Questions of human nature

[BigV]

Originally Posted by classicman

Totally disagree with you V. I LOVE the carts which have four casters, like those at IKEA. There is no reason to have any other kind of cart. I can literally go sideways to avoid other people and/or objects. Complete mobility. As an added bonus they are fun to play with.

right.

I see you said sideways but completely ignored my point about actually steering them. You can easily spin them, but not easily steer them. I can get sideways in one and continue in a straight line as the scenery zips by from left to right--crunch--the left side of my cart bumps what I tried to avoid.

They're fun, but I don't see the steering benefit. The force needed to turn a fixed rear axle cart is less than a four caster cart. By putting a differential force on the handle, you turn the rear axle. Since it can only roll straight (fixed direction wheels, remember) the cart turns. In a four caster rig, the same force moves one wheel ahead of the other, but since the wheels are not fixed, they aren't forced to change direction. You can only "turn" by exerting a sideways force on the cart at its center of mass, not at one of the poles.

Anyhow, glad you like them. For light loads or for office chairs where the thrust and turning forces are exerted at the center, they're great.