new low racer owner

[bhannah]

Just got it tonight.
WOW what fun,it felt like i was going 60 mph.
Was everyone all over the road at first?
Seems as if starting is the tricky part.
What a rush.
Any tips that will help?
Thanks
Brian

[sch]

The all over the road bit is pretty standard for new bent riders, and resolves progressively
when rider mileage exceeds 100mi. On my first rides a side to side wobble of 3-5' was
pretty much SOP. Starting is a challenge, but once you get the trick of immediately
downshifting the gears on stopping this should lessen the problem. I used BMX pedals
for about 200mi so that the hassle of clipping in would not add an additional problem.
Don't grip the bars tightly, the more relaxed you are the easier it is to ride.

[bobkat]

sch is correct. Wonder what type of lowracer you got??

[JunkyardWarrior]

hey bri...im new to bents too and the first few times out i was all wobbly but after a handle bar adjustment most of it went away.......and each time ya go out it gets easier.........the hard part for me is gettin my lags back in shape....lol

and im also havin alot of fun.........esp the turns

i built mine tho........im gunna have to hit the lbs and test ride some low racers

[aikigreg]

It took 6 months to get completely comfortable with mine, and at a year I was exponentially faster than I was at the start. Now I destroy everything on the road. Enjoy the ride!

[Chaco]

LOL, when I first started 7 weeks ago, I gripped the handlebars so tight I pulled the rubber things off! :)
Every bike lane I went on seemed way too narrow. I had a problem doing a u-turn on a city street.

Now, a thousand miles later, all that is a distant memory, and the same will happen to you. Just get out there and ride, ride, ride. And every time a DF'er passes you on a hill, think how much your butt, back, and neck are thanking you.

[vik]

I have to say my Fujin was one of the easiest bents to jump on and ride. My very first ride was 100kms and I was shooting video while riding one handed no problems. My bike has an open cockpit which feels a lot more stable than hamster bars.

Congrats on your new bike - what kind did you get?

[bhannah]

http://www.wisil.recumbents.com/wisil/stockinger/alley_cat.htm

Thats what i picked up traded a guy for a telescope. Some in the chicagoland area might know the bike. If you let me know if i got a good deal....
Brian

[JunkyardWarrior]

is it homebuilt??..............looks like its fast

[bhannah]

Yea the guy built it himself i thought that was pretty cool. Now it has me thinking. Do people still build em ar are they mostly bought now?

[JunkyardWarrior]

i just built one over the last week................just re-adjusted the seat again...........look at the thread "im building an atomblaster"

they also sell kits to transform a reg bike into a bent............but not a low racer like that

mine is also front wheel drive where the pedals move with the front wheel............less chain to deal with..........but i plan on makin one similar to yours

i think he did a good job

[bhannah]

Yea i was checking out that thread what kind of welder did you get will something cheap (110v) from sears work, or is something more heavy duty required?

[JunkyardWarrior]

and thats for that page......lots of good info

[JunkyardWarrior]

oh i used a cheap ( $250 ....lol ) wire feed welder on it from home depot.....110v.........works good enuff for the thicker stuff and light enuff to not blow the thin tube metal away

id suggest a lincoln over a campbell housefeld ( spelling?? )...........ive used them both and the licoln works a lot better

[JunkyardWarrior]

or you can braze it........spelling again??...............with a torch but i dont know how to do that

[lowracer1]

It took 6 months to get completely comfortable with mine, and at a year I was exponentially faster than I was at the start. Now I destroy everything on the road. Enjoy the ride!


with exception of a nocom................nah nah.............

[aikigreg]

with exception of a nocom................nah nah.............


Ahh, I see the servant waits, while the Master Baits! (ha ha!)

[Trsnrtr]

with exception of a nocom................nah nah.............

In the presence of a NoCom, I just let the air out of my tires, lay the bike down and whimper like a child until they leave in disgust. :D

[Dr.Deltron]

In the presence of a NoCom, ...
NoCom???

please enlighten my ignorant self. :o

[BlazingPedals]

Here's Lowracer1 with his Nocom

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e135/blazingpedals/bike%20pics/Chris1.jpg

BTW, nice time on the Black Bear!

[aikigreg]

Dang, Chris - I forgot how ugly you were! Good thinkg that sexy bike makes up for it!

BTW - I had a pair of those shorts ulti I crashed a couple months ago. Even at a low speed, those things shredded and rolled up my thigh, exposing a LOT more backside to the pavement than should have been. Spent the last 5 miles mooning the general population:

http://www.brightroom.com/view_user_photo.asp?PID=&EVENTID=18447&PWD=&ID=36816591&FROM=browser&START=3646&SHOW=15&CAT=0&SUB=0

[vik]

Dang, Chris - I forgot how ugly you were! Good thinkg that sexy bike makes up for it!

