Cycling myths or common-knowledge you'd like to see dispelled

[Ajax Bay]

vertical compliance in frame design

Readers of this thread interested in vertical compliance might well appreciate this article. Please do not sip coffee while reading.
"I was able to tell just by looking at the pictures that the carbon fiber construction and layup yielded a frame that was laterally stiff yet vertically compliant."
bikesnob-2008-dream-bike-shootout

 

[screenman]

All cyclist are tight, surely that one is not correct, only about 99% are.

 

[matticus]

Roads can be dangerous.

(I was going to go for "Cars are dangerous" but that's a little easier to support ...)

 

[biggs682]

many thanks for that biggs, i always respect your opinion, as I am sure many do, though I fear you have sent yourself back to the gutter/head barely above water by using the term "fleet".

I use fleet because the majority of them are useable.

Rather than just show

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Readers of this thread interested in vertical compliance might well appreciate this article. Please do not sip coffee while reading.
"I was able to tell just by looking at the pictures that the carbon fiber construction and layup yielded a frame that was laterally stiff yet vertically compliant."
bikesnob-2008-dream-bike-shootout

Brilliant!

 

[roley poley]

chains stretch ..yes they get longer over time with wear but aren't made of rubber bands

 

[All uphill]

"My bicycle has forks, breaks and peddles."

No it flippin' doesn't!

 

[Venod]

You need baggy shorts and a peaked helmet to ride a MTB.

 

[Venod]

Gear indicators are usefull.

 

[mickle]

That you have to use clip-in pedals to be a proper cyclist.
That you have to change your chain and cassette at the same time.
That bicycle chains need regular degreasing.

That bicycle frames don't flex... I could clench my old Rocky Mountain Scandium frame between my knees and visibly twist it from head tube to seat tube. If you've ever tried to 'cold set' a crappy cheap frame like a 90s Muddy Fox Courier versus a decent hand built 4130 frame there's a world of difference. The Pace RC200 was an interesting frame in this regard - immensely rigid where the forces aligned with the flats of the square tubing, but the most horrendous bottom bracket sway and torsional noodlism between head tube and rear axle.

 

[Tigerbiten]

Being low on a recumbent means you're invisible in traffic.
You need a flag on a recumbent to be visible.

Luck .........

 

[Ajax Bay]

Tread on a road cycle tyre offers better grip on wet tarmac.
The rolling efficiency of road cycle tyres will be adversely affected if you don't mount the tyre with the (any) direction of rotation arrow pointing forwards (except for the rear tyre where it needs to point backwards).
Tyre pressures above 100psi don't just feel fast, they aargh fast.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

That you have to use clip-in pedals to be a proper cyclist.
That you have to change your chain and cassette at the same time.
That bicycle chains need regular degreasing.

That bicycle frames don't flex... I could clench my old Rocky Mountain Scandium frame between my knees and visibly twist it from head tube to seat tube. If you've ever tried to 'cold set' a crappy cheap frame like a 90s Muddy Fox Courier versus a decent hand built 4130 frame there's a world of difference. The Pace RC200 was an interesting frame in this regard - immensely rigid where the forces aligned with the flats of the square tubing, but the most horrendous bottom bracket sway and torsional noodlism between head tube and rear axle.

I had one of these back in the early 90's and boy did the thing flex.

Impossible to eliminate chain rub - I learned to live with it after a while.

 

[Blue Hills]

Cripes, have never seen such a thing. Looks like a designer on a bucket of drugs was given another bucket of pasta to play with.

 

[Once a Wheeler]

That derailleur is pronounced /dəreiliə/ rather than /direilə/.