Maybe this is heresy here, but I ride my ebike on windy days. Hauling groceries uphill into the wind is doable for me, but I'm absolutely miserable on my Clem when I do it. I can't haul as much on my ebike, but putting it into turbo on those days puts me into the best of moods! Christine in Denver
On Monday, March 14, 2022 at 11:36:14 AM UTC-6 Patrick Moore wrote: > I ask those of you who often ride in high winds: How do you deal with > strong headwinds when you are sitting bolt upright, particularly if you are > riding a Quickbeam or Uno? > > Winds require more power, so a bolt upright position is tiring both > because of wind resistance, and because an insufficient angle between torso > and hips means it's hard to generate torque -- or so I've always found. > > So if you are riding a bike set up like this one, how do you deal with > strong headwinds? > > [image: image.png] > > Here in Albuquerque we are entering Spring Wind season -- ABQ is breezy > year round, in fact -- which can start as early as late February and last > through June in a bad year; but routine W and SW winds of 20 mph with gusts > to 40 not uncommon are common from late March through May. > > When I started riding fixed a great deal back about the turn of the 20th > century I found headwinds hugely annoying, and it took me several years to > overcome the biggest handicap, a mental one, by, basically, reducing my > expectations. You learn to accept riding at half speed in order to maintain > sustainable levels of exertion. > > But I also fine tuned my bikes' setup and my riding position so that I can > ride in the hooks of drop bars for several miles at a stretch, and I > certainly find that riding low makes a huge difference to reducing the > wind's force and to making it easier to generate pedal force. > > Now, 67, I've finally conceded the need to compensate for failing strength > with newfangled technology, and when a ride involves headwinds I have a > choice of drivetrains with multiple gears you can shift from the saddle. > The Matthews 1 has a 2X10 derailleur system, Matthews 2 has the 72"/65"/56" > hub gear -- 65" is just right for long shallow inclines and modest > headwinds on the flat, but I occasionaly find the 56" low a relief for > strong winds even on flat surfaces; and the 1999 Joe Starck gofast will God > willing [rims and hubs sent off to Earle Young last Friday] shortly have in > addition to the main Phil fixed/fixed flip flop 76"/67" wheel a TF fixed > rear wheel with 57" low in addition to the 76" cruising gear for hilly > rides and for strong winds, plus a TC wheel giving 76" and 67" for rolling > terrain and 20 mph headwinds. And of course I don't mind walking. > > -- > > ----------------------------------------------------------------------- > Patrick Moore > Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/d21df455-e430-4f3b-a313-cd220ca12a4fn%40googlegroups.com.
