Guy Martin does recumbents!!!!!!

DIscuss anything relating to non-standard cycles and their equipment.
Rob Archer
Posts: 297
Joined: 10 Apr 2007, 8:25pm
Location: King's Lynn, Norfolk

Re: Guy Martin does recumbents!!!!!!

Post by Rob Archer »

Despite all the above comments I enjoyed it. It may well be 'staged' but it put recumbents into the public consciousness. It was good to see Mike Burrows and Miles Kingsbury on prime-time TV too.
thirdcrank
Posts: 36776
Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Guy Martin does recumbents!!!!!!

Post by thirdcrank »

[XAP]Bob wrote:Surprised that they're not line astern, generally thought would be faster


If I may nitpick, if they sit like that it's not a tandem; although I've only ever seen the side-by-side arrangement at Butlin's (Skegness) iirc it's called a "sociable."
RJS
Posts: 280
Joined: 16 Feb 2013, 10:05pm
Location: Torbay

Re: Guy Martin does recumbents!!!!!!

Post by RJS »

I like motorbikes and bicycles, so a friend lent me Guys autobiography, I think what you see, is the real him. He could be a pro racer but NEEDS to do a real job, he cycles to work, works hard on lorries for long hours. As far as the T.V. presenting goes he wont do it unless he finds it different, interesting or challenging, I don't think he could make himself do anything "staged". The book was a great read by the way.
Cheers, Rob.
P.S. Have to admit it was a sociable recumbent trike though, not really a tandem :shock: :? :wink:
Bonefishblues
Posts: 11010
Joined: 7 Jul 2014, 9:45pm
Location: Near Bicester Oxon

Re: Guy Martin does recumbents!!!!!!

Post by Bonefishblues »

RJS wrote:I like motorbikes and bicycles, so a friend lent me Guys autobiography, I think what you see, is the real him. He could be a pro racer but NEEDS to do a real job, he cycles to work, works hard on lorries for long hours. As far as the T.V. presenting goes he wont do it unless he finds it different, interesting or challenging, I don't think he could make himself do anything "staged". The book was a great read by the way.
Cheers, Rob.
P.S. Have to admit it was a sociable recumbent trike though, not really a tandem :shock: :? :wink:

That's a view I've seen echoed a number of times - he is what he is, which is what we see on TV.
Psamathe
Posts: 17650
Joined: 10 Jan 2014, 8:56pm

Re: Guy Martin does recumbents!!!!!!

Post by Psamathe »

RJS wrote:... I don't think he could make himself do anything "staged". ...

I would agree he comes across as somebody who would not "stage" something. However, when you have a TV crew and they start the "we need to do that again but can you ... (for technical reasons) ..." it may likely be others who are doing the "staging" and with the pressure of trying to achieve/break a record it might often be easier to do what they are asking rather than to double check what/why/how it will be used/etc.

And then the emphasis can easily be changed at the editing stage ...

Not that I would accuse it of having been staged. Just that as others have commented it did slightly come across that way. Might be the case, might be the style or lack of false drama, or any number of other reasons.

Ian
User avatar
pjclinch
Posts: 5470
Joined: 29 Oct 2007, 2:32pm
Location: Dundee, Scotland
Contact:

Re: Guy Martin does recumbents!!!!!!

Post by pjclinch »

Technically a tandem is in-line, but there again cycling is full of dodgy terminology that turns out to be reasonably elastic when needed..

For a start, what percentage of "mountain bikes" go anywhere near mountains? And so on.

Pete.
Often seen riding a bike around Dundee...
User avatar
NATURAL ANKLING
Posts: 13780
Joined: 24 Oct 2012, 10:43pm
Location: English Riviera

Re: Guy Martin does recumbents!!!!!!

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
Forgive me for using that word Staged.
No slight on Guy and the other tech crew.
Its media and like they say if it was'nt done in that sort of flavour normal people wouldnt watch it.

The media and every tom dick and harry counciler have got on the cycling fashion wagon for their toupence worth of big grins.

