So, this guy is riding a Velokraft VK2 two-wheeled recumbent, yet about one minute into this video he stops for a red light and just sits there clipped in. Anyone know how he manages this? I thought he might be just putting a hand down on the pavement to hold himself up but everything seems too steady for that.
I’m also curious about the clicking sound that occurs with each cycle of the pedals in this video. It usually occurs about the time his right leg is fully extended. Anybody know what might be causing that?
Thirdly, I’m curious as to how he’s still alive and why people aren’t honking and yelling at him. San Franciscans must be even more laid back than I thought. The guy is a machine and seems able to climb San Francisco’s hills all day without even breathing hard, but I wouldn’t ride like he does for a million bucks.
Going by the squeak noise and how he suddenly comes to a stop, he pulled some sort of handbrake that also puts down a kickstand of some sort. I imagine something like that is damn near required for the hills of SF.
Oh, and the clicking sound seems to come from very near the camera or it’s mount - maybe a strap or something swinging and hitting something with his movements.
I skipped around to kind a spot where he was stopped and I just assumed he had his hands on the ground. When I read Voltaire’s comment, that made sense as well. I can certainly hear what sounds like a kickstand going down.
He puts his hand down. Definitely not a kickstand - the VK2 is a high-end carbon bike, and I can’t imagine anyone clamping a kickstand on it (and risk damaging the frame). And even if someone were crazy enough to do so, they wouldn’t bother to reach back and put the kickstand down, when you can just put your hand on the ground more easily.
Some people even say that’s the definition of a “lowracer” - i.e. a recumbent racing bike low enough that the rider can put his hand on the ground to support himself/herself when stopped.
What’s the big SQUEEEK then? When I look at the first stop, around the minute mark (and this is what I noticed earlier), I noticed a big squeak, followed by the camera (mounted on the bike from what I can tell, as opposed to a helmet cam) being perfectly still, the another squeak and the camera moving around like he was trying to keep his balance, another squeak and the camera was still again, one more squeak and he took off.
The initial squeak is the brake being applied. Subsequent sounds are a little different, more of a rubbing sound than a squeak (e.g. when he turns the handlebar back and forth while still fully stopped, around 1:15-1:20); this may be something to do with the handlebar, perhaps cables rubbing against the frame.
The VK2 is a rather noisy bike because it has a hollow carbon monocoque frame. I test-rode one once, and that was one of the reasons I didn’t buy it.
I’ve never owned something quite so low, but I’ve owned quasi-lowracers like the Challenge Fujin SL. It’s not a big deal to put a foot down. I’ve never seen a lowracer that had any kind of support mechanism for stopping.
Well, hands it is then, I guess. I located a couple of videos of the bike where the rider showed it up close and in action on a trainer. Neither shows even a hint that some sort of stabilizer either was or had been attached. I would have expected a certain amount of side-to-side wobble when stopping and starting or while manipulating the pedals if he were using his hands, but apparently not.
Thanks for the input, everyone, and to you too voltaire for your take on the clicking noise. I think you nailed it.
San Franciscans must be even more laid back than I thought. The guy is a machine and seems able to climb San Francisco’s hills all day without even breathing hard, but I wouldn’t ride like he does for a million bucks.