Recumbent Highs and Lows

Barbara Buatois and her Performer Low Racer, at the Finish Line for the 2010 Race Across AMerica (RAAM) in Annapolis, MD

Recumbent Highs and Lows
by Bevin Chu
Taipei, Republic of China
February 5, 2011

I recently penned an article on recumbent bicycles, entitled "From Wedgies to Bents." In it I explained why I was abandoning traditional diamond frame bicycles, and moving to recumbents.

In this article, entitled "Recumbent Highs and Lows," I share my personal views on the relative merits of high racers, mid racers, and low racers; and explain why the SWB low racer is the recumbent of choice for me.

Recumbents are commonly classified according to two criteria.

The first is bicycle length. Recumbents are classified as either short wheelbase (SWB) or long wheelbase (LWB).

The second is bicycle height. Recumbents are classified as either high racer, mid racer, or low racer.

In theory, 2 x 3 = 6 configurations are possible. In practice, only three configurations have gained commercial appeal.

Those three are:

SWB high racers such as the Bachetta Corsa
LWB mid racers such as the Rans X-stream
SWB low racers such as the Optima Baron

SWB High Racers


Bachetta Corsa, SWB high racer 700C/700C, seat height 26.25" (67 cm)
http://www.bacchettabikes.com/bikes/performance-bikes/corsa

The frame of the SWB high racer is simplicity itself. It is a perfectly straight tube. One can hardly get any simpler than that. As a result, the SWB high racer is as light as it can possibly be. The chainline is also as straight as it can possibly be. It is any wonder SWB high racers such as the Bachetta and Carbent have so may devotees?

Alas, they are not my cup of tea. Why? Because I have no desire to fall a full 67 cm before hitting the concrete pavement below.

LWB Mid Racers

Rans X-stream 26, LWB mid racer 559/559, seat height 20.5-21" (52-53 cm)
http://www.ransbikes.com/Xstream_26-N.htm

Next to the SWB low racer, the LWB mid racer is my favorite bicycle configuration. The LWB mid racer positions the rider's buttocks close to the ground, but by keeping his back relatively straight, positions his head reasonably high off the ground, providing him with an excellent view of the road around him.

I would buy a Rans X-stream 26 in a flash, if only it would fit into my condo elevator. The biggest drawback of the LWB mid racer is its sheer size. LWB mid racers are 8 feet long behemoths! If one wants a LWB mid racer, one really needs to live on the ground floor or have a garage.

SWB Low Racers


Optima Baron, SWB low racer 20"/26", seat height 13.5" (34 cm)
http://www.optimabikes.com/optima-baron.html

For me, the SWB low racer is the most desirable of all bike configurations.

The biggest obstacle to sustained speed on a bicycle is air resistance. The SWB low racer configuration minimizes air resistance. That makes the SWB low racer the fastest of all bike configurations, bar none. For sheer adrenaline pumping speed, nothing else comes close. Not just downhill, but even on flats or gentle rollers. Except when climbing, the SWB low racer simply leaves other bikes in the dust.

But for me blinding speed is merely icing on the cake. Some SWB low racer owners barrel down steep mountain roads at speeds approaching 100 kph. I have no intention of doing anything so reckless.

For me, the main attraction of the SWB low racer is not maximum speed, but maximum safety, specifically during a fall.

As I noted in "From Wedgies to Bents," as long as one rides a bicycle, one will eventually fall. The question is not whether. The question is when.

And when one falls, the severity of one's injuries will be directly proportional to one's height above the ground. The cyclist who has positioned himself low to the ground before he falls, will minimize his injuries when the eventual fall occurs. 

The SWB low racer may be the most practical configuration for many condominium dwellers, who must schlep their bicycles up and down building elevators.

A Fundamentally Flawed Automobile Design 

Imagine that you had designed a performance sports car that contained a fundamental design flaw. What would you do? Change it and eradicate the flaw forever? Or would you persist for the next 50 or so years in making the best of the bad design?

You would have probably gone for the first option. If you had gone for the second then you would probably now be producing a car like the Porsche Carrera 4S - for indeed, that is exactly what German performance sports car manufacturer Porsche did.

