Recumbent - What Kind of Bent do you Ride

Maybe this has been done before. I'm wondering what kind of bents everybody rides? I may not have all the possibilities, so I added an "other" choice.

I ride a Vision R40 SWB with OSS, or Over Seat Steering.

2000 Rans Tailwind. Currently running 1.5 Comet Primo tires.

Greenspeed GTT & GTX, Challenge Hurricane, Tour Easy and a BikeE in a pear tree!:D

Just dreamin' & droolin'!!

you can onlly pick one type?
Vision R40 SWB/USS, Longbikes Slipstream LWB/USS or OSS, Gulfstream LWB/USS, Rans Screamer SWB/OSS, Tailwind CWB/OSS and a few homemade LWB/USS

you can onlly pick one type?
Vision R40 SWB/USS, Longbikes Slipstream LWB/USS or OSS, Gulfstream LWB/USS, Rans Screamer SWB/OSS, Tailwind CWB/OSS and a few homemade LWB/USS
If you have that many, you should give one to Rogerinchrist.:p

Linear OSS, loooong wheel base... and Lightning P-38, short wheel base. love em both, though I feel more comfortable on the Linear. peace

If you have that many, you should give one to Rogerinchrist.:p

Hey bentbaggerlen,

Got any like this?

Flying Furniture PBP Special SWB with OSS.

Bacchetta Strada 700c, Rans Formula V 451/700c, Catrike Speed #387, Hotmover Trike, Greenspeed GTT2s

Happy Holidays329403294132981

Social bike: Actionbent Suspended Road Runner
Solo grins and giggles bike: Optima Baron

I have 3 bents, but I checked the one for Tadpole since its my best one to ride

... I'm wondering what kind of bents everybody rides? ...
I started with a Sun EZ-Speedster (http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=ez-speedster&btnG=Search+Images) SWB, but was not fond of the twitchy handling and the frame turned out to be jut a bit too short for me. I still have it, but planned on selling it.

(-I have no "normal" upright bikes anymore at all, either road or MTB. I got rid of the last one [a dual-suspended MTB with slicks] after I got the SWB and never rode the MTB anymore. I have no desire for any "normal" road bike at all anymore, but if I had someplace near that was good for MTB riding I'd probably own a MTB-)

Next was a Cycle Genius Falcon (http://www.cyclegenius.com/ltx.html) LWB, which I still have. This is very comfortable for long-distances but is rather slow, having a fairly-upright seat position.

Next is a RANS Fusion (http://www.ransbikes.com/Fusion07.htm), which I still have. Not as comfortable as the LWB, but still WAY better than a "normal" bike.

...The Fusion I bought partly out of my own curiosity (a lot of recumbent riders were raving about it at the time) and partly as a "guest bike". The LWB was fairly easy, but the SWB was observed to be rather difficult for most people (not used to recumbents) to just get on and ride. The Fusion however is even easier: it feels much like an upright bike, and it's still a big improvment in comfort. People can sit right on it and ride for a hour or two at a casual pace, and they aren't complaining of butt and hand pain after 20 minutes.
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If I bought another bike it'd probably be the RANS Velocity Squared (http://www.ransbikes.com/V2%202607.htm). It's a LWB (which I know I like) but it's got a bit better aero position than the LWB I already got.
~

Linear Mach III, compact LWB with USS. Love it!

Michael

Rans Screamer TR and Catrike Road #589
Peace

I've got an EZ Sport and Catrike Road. This kinda makes me curious if anyone has ever owned a tadpole without previously owning a two wheeled bent.

Does a Giant Stiletto Count?
http://www.pointhappy.com/gcf/GordonOnStiletto.jpg

Rans F5 for long rides; HPVelotechnik Street Machine for commuting and errands (although I have done longer rides).

My ride is an Actionbent Manta Ray LWB. I love it.

Does a Giant Stiletto Count?

A Giant Stiletto (not to be confused with a Calfee Stiletto) is a crank-forward bike rather than a full bent. But IMHO it's still better than an upright. :) The seat-to-pedal distance looks a bit cramped for you.

A Giant Stiletto (not to be confused with a Calfee Stiletto) is a crank-forward bike rather than a full bent. But IMHO it's still better than an upright. :) The seat-to-pedal distance looks a bit cramped for you.

It is a bit small. But I bought it as a divorce/birthday present for myself. The first bike I bought as a toy, not a transportation tool. It's main use is blowing off steam at work and letting customers have fun. Long distances are a bit of a strain; 20 miles is my maximum, but I've ridden it in the Big Jingle Jubilee Holiday Parade twice, and it is perfect for that. I've discovered that the low center of Gravity, combined with the large round tires mean that it can do outrageous doughnuts in the street. I can lean it over extremely, do circles almost within a lane at high speed and really feel the g forces.

