Recumbent - test riding in Portland, OR

I really want to test-ride an under-seat steering recumbent but the one shop near me now only sells over-seat steer bikes (coventry cycle in SE Portland).

Anyone know of a shop NOT in the beaverton/aloha/tigard area where I could go for a test ride? Anyone living in SE or NE portland want to let me test ride your under-seat steering 'bent in hopes of converting me from DF? :)

FWIW, USS has really fallen out of favor w/ most "high-volume" 'bent manufacturers. And conventional wisdom seems to be that it further complicates the 'bent learning curve when switching over from df. Just food for thought.

SP
Bend, OR

I really want to test-ride an under-seat steering recumbent but the one shop near me now only sells over-seat steer bikes (coventry cycle in SE Portland).

Anyone know of a shop NOT in the beaverton/aloha/tigard area where I could go for a test ride? Anyone living in SE or NE portland want to let me test ride your under-seat steering 'bent in hopes of converting me from DF? :)

Email the OHPV mailing list: OHPV (at) yahoogroups (dot) com . I'm the moderator of the list, so I'll let it through.

There's a couple USS bikes around, but the 'benter from Bend is correct: USS has gone out of favor among 'bent manufacturers.

FWIW, Actionbent sells a few USS models. They're in Redmond, WA and I believe its possible to visit for test rides.

Thanks for the info everyone. Could someone explain or maybe even point me to another post explaining why USS has gone out of favor with manufacturers? Is it because it has gone out of favor with riders? Anyone bought an USS and regretted it or is it more a problem of getting people to take the plunge?

The USS bents are out of favor, because people THINK that they are so much harder to learn. Truth is, an underseat steering bike will take longer to learn............about 20 minutes longer...that's it. My first bent was an USS Linear. It did take a bit longer to learn on it, a bit. And trust me, I'm not very co-ordinated. If I can learn how to ride a USS bent, anyone can. I ended up owning both the lwb and swb USS Linears. Loved them both!!! Sold them when my left foot "went bad," and I couldn't ride for several years.

After getting my foot fixed, I've started riding again, this time a Bacchetta Cafe, with above seat steering. Wanted to try something different.

Don't let anyone talk you out of testing a USS bent. They are great. The original Linears are no longer made, tho they do show up on Craigslist fairly often. They are again being made, by Peter the Bicycleman, out East, I believe. I've e mailed him a few times a few years ago, a very decent guy.

Good luck

USS is still popular in Europe and Canada

Check out bentrideronline.com classifieds. There is a used Haluzak USS bent for sale in Seattle.