It takes a couple of minutes for people to grasp the idea of the bike. Even with the bike in their hands people can sense there is something "different" and they keep on looking and wondering what it is they are seeing
The state of nonplussitude* it induces is not, as you surmise, a failure to grasp the what but a failure to understand the why, perhaps mixed with a soupçon of how; not "How does this bike work?" but "How can I get as far as possible from this lunatic without seeming impolite?"
The state of nonplussitude* it induces is not, as you surmise, a failure to grasp the what but a failure to understand the why, perhaps mixed with a soupçon of how; not "How does this bike work?" but "How can I get as far as possible from this lunatic without seeming impolite?"
*© Bike Snob NYC