Before derailleurs were common, handlebars were typically high enough to stand and pedal. Derailleurs had enough gears to maintain 20 mph or faster, but that required leaning low to reduce air resistance. Leaning over for low bars put too much weight on the hands, so seats were moved forward. (Schwinn moved seats forward in 1932 for another reason: to make their bicycles look more like American motorcycles.)
Moving the seat forward meant the knee was bent more sharply with the pedal at top dead center, and you can't pedal very well with a knee bent more than 90 degrees. As a result, riders don't typically apply much torque except between 2 and 4 o'clock, viewing the right pedal. That limits the power they can apply per revolution. It's also inefficient. On each revolution, the knee has to move up and down 14 inches, while the ankle has to move 14 inches up and down and 14 inches back and forth, all to apply torque for 7 inches.
It was proved in 1885 that if you move the seat farther back (maybe 12 to 18 inches behind the bottom bracket, depending on the length of the rider's legs), you can get a much longer power stroke by starting it at top dead center. You have to lean forward somewhat to concentrate your weight over the pedals, but if the bars are perhaps ten inches higher than the seat, you can lean forward without putting much weight on your hands.
A lot of English bikes were designed that way before 1900. In 1930, Raleigh made a documentary proving it also worked for children. A man with a 28" Raleigh bought his 10-year-old daughter a 26" model. In those days, English children didn't ride, so she spent a couple of days learning. Then they pedaled over some high hills to a town a hundred miles away. She was interviewed in her nineties. She said that instead of getting a ride back, they pedaled a hundred miles home the next day.
My Radmission had similar geometry to a Radcity. I bought a layback seat post and heated it with a propane torch to bend it more, to get my seat back far enough for my legs. Cantilevered so far back, the post needed support. I cut a plywood triangle of the desired height. I put a notch at the top for the post and two at the bottom for the rack. I raised the post, put the support in place, lowered the post, and clamped the post. The rack and the post lock the support in position. I used not one but two risers to raise the bars enough for stable, comfortable riding with the seat back.
This greatly improves my hill climbing, and it's much more efficient than standing up. Standing on the pedals entails moving a lot of body weight up and down.
Moving the seat forward meant the knee was bent more sharply with the pedal at top dead center, and you can't pedal very well with a knee bent more than 90 degrees. As a result, riders don't typically apply much torque except between 2 and 4 o'clock, viewing the right pedal. That limits the power they can apply per revolution. It's also inefficient. On each revolution, the knee has to move up and down 14 inches, while the ankle has to move 14 inches up and down and 14 inches back and forth, all to apply torque for 7 inches.
It was proved in 1885 that if you move the seat farther back (maybe 12 to 18 inches behind the bottom bracket, depending on the length of the rider's legs), you can get a much longer power stroke by starting it at top dead center. You have to lean forward somewhat to concentrate your weight over the pedals, but if the bars are perhaps ten inches higher than the seat, you can lean forward without putting much weight on your hands.
A lot of English bikes were designed that way before 1900. In 1930, Raleigh made a documentary proving it also worked for children. A man with a 28" Raleigh bought his 10-year-old daughter a 26" model. In those days, English children didn't ride, so she spent a couple of days learning. Then they pedaled over some high hills to a town a hundred miles away. She was interviewed in her nineties. She said that instead of getting a ride back, they pedaled a hundred miles home the next day.
My Radmission had similar geometry to a Radcity. I bought a layback seat post and heated it with a propane torch to bend it more, to get my seat back far enough for my legs. Cantilevered so far back, the post needed support. I cut a plywood triangle of the desired height. I put a notch at the top for the post and two at the bottom for the rack. I raised the post, put the support in place, lowered the post, and clamped the post. The rack and the post lock the support in position. I used not one but two risers to raise the bars enough for stable, comfortable riding with the seat back.
This greatly improves my hill climbing, and it's much more efficient than standing up. Standing on the pedals entails moving a lot of body weight up and down.