Stemming from the Porsche's first sports car, and the first car Porsche produced in it's own right - the Porsche 356 - the Porsche 911 has maintained the basic "rear-engine, rear-wheel drive" layout concept that is a basic flaw in any car design, let alone a high performance sports car.

From "Porsche - A Performance and Sports Car Legend"
http://www.germansportscars.com/porsche.htm

The "classic" rear engine, rear wheel drive Porsche is a fundamentally flawed automobile design.

The engine should never have been positioned behind the rear axle in the first place. A tail heavy, rear engine, rear wheel drive automobile is like an arrow that has been launched backwards, with the fletching in front, and the arrowhead in back. The arrowhead naturally tries to get out front, and will do so at the very first opportunity.



Oversteer, the bane of tail heavy, rear engine, rear wheel drive automobiles such as the Porsche, VW Beetle, and Chevrolet Corvair

A Fundamentally Flawed Bicycle Design

By the same token, the conventional upright bicycle is a fundamentally flawed design. The conventional diamond frame bicycle positions the rider vertically, in an upright position, above the pedals, maximizing the risk of injury in the event of a fall.

Conventional Upright Layout is Vertical

           /head
           |
           |
    seat/buttocks
           |
           |
pedals/feet


Sabrina Bianchi, Second Place Finisher in 2010 RAAM, on a Diamond Frame Road Bike, possibly a Felt

By contrast, the recumbent, an inherently safer design, positions the rider horizontally, in a reclining position, behind the pedals, minimizing the risk of injury in the event of a fall.

Unconventional Recumbent Layout is Horizontal

pedals/feet --- seat/buttocks --- headrest/head

Barbara Buatois, First Place Finisher in 2010 RAAM, on a Factory Custom SWB Performer Low Racer Recumbent

Bicycles: Mechanical Analogs of the Horse?  

So how did the upright layout for bicycles come about in the first place? Why was the rider positioned vertically, above the pedal, diamond frame style, instead of horizontally, behind the pedal, recumbent style?

Mongol Warrior  

A good guess would be that primitive bicycles were mechanical analogs of the horse. Their designers probably had mental images of horses and riders dancing in their heads. In fact, primitive bicycles were referred to as "hobby horses." In China, bicycles are colloquially referred to as "tie ma" or "iron horses."

Pedestrian Curricle, better known as a "Hobby Horse"

It is not surprising that early bicycle designers put riders astride their creations in the same position as equestrians astride their horses.

That said, other bicycle designers were already "thinking outside the box." This early recumbent, circa 1902, was obviously the direct ancestor of today's Easy Racers and Rans LWB mid racers. Not all bicycle designers were mental prisoners, trapped within the upright bicycle paradigm.    

Early Recumbent, circa 1902, designed by one H. Jarvis


Easy Racers Ti-Rush LWB mid racer, note the uncanny similarity to Jarvis' design

Time for a Fundamental Change

The rear engine, rear wheel drive Porsche, and the conventional diamond frame bicycle, are fundamentally flawed vehicle designs that ought to be replaced by fundamentally sounder, inherently safer designs.

The rear engine, rear wheel drive automobile layout should be replaced by the front engine, rear wheel drive layout; mid engine, rear wheel drive layout; or other, more fundamentally sound layout.

The conventional diamond frame bicycle layout should be replaced by the LWB mid racer layout; SWB low racer layout; or other, more fundamentally sound layout.

From Wedgies to Bents

Champion cyclist Barbara Buatois of France, riding a Performer Low Racer Caliper, completed the 2010 Race Across AMerica (RAAM) nearly 20 hours before the next two fastest entrants in the Solo Female Under 50 category. The second and third place entrants rode conventional diamond frame road bikes

From Wedgies to Bents
by Bevin Chu
Taipei, China
January 27, 2011

The Decision

I recently decided to switch from "wedgies" to "bents," i.e., from conventional diamond frame bicycles to recumbent bicycles. The move will be permanent. The move will be one way. I do not intend to ride conventional diamond frame bikes, ever again.

The Reason

What drove me to such a drastic decision?

The short answer is, two bad spills on a conventional diamond frame bike, less than half a year apart. The first spill necessitated three months of physical therapy. The second, which occurred only two weeks ago, will probably necessitate an even lengthier period of physical therapy.

