Recumbent - Upgrade or New

Just trying to descide what to do. I have a Vision R40 USS, and want better performance. (More speed). Should I upgrade the wheels to something with chris king hubs or buy a new recumbent like actionbent mid racer??? Budget is around $1000 or less. What do you think?

If you take anyone's advice to swap the USS for OSS and have a 20" non-suspended fork or the bracket for a suspended fork, I would be interested in purchasing those parts. I have an R-40 myself and plan to upgrade it simply for the fact that I love the design and feel of this bike, not to mention I enjoy the whole customization and upgrading process.

No vision bike is going to be a performance bent. Honestly your best bet would be to go a couple hundred bucks ut of your budget and find a used bacchetta strada. That would be a great bike!

No great fund of expertise here, but I wouldn't bet much on a $1,000 Actionbent giving you much additional speed. Though the it's not an R-60 or even an R-45, you already have a good bike that would be all the better with the CK hubs.

Maybe some engine work while accumulating budget to get into the high or mid racer of your choice?

You should SAVE your cash and keep driving your Vision R40 USS , save enough cash for a low racer if you want speed even if it takes awhile and keep the vision for a second run around bike

Here is a sample of how much fun a low racer is for speed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBV7-h6sIyo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUCEFE8ujuY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoOHDg5y0f4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkYa4se3YKk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMUQkC5V0zU

You'll be hard pressed to find a lowracer for under $2k. You could go the highracer route for about $1200-1600.

If you want an AB Midracer and speed, go for the GT version. It has better components and an easily upgraded 700c rear wheel. Light wheels are nice, but you need a worthy bike to put them on.

You should SAVE your cash and keep driving your Vision R40 USS , save enough cash for a low racer if you want speed even if it takes awhile and keep the vision for a second run around bike

Well I think a low racer is out of the question. I ride mostly on roads in OHIO where bike are that well liked. I do have a few (19) other bikes to run around on, all DF though.

You'll be hard pressed to find a lowracer for under $2k. You could go the highracer route for about $1200-1600.

If you want an AB Midracer and speed, go for the GT version. It has better components and an easily upgraded 700c rear wheel. Light wheels are nice, but you need a worthy bike to put them on.

I really like the looks of the new RANS F5, or the Volae Club, maybe the best route is waiting.

and then when you get your Rans or Volae, you can sell me that fork. I can have one custom made for about $300, but if I can get way with half that, I'll be happy. If you would choose to uprade the Vision, here is a great looking example for inspiration (http://bentonbicycling.tripod.com/sylvester/).




I agree on the Rans and the Volae. The Volae gets a little more consideraation from me as the frames are built in the USA in the same shop where Waterford frames are built.

19 bikes and only ONE recumbent?!!

You'll be hard pressed to find a lowracer for under $2k. .

thats why I said to keep saving till he could get one , but see'ing he has 19DF bike and only one Recumbent perhaps he could sell off some of the DF's ,then the cash would be there , I mentioned the low racer because he said he wanted speed

Most people don't have the cojones for lowracers, and/or can't deal with the high BB. Plenty of other speed bikes out there, but IMO if you're going to upgrade because you KNOW you want better, and you KNOW you like recumbents, there is no reason to stay in the low end of the performance gauge, which is where actionbent stays. They're good bikes, but not speedy.

Heck there's a Baccetta Strada sitting on BROL for 1050 right NOW. Or, save tour money and pick up a used corsa in the 1500 range, which is what I'd suggest.

I can understand what aikigreq said about cojones and low racers , as I am sh*t scared of high racers and won't go near them

19 bikes and only ONE recumbent?!!

Yeah I know my screen name doesn't quite fit, but it's hard to pass up classic rides at garage sales. The plan is to sell off some of the DF's, just trying to wait till early spring hits and get a decent price.

Sell some, raise your budget, and get a Bacchetta Corsa, or a dual 26" Giro with the Euromesh seat. IMHO the best bang for the buck recumbents out there. 25lbs or less depending on model. You can find them used as they've been on the market since '05. Great company who's into real world performance, and back it up by supporting riders in ultra events. Check out their site and forums. Low racers are cool too, but harder to find, and have less support. VK's are insane, but each one is darn near a custom bike. That Video was a VK, looked like a VK2. FWIW, here's a video of some Bacchetta's on the road.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIpvM_j-i0o&fmt=18