Recumbent - Recumbent: Stratus, Sport AX, Tour Easy?

My best friend and I bike together, and will probably make the "big switch" to bents together. We are nowhere near the same size though, so we tend to like different "fits". She very much likes the Sun Sport AX, which I can't even ride (due to my height of 4'10ish). Likewise, I'm growing to like the Stratus, which she feels clausterphobic in! Given that we don't particularly want to make this decision again soon, and want a dependably comfortable low maintenance ride, we're also considering the Tour Easy, which we can get a reasonably good deal on. Unfortunately however, we both can't find the appropriate size of Tour Easy in town - a size larger, but not the correct size. So I'm the only one that can test one, and that is alittle tough on a size larger than I should settle on.

You might wonder why I bring up that we're shopping together - but the deal is that I don't feel like I can buy a model with 2 20" wheels if she goes after that 700cc wheel on the Tour Easy.

My question is, can anyone compare the three, or two of the three, bikes for me? I'm not really feeling the huge difference between the Stratus and the Tour Easy (and certainly not the price difference), but then again, the Stratus fits me perfectly, which does bias me a little. :p And of course I can't compare either to the Sport. This is an expensive decision, and I feel like I don't have a fair comparison here.

I've ridden, by the way, the Bacchetta Cafe, Lightening P-38, Sun EZ-1 SC and AX, Rans Stratus and Stratus LE, Tour Easy Expedition, Burley Koosah and Adirondak and BikeE CT. I still plan to try out the Burley Canto and the Rans XP, so if anyone knows much about those I'd appreciate it!!

Thanks for your post - it seems from my reading that the Stratus and the Tour Easy are roughly equivalent in terms of rider satisfaction long term....opinions, anyone??

Hi FreshAire,
I've owned a medium-sized stratus since 1998, when I talked it's proud owner into buying a larger one for himself. It's a very well-behaved bike, though the tiller steering took some getting used to as my first recumbent. I've had it up to 52 MPH on a 12% downgrade...:D

I had tried numerous bikes including the P-38, V-Rex, Goldrush and Nimbus. I liked the Goldrush for that "Harley" feel... it handled really sweetly, but the Stratus was almost as nice, for about half the money. If you're willing to buy a used bike, they used to make a "SMALL" Stratus...it'll be lighter for you.
The V-Rex scared the crap out of me...it was responsive to things like checking my helmet mirror...eyeballs too far to the left.:eek:

My buddy had a Haluzak Horizon, which he liked a lot, until he had a front tire go flat and roll off the rim in a steep downhill. He lost quite a bit of skin because of that bike, and sold it prompty.:o

One other bike I've tried, that you didn't mention, is the Longbikes (nee Ryan) Vanguard. It's REALLY long, and may be too hard for you to transport at 4'10", but if your friend likes the "open" feeling, she may really feel like flying on the Vanguard... it's USS (under-seat-steering), and the front wheel is way ahead of the crank, so there is NOTHING in your sight line. I like the feeling, but it's very tricky to perform a U-Turn on a Vanguard.

If you and your friend are going to be riding together extensively, RANS makes a great compact tandem called the Screamer. That solves any pacing problems. I've had no problems getting stokers when my wife is busy. ;)

I just got home from a 14 mile ride. Once I left the Farmington Valley, I was back in the 100-degree heat.
The military Camelbak straps nicely to the RANS seat... still had ice in it when I got done.

This is a very subjective question once you get beyond comparing the specs of each bike. I have an EZ Sport and really like it. It solved the pain problems I was having with DF bikes. The Sport does everything I want it to do really well. But I'm not racing or going for century rides. I just want a good sweaty workout and a pain free ride.You are the one who will spend time in the saddle. Get the one you like. Then you will ride it more. bk

I would go for the te over the canto. so far my two burley bikes climb like a turtle. I can climb far easier on the TE

This is a very subjective question once you get beyond comparing the specs of each bike. I have an EZ Sport and really like it. It solved the pain problems I was having with DF bikes. The Sport does everything I want it to do really well. But I'm not racing or going for century rides. I just want a good sweaty workout and a pain free ride.You are the one who will spend time in the saddle. Get the one you like. Then you will ride it more. bkWith a 26" seat height, the EZ Sport is NOT suitable for short legged riders.

