Category: Uncategorized

Categories
Uncategorized

Cyclist settles for $70,000 after being hit by car.

I was chatting with a customer today and he told me about the time, several years ago, that he was hit by a car.  He was struck pretty badly and claims he wouldn’t be here today if he hadn’t been wearing a helmet.

I asked him if he broke anything.  He said, no, but he did lose a lot of skin.

I asked him if he hired a lawyer.  He said, yes.  I asked him how much he got.  He said $70,000 and the lawyer took thirty.

It reminded me of another time I heard a story, back when I worked in an office, but this time it sounded like the pedestrian was deliberately trying to get a payday.  All week, our team was working till the wee hours of the morning.  The previous night, one of my colleagues was taking a limo service from the office to his home.  On 42nd Street, at right about Grand Central, a homeless guy threw himself onto the limo’s hood while the car was moving.  We assumed it was to try and get a payout from the driver’s insurance company.  We were amazed.  Now I wonder if it doesn’t happen a lot more often.

I also wonder, now, if this doesn’t explain why so many of the stories I hear about cyclists being hit, involve a hit-and-run driver.

Watch out for cars,
Robert
————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2014 Robert Matson

Categories
Uncategorized

How to pack the Cruzbike Quest 20″ in a suitcase.

How to pack the Cruzbike Quest 20″ in the Samsonite F’lite suitcase, by John Tolhurst of Cruzbike.

Have fun, pack light, and stay healthy,
Robert
————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2014 Robert Matson

Categories
Uncategorized

Mounting a headlight on a Street Machine Gte when there’s no obvious place for it.

Recently, a couple owners of HP Velotechnik Street Machine Gtes asked about the bolt holes on the front boom of the Street Machine Gte.  They wanted to fit their bikes with headlights.  However, their bikes had front booms without the optional derailer post.  The derailer post is a natural place to mount a headlight, whether using the threaded bolt holes on the post or by using the Terracycle accessory mount.  That post is optional, though, if you have a hub gear system like the SRAM Dual Drive or the Rohloff Speed Hub.  If you ordered your bike without the post, but later decide to mount a headlight, what are your options?

HP Velotechnik manufactures their front booms — those with and without the derailer post — with threaded bolt holes on both the top and bottom side of the boom.  The factory uses the threaded bolt hole on the bottom of the boom for installing the headlight mount for a dynamo headlight.  They’ll use the threaded bolt hole on top of the boom for installing the odometer mount.  Obviously, you could use the bolt holes for installing other accessories.

As for the question about the size of the threaded bolt holes, they are simply the same metric sized bolt holes as those used for bolting on water bottle cages and the cable guides on the Street Machine Gte (and most other mass-market modern bike).  Yes, there is an “M” number, but it’s easier to remember that it’s the same as those used for the water bottle cages.

If you want a headlight, but your SMGte has no derailer mast, there are several ways to solve the problem.

1) Attach a HPV odometer (accessory) mount, suitable for a lightweight headlight, using the threaded bolt hole on top side of boom.

2) Use the strong accessory mount built by Hase (google e.g., “Hase Pino”), which wraps around a front boom and can support a headlight or other accessory.

3) Use the threaded bolt hole accessory mount under the boom with the mounts included with a high end (e.g. B&M) dynamo powered headlight.  The Peter White Cycles website has great information about light mounts.

4) Use a nylon Cronometro Nob attached to your front fork or handlebars (see Peter White Cycles website for instructions).

5) Use a high-end helmet-mounted headlight (e.g., from B&M, or Dinotte).

Hase Accessory Mount

Stay healthy and stay well-lit,
Robert
————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2014 Robert Matson

Categories
Uncategorized

3000 Miles to a Cure and HOPE – Documentary Film Trailer

3000 Miles to a Cure (for brain cancer).

http://www.3000milestoacure.com/

Help make the world a better place,
Robert
————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2013 Robert Matson

Categories
Uncategorized

Cruzbike Vendetta and Silvio: this will be brief. Fast. Whatever.

Maria Parker on a Cruzbike Vendetta. She’s a lot faster than me.

OK, so, after a long cold icy winter of running, swimming, skiing, skating and hiking, and riding beater bikes fairly short distances on the salt and slushy streets, I finally felt like it was warm enough to deal with the 15? 20? 30? mph winds in the face while riding a Silvio or Vendetta.

