years of riding bicycles convinced me, despite never having a serious problem with brakes, that the potential for death or maiming is great enough, especially on a long and/or steep downhill stretch, that trusting one's safety to a thin cable, some plastic or rubber, a bolt, and some cheap castings is a fool's game. my new recumbent design, prototyped in "wood over metal", as an asshole once disparaged my experimentation, has a "dead man" brake, the only type I trust. if I fall off, it activates. if I lean forward, it activates. a thick piece of tire rubber makes direct contact with the road, which ought to stop the vehicle no matter what else fails. it'll be ready for testing soon, perhaps as early as tomorrow.
last updated 2015-09-08 12:56:22. served from tektonic.jcomeau.com