Hampton Court Bike Ride

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Sharky

Guru
Location
Kent
It was an xmas present for me & the Mrs. A "Redletterday" voucher for a bike ride round Hampton Court.

I was dreading it. The write up said it was an 8 mile tour and would take 3 hours. I thought, how could I ride that slow without falling off.

It turned out that my fears were unfounded. The bikes were step thru "sit up & beg" style bikes. It's almost impossible to describe how uncomfortable they were to ride, kick off and stop. They had wide gel saddles and handlebars that were almost at chest height, with the handlebars ends swept back to a point vertically above the BB. Every time they stopped for a talk, I feared that the brakes would not work and when starting again, I was wobbling like a complete beginner. Took the "lantern rouge" position for most of the ride.

The Mrs, who hadn't ridden a bike for a couple of years had no problems!

The tour itself, round Hampton Court was quite interesting and learned a lot about Henry VIII from the tour guide. And the pub stop was a relaxing interval.
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
Sounds like it may have been a "cruiser" bike. Set the saddle as high as a road bike on most of them and you'll be off balance. Set it too low, like most non riders tend to do, and you'll balance, but be horrified by the inefficiency of the style!
 
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