I never ride the RAAM Vendetta I have in the shop.  For one thing, I like to keep it shiny, clean and new.  For another, I prefer not to string up the front derailers on S’s and V’s to make them easier to adjust for demo rides or the final customer.  So, any time I ride the shop’s S, for example, I’m in the middle chain ring the whole time.  It’s great for a demo, but it kind of puts a limiter on your fun.

For the V, I really don’t do demos.  I offer look-sees and a demo on the S.  I simply feel V’s are too fast and hard to handle for anyone who hasn’t already put in a thousand miles or so on a high-speed CB.  Moreover, the sizing is a rather final on the V; you can’t just slide a boom in and out over a long range to fit a wide range of different sized riders as you can for the Silvio.  It’s more a measure thrice and cut once sort of deal.  And, I feel, for the rider, the Silvio 2.0 is so nearly like the V in ride quality, just less time-trial-y, that a demo on an S really tells you everything you need to know: do you like it?  Does it speak to you?  If you like the S, but want to go faster, get the V.

But spring has sprung in New York City and I began to get antsy from looking at the V all winter, fielding questions about it, and never riding it.  So I finished it last week and took it out in Prospect Park for a few demo rides.

Holy crap.

This thing is so unbelievably fast and twitchy and responsive and stiff and aero and with such a tight cockpit, that my first ride out was really — again, as with all my first Cruzbike rides — just holding on for dear life.

That first ride I did only about 7 miles because I was mainly just checking the build.  But, more than anything, when I got off, my primary thought was that I had absolutely no idea what I’d do with a bike this fast other than ride incredibly far in a lot less time than I’m used to.  I wondered if I needed to sign up for a brevet just to start bringing the world back into balance.

But I like going fast.  So I took it out again for another ride.  And then another.

My second ride, I went out for an hour, again still holding on for dear life, but getting a better sense of how to handle it.  I did 20.5 hilly miles in that hour and really felt no fatigue.  Kept up with some of the pros and semi-pros who train in the park and with whom I have no business keeping up.  Went out a second time a few days later, knocked off another 20 mi. in an hour.

Who is this guy?  My idea of serious riding is pedaling 13.5 mph down remote roads with 35 lbs of food, clothes, and wet camping gear on an HP Velotechnik Street Machine Gte.  The road itself changed character at the speeds I was hitting.  This isn’t cycling.  Is this cycling?  I realized: this means I could ride the 180 miles up to Chatham, NY in one day instead of two.  I began to think about lycra, damn it.  Lycra!

So anyway.  Got a Vendetta here.  It’s fast.  It really is.  If you like the idea of that, get one.  I’m pretty tempted to buy one from the shop for my personal use.  And I’m such a touring dork that I really might try and figure out how to hang panniers from it.  I mean, think about it.  If I’m doing 20.5 mph with winter legs, I could probably hold 17-18 mph on the open road with summer touring legs and Radical Design’s aero panniers.  8 hours of riding, 8 hours of goofing around, 8 hours of sleeping….  That’s like three and a half days from Brooklyn to Mt. Desert Ile.  Heck, it takes two days in a car and you’d be dying of boredom.

Kind of changes the notion of “possible.” And of “cycling vacation.”

Anyway, other things.

I received Cruzbike’s regular, irregular seasonal newsletter the other day.

Silvios: they are sold out of all current models.  You missed it.  They anticipate having new stock in mid-June or so.
Vendettas: there are a few frames left.  I anticipate those will sell out soon and that’ll be the last of the 25 models in the RAAM V production run.

Have fun and stay healthy,
Robert
————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2014 Robert Matson

Categories
Uncategorized

A nice pair for your Scorpion fs 26

Scorpion fs 26 from HP Velotechnik

Dear Robert,

I ride a sleek blue-gray HP Velotechnik Scorpion fs 26 with white accents that is the ninth or tenth love of my life.  It has a body link seat, rear rack…all whistles and no bells.  Will a pair of HPV’s Moonbiker panniers mount properly?  If not, which others might be my pleasure?  My only requirements are that they look as attractive as the trike and have excellent capacity.

Yours truly,
Zing

Dear Zing,

You’re right to require that a pair of panniers look as good as the trike.

Usually, the Moonbiker or Radical Design panniers are suitable, but not this time: they won’t lay properly on the Scorpion fs 26’s uniquely shaped rear rack.

However the Ortlieb Recumbent Panniers are a very nice pair, with 54 liters capacity.  They are attractive, waterproof, aerodynamic, with a fiddle-free mounting system.  As you might imagine, they’re not cheap but, like most Ortlieb products, you’ll want to hold onto them for the long-term.

