thescooterguy
Member
very nice bill
i was a bit worried about this build but it looks like it turned out great bill
i was a bit worried about this build but it looks like it turned out great bill
Long Range,very Reliable,quiet And Comfortable
- Thread starter Will Snow
- Start date
- Status
I
ibdennyak
Guest
Nice.....I like the chain guide tube....gonna have to steal that idea for my tadpole. 
Will Snow
Member
Thank you for the nice comments.
I was able to put a couple of pictures in the photo gallery of the bike now that it is finished. I did things a little backwards, there are two posting.
1. The picture that AUSSIEJESTER listed here come up first on the gallery.
2. Scroll down a few postings the you will come to the finished bicycle.
Turtle Tedd
Slowly getting the pictures figured out again. It's really not difficult once you get the hang of it
I was able to put a couple of pictures in the photo gallery of the bike now that it is finished. I did things a little backwards, there are two posting.
1. The picture that AUSSIEJESTER listed here come up first on the gallery.
2. Scroll down a few postings the you will come to the finished bicycle.
Turtle Tedd
Slowly getting the pictures figured out again. It's really not difficult once you get the hang of it
D
DougC
Guest
I bought a Golden Eagle belt-drive kit and the first bike I mounted it on was a RANS Fusion--not a recumbent exactly, but somewhat similar in that you sit in the seat all the time. You can stand on the pedals and coast with some effort, but (because of the way the frame is built) pedaling while standing isn't really practical at all. (-I do have a LWB also; it is wonderfully comfortable to ride but I never tried to put the engine on it... I kept it for pedaling only-)
My normal cruising speed (pedaling, with no engine!) is around 15 MPH starting out, and drops to around 10 MPH at 75+ miles. One problem I found was that I tended to hit bumps pretty hard with the engine going, because I could go 27 MPH almost all the time. The frame had no rear suspension. There was no practical way to add it, and it seemed like the frame took a LOT of harder hits than it did when I rode it before, without the engine. The hits didn't really bother me much, but I wondered how long the frame would take that kind of abuse. I eventually took the engine kit off that bike for a few reasons, one of which was the lack of suspension.
I probably could have added suspended forks, but most of the weight was on the rear wheel, and there was no way practical to add any kind of rear suspension easily. Suspending my own weight (with a sprung seat of some kind) would have helped a lot--but the bike uses a non-standard type of seatpost and seat attachment method, so no shock-seatpost would fit.
This is one practical problem with motorizing recumbents (and similar "sit-down" bikes. On a regular upright bike, if you see a big bump coming ahead, you can momentarily stand up on the pedals and your legs work as "shock absorbers" for your body weight, and that takes a lot of stress off the frame as it hits bigger bumps. On a un-suspended recumbent bike, there's really no way to do that, so the frame takes the full brunt of the hit.
Full-suspended recumbents mostly cost major dollars; there really are no inexpensive ones. If I was building a recumbent frame for motorization though, I would definitely put real suspension on the rear, and possibly use some suspended forks on the front also.
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My normal cruising speed (pedaling, with no engine!) is around 15 MPH starting out, and drops to around 10 MPH at 75+ miles. One problem I found was that I tended to hit bumps pretty hard with the engine going, because I could go 27 MPH almost all the time. The frame had no rear suspension. There was no practical way to add it, and it seemed like the frame took a LOT of harder hits than it did when I rode it before, without the engine. The hits didn't really bother me much, but I wondered how long the frame would take that kind of abuse. I eventually took the engine kit off that bike for a few reasons, one of which was the lack of suspension.
I probably could have added suspended forks, but most of the weight was on the rear wheel, and there was no way practical to add any kind of rear suspension easily. Suspending my own weight (with a sprung seat of some kind) would have helped a lot--but the bike uses a non-standard type of seatpost and seat attachment method, so no shock-seatpost would fit.
This is one practical problem with motorizing recumbents (and similar "sit-down" bikes. On a regular upright bike, if you see a big bump coming ahead, you can momentarily stand up on the pedals and your legs work as "shock absorbers" for your body weight, and that takes a lot of stress off the frame as it hits bigger bumps. On a un-suspended recumbent bike, there's really no way to do that, so the frame takes the full brunt of the hit.
Full-suspended recumbents mostly cost major dollars; there really are no inexpensive ones. If I was building a recumbent frame for motorization though, I would definitely put real suspension on the rear, and possibly use some suspended forks on the front also.
~
thescooterguy
Member
i have a motorized tadpole came with high preasure tubes and tires , hit every bump and felt them too , befor my trip to boise from portland i switched them out for something fatter and softer really helped the ride
A
Alaskavan
Guest
I run Schwalbe Big Apples. I've been known to do over 200 miles in a day. Nice trike.
thescooterguy
Member
200 miles a day
20o miles , wew thats a few hours of riding , at least 8 hours
20o miles , wew thats a few hours of riding , at least 8 hours
Will Snow
Member
I understand what you are saying about broken frames. I have seen a couple mountian bikes with broken frames where the forks connect. another fellow had his break by the crank hub. A while back the Rans company had a recall on a certain recumbent due to the front forks breaking.
I feel that in part, the quality of the bike comes into play and how it is is treated. Another thing is the riders weight. You match a 300 pound fellow againist 150 pounder, I'm sure the bike is going to know the difference.
The Tour Easy is a very good quality bike. It is not uncommon for riders of these bikes to take 2000, 3000 mile trips with the bike loaded to the hilt with baggage both front and back and no motor. One fellow on this long down hill grade was really clipping along, maybe 45 mph ???, some of these guys in good shape can really move along ( I'm not one of them ).
My speed is usually between 15-20 mph (with a motor). When I get out in a open smooth road I may open it up to 30-35 depending on the bike, but even then I stay closer to 20-22 mph most of the time. I have one motorized bike that will do nearly 70 mph but even with that I don't go much over 40 mph and only for a short time at that.
Even considering all the above, the best of the bikes could break and you make a good point , It is somthing that should be watched by inspecting the frame closely for any signs of cracking. Even at 10-15 mph, that pavement hurts.
Thank you for bringing up the subject, I'll keep a check on my bike.
I feel that in part, the quality of the bike comes into play and how it is is treated. Another thing is the riders weight. You match a 300 pound fellow againist 150 pounder, I'm sure the bike is going to know the difference.
The Tour Easy is a very good quality bike. It is not uncommon for riders of these bikes to take 2000, 3000 mile trips with the bike loaded to the hilt with baggage both front and back and no motor. One fellow on this long down hill grade was really clipping along, maybe 45 mph ???, some of these guys in good shape can really move along ( I'm not one of them ).
My speed is usually between 15-20 mph (with a motor). When I get out in a open smooth road I may open it up to 30-35 depending on the bike, but even then I stay closer to 20-22 mph most of the time. I have one motorized bike that will do nearly 70 mph but even with that I don't go much over 40 mph and only for a short time at that.
Even considering all the above, the best of the bikes could break and you make a good point , It is somthing that should be watched by inspecting the frame closely for any signs of cracking. Even at 10-15 mph, that pavement hurts.
Thank you for bringing up the subject, I'll keep a check on my bike.
atombikes
Member
Walmart now sells a rear suspension recumbent bike for less than $300! It is called the Hyper Insight.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10983235
I suppose you could easily add a front suspension fork to this bike and have full suspension for less than $450?
bamabikeguy
Active Member
Hey AB,
Linking to your WalMart buy, here's the pic.
I read the 3 product reviews from customers, and the bike look likes a spur of the moment bargain, where the engineering isn't "great", but acceptable for limited expectations.
In other words, it's generic, and the customers mentioned things like "assembly required" and "parts missing", a deadly combo for some folks.
This bike wouldn't work for a GEBE setup, because of the 20" wheels. Plus, I was told to look for a steel or alloy frame, and the WMart description says this bike is aluminum.
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However, the next step up the pricing ladder, at $800 seems to be THIS, imho:
http://www.day6bicycles.com/dream21.html
Since I'm in photoshop, I uploaded thatDay 6 Dream 21, that the boys from Oxford bought, it has a 26" wheel on the back. (For a GEBE kit, this requires side straps instead of the front strap.)
The seat on this bike is superior to mine on the SunEZ Sport. You can't tell from the picture, but dangling off the back of the seat is a multi-pouched carrybag. Very handy.
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