It's a shame, really. Under different circumstances, such a decision would not have been necessary.

The fact is I rode conventional diamond frame bikes most of my life, with nary a mishap. I never took any spills because I was riding on First World street surfaces, in major cities such as Washington, DC, Houston, New York, and Los Angeles.

Neither of the two spills I took recently had anything to do with riding skill. In neither case did I "lose my balance." Yes, I am considerably older than I was in junior high school. Yes, I have slowed down quite a bit, thank you very much. But I can still track stand until the light turns green with no problem.

No, the spills were caused not by pilot error, but by Taiwan's woefully substandard street surfaces.

Both times I was riding in a straight line at walking speed. Both times the front tire skidded sideways and dropped me on the pavement in a split second. Far too fast to react.

The first spill was caused by an abnormally low "curb" only two centimeters high. My front tire glanced against this nearly invisible "curb" and abruptly skidded sideways. A split second later I was down. I fell on my right side and injured my right knee and right elbow. My right elbow swelled up grotesquely, necessitating three months of physical therapy.

This spill was followed by a second spill, less than half a year later. The second spill, which occurred only two weeks ago, was caused by glazed ceramic tiles on the sidewalk. My front wheel rolled onto the icy slick tiles, and immediately slipped sideways. A split second later, I was down. This time I fell on my left side and injured my left knee and left shoulder. This time my injuries were even more severe. My left knee swelled up to the size of a cantaloupe. X rays of my left scapula show a wavy horizontal line that is probably a fracture. The doctors are uncertain. The injuries will necessitate an even longer period of physical therapy.

Left Knee: No fracture, but considerable soft tissue trauma


Left Shoulder: Possible horizontal fracture in scapula

The second spill was for me, the final straw.

Diamond Frames: Not for Tall People

The conventional diamond frame bike design has an intrinsic defect: It is unsuitable for tall cyclists.

The conventional diamond frame bike positions the cyclist above the pedals. This means that a tall cyclist is forced to sit at a stratospheric height above the pedals. The tall cyclist may fall as much as two meters before impacting the unyielding street surface below. The damage inflicted to the tall cyclist's bones, ligaments, tendons, and muscles by a fall from that height, is not hard to imagine. As the saying goes, the bigger they are, the harder they fall.

The World's Tallest Man on a Conventional Diamond Frame Bicycle


A fall from a diamond frame is a fall from a stepladder

The recumbent bike, especially the low racer recumbent, minimizes the probability of such serious injury, through intelligent design. Instead of positioning the cyclist above the pedals, the recumbent bike positions the cyclist behind the pedals. The cyclist is not forced to sit precariously high above the ground. Instead he stretches himself out comfortably, horizontally, behind the pedals.

In the event of a spill on low racer recumbent, even a tall cyclist falls less than half a meter before impacting the pavement. The difference between falling two meters and falling less than half a meter, may mean the difference between a fractured scapula and a mild case of road rash.


Barbara Buatois on her race winning MIT (Made in Taiwan) Performer Low Racer Caliper

 
A fall from a low rider is a fall from a beach chair

Diamond Frames: Tomorrow's Penny Farthings?

Yesterday, penny farthings were viewed as "normal" bicycles. Diamond frame bicycles, a novelty, were known as "safety bicycles" because they allowed the cyclist to sit closer to the ground.


Fall from a Penny Farthing

Today, penny farthings are viewed as quaint relics of the past. Diamond frames are viewed as "normal" bicycles, as "real" bicycles. Recumbents are viewed as oddities, ridden only by 50 something geeks with goatees. But recumbents are for all intents and purposes today's "safety bicycles," because they allow the cyclist to sit even closer to the ground than diamond frames.


Fall from a "Safety Bicycle" or Diamond Frame

Caption: WHAT'S IN A NAME? Old Gent (lately bitten with the Craze). "And that confounded man sold me the thing for a safety!"

Tomorrow, will recumbents be viewed as "normal" bicycles? Will diamond frames be viewed as quaint relics of the past, alongside penny farthings? Stranger things have happened.


Evolution according to Wedgie Advocates


Evolution According to Bent Advocates

Speaking for myself, the answer is clear. I was once unfamiliar with recumbents. I had no idea what they were. But once they caught my attention, I had to find out.

