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Randy Schlitter’s Into The Ride #71 is all about RANS’ new Fusion ST (for Step-Through) crank-forward and their new RAC (Ride And Carry) cargo system that fits all RANS crank-forwards. Here is the story. [Bob]
Thanks to tipster John Riley.
The ‘BentCast Returneth! And now in MP3 flavor for all of you no-iPod non-conformists out there. This podcast contains an interview with Ashley Guy of Utah Trikes. I think you’ll be interested in what we discuss. Especially some inside juice about the development of the Quad. Thanks to Hampton’s Edge for sponsoring this podcast!
Hobo artist and recumbent adventurer Dan Price is riding a TerraTrike Zoomer Elite through the Hawaiian islands for the next two months. Dan publishes a hand drawn print zine called Moonlight Chronicles. You can read about his trip and see his drawings on his blog and see his photos here. Here is Dan’s custom one-off cargo trike. [Bob]
One of my local riding pals stopped by the other day to borrow an 8mm hex wrench. He wanted to install a chainguard disc on his crankset. I asked what was up and he lifted his pant leg and showed me chainring bites all over the calf on his leg. He was riding on a local unpaved trail shorcut that was covered with leaves and the front wheel went out from under him and he went down. While discussing the accident, he volunteered that a similar accident had happened when he was touring and the chainring teeth hit a vein. The simple plastic disc chainguard should protect your legs from the chainring teeth. It mounted in less than 5 minutes and looks as though it will offer good protection. As it turns out, the Hostel Shoppe sells the Kool Stop Chain Disc and you can order it from their website.
Alan Barnard recently blogged a post over at EcoVelo about chainring guards. He installed a Rivendell Sugino crankset from their Quickbeam model. This crank has a 32 T inside, 40 T middle and a chainguard instead of the outside chainring. Since his commuter bike is mostly used on flat terrain, so he didn’t need the big gear.
Mountain bike “bash guards” can also do the trick, but like Alan’s retrofit crank, they take the place of your outside chainring. [Bob]
Pretty blue sky, water and trike
by Larry Varney
Co-Editor, ‘BentRider Online
When I first heard about Catrike’s latest, I thought: don’t they already make a trike like this? And, they do. In fact, they make two! What the Villager is, in my opinion, the result of taking some of the aspects of both the Road and the Trail, and making a few other changes to come up with a trike that may just appeal to those for whom the other two just weren’t quite the right trike. Think of this as Goldilocks and the Three Trikes – and was the final choice “just right”? Read the rest of this entry »
Press Release From TerraTrike. Good news if you’re considering one!…
Kentwood, MI (November 14, 2008) – TerraTrike has resurrected their popular “Bag and Flag” holiday promotion. From now through January 2nd, any customer who purchases a new TerraTrike either directly or from one of their dealers will receive a free seat bag and safety flag. The promotion has a $70 retail value. Read the rest of this entry »
CAT
By Bob Bryant
While ‘BentRider is sure to be the number one used recumbent classified site in North America, your local Craigslist is perhaps the best place to find a recumbent for cheap. If you are local, you won’t have to pay packing or shipping and there is usually no sales tax on casual sales. Many of the sellers are not enthusiasts and the bikes can be under-priced or even rare. On the flip-side, they can also be over-priced, poorly described and even ridiculous situations. Read the rest of this entry »
TerraTrike has sent me an appropriately grainy cell phone pic of their newest project. I can’t tell you a price or a release date beyond “soon”. I can tell you that this new 26 inched is based on the Zoomer and that the larger rear wheel can be retrofitted to current Zoomers.
Lightfoot Cycles is a leading builder of delta trikes for touring, commuting and hauling/utility. Their new Rainshadow velomobile will be sold as an option for their Express trike, and soon to be Microcar 2-seater, both with a higher bottom bracket. “It is a fairly radical departure from conventional modern velomobile design. Harking back to the 1930s velo designs of wartime Europe, the Rainshadow creates a family vehicle with lots of capacity and capability,” says Lightfoot designer Rod Miner. The Rainshadow can carry two or three kids, a big dog or two 15 gallon coolers and three bags of groceries at one time. The body is made of Coroplast which is light, thick walled (non rattling), inexpensive and recyclable. The Rainshadow is also available with power assist. The Lightfoot demo has Bionx electric assist, “it transforms the trike from a slow, sedate ride to a zip-down-and-right-back-up-the-hill vehicle,” says Rod Miner. The price for the body has not been finalized yet, but they are hoping it will be in the $1500 range. Check out the Lightfoot website for more info. Rod also mentioned that Lightfoot is building suspension bikes now and trikes are in the works for 2009. [Bob]
Bacchetta just posted pics of their new Team racer. Check out their blog. Also, note the next post showing a new seat clamp for 2009. [Bob]
Thanks to tipster John Riley.
If you like helmet mirrors, check out this post over at the Practical Cyclist blog. It’s called the Safe-Zone Helmet mirror and is produced by Efficient Velo. Retail is about $40. [Bob]
Atomic Zombie has become the leader in homebuilt recumbents choppers, trailers and the like. There are two books that include recumbents, Bicycle Builder Bonanaza and Bike, Scooter and Chopper Projects For The Evil Genius. Besides the books, they sell individual plans for many different recumbents. Zombie’s latest plans are for a new homebuilt highracer, the HighRoller.
As I type this we have 129 new Members and Partners. We are every pleased with this response. However, it’s always good to have goals and our goal is to bring this number up to 250 by the end of this month and 350 by the end of this year. We reached this number after analyzing some increasing overhead and taking into account some expected losses in ad revenue due to the recession. Help us reach this goal by signing up today! I’ll post some periodic updates to the numbers.
The 2009 Tour Easy will be built in Taiwan and distributed by Sun Bicycles (through J&B Importers). The new SS, or Speed and Sport, will have a 700c x 451mm 20″ wheel combo and a full cromo frame and fork. The bike has a new seat with a Carbon Fiber seat pan with integrated alloy slide base and seat back support with telescoping seat struts. The drivetrain includes a SRAM X.7 rear derailleur, Microshift front, Avid DS3 brakes and Formula hubs. The crank is an Easy Racers road triple 30/42/52 mated to an 11-34 9-speed cassette. The new Tour Easy comes in two sizes: Small fits 39″-42″ x-seam and Medium fits 41″-48″ x-seam. The colors are gray (pictured) and white. MSRP is $1995. You can order one through your local Sun Bicycles dealer for March/April 2009 delivery.
The Easy Racers Tour Easy was originally designed by the late Gardner Martin and has been one of the most highly thought of LWB recumbents in history. Sun distributes several Easy Racers designed bikes. [Bob]
Motorized bicycle are becoming quite popular. Here is an article from Wired about James Hough’s custom motorized bike built from a cruiser bike and parts from various sources. Most motorized bikes are inspired by the Whizzer which was designed in 1939 and is still available today. These bikes also look quite similar to early motorcycles including the Board Track Racers of the early 1900s. Other similar models are the Derringer, Ridley, Solano Xcelsior and Simpson Motor Bikes
There are at least two forums for motorized bicycle enthusiasts. Motor Bicycling and Motored Bikes There you will find even more links to kit suppliers. There is a Crash Course for Motored Bike Noobs at Motored Bikes.
It’s difficult to squeeze a motor inside a bike frame, so other kit sellers offer bike motors that sit above the rear wheel and drive by friction, belt or chain. Staton , Golden Eagle and Dax are a few of the kit sellers. A Golden Eagle review was recently published here at BROL. The Golden Eagle and Staton are probably the easiest to adapt to a recumbent. Classic mopeds that were popular in the 1970s are becoming more rare, though no article about mopeds would be complete without the mention of Tomos or Velosolex. [Bob]
Catrike is reviving their popular “Made In America” sale from last year. In fact, it’s been expanded! If you’ve been on the fence about buying a new Catrike, it’s a great way to save a few bucks or upgrade to a flashy color for free. Read on to see details. Read the rest of this entry »
QNT26 and a warm Fall day
by Larry Varney
Co-Editor
Do not misunderstand me – I have liked all of the Trice trikes I have reviewed. They all have exhibited exceptional stability, build quality, performance, and have been at or near the top in almost any category I can think of. But the one thing that I have regretted is that I had missed my chance at a Monster, their no-longer-in-production model with its very reclined hard shell seat, two small tires in front and one large in the rear. Yes, I had sat on one (thanks, Charlie Huffman!), but that just made the ache even more pronounced. Yes, I loved the Q, the S, the QNT, but I really wanted to at least see how it would feel to pilot a Monster. I had just about given up hope, when I heard that ICE was going to produce a 26” rear end conversion for the current lineup. I contacted them that very same day. How did it turn out? Read the rest of this entry »
If you’re not familiar with the Twitter “microblogging” craze, let me explain. Twitter is a cool little program that lets you easily post quick little updates to let people know what you’re doing. Sounds a bit silly but it’s a lot of fun once you get used to it. I have had a personal Twitter account for years but things on that tend to occasionally contain swearing, political stuff or a comination thereof. I’ve started an account for ‘BentRider that will stick to business and let you know what we’re up to at any given time. You can follow it by visiting http://www.twitter.com/bentrider.
In response to some encouraging sales number from their dual 700C Raven long wheelbase, Cycle Genius has give the Falcon a similar treatment for 2009. The new Falcon will ride on a pair of 559 26″ wheels. It retains the previous model’s disc brakes and capacity for fat tires. Prices for the new bike start at $1349. Like the Raven, it uses the same frame as the older model so if you currently own a Cycle Genius LTX or Falcon you can convert to the new standard. The less expensive Falcon LS retains the original 26/20 layout at starts at $1099. We expect to have one in our test fleet very soon. [Bryan]
Mike Allen, the designer and builder of the Redmount Roller recumbent trike, has passed away after a battle with cancer. The Redmount was an aluminum trike produced in the UK in rather small numbers. I always liked the look of them and am disapointed that I never got the chance to ride one. Mike ceased production of his machines earlier this year. [Bryan]
Alaska cyclist finds solution to high gasoline prices Cheery velomobile is an enclosed recumbent tricycle Story from the Anchorage Daily News
STEPHEN NOWERS / Anchorage Daily News
Andy Sorensen and his velomobile. [Bob]
Bob Bryant is truly a legend in the recumbent industry. Any list of “Top Ten Most Influential Recumbent Personalities of All Time” would surely include him. Most of you know Bob because of Recumbent Cyclist News. The magazine he founded was the bible of the recumbent industry for over a decade and a half until it ceased publication a year ago. Many of you loyal RCN readers have been clamoring for your “Bob fix” ever since and we are very proud to announce that he will now be writing for ‘BentRider Online effective immediately.