BTW - I had a pair of those shorts ulti I crashed a couple months ago. Even at a low speed, those things shredded and rolled up my thigh, exposing a LOT more backside to the pavement than should have been. Spent the last 5 miles mooning the general population:

http://www.brightroom.com/view_user_photo.asp?PID=&EVENTID=18447&PWD=&ID=36816591&FROM=browser&START=3646&SHOW=15&CAT=0&SUB=0


Ouch!.....:eek:

[Trsnrtr]

One of my favorite NoCom pics:

http://home.insightbb.com/~dtresenriter/aanc.jpg

[Trsnrtr]

Here's Lowracer1 with his Nocom

Fair warning to photo posters: I'm an incorrigible stealer of lowracer pictures on the net. :D

[lowracer1]

I wonder whose nocom that other one is with the superwoman bars. It can't be Alans. Haven't seen that one yet.

[bhannah]

Whats the main advantage of the nocom's, weight?
Are people laying them up themselves.
Are they stiff enough I assume they are holow.
Are they vacume formed.
How are they joining carbon and steel is the resin all that is used.
Has anyone tried a glass one (I have layed up boat hulls thats why i ask)
Brian

[lowracer1]

Ouch!.....:eek:
http://www.brightroom.com/view_user_...15&CAT=0&SUB=0

Now who is calling who ugly......? Is that Cinderella's stepsister on that lowracer? It looks like mum just got done beating her **s silly with the broom........... All joking aside, I sure hope you can make it to Brat this year. Looking forward to shovin sticks in yer spokes ................so ya better bring disc wheels:D

[lowracer1]

http://www.wisil.recumbents.com/wisil/home.asp


This should enlighten you as to how the nocom is built. fiberglass would be a poor choice for a bike frame of this type.

[lowracer1]

Hey Greg, you need to get a helmet cam with a live view screen mounted to your handlebars. How the heck can you even see the road with those tree trunk legs wobbling back and forth in your view?

[bhannah]

Any way i am getting better took my longest ride last night a little over a mile. I was focusing on starting and stoping as well as low speed turns. This thing handles more like a motorcycle than a bike. Next I will move up to a small incline and see how that goes.

[aikigreg]

Hey Greg, you need to get a helmet cam with a live view screen mounted to your handlebars. How the heck can you even see the road with those tree trunk legs wobbling back and forth in your view?


Thankfully, I have wide hips like Star Jones pre-diet, so the legs never get in my way :)

[Trsnrtr]

I wonder whose nocom that other one is with the superwoman bars. It can't be Alans. Haven't seen that one yet.

I can't remember where I stole the pic, but I'm fairly certain that it's a Chi-town bike and assumed it was Alan's which has U-bars..

http://www.recumbents.com/wisil/racing2007/northbrook-kenosha/nbken_pics_2007.htm

[BlazingPedals]

I seem to remember Alan had a page explaining how he made a carbon superman bar for his bike. Even if it's not Alan's, there's a few other NoComs in Chicago, too. As pictured, that bike would be very slow - it doesn't have any pedals. :)

[lowracer1]

you always have to point out the flaws on a bike don't you. Did you catch the fact that it has an 8 speed cassette with 9 speed shifters? Betcha didn't catch that one now did ya?

[BlazingPedals]

Yeah, pretty picky, huh? I suppose that might be Alan's bike from before he got it completely set up. Hmm... the OLD CLUNKY 8-speed cassette and 9-speed shifters sounds familiar. I wonder where I saw that before???

[NoCom3_rider]

I've raced 2 NoComs, version 2 & 3. Having crashed at 35 mph at the Garden Prairie time trial earlier this year I once again opted for U-bars instead of narrow tiller. The NoCom2 photo with Zipp deep 808 rim is the bike I used for the majority of the MATTS time trials in 2006.

Narrow chopped down tiller (not the standard tiller bar that Kamil sells) produces very sensitive steering with the fork angle design on the NoCom. Sean Costin, who holds the 1hr non faired world record is currently using a custom fabricated tiller on the NoCom2. Narrow grip tiller is a very fast setup as it streamlines the arms and elbows unlike the NoCom production tiller which leaves the riders elbows sticking out in the airflow.

U-bars are aerodynamically slower than narrow triller on a NoCom. However U-bars will slow down the steering a bit which creates better road handling.

The ultimate wheel setup for a NoCom is a rear disc wheel with front wheel disc covers. This will increase the side profile of the bike to allow for sustained speed above 30 mph on a road course. If a rear disc is not used the bike design will have a limited top end speed. Dual wheel discs are a lot to deal with on a very windy course due to the large side profile of the bike. It takes a lot of nerve to handle the white knuckle effects of getting passed by a large truck or getting hit with a 25+ mph crosswind.

AA



I can't remember where I stole the pic, but I'm fairly certain that it's a Chi-town bike and assumed it was Alan's which has U-bars..

http://www.recumbents.com/wisil/racing2007/northbrook-kenosha/nbken_pics_2007.htm

[JunkyardWarrior]

well bri.........with all the bikes on that site and the guys commenting here..............looks like you got a great bike at a good deal..............but i didnt see the telescope......lol

[lowracer1]

hey alan, glad to see ya here. I ordered a zipp 900 rear disc last week for the bike as well as a dt swiss wheel for the rear with the 240 hub and the 30mm rim selection for everyday courses.