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@freemo Can you estimate its top speed? I guess it will very according to how much coffee and sugar you've had.
@SteelFolk Depends on the person and terrain.
I can tell you that it is **faster** than an ordinary bike for the same person (Weight and energy) put in... by a big margin. In fact they are usually banned in bike races because of their superior performance (aerodynamics). World records on recumbants typically exceed world records on ordinary bikes.
@freemo@qoto.org @SteelFolk@qoto.org Ligfiets, yes. I never heard of them as sleeping bikes either and I'm Dutch. 😋
@SteelFolk@qoto.org @freemo@qoto.org Maybe the Dutch colleague didn't quite know how to translate a 'ligfiets' to a 'laydown bike' and thought 'sleeping bike' was easier. You English speakers have no very simple word for 'liggen' in a compound word setting without it sounding stupid, lol.
@SteelFolk@qoto.org @freemo@qoto.org I think it might be more like 'laid down bike' in English.
The meaning of 'lig' here is more that it's flat. So... horizontal bike? 😋
@trinsec @freemo @SteelFolk The position of the body tends to laying down, especially compared to the ‘straight up’ bikes: the deciding point is the position of the paddles: down between the axles = straight up and in front of the front axle = recumbent. Mostly it is a relaxed position as if in a comfortable chair at home, with the head at the same height as a regular (old) car.
@trinsec @freemo @SteelFolk It seems to be compulsory amongst regular (tiny saddle) race bikes to ask mockingly “Don’t fall asleep, eh!?”
They have no idea whatsoever.
@SteelFolk @freemo Once I parked the recumbent bike under a tree and layed down to rest on the lawn directly near the tree and then I heard a variety on the very, very 🤨 often heard “don’t fall asleep, eh?”: ‘Eh, a real laying down bike’ …. (Hé, een èchte ligfiets)
@SteelFolk I rode mine for quite a while and never heard them called "sleeping bikes".. They were always called Leichtfeits (sp?) which as far as I know means "laying down bike"