tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8908461644259659419.post4191865741330508846..comments2024-03-28T14:04:01.556-07:00Comments on Midlife Cycling: The Wright Day For A Couple Of Bike MechanicsJustine Valinottihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10852069587181432102noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8908461644259659419.post-30217128031672370672015-12-19T14:55:15.340-08:002015-12-19T14:55:15.340-08:00Leo--The final sentence of your comment should hav...Leo--The final sentence of your comment should have been my title!<br /><br />I, too, have come across the claim that the Wright Brothers came up with the idea of reverse threads on left pedals. Like you, I cannot document it.<br /><br />Your description of aircraft dynamics is very interesting and useful. Thank you!Justine Valinottihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10852069587181432102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8908461644259659419.post-20193376925886982102015-12-19T12:56:35.974-08:002015-12-19T12:56:35.974-08:00I have read in many places, but never seen it docu...I have read in many places, but never seen it documented, that the Wright Brothers came up with the idea of reverse threads on left pedals.<br /><br />Yes, they did work out the control system of fixed-wing aircraft. There is another strata to their thinking that is very basic: the idea that a fixed-wing heavier-than-air flying machine should show it's aerodynamic characteristics only when it is in motion. Earlier attempts at flying machines were based on the idea that the machine should basically float in the air and the operator would only have to get in, start it up and steer the machine. Others came up with the Zeppelin and other solutions that made the machine buoyant in the air. The Wright Brother's concept was a machine that is unstable, that you have to actually pilot, FLY, in three dimentions at speed and not just steer. This concept of course is central to the two-wheeled bicycle and demonstrates a very deep level of understanding.<br /><br />When people sometimes say that cycling is close to flying, it maybe is not just a figure of speech.<br /><br />Leo Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com