--- In bentechriders@yahoogroups.com, "lew2au" <john.lewis@...> wrote:
>
> I'd be interested in some pictures of your pannier mounts. At present
> I hang a bag off the back of the seat. Not really what I want.

In this pic:
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g307/PhilProsser/PIC00062.jpg

You can see where the panniers hang on the low rack, plus you can see
the normal rear carrier. You can't see my custom low rack, because
the panniers are in the way - but I'll take some better pics tonight
or tomorrow and post them for you. And the idler and chain tubes....
and any other bits I feel pleased with!

You can also see the fairing. I don't use this all that much, but I
got it from azub in the Czech republic. They're a pretty good source
of 'bent bits if you're in Europe, and helpful and freindly guys to
deal with. I also got my mudguards from them.

I got the fairing because one day I was going home from work at my
usual 15 mph or so. I caught up with a tractor at a junction and as I
cycled along behind it, glanced down at my bike computer. With rather
less effort than usual, I was doing about 25 mpg. Drafting the
tractor was boosting my speed very considerably. This made me think
about aerodynamics a bit more. I couldn't see a cheaper way of
streamlining the front of the bike, so I thought a fairing would be
worth a try. Then I read on a forum that a fairing would keep your
feet dry and warm too, and that decided me to try it.

I don't use it more often because it's a bit bulky, and the bike won't
fit in the bike shed with all the others with the fairing on!

It doesn't make me much faster, I think, but I'm considering some sort
of tail box/fairing. Combined with the front fairing, that might make
a noticeable difference. Anyone been down that road?

Here's another thought. So we could ride 'bent together, we recently
bought a Pashley PDQ for Mrs Phil. (20" wheels both ends - she can
reach the ground from the seat! She's very petite). It's quite
striking how light the PDQ is compared with the Bentech. We had to
shorten the boom so it could be telescoped in enough for her short
legs, and the tubing is much thinner-walled than on my Dom-built
Bentech frame.

Does anyone have any thoughts on how necessary the tube wall thickness
is? Engineers will work this all out with dynamic stress analysis and
come up with specs for different types of steels. I'd be interested
to know what this sort of analysis would show for a Bentech frame -
for a 75kg rider, could it be thinner and lighter? Would it flex when
pedalled hard if it were?

Partly this train of thought stems from the standard Bentech seat -
it's a heck of a lot wider than it needs to be for me - it could
accommodate a much larger/heavier man. (I made mine narrower by about
three inches). Is the rest of the bike similarly specced for
quarterbacks?