Lets have more programs with two or even three wheels, it doesnt always have to be around Tour and Olympics either.
Any more technical info content would mean a limited audience of us nerds :)
NA Thinks Just End 2 End Return + Bivvy - Some day Soon I hope
You'll Still Find Me At The Top Of A Hill
Please forgive the poor Grammar I blame it on my mobile and phat thinkers.
AlanGoodman
Posts: 2
Joined: 2 Nov 2014, 9:26am
Location: Hemel Hempstead
Contact:

Re: Guy Martin does recumbents!!!!!!

Post by AlanGoodman »

Morning all...

Just to clarify a couple of things:
The record that Guy and Jason set at Goodwood was an outright 24 hour (and 12 hour by the way!) record for a multi-rider Human Powered Vehicle.

They rode through one of the worst storms I've ever seen and still went much further than any other multi-rider HPV has ever gone before.
Jason has posted his data on Strava for anybody interested in power outputs etc.
I can tell you that during the height of the storm they were putting out pretty much the same power but were over a minute per lap slower than earlier!!

Yes, there is a specific record for a standard UCI-legal tandem that stands at 505 miles.

The side-by-side configuration allowed both riders to share the steering... The seats were staggered so that their shoulders overlapped, keeping the machine as narrow as possible... Independent freewheels were fitted. The machine was single-speed (not sure if that was made clear on TV).
Any volunteers to sit on the back of a back-to-back in-line recumbent for 24 hours??

Absolutely nothing about the run was staged (unlike an episode of the Gadget Show I was involved with in a pedal car...)

There was a team of 5 volunteers from the British Human Power Club acting as observers for the WHPVA - we were in the pits, timing booth and in the camera and chase cars to make sure there was no slipstreaming of cars etc.

The TV show only had an hour to show a 24 hour record and all the build-up. I think they did a great job.

Alan
User avatar
NATURAL ANKLING
Posts: 13780
Joined: 24 Oct 2012, 10:43pm
Location: English Riviera

Re: Guy Martin does (Tandem) recumbents!!!!!!

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
It was poor job when they went on about two teams of tandem (upright) riders and then in came Mike on a recumbent :!:

I might be wrong but they never mentioned half the words you used at all.

I think it was a poorly made program, where yet again they needed to find a record they could win :?:
Good TV................

I really expected to to see two riders riding a bike.................
Yeh gadget and BBC Click are pants.

http://www.timetriallingforum.co.uk/ind ... opic=95026

"The solo hpv record is 757.5 miles.

Yes, the set a record for a multi rider hpv, as one did not exist before.

No tandem records were beaten.

Whatever merit this had was completely undermined by the lying about what they were doing."
NA Thinks Just End 2 End Return + Bivvy - Some day Soon I hope
You'll Still Find Me At The Top Of A Hill
Please forgive the poor Grammar I blame it on my mobile and phat thinkers.
AlanGoodman
Posts: 2
Joined: 2 Nov 2014, 9:26am
Location: Hemel Hempstead
Contact:

Re: Guy Martin does recumbents!!!!!!

Post by AlanGoodman »

You can't please all the people all the time...
User avatar
pjclinch
Posts: 5470
Joined: 29 Oct 2007, 2:32pm
Location: Dundee, Scotland
Contact:

Re: Guy Martin does (Tandem) recumbents!!!!!!

Post by pjclinch »

NATURAL ANKLING wrote:It was poor job when they went on about two teams of tandem (upright) riders and then in came Mike on a recumbent :!:


While you may share the belief of the Luddites Of Lausanne that things can only by "proper cycles" if they conform to a particular set of baroque requirements concerning placement of the bottom bracket relative to the seat, happily the BHPC and IHPVA are interested in the bit about it being powered by the rider(s).

NATURAL ANKLING wrote:I think it was a poorly made program, where yet again they needed to find a record they could win :?:


It's about speed (there's a clue in the title...). The best way to go fast when cycling is improving the aerodynamics of the traditional approach, so it actually made excellent sense not only in terms of getting a record but in keeping true to what the programme's about. It's not a cycling programme, it's a going-fast programme.

NATURAL ANKLING wrote:I really expected to to see two riders riding a bike.................