So I researched them. I compared them to conventional diamond frames, point by point. It was soon  clear that next to the recumbent, the diamond frame was a hopelessly outdated design configuration.

The diamond frame ought to be replaced by the recumbent, asap, for the same reason that the penny farthing was replaced by the "safety bicycle."

The Bent: A Better Design that is Paradoxically Easier to Build

Compare the frame of a short wheelbase (SWB) recumbent with the frame of a conventional diamond frame upright.

The frame of a SWB recumbent is the essence of simplicity. It is hard to imagine anything simpler. It is nothing more than a single tube with three bends. A hole near one end forms the head tube. A split at the other end forms the chain stays. The result is a conceptually elegant, technically sophisticated design safer, more ergonomic, and more aerodynamic than any diamond frame one can imagine.

Frame of a SWB Recumbent

The frame of a conventional diamond frame upright, by contrast, is a complex assembly consisting of eight separate tubes that must be precisely held in place and laboriously joined together. The result is technically obsolete, less safe than a recumbent, and is the antithesis of ergonomic comfort and aerodynamic efficiency.

Frame of Diamond Frame Upright

The only thing the diamond frame has going for it, is familiarity and force of habit. They only thing the recumbent has going against it, is unfamiliarity and a lack of knowledge.

Bents are Wedgies Turned 90 Degrees

On the other hand, conceptually speaking, the recumbent bike is merely a conventional diamond frame bike rotated 90 degrees.

Take a wedgie, which is configured like this:

        /head
        |
seat/buttocks
        |
bb/feet

With the bottom bracket (bb) as rotational center, rotate it 90 degrees clockwise, like this:

bb/feet --- seat/buttocks --- headrest/head

And you have a bent!

Therefore much of the emotional resistance to bents is really unnecessary.

My Diamond Frame Past

When I was in junior high, my dad bought me my first bike, a discount store "English Racer" with upright handlebars, full metal fenders, three speed Sturmey Archer gears, and dual handbrakes.

In senior high I bought a discount store 10 speed with downtube shifters and centerpull brakes.

A year before graduating from college I bought a Peugeot PX 10.

A decade later I bought a Pinarello 10 speed with Campy derailleurs, downtube shifters, and centerpull brakes.

Three years ago I bought an entry level Giant urban commuter. I deliberately chose a cheap bike so I wouldn't have to worry about theft.

Substandard Street Surfaces and Diamond Frame Bikes: An Unacceptable Combination

Woefully substandard street surfaces are one thing. Defects inherent in the conventional diamond frame design are another.

When I rode conventional diamond frame bikes in the US and Canada, street surfaces were consistent and predictable. Because the street surfaces never precipitated any spills, the defects in the conventional diamond frame bike design were never an issue. After all, as long as a cyclist never falls, potential injuries remain just that, potential.

But after moving to Taiwan, the woefully substandard street surfaces here have made this defect in the diamond frame design a very real issue. For this 187 cm (6'-1 1/2") cyclist at least, the two add up to an unacceptable combination.

And since it is considerably easier for the Average Joe to switch bicycles than to persuade City Hall to repave the streets, the solution is clear. Stop riding wedgies, and start riding bents.

My Recumbent Future

I have now decided to sell my diamond frame urban commuter and buy a low racer recumbent.

I will probably buy the Performer Low Racer Caliper, a reasonably priced but high quality short wheelbase low racer made by Performer, a Taiwan based bike manufacturer. It is not the lightest low racer made, but at 11.9 kg (26 lbs) it is light enough. And I can always opt for the carbon fiber seat option to reduce the weight even more.

I looked at the highly praised Dutch low racers as well. Challenge, M5, Optima, Velokraft. But the prices were pretty high, several thousand Euros, more than I could justify spending. One bike, the Raptobike Low Racer, was very reasonably priced at 1100 Euros. But even though it was OEM'd over here, I would still have to pay a hefty import duty. This struck me as one of those times when it really does make more sense to shop locally.






