Re: Leather Saddle Update

On 5/19/2025 2:24 PM, Catrike Ryder wrote:

On Mon, 19 May 2025 18:40:06 +0200, Wolfgang Strobl
<news51@mystrobl.de> wrote:
 

Am Mon, 19 May 2025 09:24:35 -0400 schrieb Catrike Ryder
<Soloman@old.bikers.org>:
>
>

I'm often asked about why I rejected the traditional diamond frame
bicycles for the Catrike. I tell them that comfort has a lot to do
with it. Like many bicyclists, I ride for the pure pleasure of it and
why wouldn't I make it as comfortable as I can? Perched on a
traditional bicycle saddle was, for me, never comfortable.

>
>
I'm quite happy that I learned to ride a conventional bike with drop
bars decades ago, and that I still can ride it reasonably fast.
>

>
My rides are generally four or five hours long and I often never get
up off the Catrike the entire ride. All I need for a rest stop is a
spot where there's shade. Oh, there's also no need for padded pants.

>
Good for you. Without knowing how far you are riding and how many meters
in altitude you are climbing, however, this information is of little
use.  A comfortable tricyle often is heavy and has a lot of air
resistance, making it slow or exhausting. There are exceptions, but they
are rare.

 My Catrike Expedition is heavy, but it's low slung and I am stretched
out horizontally, so the air resistance is not so bad. Lately, I've
been riding 50 miles, but with almost no climbing. When I first
started riding the trike I was regularly doing 60/70/80+ miles with
just a  little climbing.
 https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/672323672
 https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/671930529
 

I have no problems with changing my clothing for a four or five hour
long pleasure ride. Or for being able to cover a fixed course in the
shortest possible time, without exhaustion.

 I did that for a while. I called it my time trials period.  I got my
time down to 18 MPH avg for 40 miles. That was 10 years ago when I was
70 years old.
 https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/671939291
 Two years later I did 20 miles at 19 MPH.
 https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1175228116
   Several years later, when I realized that couldn't improve on it, I
went into my ride purely for pleasure period.
 

So enjoy your rides, but don't think that others necessarily have to do
the same. There are many reasons not to do it that way if you are not
forced to by an infirmity.

 I cannot think of any reasons for me to not do it they way I do, but
that's just me.
 I do not expect anybody else to do what I do. I was just stating my
preferences like others were doing in this thread. I wasn't trying to
impress anyone, with my stats posted above, it's not likely that would
happen. I suspect many other riders could match or beat my statistics,
but at my age, I think I did pretty well.
--
C'est bon
Soloman

+1 to all that.
We each ought to ride what we like and so ride more or more often.
I'm sure I would be as miserable on Mr Tricycles' vehicle as he would be on my short wheelbase fixie.  Which is fine, and a great reason for us not to swap vehicles.
--
Andrew Muzi
am@yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971