I expected two people going as fast as possible. Since I'm aware that the IHPVA hour record is about the same number of miles as the UCI one (with professional athletes) is in km I wasn't at all surprised to see them using an HPV. Since I'm also aware that Mike Burrows is interested in innovation for speed more than he is in conforming to baroque UCI regulations I was even less surprised. What would be the point in involving a bike designer famed particularly for his aerodynamic 'bents if you weren't allowing innovation in the vehicle?

NATURAL ANKLING wrote:http://www.timetriallingforum.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=95026

"The solo hpv record is 757.5 miles.

Yes, the set a record for a multi rider hpv, as one did not exist before.

No tandem records were beaten.

Whatever merit this had was completely undermined by the lying about what they were doing."


The last one is truly, outstandingly pathetic. Much like the display of bad blood back in the 30s that took Mochet's Velocar from being a world-beating innovationary bike to being a snubbed footnote. You can thank the UCI next time you're sat on a racing saddle for a few hours getting a crook in your neck trying to see where you're going and keeping out of the worst of the wind at the same time...

Pete.
Often seen riding a bike around Dundee...
User avatar
honesty
Posts: 2658
Joined: 16 Mar 2012, 3:33pm
Location: Somerset
Contact:

Re: Guy Martin does recumbents!!!!!!

Post by honesty »

What you've got to remember is we are relatively knowledgeable about the subject, therefore some details seemed dumbed down or missed (the nuance between UCI and HPV records for example) but to the general populous this makes no difference, and would take too long to explain everything in a 1 hour programme. If you take it as it is, which someone earlier described as a boys own style adventure, then it was very entertaining and the guys did a fantastic job which I for one would not be able to even start to recreate...
User avatar
squeaker
Posts: 4112
Joined: 12 Jan 2007, 11:43pm
Location: Sussex

Re: Guy Martin does recumbents!!!!!!

Post by squeaker »

Spot on, Pete :)

From the C4 website:
Motorcycle racer and mechanic Guy Martin undertakes a series of speed-based challenges, exploring the boundaries of physics and learning about the science of speed


Did what it said on the tin, for me. Vastly more entertaining than watching hours of peloton action - but then it takes all sorts :roll:
"42"
Joe.B
Posts: 270
Joined: 13 Nov 2010, 11:31am

Re: Guy Martin does recumbents!!!!!!

Post by Joe.B »

honesty wrote:What you've got to remember is we are relatively knowledgeable about the subject, therefore some details seemed dumbed down or missed (the nuance between UCI and HPV records for example) but to the general populous this makes no difference, and would take too long to explain everything in a 1 hour programme. If you take it as it is, which someone earlier described as a boys own style adventure, then it was very entertaining and the guys did a fantastic job which I for one would not be able to even start to recreate...


Agree entirely, the program isn't made for us, I can't honestly think of a more niche audience than recumbent riders interested in HPV record attempts.
I think it did a good job and has probably introduced many people to the fact that a bike does not always have to have a DF.
Psamathe
Posts: 17650
Joined: 10 Jan 2014, 8:56pm

Re: Guy Martin does recumbents!!!!!!

Post by Psamathe »

AlanGoodman wrote:Just to clarify a couple of things:
The record that Guy and Jason set at Goodwood was an outright 24 hour (and 12 hour by the way!) record for a multi-rider Human Powered Vehicle.

NATURAL ANKLING wrote:It was poor job when they went on about two teams of tandem (upright) riders and then in came Mike on a recumbent :!:

honesty wrote:What you've got to remember is we are relatively knowledgeable about the subject, therefore some details seemed dumbed down or missed (the nuance between UCI and HPV records for example) but to the general populous this makes no difference, and would take too long to explain everything in a 1 hour programme.

Whilst I agree that for the majority of viewers the distinction about the vehicle and which record is not a massive issue and that they broke a record is certainly an achievement. However I do feel that the incorrect impression was (maybe inadvertently) given e.g. with discussing the record and showing pictures of a traditional tandem being ridden by the record holders; I assumed the current record holders of the tradition tandem record. It is easy to "get it right" and no real reason not to. I'm sure it was not deliberate, but it would only take a brief time to explain and would actually draw the non-enthusiast audience's attention more to the different bike designs, etc. And there was certainly time in the program that could have been used and given the program more content.

Ian
Post Reply