Riding it back from the parade was inspiring. Cruising along the Arkansas River at dusk, being able to sit up and admire the scenery passing was very nice. Sitting comfortably on it at a rest stop, unlike my DF bikes was a treat too. I definitely want to have a bicycle closer to that, that is more streetable. So, after our company clears up it's internal squabbles, I hope to have the money to get a more thoroughly recumbent bike. But this one will still be the one for the parades!

Sun EZ Sport CX and love it. It was a wonderful 55-degree day here in Iowa and I was able to get the day off and ride.

Sun EZ Sport CX for me too. I love mine as well. I bought it on August 30, 2006 and have over 1600 miles on it as of today. Couldn't ever say that with my mountain bike. Will be going out for a 30 miler tomorrow on a windy 57 degree day here in Texas. I have also added a few things to it. It is almost perfect now. LOL:

Mueller Windwrap
2 - Mirrycle mirrors
2 - 20 watt halogen lights
Shimano M540 pedals
Schwinn computer from Walmart
Sunlite Messenger Bag
Planet Bike Superflash
HI-VIS Vest/Jogalite Yield Symbol over seat back and bag

Longbikes Slipstream, I have had it for about a year. I love the USS.

Hey, can the poll be enable for multiple options?
I have them all except the "none". :)

FWD Cruzbike kit bike. Soon Cruzbike Silvio.All my bikes will be FWD. Jack

I did an experiment to move the seat b-a-c-k as far as posible, starting with an upright ladies bike. My Daughter Mellisa designed this bike:
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/hotbike/Type9Pink2.jpg
The effective seat tube angle (angle of a line drawn from the seat to the bottom bracket) is 54 degrees.
IIRC, 54 degrees is the dividing line between upright and recumbent.
Mellisa wanted a bicycle that looks like a moped. This was built by a no-weld method. This bike only required $270 worth of materials to build. I spent 400 hours building it. I put about 8000 miles on it. Dozens of people showed me wads of money(~$700) and asked if they could buy the bike on the spot.
Finally a man who owns an auto-body shop paid me $1,200.00 (twelve hundred dollars) because his girlfriend wanted it.
I have since bought a matching pair of electric bicycles (both mens and ladies model), the LaFree sport, which was produced by Giant in 2002.
I follow the developments in recumbent bicycles. I once subscribed to the IHPVA newsletter HPV news and journal Human Power. Back then (1986) there were only 2000 recumbent bikes in America.
I was interested in building an electric motorcycle, and there was no other tech newsletter. Now it can be found online : http://www.ihpva.org

The mid-section of this frame can be sat on and the spar that holds the fairing was made strong enough to support a bottom bracket. Mellisa based the fairing on the Kenworth Truck Spoiler. I am kicking myself because Schwinn capitalized on the name Spoiler:
http://www.schwinnstingray.com/bike-spoiler.html

I also have a Worksman Y3K with a similar spoiler/fairing. The Y3K is a semi-recumbent. It sure looks like a semi when it's approaching you.
http://www.worksman.com/y3kwebpage2.htm

We are holding off on any attempt to mass produce a bike. Electric mopeds are great , but they need the newfangled fuel-cells. Range is limited by batteries.

That's an interesting bike, hotbike. It looks vaguely like some pocket-rocket motorcycle. However, the term "recumbent" means reclined, or lying back. You cannot do that without having a functional seatback. AFAIK there is not a seat-to-crank angle that defines the boundary between bent, semi-bent, or C/F. Based on not having a seatback, I'd say what you have is a crank-forward bike.

Hotbike,
Where'd you get that purple shaped piece of plastic? So many questions arise. How is it mounted? Crazy!

I've just dusted off my Giant Revive and have seen it advertised with many names including recumbent, semi-recumbent, and upright. So I guess I am "other"?