These Radical Design bags are also good choices, though with less capacity.  They’re attractive and a great option if you don’t feel ready to commit to one or the other: if you have trouble choosing, go with both for 35 liters total volume.

With Body Link seat: Solo Racer wide (10 liters) or Banana Racer (25 liters)

With Ergo Mesh seat: Universal Racer (10 liters) or Banana Racer (25 liters)

Have fun, and play safe,
Robert

Radical Design Universal Racer

Radical Design Banana Racer

Radical Design Solo Aero

————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2013 Robert Matson

Categories
Uncategorized

Drills to help master your Cruzbike.

Riding a Cruzbike requires a fair amount of coordination between the hands and feet.  For many people, myself included, it takes practice to master that coordination.  Some people are more patient with themselves than others, but I assure you that if you’ve bought a Cruzbike, your utter patience and practice is a worthwhile investment in a really neat, high performance machine.

The following are some of the drills I give customers (and myself), for refining the coordination required to confidently handle a Cruzbike.

The payoff is that these drills will help make the hand-foot coordination second nature more quickly than if you simply spend your time riding down the bike path.

Guiding Principals and Tips for getting the most out of the drills.

Press with your feet, pull with your hands.  So, you will pull with your right hand while you press with the right foot, then you will pull with the left hand while you press with the left foot.  Got it?  This is as opposed to pressing with the right foot while pressing with the left hand.  I know the “official” Cruzbike instructional videos show an open handed “pressing” technique for beginners; I teach a pulling technique.  We’re both right but I find it easier for me to pull against the bars and that’s how I teach others.

Concentrate on coordinating a brief moment of “punctuated thrust” between your foot (pressing) and your hand (pulling).  Continue a very tight mental focus on that coordination while doing the drills.  For a while (how long varies by individual), you the rider may need to think a lot about the coordination.  After a while, it will become second nature.

Make everything other than the coordination as easy as possible.  Bring the seat to the most vertical position possible.  This makes it easier to balance.

Wear reasonable shoes.  Don’t try and learn with toe clips or sandals.

For all the following, first ride with two hands, then ride one-handed, alternating left and right.  When riding one-handed, switch from left to right hand on the bars after every 10-20 pedal strokes.  The exact number doesn’t matter; you simply want to make sure you’re working the same amount on both sides.

Bike speed is slow during the drills.  Although your cadence will often be fast, ride at a low comfortable speed for all drills.  In fact, your riding speed under all conditions should always be “comfortable” and under control.  Never, ever ride a Cruzbike (or any bike) at a speed beyond where the coordination feels comfortable and second nature.  Take this advice seriously.  Your welfare depends on it.

While doing the drills, your aim is to be perfectly in control of the steering, always.  This means there is never a moment where the bike is in control of you as opposed to vice versa.

Do the drills both laying back in the seat as well as sitting up straight, with your back off the seat.

The goal is to build your coordination between the motion of your feet and your hands.  Keep pushing at the limits of your coordination by increasing the speed of the cadence from slow to “too fast.”

These sorts of drills are not unique to Cruzbikes.  Every recumbent rider can benefit from them.  For the record, standard frame riders who want to ride well do drills like these as well.

The Drills

– Slalom “S” turns: pick a comfortable slow speed and maintain it.  Make slalom “S” turns beginning with narrow turns and then gradually get wider till the turn is exaggerated.
– Figure eights and double figure eights. Maintain perfect control, pedaling continuously.
– Figure eights: open circles, decrease the radius with each circuit till you can’t go any smaller.
– Cadence/coordination: Begin riding at a moderate cadence, gear up and ride with a very slow cadence.  While maintaining speed, gear down to easier gears, maintaining speed while increasing the speed of your cadence, keep gearing down while increasing cadence till you can no longer maintain the coordination between your hands and feet.
– Create an obstacle course on the ground, whether it’s by choosing marks on the pavement or dropping your hat and gloves in a pattern.  Challenge yourself to ride the course, changing cadence from slow to ultra fast as you ride.  Adjust the course, continually making it more challenging.

Have fun and keep on cruzin’,
Robert
————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2013 Robert Matson

Categories
Uncategorized

Will improved helmet technology reduce cyclist injuries and deaths?

Can improved technology reduce cyclist injuries and deaths?


The Invisible Bicycle Helmet | Fredrik Gertten from Focus Forward Films on Vimeo.