Barbara Buatois on her factory modified Performer Low Racer. Notice the open cockpit with Superman handlebars instead of the stock praying mantis handlebars

Barbara Buatois with Performer Low Racer Caliper YouTube clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTFNd_iKPio

Performer Low Racer Caliper product homepage
http://www.performer.com.tw/2010/user/product_2.php?wp=05&sno=00067

Low Racer Caliper
alloy frame with carbon fork / SRAM Attack shifter / Shimano XT rear derailleur / Truvativ Elita 52/39/30 crank 170 mm integrated / 11-34 cogset / sealed bearing wheelset / TRP road brakes / 
20x1.00 25-451 front / 700x23c 23-622 rear / 100 psi
MSRP 39,500 NTD

Performer Low Racer Caliper YouTube clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jDWJHK3LkY&feature=related
Performer Low Racer Folding Front Wheel Drive


Performer Low Racer variant, distributed by ActionBent

Are Low Racers "Too Low To Be Seen?"

I take exception to the claim that low racers are "too low to be seen," and that riders of low racers have only themselves to blame if the driver of an SUV runs them down.

I'm talking of course about "conventional" low racers with seats approximately 36 cm off the ground, and not the ultralow one of a kind machines used to set speed records. Those have seats only a few centimeters off the ground.

Performer High Racer. Seat height is 51 cm. Note that rider's head is higher than driver's head in parked subcompact. Performer Low Racer seat height is 36 cm, or 15 cm lower

A "conventional" low racer is about the same height as many sports cars, wheelchairs, and diamond frame child bikes. The driver of an SUV can hardly argue that sports cars, wheelchairs, and children riding diamond frame child bikes are "too low to be seen."

The driver of an SUV can hardly argue that drivers of low slung sports cars, users of wheelchairs, and children on diamond frame child bikes "were too low to be seen," that they "took their lives in their own hands," and wash his hands of responsibility for running them down.

The notion that the road belongs to automobile drivers alone, and that other road users are merely nuisances who ought to get out of their way, must go. Slow moving vehicles such as bikes must never be ridden on limited access superhighways. But all taxpayers have the right to use a nation's surface roads.

Fixies are Impractical, Perverse Throwbacks

Specialized Globe Roll 2, in Fjord Blue

The Specialized Globe Roll 2 is a fixie. But to its manufacturer's credit, it comes with a flip-flop hub and front and rear handbrakes, allowing quick conversion to a single-speed. This makes the Roll 2 a far more versatile and sensible machine, rather than the cyclist's equivalent of a hairshirt. A beautiful piece of industrial design. MSRP US$830


Trek Soho S, in Matte Black

The Trek Soho S is also a fixie. But its manufacturer was also smart enough to give it a flip-flop hub and front and rear handbrakes, making it convertible to a single-speed. Another beautiful piece of industrial design. MSRP US$550

Fixies are Impractical, Perverse Throwbacks
by Bevin Chu
January 4, 2010

Much of what I have to say about "fixies," i.e., bicycles without freewheel mechanisms, is nicely summed up in Washington Post Staff Writer David Montgomery's widely read article, "Look Ma, No Brakes." As Montgomery puts it,

"A fixie has one speed, which makes it difficult to pedal uphill. A classic fixie has no brakes, which makes it difficult to slow on the downhill. A fixie has no freewheel, the part that makes coasting possible. Instead, the chain directly drives the rotation of the rear wheel, which means the pedals always turn while the bike moves... fixies are impractical, perverse throwbacks... "

Yes, I have heard the various and sundry "compelling reasons" to ride a fixie.

But most of their "compelling reasons" to ride a fixie are transparent rationalizations that even the fixie fanatics themselves don't believe.

One fixie guru whose authority is widely invoked by fixie fanatics, offers the following "compelling reasons" to ride fixies instead of single-speed or geared bikes.

Reason One: "Riding a fixed gear on the road is excellent exercise. When you need to climb, you don't need to think about when to change gears, because you don't have that option. Instead, you know that you must just stand up and pedal, even though the gear is too high for maximum climbing efficiency. This makes you stronger."

Reason Two: "A fixed-gear bike is considerably lighter than a multi-speed bike of comparable quality, due to the abscence [sic] of the rear brake, derailers [sic], shift levers, and extra sprockets. A fixed-gear bike also has a substantially shorter chain. A properly set-up fixed gear has a perfectly straight chainline. This, plus the abscence [sic] of derailer [sic] pulleys, makes a real improvement in the drive-train efficiency, an improvement you can feel."

