Flat bottomed steering wheels - why??

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angus
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Re: Flat bottomed steering wheels - why??

Postby angus » Sun Dec 03, 2017 12:37 pm

GTR1400MAN wrote:
Horse wrote:And there are some motorcycles which don't have handlebars!

Like this one? Still on the road in 2015.


To "filter" through even narrower gaps?

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GTR1400MAN
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Re: Flat bottomed steering wheels - why??

Postby GTR1400MAN » Sun Dec 03, 2017 12:53 pm

angus wrote:To "filter" through even narrower gaps?

Supposedly more ergonomic and a more natural stance for our arms/hands than the traditional 'bars. I've never ridden anything so equipped, so can't comment, but I struggled with a thumb throttle on a quad bike!
Mike Roberts - Now riding a Triumph Explorer XRT. My username comes from my 50K miles on a Kawasaki 1400GTR, after many years on Hondas of various shapes and styles. - https://tinyurl.com/mikerobertsonyoutube

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Horse
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Re: Flat bottomed steering wheels - why??

Postby Horse » Thu Dec 07, 2017 10:31 pm

I use one of these:

http://solutions.3m.co.uk/wps/portal/3M ... /?MDR=true

(Due to RSI from intensive mouse use)
Your 'standard' is how you drive alone, not how you drive during a test.

Pontoneer
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Re: Flat bottomed steering wheels - why??

Postby Pontoneer » Sun Jan 07, 2018 10:31 am

waremark wrote:So if it's about getting in and out, how do you explain the cars in which the wheel rises electronically when you switch off, which also have flat bottom wheels?

What examples can anyone think of in which it is difficult to get in and out because of the position of the wheel? (not including a Caterham without the removable wheel option).


Not purely because of the position of the wheel , but getting a little older and wider , I do find it slightly more challenging to get in and out of my cars these days without thighs brushing against the bottom of the wheel - something I don’t recall from my younger and slimmer days .

In my 190E I just accept it , but since my 300SL has an electrically adjustable seat with three memory positions , I have position one set for me driving , position 2 for her ladyship, and position 3 set to all the way back for getting in and out - only I have to remember not to use it if any of my young son’s chums are in the seat behind mine ( normally my son sits in the rear passenger side seat , where I can see him , and because front passenger doesn’t need to move seat due to no wheel on that side ) .

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Re: Flat bottomed steering wheels - why??

Postby Pontoneer » Sun Jan 07, 2018 10:35 am

waremark wrote:So if it's about getting in and out, how do you explain the cars in which the wheel rises electronically when you switch off, which also have flat bottom wheels?

What examples can anyone think of in which it is difficult to get in and out because of the position of the wheel? (not including a Caterham without the removable wheel option).


The earliest one might have been the original W198 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing coupe, which due to the high sills required by the spaceframe construction required the wheel to be tilted out of the way , thanks to a quick release lock .

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Re: Flat bottomed steering wheels - why??

Postby Pontoneer » Sun Jan 07, 2018 10:39 am

GeoffGrayer wrote:I steer my glider with a stick - left to go left, right to go right, back and forward to go up and down.
Has anyone thought of fitting a car with a stick? (back and forward obviously unnecessary, until we get these flying cars). 8-)


There have been prototype cars with joystick control where left/right controlled direction and front/back controlled speed/braking in either forwards/backwards direction . Arguably simpler to use than wheels/gears/pedals .

Oh , if you ever progress to helicopters , you then have cyclic ( stick ) , rudders , and collective which give additional degrees of freedom over fixed wing .

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Re: Flat bottomed steering wheels - why??

Postby Pontoneer » Sun Jan 07, 2018 10:49 am

Never seen those before , but have seen recumbent bicycles where the handlebars are under the seat , and a friend has a couple of Messerschmitt microcars , one of which has a similar arrangement , and the other has a sort of aircraft style control column .

Fiction , of course , but so did KITT in ‘Knight Rider’ .

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jcochrane
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Re: Flat bottomed steering wheels - why??

Postby jcochrane » Sun Jan 07, 2018 11:09 am

I have never had a problem with the flat bottomed steering wheel and my reply to the original post is "why not". My last two and current Peugeot have flat bottomed steering wheels and i suspect it might have something to do with the rethink by them as to the better design for the cockpit area. Peugeot made the steering wheel smaller as well as flat bottomed which encourages a lower setting of the steering wheel than on previous designs. This not only provides a better relationship between hands and shoulders ("hands below heart" to reduce shoulder fatigue and improve control) but also enables the main instruments (speedo rev counter etc.) to be easily viewed over the top of the steering wheel overcoming the age old problem of many steering wheels impeding the view. A development that in my view has been long overdue as it always made more sense to me to look over rather than through the steering wheel. Many reviewers seem totally to have missed the point of this design and continued to use high steering wheel set ups. In view of the lower setting of the wheel I guess Peugeot considered it advisable to flat bottom the wheel to provide more knee clearance when accessing and exiting

Unfortunately though, my small garage only allows me to open the door (on a two door car) a little bit so I invariably have to raise up and push away the steering wheel to their fullest extent, push the seat fully back just to get out of the car and even then it's a huge struggle. It's an age thing if I'm honest. :lol:

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Horse
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Re: Flat bottomed steering wheels - why??

Postby Horse » Sun Jan 07, 2018 11:51 am

Pontoneer wrote:Never seen those before , but have seen recumbent bicycles where the handlebars are under the seat , and a friend has a couple of Messerschmitt microcars , one of which has a similar arrangement , and the other has a sort of aircraft style control column .

Fiction , of course , but so did KITT in ‘Knight Rider’ .


Didn't the Sinclair C5 have bars under the seat too?
Your 'standard' is how you drive alone, not how you drive during a test.

Pontoneer
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Re: Flat bottomed steering wheels - why??

Postby Pontoneer » Sun Jan 07, 2018 12:08 pm

I think you're right .


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