On Fri, 4 Mar 2005 20:33:15 +1300, David Mann <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On Mar 4, 2005, at 12:48 PM, frank theriault wrote: > > > Neither of those people are me, but the Rossin is my bike. It's what > > they use on velodromes, like in the Olympics. One gear, no freewheel > > (so you can't coast) and no brakes. > > My brother-in-law has a track bike (Avanti Pista).
Nice! > Not long after he > bought it he found out the hard way what happens when you're not quite > used to that non-freewheel hub. Beyond the "no brakes" thing, the "no coasting" thing takes some getting used to. I know many who've given fixes an honest try, and it just isn't for them. That's why there are many types of bikes... > It doesn't help that he owns three > other bikes (one road bike, one mountain bike and something that > appears to be a bit of everything all in one). No doubt. I went of a few longish rides this summer, borrowing a friend's road bike, and it's really weird, all of a sudden being able to coast. Even more surprising, I found that it took me several minutes to get used to riding my fix again when I got back on it. > > The people I work with are pretty cycle-crazy (mostly mountain bikers). > One guy has been known to ride his penny farthing into work! I'd love to try one of those one day - that and a unicycle (those are supposed to be hard to learn) > > Cheers, > > - Dave (yes I bike to work too but haven't been up the hill for a while) That's why they have gears! <g> BTW, just looking at my post that you quoted, I may have been a bit misleading when I said that track bikes like mine are used on the Olympic velodrome. Nowadays, anyone of Olympic calibre is using carbon fibre frames, not steel or aluminium. cheers, frank -- "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -Henri Cartier-Bresson