Did you get that?

In one paragraph the fixie guru argues that fixies are better because forcing you to pedal against a heavier resistance "makes you stronger."

In a subsequent paragraph he argues that fixies are better because allowing you to pedal against a lighter resistance constitutes "an improvement you can feel."

The fixie guru was clearly not motivated by the reasons he offered. How could he be, when one reason flatly contradicts the other?

No, the real reason most, albeit not all fixie riders are so zealous in their advocacy of fixies, is desperate one-upsmanship. "Hipper than thou" one-upsmanship. "Greener than thou" one-upsmanship. "Que es mas macho?" one-upsmanship. "My hairshirt is scratchier than yours" one-upsmanship. All varieties of one-upsmanship, ad infinitum, ad nauseum.

For most, albeit not all fixie riders, a fixie is a status symbol, a fashion statement, a Project Runway design accessory, a means of posturing.

Compelling Reasons to Ride a Fixie

So are there no compelling reasons whatsoever to ride a fixie?

Actually, there are one or two perfectly good reasons to ride a fixie. Some road racers for example, believe that riding a fixie will help them smooth out their pedal stroke, making them more competitive during road races. For them a fixie is a special purpose training machine.

Other cyclists may simply want an "open air exercise bicycle." For them riding a fixie is akin to "spinning," only outdoors, in the fresh air, instead of inside a smelly gym or stuffy health club.

Bicycles are Replacements for Horses

Bicycles are fundamentally replacements for horses. As historian David Herlihy notes in his book "Bicycle: The History,"

"The bicycle was the culmination of a long quest for a mechanical horse – a human-powered machine that could replace the onerous burden of using horses for transportation... the quest for the mechanical horse was meant to supplant the animal’s transportation services... the bicycle was originally designed to function as a means of utilitarian transportation."

As Eric Enders notes in his article "Your Times Is Over: Butch Cassidy and the Passing of the Outlaw West,"

Screenwriter William Goldman, like so many others, saw Butch and Sundance as emblems of a bygone era. Throughout the film [Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid], images of the horse and bicycle are used to contrast the 19th and 20th centuries, respectively. Eventually Butch himself realizes that his way of life is dying, and as he leaves for South America, he throws his bike down in disgust and offers a parting shot: “The future’s all yours, you lousy bicycle!”

In one scene, an opportunistic bicycle salesman interrupts a town marshal who is attempting to raise a posse, in order to peddle his newfangled contraption.

Marshal: Well, whaddaya say?

Bicycle Salesman: (He moves up next to the Marshal) I say this, I say ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, friends and enemies, meet the future.

Crowd member: The future what?

Salesman: The future mode of transportation for this weary Western world. Now I'm not gonna make a lot of extravagant claims for this little machine. Sure, it'll change your whole life for the better, but that's all.

Marshal: And just what in the hell do ya think you're doing?

Salesman: Well, you got the crowd together. That's half my job, so I just thought I'd do a little selling.

Marshal: Well, I'm trying to raise a posse here if you don't mind?

Salesman: I got a short presentation. (To the crowd) The Horse Is Dead. You'll see - this item sells itself.

The Tie Ma, or "Iron Horse"

Nine out of ten bikes sold in America are made in China. In China, the term "iron horse" refers not to a steam locomotive, but to a bicycle. In China, a bicycle is colloquially referred to as a 鐵馬 (tie ma), which literally translates as "iron horse."

Bicycles are Human Powered Vehicles

Bicycles are fundamentally "human powered vehicles" intended to get a person from Point A to Point B, as swiftly as possible, and as efficiently as possible.

Any energy consumed overcoming inherent mechanical disadvantages within the bicycle itself, stands in the way of the rider from getting from Point A to Point B as swiftly as possible, and as efficiently as possible.

The Freewheel or Freehub, a Gift from God

That is why the bicycle freewheel or freehub was a gift from God. The bicycle freewheel or freehub allows a cyclist to coast whenever he has built up sufficient momentum by pedaling, or whenever he is traveling downhill. Why would anyone deliberately deny himself this energy conserving mechanical advantage? To dismiss coasting as "laziness" is nonsense. The energy conserved can be used to travel either faster or longer, and usually is.

