# I never knew how much they changed bicycling. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 15, 2013, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-how-much-they-changed-bicycling/676337 "2013-12-15T00:30:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2013, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-how-much-they-changed-bicycling/676337/41 "2013-12-16T00:02:15Z")
> [@Vagabond](#): > > Actually friend,IIRC it’s worse than that. Fixie means the rear sprocket is fixed to the hub, ie pedal forward go forward , pedal backward go backward. The pedals always turn with the rear wheel. They make a flipflop hub for singlespeeds. One way is fixed as you describe, but you can pull the whole wheel, flip it around, and it becomes a single-speed freewheel where backpedalling does nothing. Lots of folks use those. A lot of the riders on fixies usually have a front brake just in case. ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2013, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-how-much-they-changed-bicycling/676337/42 "2013-12-16T01:06:07Z")
> [@EmAnJ](#): > > What a stupid article. > > 1. He’s ONLY referring to thing related to road bikes, not cross or mountain bikes. You get on a mountain bike and you’re back to old school cycling. No padded shorts, no bag balm, lots of suspension, big tires, pedal decks, no feet ‘stuck’ to the pedals, etc. > > 2. Whomever told the author that the leg needs to be straight at the bottom of the pedal stroke is 100% wrong. There should be a 10 to 30 degree bend in the knee. But he’s right that excessive bend not only looks stupid, but is horrible on the knees. > > 3. The point of clip ins (which I use) is to be more efficient with the pedal stroke. They’re easy to use (once you get used to unclipping), but in no way mandatory for recreational cyclists. > > 4. Only road cyclists wear the lycra. A cross or mountain bike riders wears the standard outfit of shorts and a t-shirt. The point of the tight clothes is to reduce resistance. Again, the author focused on road cycling and painted all of cycling with that broad brush. > > Yeah, this is a horribly written article. Ride how you fricken’ want. There is nothing confusing or embarrassing about being a recreational cyclist. Sheesh. :rolleyes: As a mountain biker and former downhill racer you have some interesting views. I wear clip ins on all my mountain bikes for the last 15 years, when I used to race downhill I would clip in depending on the track, for all recreational riding I always clip in. The only time I don’t is if I am just riding to the shops. I wear lycra when riding, tight clothes are not just about reducing resistance they are comfortable for riding. Lycra shorts are the single best thing any cyclist can invest in. I don’t think you have been exposed to many serious recreational mountain bikers. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2013, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-how-much-they-changed-bicycling/676337/43 "2013-12-16T03:22:02Z")
I think my post was misinterpreted (or, more likely, I was unclear). My point number 1 was directed at the OP. What I meant was that the article related to road riding, which he obviously wouldn’t be doing. He’d be on a CX and MTB, and none of that stuff is needed. I retract number 4, though still posit that many, many more roadies wear the lycra portrayed in that article than do MTB’s or CX riders. I don’t think I said anything about more serious CX or MTB’s not wearing clip-in’s. And again, like I said, this is all likely very regional. ---
**Author:** ![SpyOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SpyOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpyOne)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2013, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-how-much-they-changed-bicycling/676337/44 "2013-12-16T09:11:38Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > btw Do elementary schools still have those long bike racks? I have never seen an elementary school with a bike rack. In my town, only the Middle School had a bike rack, a fact I only realized after arriving at the High School on my 10-speed. 🙂 Everything they say in number five has been true since I learned to ride a 10-speed in … 1980. If your seat is properly adjusted, you can’t reach the ground from the seat. Swing a leg over the crossbar, put a foot on a pedal, and move your butt to the seat while you’re moving. As a new rider _I hated that_, and I tried as much as possible to only come to a full stop next to a curb I could put my foot on or a sign I could hold onto. And all the guys in the High School’s Bicycle Touring Club my brothers were in (Class of 77 and 79) used toe clips. They had a great story of a friend who started out from a rest stop in the wrong gear, up a ever-so-slight rise, with a soda in his hand: couldn’t shift, couldn’t pedal against the resistance, and couldn’t get his feet out of his toe clips, so he just came gently to a stop and then fell over. The Bicycle Touring Club thought nothing of covering 70 miles after school on Friday so they could spend the weekend camping at the beach, or riding to Maine (from Connecticut) for a 3-day weekend. They were fanatical about lightweight bikes because they also needed to carry spare parts and camping gear, and many of them also did amateur racing. By the time I got to High School, nothing so cool existed, and all I had were some really awesome hand-me-down bikes. 😉 I ride to work every day on a Schwinn “comfort bike”, no toe clips, and on a good day I hit 12mph. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2013, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-how-much-they-changed-bicycling/676337/45 "2013-12-17T02:44:41Z")
I hope no one has done [this one](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GugsCdLHm-Q) yet. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2013, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-how-much-they-changed-bicycling/676337/46 "2013-12-17T03:10:54Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > they should invent a bike that uses an engine to turn the wheels so you don’t have to exert yourself to peddle > > that’ll be the future No, the future will be when every Doper in the thread realizes that you are making a joke. Because you are ALWAYS making a joke. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2013, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-how-much-they-changed-bicycling/676337/47 "2013-12-18T04:19:43Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > they should invent a bike that uses an engine to turn the wheels so you don’t have to exert yourself to peddle > > that’ll be the future No, the future will be when they stick a flux capacitor into that motor. Or will that be the past… I need to think more 4th dimensionally! > [@BigT](#): > > No, the future will be when every Doper in the thread realizes that you are making a joke. Because you are ALWAYS making a joke. So? Don’t like it, put him on ignore. > [@aceplace57](#): > > A Cracked article, but it’s pretty informative. I’ve ridden bikes since the 3rd grade. Back then bike racks were a standard part of any elementary school parking lot. There would be 40 bicycles in a couple racks on nice fall day. I still ride regularly on nice weekends in jeans and a bright red sweat shirt. When I went to a public elementary school in the early 80’s, no one would ride their bikes to school. One time a kid did, and boy was it ever a big mistake. During recess some kids would go over to the bike rack and just pull stuff off the bike (it was one of those ones with pads and stuff on it to look cool) and just utterly trashed the thing. By the end of the day that thing looked about 20 years older than it had in the morning. 20 HARD years. I’ve never seen a more wretched hive of scum and villainy than public schools. ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2013, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-how-much-they-changed-bicycling/676337/48 "2013-12-18T15:25:44Z")
This is exactly why I ride a recumbent bike. I don’t have a tiny seat being shoved up my back side. I can sit up and actually see where I’m going without having to crane my neck. My arms aren’t tired from holding up my body. I will never go back to an upright bike; they are just too painful to ride for any great distance. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2013, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-how-much-they-changed-bicycling/676337/49 "2013-12-18T22:17:50Z")
Recumbent bikes cause be useful for some, but if you have a solid core, your arms shouldn’t be tired because your core is supposed to support your body. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2013, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-how-much-they-changed-bicycling/676337/50 "2013-12-18T22:20:11Z")
> [@FordTaurusSHO94](#): > > Recumbent bikes cause be useful for some, but if you have a solid core, your arms shouldn’t be tired because your core is supposed to support your body. Also, if the bike is properly sized and fitted, weight should be distributed hands/seat/butt. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-how-much-they-changed-bicycling/676337/51 "2013-12-19T19:05:09Z")
Right, fit is key. If your bike is the right size, but uncomfortable, a fitting will help. They can run several hundred dollars though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-how-much-they-changed-bicycling/676337.md?page=2)