Recumbent - Rolling up the pant leg

Now that winter has officially arrived, I am wearing pants while riding the bent. In the heat, my main issue was oil marks on my calves, and they could be washed off. Now I'm dealing with the chain eating my pants by pulling them into the gears. There are two problems: 1) the irritation with having my pants chewed on and 2) getting caught up and not being able to pedal or release myself.

I've been rolling up the right pant leg so it won't get eaten, but I think that one pant leg rolled up means something to the gang-bangers.

I went by a bike shop the other day and asked for a chain guard. They had nothing to offer besides a suggestion to buy some rubber tubing fom a hardware store. ...Or I could go on the Sun website and look for something specific to my bike...and pay a whole bunch of money for it.

How do the rest of you deal with the pants-eating chain?

I use a leg strap. You can get them for a couple bucks at the bike shop, or make your own. They're just a length of webbing material with velcro, so that you can velcro it around your ankle. To protect your pant leg, pull all the excess fabric to about 2:00, to the outside, and wrap the flap of trouser material around to the back side of your ankle. Then secure with the strap. Put the strap high enough to hold the trouser hem, but low enough that it won't ride down your calf and release the pant leg.

Sometimes I use two straps, one for each leg. There's nothing to catch the left one on, but mine are reflective. That can't hurt.

Another option is an arm guard used for archery. It attaches using velcro. You can get one cheap at Dick's.

I use the velcro leg straps, it keeps the cold air from going up my leg. Brrrr.

If you really want to give it a try without even spending the 2 bucks, you can experiment with some rubber bands to hold your pants from 'flopping'...Then go buy the velcro strap...

I use chain tubes made from 1/2" irrigation tube (says .520" x .620" on it) from Ace hardware. IIRC, it was 10 bucks and I got a lifetime supply. It did take a heat gun to straighten it out and flare the ends. A few zip ties to hold the tubes in place and voila! No more greasy leg. And no, there's not enough friction to make a measurable difference in speed.

SP
Bend, OR

I had the problem getting chain grease on my calf. I solved it by cutting a piece of 3-sided (U-shaped) plastic channel -- very lightweight. This plastic channel is 3 inches wide by 1 5/16 inches tall, measured on the inside. It's about 1/16 inch thick.

I didn't buy it, so I can't tell you where to look for it. Using a hacksaw, I cut a piece to fit between my calf and the chain. I cut a piece of quarter-inch thick plywood that fits exactly inside the channel and forms the fourth (back) side of the channel. Then I secured the channel to the bike with a couple pieces of sticky-backed velcro tape. The plastic channel's two short walls are angled inwards just a bit -- maybe five degrees -- so they grip onto the plywood piece if you cut it to just the right width. The guard doesn't come off unless I pull it off. It works well to keep the chain from contacting my leg.

I haven't tried the tubing shielding, but I think it would create more friction on the chain. At any rate, if I were to try tubing, I would buy a 20 foot piece of thin-walled PVC plastic (water drain pipe) before I would consider flexible tubing. Flexible tubing comes wrapped on big cardboard spools, so it has some curvature already built into it. Your chain wants to be straight. The clear, flexible tubing basically only good for draining water in locations that don't freeze or boil. PVC pipe, on the other hand, is perfectly straight. It comes in several inside diameters smaller than an inch. You can find one your chain will easily fit inside by taking your chain to a plumbing supplier. Your chain will, however, scrape the bottom of a piece of PVC pipe on the return side due to its sag. So it would probably work better to get a large-diameter pipe and cut it in half lengthwise to minimize chain drag while blocking calf contact. This is just my thought -- haven't tried it. Secure the pipe to your bike with electrical tape, moving it around until you find the spot with the least friction, then mount it with sticky-backed velcro so it doesn't move.

I wear cycling tights (several layers depending on temperature). Unpadded is necessary for everything except the inner layer. When the weather demands more than that, I use some straps to keep the pants from getting caught in the chain.

The other issue, grease, will happen anyway. Yes, you can use some of the other suggestions, but a recumbent has more exposed chain near the leg. I don't cover mine, I just make sure that my cycling pants are black, and I don't care if they get a little grease on them.


Now that winter has officially arrived, I am wearing pants while riding the bent. In the heat, my main issue was oil marks on my calves, and they could be washed off. Now I'm dealing with the chain eating my pants by pulling them into the gears. There are two problems: 1) the irritation with having my pants chewed on and 2) getting caught up and not being able to pedal or release myself.

I've been rolling up the right pant leg so it won't get eaten, but I think that one pant leg rolled up means something to the gang-bangers.

I went by a bike shop the other day and asked for a chain guard. They had nothing to offer besides a suggestion to buy some rubber tubing fom a hardware store. ...Or I could go on the Sun website and look for something specific to my bike...and pay a whole bunch of money for it.

How do the rest of you deal with the pants-eating chain?

similar to the archery pad, if you`re handy dandy with a sewing machine, get a square of fabric, velcro either edge and wrap around lower leg like the bottom of a pant leg.
and again, would`nt hurt to add something reflective.

Chain tubes work for keeping your pant leg from rubbing against the chain and picking up grease, but they don't keep your pant leg out of the chainring. A 'bash ring' or chainring protector might help somewhat. The pant leg strap works the best, though. (IMHO)

http://media.rei.com/media/543017Lrg.jpg
$6 ea at REI. I like them better than the cheaper ones since they should stay reflective when wet. This is what I use to keep my pants out of my chain ring. I ruined a nice pair of windbreaker pants AND a front derailleur last fall - oh, and almost fell over in the middle of an intersection crossing a 4 lane road when the chain ring ate the cuff on my pants. http://www.rei.com/product/543017

For a while I would fold the pants' cuff over and place inside my socks. Then I had an inspiration. I added snaps so that I could then fold the pants' cuff and snap them in place. Works great.

So, it appears that all this trumpeting the fact that riding a recumbent requires no special attire is not real.

I posted the following on the RANSbike@yahoogroups.com forum awhile back and received various suggestions, none of which I have had a chance to try yet:

I recently started riding my new RANS Stratus XP to work. The chain brushes against the inside of my right pant leg often enough to stain it with chain oil. This is not good for my image at work, not to
mention ruining my pants.

Wear shorts? Only when it is warmer. To stay warm, I have to wear long pants a significant portion of the year. Of course, when wearing shorts, the chain oil stains my leg.

I love my Stratus XP, but I am looking for solutions to this dilemma (short of getting a different bike). A chain tube will not work, as there appears to be no place to attach it. Furthermore, the section of chain that brushes my pant leg is too close to the chainwheel to be covered by a tube.

Any suggestions? Will chain waxes prevent staining? Should I wear a gaiter-like cover on my lower right leg year-round, even in the hottest weather (I am talking 95 to 110 degree weather)?

Never thought I would have to wear those silly-looking cycling tights--trust me, they would look very silly on this old fart!

A chain tube would cause unacceptable noise and would be too difficult to set up--just one more thing on the bike to fiddle with (the fiddle-factor is too great).

I do like the wider, reflective bands from REI.

I am thinking the gaiter idea using spandex is the most straight-forward solution that would work all year 'round.

That's why I built a plastic chain guard, uniquebobc. I didn't want to have to remember to put something on my leg before riding. That would just be too much trouble.

So, it appears that all this trumpeting the fact that riding a recumbent requires no special attire is not real.

What trumpeting? The only claim I'll make in that regard is that padded shorts don't make much sense for recumbent riders.

No trumpeting here.

http://991.com/newGallery/Herb-Alpert-Blow-Your-Own-Hor-374625.jpg

Duct tape, many colors, very stylish in a hillbilly sort of way!