That is why the derailleur gear was also a gift from God.

Bicycles are Fundamentally a Means of Transportation

Bicycles are fundamentally a means of transportation, intended to get a person from Point A to Point B, as swiftly as possible, and as efficiently as possible.

That was the bicycle's genesis. That is the bicycle's raison d'etre. And that is my basis for evaluating bicycle design.

That is why other than as some sort of special purpose training machine, or "open air exercise bicycle," I simply do not buy the countless "compelling reasons" to ride a fixie.


Look Ma, No Brakes!
Stripped-Down Fixies Have Long Been The Bike of Choice Among Couriers. Now, Hip Urbanites Have Gotten the Message.

By David Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, September 28, 2009

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/27/AR2009092703241_pf.html

A Parting Shot


"Fixies Training Pants... to aid potty training"

An Ordinary Urban Commuter

I like a nice road bike as much as the next person. I have owned three in my lifetime, including a Peugeot and a Pinarello.

But bicycles do not always need to be fancy. Sometimes an ordinary urban commuter is all one really needs.

Millions of ordinary urban commuters such as the one above can be found on city streets on Taiwan.

The bicycle that is, not the rider.

How to Install Windows Movie Maker 6.1 from Vista (WMM6) in Windows 7

How to Install Windows Movie Maker 6.1 from Vista (WMM6) in Windows 7
by Bevin Chu
December 17, 2009

Do you have Windows 7? So do I.

Don't you just love it? It's so much better than Vista isn't it?

There's only one problem. Windows 7 includes Windows Live Movie Maker, or WLMM, the worst version of Windows Movie Maker ever offered. WLMM doesn't even feature a timeline, the most attractive feature of Windows Movie Maker.

Vista, on the other hand, includes Windows Movie Maker 6.1, or WMM6, the best version of Windows Movie Maker ever offered.

Is there some way to have the best of both worlds? Is there some way to install the Windows 7 Operating System, and also have Windows Movie Maker 6.1, from Vista?

Microsoft will tell you you can't. Microsoft will urge you to live with Windows Live Movie Maker (WLMM), which comes with Windows 7. Windows Live Movie Maker. What a misnomer. Windows Dead Movie Maker is more like it. Windows Dead On Arrival Movie Maker, in fact. Call it WDOAMM.

Others may helpfully suggest that you download and install Windows Movie Maker 2.6 (WMM2.6). WMM2.6 isn't as bad as WLMM, but it's nowhere as good as WMM6.

Don't listen to them. Both WLMM and WMM2.6 are inferior versions of Windows Movie Maker with fewer features.

The fact is, you can install Windows Movie Maker 6.1 in Windows 7.

Simply visit one of a number of sites that offer free downloads of WMM6 specially tweaked so that it can be installed in Windows 7. Several are listed below.

They appear to have been written by the same software programmer, one Noel Danjou, to whom we owe a debt of gratitude.

Download the executable, install it, and you're good to go!

NB: I'm not sure whether WMM6 should be referred to as 6.0 or 6.1. I'm calling it 6.1 in the interim.


Download Windows Movie Maker 6.1 for Windows 7:

From Noel Danjou
http://noeld.com/programs.asp?cat=video

From Softpedia
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Video/Other-VIDEO-Tools/Windows-Movie-Maker-Installer.shtml

Windows 7 Beta Fish Wallpaper

Windows 7 Beta Fish Wallpaper
December 16, 2009
Taipei, China

Windows 7 Beta Fish Wallpaper

 

This wallpaper is beautiful. That much is obvious.

But why did I say it was clever? Because experience shows that blue may well be the most durable color for a wallpaper. Many other colors become tiresome after a while. Blue on the other hand, seems to hold up in the long term.

Given blue as our first choice, what next? One could of course make the blue wallpaper a blue sky. After all, the name of the operating system is Windows. As one looks out one's window, what does one see? The blue sky, of course.

But another, less obvious, but even more ingenious concept, is to make the blue wallpaper the blue sea. The bright spot is of course the sun. Its rays penetrate the surface of the waves.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-Story-of-the-Windows-7-Beta-Fish-101857.shtml

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A modified "nightlight" version

 

A laterally inverted version that improves contrast between icons and wallpaper