Hotbike,
Where'd you get that purple shaped piece of plastic? So many questions arise. How is it mounted? Crazy!
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/hotbike/Type9withkickstand.jpg
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/hotbike/Type9inthepark.jpg
The plastic is fiberglass. A lot of recumbents have fairings.
http://www.whatisafairing.com
In this case, Mellisa suggested the fairing be based on her Kenworth truck's spoiler.
And although the bike is of the type known as semi-recumbent, it's not because it looks like a semi.
The frame (the thing that looks like a 4x6 piece of lumber) and the fairing are permanently bonded. The 4x6 frame goes forward past the head-tube by about ten inches, which gives the handlebars room to turn.
The fairing is frame-mounted, not connected to the handlebars. The fairing has a bulkhead (Bulkhead is a term used in ship and aircraft construction, it means "wall") four inches high and set two inches in from the rear edge of the fairing. The fairing's bulkhead has a two inch lip on the top edge, so it is flush with the rear edge of the fairing. The 4"x6" frame has tapered to 4"x4" at the head tube, so it is butt-jointed to the bulkhead. Woven fiberglass tape and polyester resin were then applied, so the fairing is bonded to the frame.
The design of the fairing, as I said, was my Daughter Mellisa's idea.
I could call this a "quarter scale Kenworth", but building it was more of a sculptural exercise. Much of the work was done while I was in the Navy. I used an aircraft hangar at my Naval Air Station because the lighting is designed so aircraft mechanics can see what they're doing. I was able to sand the fiberglass to perfection because the overhead lights are staggered, top row sodium vapor and bottom row mercury vapor, so there were no shadows under the sanding block.
Whether you call it crank-forward or semi-recumbent , I am posting it here because the technique lends itself to building a recumbent. I posted some info about this bike in the "framebuilders forum".
I'll give you a hint, the first plug-mold was made of paper-mache' and plaster. I laid fiberglass over the plug-mold. When that hardened, I broke away the plaster with a hammer.
If I do this again, I will use polystyrene foam (styrofoam, building insulation board) and epoxy resin. Epoxy resin is four times as expensive as polyester resin, but it will not melt the foam.
BTW, I added aluminum powder to the resin, so in the second photo the unpainted areas (rear of fairing) look grey.

Wow! Quite creative. I can tell you're not one who shies away from work.

In order of preference: TiRush, Vrex, Vanguard, EZ-1 (ER orig.)

I am currrently building a highracer frame out of a pink styrofoam plug and carbon fiber. Well, *avoiding working on* it might be a better term, since it isn't making much headway in the almost 2 years I've been doing it. I've really gotta get it done one of these years so I can avoid working on my next project!

Bacchetta Agio

I started with an EZ Sport AX and have been upgrading it ever since. This bike responds really well to equipment upgrades. So far, It's been; custom h-0bars, velocity wheels, SRAM XO derailleur, SRAM 990/991 chain and cassette, FSA Pro chainrings, and I'm waiting on a phil wood bottom bracket. Each upgrade has added significantly to the precision working of the bike. bk

Bacchetta Agio (LWB), Bacchetta Giro 20 (SWB), RANS Dynamik (CF) and Catrike Speed (tadpole trike). Which do I ride most? Depends on the ride, weather and my mood.

Bacchetta Agio (LWB), Bacchetta Giro 20 (SWB)

I put 2000 miles on the Giro last year, and just got the Agio a few days ago. I also ride a Trek 520.

Just got bent yesterday by picking up a Sun EZ-Rider AX that had 15 miles on it for almost 50% off of list.

But with the temps running at 30 to 45 degrees below freezing point, it may be a while before I can give it a good workout.

Just got bent yesterday by picking up a Sun EZ-Rider AX that had 15 miles on it for almost 50% off of list.

But with the temps running at 30 to 45 degrees below freezing point, it may be a while before I can give it a good workout.

First off, welcome to the darks side! Second, luckily or unluckily, I developed a cold on Monday and am in the depths of it. The good side, you ask? I don't feel guilty about not riding in the weather you mentioned! :)

Three RANS Crank Forwards.

I used to have a RANS V-Rex and a Rocket.

Volae Expedition is my main bent ride with a BikeE CT I keep mostly for sentimental reasons.

none yet but hopefully soon I'll be on a recumbent.

I ride a 2005 Sherer TLT tadpole trike (72)speeds 18" CNC 7075 aluminum cranks36813

2007 Rans Stratus LE.

2000 RANS Rocket & 2000 BikeE AT.....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/taymanrik/Recumbents.jpg

High racer by Bentech with Volae tweener bars. SB makes it easy to get up and down the stairs.

Only one choice? I like the being the underdog, so I chose 'velomobile'- a fully enclosed fiberglass/kevlar body w/ lexan top, windsheild. and side pieces also w/ about 6 yards of mylar insulation.

The list would not let me put 3 other tadpole trikes on the list: TerraTrike (p-a), JM Recumbents JMX2 (folding), Sun EZ Tad CX.

countersTrike

Only one choice? I like the being the underdog, so I chose 'velomobile'- a fully enclosed fiberglass/kevlar body w/ lexan top, windsheild. and side pieces also w/ about 6 yards of mylar insulation. . .

Sounds like good set up for a heat stroke down here in the Alabama summer:eek: