64/16. decent.
looks like sth wrong with the forks
That’s how they’re supposed to be on a stayer bike.
Paging Blakey
Reversed fork gives increased trail for stability at high speed, allows you to get closer to pacer for better drafting.
i still dont get it
is it getting the whole bike more compact and reducing the resistance?
From the archives:
Everything about this photo blows my mind.
indeed! but surely the porsche is overkill.
To add to Blakey’s comment, also by reversing the fork it meant if the rider contacted the rollers on the back of the pacer they wouldn’t lose control as easily as if they were the “normal” way around.
It’s like a wheel on a trolley at the supermarket. Having the axle of the front wheel behind the centre line of the fork means the wheel wants to stay straight, rather than spin 180deg, which is what we are all stopping happening to our front wheels held with forks that go the other way. A stayer bike is for riding behind the moped in front, so its not so much about the bike’s aerodynamics on its own, but getting YOU closer to the fat dude on the moped so that TOGETHER you’re like a shinkansen.
Ok so we get what the stayer forks are for.
Can someone tell me what that bolt-like thing clamped to the top tube is? (It’s just under the nose of the saddle)
It stops the saddle snapping forward/down into the top tube - like the fork, the seatpost is mounted backwards and the saddle is as far back on the rails as possible. Thats a lot of pressure on the tip of the saddle.
Damn. Put a 650c tire on that chainring and you’d have a trike. My knees would shatter. That’s the best photo I’ve seen for an age.
I picture some calf even inner thigh chain pinchage. Would you need to slightly bow your right leg to pedal?
I wonder what special skills are involved in slowing this bad boy down safely when your finished pedaling. I’d imagine the rims would get white hot bringing it to a stop too quickly using the brakes. Plus there’s no way you’d be using too much back resistance, unless you want your knees to implode.
well, i notice there is only a rear brake. guessing you just want to feather it all the way. shouldn’t get too hot at those speeds, but a rear blowout wouldn’t be fun.
I’d expect once the motorpace car pulled away, speed would drop quite rapidly from wind resistance alone.