Some of the people I know who ride ultra-short-wheelbase fixed-gear bikes w/clips have what seems like whole foot overlap, but they manage in boston traffic nonetheless. I know from experience that riding in this traffic must involve some serious weaving and sharp cuts of the wheel left/right. But these folks do it anyway and they're still alive, so it must be something you can learn to cope with pretty easily.
On Feb 2, 6:58 am, Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery <thill....@gmail.com> wrote: > One of the non-Riv bikes we sell comes standard with clips and straps > (we should really take them off). Last Summer a guy came in to test > one, so I aired up the tires, offered a helmet (declined), and away he > went. When he returned, both he and the bike were scraped up. > Apparently, the TC got caught in the fender, and he went down. I > really can't imagine what maneuver he was trying to execute (track > stand?), and on the 50 or so times I've ridden one of those bikes, I > never noticed a TCO issue or experienced anything remotely resembling > a TCO difficulty. > > On Feb 2, 1:36 am, Grant Petersen <gr...@rivbike.com> wrote: > > > Seems to be a problem because it has a name/acronym. All it means is that at > > speeds less than about 6mph, if you turn the wheel enough and time it just > > wrong with your pedal stroke, your shoe hits the fender or tire. It's one of > > those things that sounds worse than it is. It cannot happen at faster > > speeds, because you don't turn the wheel that much except if you're doing a > > near or full U-turn. When you go around a hairpin at 17 mph, you turn the > > front wheel maybe 1.5-degees. It is ONLY at SUPER slow speeds and super > > sharp turns that you can make contact. > > > I want to say this, because it even being a topic of discussion suggests > > that there's something wrong. At the risk of being gross or something, it's > > sort of like, "I have mucus coming out of my face--what can I do? What's > > wrong with me?" And the answer is "blow your nose." But "TCO" (a term I've > > used a hundred times, by the way) is "mucus coming out of face" in a > > different context. > > > In a bike like the Atlantis, or any fatty tire bike, the designer, at some > > point, comes to a fork in the road. He can design for NO TCO and compromise > > the elements of design that affect position and fit and ride; or he can > > design for P, F, and R and accept some TCO. > > > Or, just go to a smaller wheel. But even that involves some value > > judgements. A 58cm Atlantis with a 26--inch wheel would have a monster-long > > head tube that would look funny and make the bike less suitable to load > > carrying than the 700C wheel version (with a longer fork and hence shorter > > head tube). As it is, the 58 is a really well triangulated frame, and the > > bike rides like a demon (my opinion, but I am biased). > > > TCO ends up being a problem---in my opinion---only in theoretics, but not in > > practice. THere are some builders who would disagree; and although in the > > spirit of diplomacy and reasonableness and "agreeing to disagree" and all > > that, I accept that....I can't understand it. To fear TCO or to regard it as > > Dangerous....well, it's ust something that to me doesn't make any sense. > > > I'm not saying anybody here fears it. I haven't read all the posts and > > prolly won't...I just clicked on this thread for the heck of it, read > > something, and now.....ahhh....shouldn't have said anything! Will regret it > > in the morning. Going to bed. Goodnight, Moon. > > > Best, > > > G > > > -- > > Grant > > Rivendell Bicycle Workswww.rivbike.com925933 7304 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
