Recumbent - Rebike????

I did some research and I can tell that these are probably not too highly thought of. But I rode one today and paid $100 for it. It needs everything overhauled, but I loved the way it rode and could feel the potential. Anybody still ride one??? I am interested in thoughts/comment about the "centering" spring between the fork and frame....I'll post some pics if needed. Are there any serials numbers?? Can I tell when it was made?? I found them on Bikepedia; but haven't scoured all the pics yet.....

Never heard of it.... never seen one.... so I had to google it.

Nice looking and practical. Centering spring - like to re-center the front wheel after a turn?

http://photos1.blogger.com/img/48/3896/640/rebike1.jpg
Can't say that I've ever seen one. Kind of a semi-recumbent/crank forward?

Great bike.I own one since 95.Rebike 707.Spring taken off.Gary.

How powerful was the spring?? Would it hold the bars straight at rest?? While riding?? No hands?? The one that was on it was stretched and distorted and really didn't do anything.........

Spring is for preventing wheelflop at a stop. GT.

I just bought a Rebike 818 at a yardsale today for IMO decent price. I'd wanted to try a recumbent and found this one. After a little seat and handlebar adjusting I rode it around the neighborhood for a short ride. Really different feel than riding a regular bike ; a little wobbly at slower speeds and a little scary at faster ones .LOL I think it'll be fine once I get used to it . kirby

A little more fine tuning on the seat and I'm feeling more at home on my Rebike . This is a fun bike to ride . I rode it into town and back ( 7+ mile round trip) , got some looks , LOL . I think I'm going to enjoy riding this one . something different . kirby

For $100, it's not a lot of risk.

I love my hybrid Rebike 707 semi-bent. I put a 16" Crystalyte front hub motor on the front wheel, with a 48 volt nicad pack and a good 35 amp controller, and some torque arms for safety -it cruises at just under 25 miles per hour on the flat with no pedalling. With pedalling I can get it up to about 28 mph, fast enough to blow most lycras away. It's heavy yet lively with "real steel goodness". And I'm good for about 40 miles.

chvid would you be willing to share some pictures of your creation? I am sure a lot of people would be interested especially with that range and performance.
recycled55

Where's Spuds McDoogle when ya need him? I think he entered his ReBike in one of the TdF and nearly beat Lance... but the PB&J weighed him down on the last climb.

Where's Spuds McDoogle when ya need him? I think he entered his ReBike in one of the TdF and nearly beat Lance... but the PB&J weighed him down on the last climb.

PB&J has been placed on the list of banned Performance Enhancing substances, hasn't it?

Looks like a good utility bike for around town.

I did some research and I can tell that these are probably not too highly thought of. But I rode one today and paid $100 for it. It needs everything overhauled, but I loved the way it rode and could feel the potential. Anybody still ride one??? I am interested in thoughts/comment about the "centering" spring between the fork and frame....I'll post some pics if needed. Are there any serials numbers?? Can I tell when it was made?? I found them on Bikepedia; but haven't scoured all the pics yet.....

I"ve owned three ReBikes. In fact, my very first recumbent was a ReBike Leisure which I bought from Sears in late November of 1998. This model had the 16"/20" wheel configuration, and a 6 speed drivetrain.

What can I say? I loved that thing! The ergonomics sure made sense, and I was even able to do 40-60 mile rides on it very comfortably.

About 7-8 months after getting the ReBike, I bought a Lightning Thunderbolt, but the ReBike still got ridden almost as much.

In subsequent years at different times, I owned 2 ReBikes that used the 26" rear tire, and an 18 speed drivetrain. Both were very enjoyable as well.

They (ReBike) make very good "project" bikes too so feel free to take "liberties" with customizing yours.

Edward Wong III
"Bentless in Orlando, FL"

I am interested in thoughts/comment about the "centering" spring between the fork and frame....The ReBike has little or no fork offset. And considering how shallow the head tube angle is, the end result is excessive 'trail'. Excessive 'trail' leads to excessive fork flop. Had the designer installed the correct fork with the correct offset, no spring would be necessary.

The ReBike has little or no fork offset. And considering how shallow the head tube angle is, the end result is excessive 'trail'. Excessive 'trail' leads to excessive fork flop. Had the designer installed the correct fork with the correct offset, no spring would be necessary.

Would this be why Cycle Genius put one on my Sparrow?

If you don't like the handling, or you want to get rid of the spring, try flipping the stem around backwards. Negative tiller on a recumbent is usually Bad News(tm).

Edit: To elaborate a bit - you want your hands to be *behind* the axis of the steerer tube. That way, the weight of your hands on the bars will naturally pull back on them, gently encouraging the steering to center. With the hands in front of the axis, you are left to push on the steering to center it, resulting in squirrely handling.

Would this be why Cycle Genius put one on my Sparrow?From side view pics, the HT angle on the Sparrow looks about 58 degrees and fork offset appears close to 2". Assuming a wheel diameter of 19.2", that's equates to about 3.6" of trail - which is about twice the DF standard and over 3 times more trail than I like to see. The problem, is that many 'bent manufactures' create an otherwise suitable design, then butcher the handling by installing pre-made DF forks (obviously to cut cost).

If you don't like the handling, or you want to get rid of the spring, try flipping the stem around backwards. Negative tiller on a recumbent is usually Bad News(tm).
I noticed that condition on kirby999 ReBike pictures. IMO, the grips should be at least 3 to 6" aft of the steering axis on that design.

Where's Spuds McDoogle when ya need him? I think he entered his ReBike in one of the TdF and nearly beat Lance... but the PB&J weighed him down on the last climb.

Now there's a name I haven't seen in a while!:lol: