Originally Posted by
InTheRain
WOW! The only thing missing on that rig is a motor-assist and directv! I've never tried a recumbent, but I've ridden with several riders that have them and swear by them. They seem to move along pretty well on the flats and downhill, and then struggle a bit on the climbs. How heavy is that bike the way you have it set up? How expensive is a bike like that?
Mine is an older model that I picked up on ebay for about $900 complete with a second set of wheels. The bags cost a little over $100 all together and everything else is just standard bicycle stuff.
Last I looked a new non superlight (SL) version of my bike ran around 2k.
The bike has Dual 406 (20") wheels and a rear suspension which works really well smoothing out the ride and keeping the bike on track without eating up power. This old challenge hurricane just fits me right and let me really crank up those hills compared to some other recumbents I have tried although I probably could tackle some steeper hills on my road bike then I'd try on my recumbent. I also have a 08' Bacchetta Giro 26" that I put over 4500 miles on last year that will be finding a new home because I just can't climb on it and the chip and seal roads kill me when I ride it on longer rides.
Weight wise I believe it is in the upper 40s loaded down which is a big improvement over my 70+lb giro in commuting mode. They list the challenge hurricane sport at 33 at the challenge site, hurricane SL is 21. There are so many different kinds of recumbents in all different shapes, sizes and weights it sometimes drives me nuts.
Everyone I know seems to be going Long wheel base down here. Here is one of the bikes I ride with. RANS X-Stream. This particular bike is barely over 20. I think locally there are at least 3 more on order and someone purchased the prototype. 5 is a low number but considering the population of recumbents in my area it is a ton.