Thanks to NYC Volae-rider Dan C. for forwarding this video to me.  The invisible airbag helmet is a nice idea.  Would it reduce cyclist deaths and or injuries?  Would it work for recumbent bike* riders?  Is it only comfortable for riders sitting in an upright “Dutch style” riding position?
[*I’m learning to write out the bulky phrase “recumbent bike” in order to enhance my search engine optimization.  Aren’t I good?]

I don’t have an opinion — “good” or “not” — though I agree it’s cool.  However, I prefer solutions that involve no technology and little expense for the rider, if possible.  Surely the invisible helmet airbag will be an expensive device, won’t it?

The solution is safer streets for everyone — cyclists, pedestrians and motorized vehicles — and these will result in fewer cyclist injuries and deaths.  I do not believe the solution is either greater helmet technology or helmet laws (not that the video gets into that).

While I don’t want to go too far down the rabbit hole of helmet safety for this blog entry, briefly, statistics show that the larger the number of cyclists, the fewer the number of cyclist deaths and that helmet laws discourage cycling.  Therefore, helmets (and helmet laws) appear to have the effect of increasing the number of cyclist deaths.

In 2005, Dr. Ian Walker of Bath University conducted research which suggests:

“Cyclists who wear protective helmets are more likely to be knocked down by passing vehicles, new research from Bath University suggests. The study found drivers tend to pass closer when overtaking cyclists wearing helmets than those who are bare-headed.” [from the BBC]

As it relates to the “invisible helmet” in this video, all this should mean the “invisible helmet” will provide an effective double buffer of safety for the cyclist.  Cars will give more space to the cyclist who is not (apparently) wearing a helmet and, if that cyclist is struck, the airbag helmet will give needed protection.  Fantastic.  But I can’t say I want to spend money on — or deal every time I ride — with that airbag helmet device.  I suppose plastic and foam helmets are funny looking, but they’re also pretty simple, even if they’re of limited effectiveness.

Here is more research about bicycle helmets.

The only effective and fair solution is for government to develop street infrastructure that encourages cycling, same as was done for cars.  This would include bikeways — bike lanes, greenways, separated bike paths — wider shoulders on roads, reduced and enforced speed limits for cars,

Have fun and look out for the damn cars,
Robert
————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2013 Robert Matson

Categories
Uncategorized

A customer writes…

I love it when customers write me…

Subject:   Thank you
From:   “M____ A____”
Date:   Wed, November 6, 2013 9:09 pm
To:   “Robert Matson”

Dear Robert,
I wanted to thank you for the time, effort, and patience you extended me during my demo ride.  Minutes after meeting in your bicycle-rich apartment, I was learning the basics of front wheel drive handling.  Riding in the park gave me ample opportunity to try out the speed and handling characteristics of the [Cruzbike] Quest.  Later I had my first remote mechanic FaceTime call as you helped me with some assembly questions.  So despite three back fusions, I am once again speeding down my local bike trail.  Many thanks, Mike Anderson MD, Great Falls, Va

Have fun and stay healthy,
Robert
————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2013 Robert Matson

Categories
Uncategorized

Removing rear rack from Street Machine Gte

Recently, a fellow posted a question to the HP Velotechnik message board on Yahoo.

– Removing rear rack from Street Machine Gte
– Tue Oct 8, 2013 4:29 am (PDT) . Posted by: “L C____”
– I would like to remove the rear rack from my recently acquired Street
– Machine and I notice that 2 of the mounting bolts appear to go right into
– the pivot point of the rear suspension.
– Is there a special trick to doing this?
– TIA.
– L___

You can just remove the bolts, then remove the rack, and then replace the bolts.  However, when done properly, the long bolts that originally held the rack are replaced with a pair of 20mm button head bolts.

Getting the new bolts back in involves a fair amount of fiddling.  I’d try finding replacement bolts at your hardware store.  Be sure to grease the new bolts before replacing them to prevent them from seizing and becoming impossible to remove in the future.  The torque for the swing arm bolts is 17-19 nm when using HP Velotechnik’s bolts.

If you want to ride with only an underseat rack, and no rear rack, you’ll need to use the long bolts to hold the rack with spacers to take up the space otherwise used by the mounts for the rear rack.  The spacers go on the bolt, between the swing arm hinge and the mounting point on the rack.  HPV provides spacers, for the official solution, or you can find something on your own that is strong.

Have fun and stay healthy,
Robert
————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2013 Robert Matson