In addition to writing new reviews and editorials, we are very pleased that Bob has agreed to re-write and update some of his older writings for ‘BentRider. Some of these timeless pieces are still quoted occasionally on our message boards and I can’t wait to help expose them to a new generation of recumbent riders.
Bob gave me my first break in the recumbent industry ten years ago when I wrote a few reviews and columns for RCN. Without Bob there would be no ‘BentRider. I am very proud to return the favor and give him a voice here on the site that he indirectly helped create. Read on to review Bob’s Bio. Read the rest of this entry »
The Human Powered Home Choosing Muscles Over Motors is a new book that discusses how to put human power to work in your home. Within the 288 pages are chapters on human power in the kitchen, for house work, lawn/garden and human power for recreation and emergency preparedness. The Publisher is New Society and author is Tamara Dean. The book will be released Nov. 1st. Visit the book’s website. [Bob]
UPDATE: Mother Earth News Nov/Dec 08 #230 has a pedal powered energy story here.
Utah Trikes has unveiled a new and very unique custom option — a TerraTrike quad conversion. The quad kit converts a TerraTrike Path to a 4 wheeler by adding a custom rear end. The conversion increases stability, cargo area (cargo platform between the rear wheels) and makes for two wheel tracks instead of three. Options include power assist (gas and soon to be electric), straight axle or posi-traction, 3, 5, 7, 8, 14-speeds and even a NuVinci hub option. Prices start at $1399. Check Utah’s Quad page for more info. [Bob]
I have a lot of you on my personal Facebook page so I thought I’d go ahead and start one for ‘BentRider. This is a business page so it’s not quite as full featured as a regular Facebook page. I’ll be reposting all of the videos there and the occasional preview of upcoming articles. It’s also just one more way to get in touch with us if all else is failing. You can visit it and friend us by clicking here.
Bike Snob NYC has posted a few rather amusing articles about attracting females whilst on a bicycle. On the upside, they have a cool photo of Floyd Landis on a TerraTrike Edge. On the downside, another post has a pic of a gent on a Bacchetta Giro 20 with this caption… “If you’re unfamiliar with the recumbent, it’s similar to the bicycle in that it has two wheels and it’s human-powered, but it’s also very different in that you kind of lie down on it. Also, it replaces the saddle with a lounge chair and your dignity with a big gaping hole.” Have to admit… That’s pretty funny. At least Bike Snob is an equal opportunity offender. Another post contains this little gem in reference to the ultimate wedgie-man, one Mr. Mario Cippolini… “Mario Cipollini, the man who proved you can use the same lube for chain, coiffure, and coitus.” If you can take a good ribbing, I’d reccomend checking this site out.
First of all, I want to just say THANK YOU to the great response we’ve gotten from the new Member/Partner program. I know that a lot of you read my reviews like the bible and I appreciate that more than I can say but it’s the message board and the COMMUNITY we’ve built around it that keeps us going. THANK YOU for all that you guys do to support us whether it be monetary or emotional or otherwise. It’s good to know that a few thousand people have your back! Keep those memberships and partnerships going. It’s people like YOU that are going to finally bring our little niche out into the light of day where it belongs. I hope that these new features allow you guys to put a little more of yourselves into our ever-growing collective. Please watch this video and feel free to contact me over any of the ways I’ve outlined. You guys have made me who I am and I’m 100% committed and excited to give back all I can. I was hurt a good part of the year and I fully admit that I let things slide. Those days are over. It’s a brand new day and all that crap! Two things I didn’t mention in the video… We are NOT going to a video-only site. I know we’ve been pretty video-content heavy this week but it’s just a coincidence. Notice that most of that is not my video. Also… Members and Partners can update their profile pages to add background images, change colors, etc… We’re slowly building up your Profile page to be sort of like a mini-Facebook or MySpace.
Australian trike maker, Tri-Sled has introduced a new velomobile to their line-up. The Avatar is a very sleek fully enclosed design that Tri-Sled developed using all of their HPV racing and trike building experience. It’s quiet light at 28 kilos and looks very sleek. It uses a Rohloff hub in the drivetrain and has elastomers to isolate road vibration. More info at Tri-Sled’s web site.
Dutch rider Gert Jan Wijers has crushed the hour record set by Sean Costin last year. He set a blistering pace while covering 50.389km in the allotted time. Congrats to him and M5 for setting this new mark!
