the wheel. I\’ll let things be, and continue to use the gadgets that I already have. I don\’t have to have every new \”toy\” that comes out.

Progress Sort of Read More »