saw the most amazing (to me anyway) recumbent yesterday - the guy was about 6 inches off the ground with his legs straight out in front and powering this bike (trike?) with his arms. I'm guessing he was disabled somehow but it looked fantastic - his power came from rotating each arm in a shoulder width rotation (not a hand crank between his knees) I couldn't really see much detail as he was past me and off up a hill (!) before I could see much. It was in Edinburgh near D'Mains so if anyone knows anymore about this guy please pass on my respects.
arm powered recumbent
- Thread starter shimano
- Start date
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mickle
innit
- Location
- 53.933606, -1.076131
Sfunny, I saw a guy riding a low hand crank yesterday too. In Stourbridge W midlands. Gets about doesn't he?
Riding in Circles
Veteran
- Location
- EDINBURGH
mickle
innit
- Location
- 53.933606, -1.076131
Catrike UK said:
Nice! Would those discs fit my Speedy?
Night Train
Maker of Things
- Location
- Greater Manchester
That sounds like a rowing action to me, could be quite effective.shimano said:
Arch
Married to Night Train
- Location
- Salford, UK
Night Train said:
I think he just means the standard handcycle round and round action, like those you and I were minding at the Get Cycling Show, only on a really recumbent handcycle as opposed to a wheelchair with hand cycle attachment.
We did review a rowing action trike a little while back, in Velo Vision. The one drawback is that a flexible bar for pulling on in a rowing style, means that steering becomes more complicated, which led to some interesting trike/ditch interfaces...
There's also a chap on the VV forum who was told no pedalling for a few months, by his doctor (leg injury) and was so miserable at the thought that he hired a handcycle to commute - 8 or 9 miles. Which is pretty hardcore for a cyclist normally used to using their legs...
byegad
Legendary Member
- Location
- NE England
I've seen a couple of guys racing hand powered trikes at BHPC meetings, they keep up with quiet a lot of leg powered HPVs and beat some too .
Arch
Married to Night Train
- Location
- Salford, UK
byegad said:
I'm sure a fit handcyclist would beat me on my trike, easy!
I wonder where the balance lies. I mean, you can be an out and out cyclist, with legs like chiselled tree trunks, or a handcyclist with enormous upper body strength, but can you have both? (I don't mean to use arms and legs at the same time, I know that has limited gains in power), but could you be equally as good as the best of either, but at both (whichever you happened to do on a given occasion)? Or would you necessarily become a compromise.
Does that make sense? I know what I mean, but it's hard to put in words!
I guess rowers are to some extent a compromise, as they use their legs as well as arms, but I'm thinking of a cycling motion, not a rowing one.
Night Train
Maker of Things
- Location
- Greater Manchester
I wonder if it is possible to use both arms and legs together in some sort of geared and coordinated way to get maximum power output?
BentMikey
Rider of Seolferwulf
- Location
- South London
Night Train said:
Why would this boost power output? There's a reason the fastest bikes (std or HPV) only use leg power.
byegad
Legendary Member
- Location
- NE England
Night Train said:
Over a very short distance this is possible. AND keeps getting re-invented!
However ANY reasonably fit (or better condition) cyclist can produce so much power from their legs alone as to put themselves into oxygen deficit.
I [an overweight, over 55 year old, experienced (5000 miles a year) leisure cyclist] can do it in a VERY few yards up a steep hill for instance.
This is also true of professional (Tour de France type) on riders on an hors categorie climb.
That said, the quad powered cycle is, as I said, re-invented every few years.
The only one to have lasted more than a few months is the row bike. If you look at a true rowing action, replicated on the row bike, it seems to use arms, and legs very efficiently, but I think it is always going to be a minority niche of the cycling world. For the rest of us it is not worth the extra mechanical drag and weight involved in supplying the means to use four limbs.
Night Train
Maker of Things
- Location
- Greater Manchester
I suppose it makes sense that there is only so much energy available and that if it is already being used efficiently then there is little to be gained by added complexity.
byegad
Legendary Member
- Location
- NE England
It's all about oxygen take up and lactic acid in the muscles. If you think about it we evolved to run away from hunting animals and after prey. Running being the way of covering as much ground as possible. When you look at a Human Powered Vehicle the legs are an obvious first choice.
