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Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by torrance on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @05:58AM (#16866036)
This reminds me of the backwards brain bicycle a bit [1]. I get that the argument they’re making here is one of physics - but failing to ride a counterintuitive bike isn’t something that can just be ‘done’ without a lot of practice!

[1] https://youtu.be/MFzDaBzBlL0

Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by skookumchuck on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @03:08PM (#16870085)
A long time ago I saw a documentary where a guy wore special glasses that turned everything upside down. He wore them all day except when sleeping, and masked his eyes when sleeping. After a couple weeks, suddenly the world was right side up again.

But taking the headset off, now everything was upside down.

Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by B1FF_PSUVM on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @03:39PM (#16870375)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_M._Stratton

Interesting dude. Experiments seem to have been about a century ago.

(I thought I'd read that this had been done earlier, but Stratton comes up when looking for "glasses that turned everything upside down" as mentioned)

Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by maaaats on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @06:28AM (#16866152)
I have been trying to ride the other way on my fixie[0] lately. I think this is kinda the same. I know what I have to do, but instinctively it all gets wrong. I can kinda override it, but then my reactions are way too delayed. So here's hoping for it will click some day..

[0]: A fixie is a bike with no freewheel. So the pedals follow the back wheel, and the other way. So if I pedal backwards, the bike goes the other way.

Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by kaybe on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @07:05AM (#16866281)
The sport trick cycling has this in a lot of tricks. You might find some advice there if you want.
Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by maaaats on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @07:10AM (#16866310)
A quick search yielded this as the top result [1], incredible! I'm going to blame you for breaking my neck when I attempt this later, haha.

[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUiiJI_tPVk

Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by kaybe on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @07:27AM (#16866392)
I used to do that as a kid (stopped before I could do all the tricks in the video). You want to have a suitable underground(1) and a friend to catch you the first few tries until you know where the bike goes when you fall. The main path to injury is falling onto the bike. If you avoid that it's way safer than football/soccer. Note that the bikes in the video have a different center of mass from normal bikes so it's easier to get the front up. Have fun!

(1) In Germany we do this in clubs and proper sports halls as seen in the video with elastic flooring. Don't attempt tarmac until you definitely know what you're doing.

Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by avar on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @07:35AM (#16866447)
I also recommend learning to ride a unicycle for people who want to get better bike skills. It's like riding a bike except with a brand new plane of movement.

It's also very safe to try out and do, which is counterintuitive to most people who haven't tried. Overwhelmingly the most common failure mode on a unicycle is that you just stop riding it, and then it either gets ahead of you or behind you, and you hop onto the ground.

Your body's also always approximately vertical no matter what they incline you're riding up/down is. So e.g. riding down stairs on a unicycle is much safer than on a bike, if you screw it up you just let it roll ahead of you and you're standing on the steps.

I'll do that without hesitation on a unicycle, but on a bicycle there's no way I'm doing that on on anything except a mountain bike I trust.

Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by lurquer on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @10:32AM (#16867674)
>It's also very safe to try out and do, which is counterintuitive to most people who haven't tried. Overwhelmingly the most common failure mode on a unicycle is that you just stop riding it, and then it either gets ahead of you or behind you, and you hop onto the ground.

Ha. My experience with a unicycle was the exact same as my experience with Segway and Hoverboard: flat on my back, knocked-out cold, with back-sprain that lasted months.

Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by jandrese on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @11:07AM (#16867949)
The biggest safety feature of a unicycle is that you don't even try to go fast.
Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by antoineMoPa on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @01:09PM (#16869017)
At first you don't.

But then there are 36 inch unicycles, which can go quite fast. I started with a 24' (< 10 km/h), then I bought a 29' (< 18 km/h). The 29' does feel fast. One day, I'd like to buy a 36', which would be a bit slower than a bicycle, but still quite fast. Some people ride them around the world [42].

[42] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WrGJ8A0Y1o

Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by hazeii on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @01:27PM (#16869171)
Worth pointing out that while learning, failed mounts can result in the unicycle departing the vicinity at some speed (especially with smaller ones, e.g. 20").
Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by dahauns on Thursday April 19, 2018 @05:19PM (#16880266)
If you like this, take a look at Radball (cycle ball): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0moQPqtmrTY

Maybe not as elegant as the artistic cyclists, but that almost incidental level of control is insane.

Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by dancek on Thursday April 19, 2018 @12:45AM (#16873395)
Driving backwards is much more difficult than driving forward because the bike doesn't self correct that way and the steering is quite unstable.

I tried to learn riding backwards last summer, too. Eventually I stopped because I needed the bike for actual riding and my knees preferred having a freewheel. A ridiculously low gear seemed to help, I tried 40x20 (on a 622 with 165mm cranks) for a while.

Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by stevehawk on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @07:42AM (#16866481)
huh.. I grew up on a fixie.. I wonder if 20 years later I would just pick it up again.. or 30 years later..

note to self knock up wife.. get child fixie bike.. take bike for self when kid is at school xD I'm sure the experiment will be worth the college debt.

Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by mattstreet on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @03:14PM (#16870138)
I believe you can buy hubs that are single speed and then if you flip them are fixie, might be cheaper to put that on a cheap bike than having a kid...
Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by piva00 on Thursday April 19, 2018 @03:00AM (#16873902)
Yup, they are called flip-flop hubs, quite common and a bunch of bikes come with them installed so you can always choose between singlespeed or fixed gear.
Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by rhinoceraptor on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @10:10AM (#16867505)
I can't ride straight backwards, but I can ride backwards in a circle from a trackstand fairly easily.
Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by tcfunk on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @10:22AM (#16867597)
Reminds me of the time I learned Dvorak.
Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by skookumchuck on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @03:09PM (#16870097)
The thing is, I don't actually know what the editing commands are on my editor. My fingers know them, though. Sometimes I watch my fingers to see what the command is.
Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by zeta0134 on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @10:10PM (#16872834)
I have this pretty much 100% of the time when I'm playing a piano piece, especially an older piece that I've somewhat forgotten. It's not so much that I'm re-learning the notes, it feels more like I'm coaxing the requisite movement back out of my hands. It's hard to explain, like... I can't really start a musical phrase halfway through because I don't know what notes I'm actually playing without the sheet music in front of me. But if I start at the beginning, my hands will do the right thing from muscle memory.
Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by Retra on Thursday April 19, 2018 @01:11AM (#16873478)
I use to have the same trouble with my locker combo in high school. I could spin the lock open, but I couldn't tell you the numbers.

I would occasionally lose the muscle memory too, for about a week at a time.

Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by Bromskloss on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @03:18PM (#16870174)
I hardly know what my password is.
Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by bunderbunder on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @10:06PM (#16872817)
Every time I change my work password, I commit it to memory for about a day, until it's in my muscle memory. Shortly after that, I can bang it out on a keyboard in easily under a second, but I cannot write it on a piece of paper.
Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by samstave on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @12:32PM (#16868720)
Random anecdote/fact; an ex GF in HS was Dvorak's niece... she didn't have very nice things to say about him, just said he was super full of himself. I was really interested in meeting him, but after all the things she had to say about him, I lost interest, and stopped thinking I would be "cool" to switch to dvorak.
Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by dkersten on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @12:50PM (#16868859)
Good thing I chose colemak over dvorak ;)

Off topic: I didn’t do it for speed though, I did it for typing comfort, and as someone who has had RSI scares, I’m really happy with my decision (and with my decision to get a Kinesis Advantage ergonomic keyboard). My two main activities these days are hand-intensive: typing and sleight-of-hand card magic. I need my hands to be in good shape! Honestly, I’m a little baffled by how few programmers use ergonomic keyboards, since their hands are so important to what they do, but only a little, since it took me years before I finally bought one myself despite thinking about it for a long time (I regret not doing so sooner).

Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by sooper on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @03:34PM (#16870321)
The cost of the alternative shape keyboards put me (and a lot of colleagues I've talked to) off for a long time. Glad I did finally save up to buy one! Pity I work on the road a lot and have to still use laptop keyboards a lot of the time.
Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by dkersten on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @06:29PM (#16871822)
The cost was definitely a big part of it, I delayed for a long time because it seemed too expensive to me. In hindsight, given how much time I spend typing, it really isn't expensive at all, its just a big up-front cost... I now even use a 3 button foot pedal and love it.

> Pity I work on the road a lot and have to still use laptop keyboards a lot of the time.

Yeah, I use laptops and an iPad too and its obviously not very comfortable in comparison. Luckily I've managed to avoid it a lot lately, but its not always possible. It really sucks when I have to use an ordinary keyboard though and I definitely feel the discomfort :/

Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by tomsthumb on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @09:23PM (#16872655)
The cost of a single PT appointment (much less a handful) should be enough for most people on dev salaries to consider the extra cost of a good ergonomic keyboard. Something something Sam Vimes and boots.
Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by arafa on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @12:54PM (#16868894)
This was my exact experience in learning an alternate keyboard layout. Worked out great for RSI and I've never looked back (though it was painful to start).
Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by samstave on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @04:22PM (#16870816)
Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by dkersten on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @06:23PM (#16871788)
Haha! That's great, thanks for posting, got a good laugh from it :) If only I had hands like that ;-)
Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by Johnny555 on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @04:20PM (#16870797)
and stopped thinking I would be "cool" to switch to dvorak

If you're thinking of switching (or not) to a product or service because of the inventor's personality, you're already "not cool".

If people based their use of Linux on Linus's personality, it'd still be a hobbyist OS.

Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by justadudeama on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @11:19AM (#16868072)
I was going to say the same thing. And when I wen't back to QWERTY, it eventually switched and I could type fast.
Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by xenadu02 on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @12:00PM (#16868412)
It is possible to achieve high typing speed on both; I did just that for a few years by switching back and forth on a regular basis. In the end the inconvenience simply wasn’t worth it and I gave up.
Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by justadudeama on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @01:20PM (#16869110)
Did you give up QWERTY or Dvorak?
Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by lenocinor on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @05:55PM (#16871581)
Not the original commenter, but I had a similar experience, and gave up QWERTY. I point and peck the few times I have to use it (which isn't often, except on phones where it doesn't really matter for me) and that's worked well enough for me for many years.
Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by sumedh on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @08:03AM (#16866607)
Back in the day I could easily ride a bicycle without using my hands from the start with just one or two pedal stroke. I believe riding a backwards bicycle would have been easier if you dont use your hands.
Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by skookumchuck on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @03:10PM (#16870107)
That's how to win his $200 prize!
Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by trumped on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @06:29PM (#16871823)
I suspect that this one is more like if you were stuck in space with no propulsion and nothing to throw... so you can't move.
Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by laythea on Wednesday April 18, 2018 @02:26PM (#16869699)
Awesome link. Thank you.
Re:Uncontrollability of a bricycle (2014) [video] by rkuykendall-com on Thursday April 19, 2018 @10:42AM (#16876283)
His videos are amazing. I recommend Prince Rupert's Drop among many many others.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe-f4gokRBs