Right! Already been there, done that. Can't ride the Sport at all.

I would go for the te over the canto. so far my two burley bikes climb like a turtle. I can climb far easier on the TE

Which 2 Burleys do you own?

In the 10 years or so that I've been bent, I've owned a Rans V-Rex, Rans Stratus, Rans Wave, Easy Racers Tour Easy and Sun Tad Trike. I still have the latter two. In my book, the nod goes to Tour Easy, closely followed by Stratus ( I've sold the Stratus and Wave to my riding buddy, so I still see them). In fact, I often think I was a bit faster on the Stratus, and it's ride was a bit more cushy. G-d, I love my TE, it does everything I need, is STRONG, and still looks great after30,000 miles! Granted, it is a little harder to tote one around, than, say, a short wheel base. Short wheel bases usually have a higher bottom bracket, which leads to 'hot foot', a big no-no for diabetics like me. My wife also said that when I rode the V-Rex, it looked like I was going to the ob-gyny's office and climbing into the stirrups. Sold that bike after a couple of falls when I couldn't get my feet down to terra firma in time, wife's comment may have helped me sell the bike, too! I would love to say I've never gone down on the TE, but it wouldn't be the truth. Happened once, here in beautiful Orland Park, Il., when a lady pulled her Stupid Utility Vehicle in front of me. Choices were - lay down the bike, or hit her. No damage to bike, little road rash to left elbow. Cop saw it (bike cop no less) and ticketed her for failure to stop, failure to yield. She almost got a third ticket when cop asked her, "Why didn't you stop?" She answered, "But it's only a bike!" Wrong answer! Cop almost gave her a third ticket, than said, "If it was your kid on the bike, would you say the same thing?"
Got off topic there - buy a Tour Easy or a Stratus, then go ride!

Downhills and Tailwinds,

Tourezrick

I just had to comment on the concern for wheel size. It doesn't matter! There is no reason for each of you not to buy the bike that works for you. There are fast (and slow) 20" bikes and 700 wheel bikes. LWB and SWB bikers can also get along. Buy the bike that best fits your needs and have your friend do the same.

Bent

When I wrote my earlier post in this thread, I had a lot of experience with the Rans Stratus and Screamer, having been scared off the V-Rex by its responsiveness. I'm not the only one this bike scared away...

Two years ago I saw a beautiful chameleon painted V-Rex at a consignment sale. The chain was incorrectly routed under the idler. The tires were practically brand new: all the casting nubs were still there. I rode it around the parking lot, and after captaining the Screamer, the V-Rex wasn't bad at all.
Money was a little tight, though, and my daughter convinced me not to buy it. A week later, I was kicking myself, and tracked down the owner.

The original owner of this V-Rex had bought the bike despite being nervous about the steering. He had less then 200 miles on it, gave up, and sold it to me for half of retail. It took about half an hour to get all the size adjustments where I needed them: seat position, handle bar height, flip-it stop angle, and brake lever angles.

There was still a problem with play in the flip-it joint, which I tolerated for about two years. RANS delivered a poor quality steering component, and their only offer of a solution was to sell me a discounted Terracycle Glide-Flex stem. Too expensive. I finally fixed the original Flip-It by making custom washers.

The V-Rex climbs hills much better than my Stratus, and has become my favorite bike. Another Stratus owner borrowed my V-Rex for a 30 mile ride one day, and traded his Stratus (a bonafide museum piece) to RANS on a new V-Rex.

For anyone who wants to compare bents, here is a nice little comparison tool from Cycle Genius:

http://www.cyclegenius.com/compare/index.php

As an owner of a V-Rex, I must say that the 'praying hamster' bars are rather sensitive to steering inputs. I've switched them out for the Rans HR 3way tweener bars, which help to calm down the steering response quite a bit.