FarHorizon

Title says it all - I'd read online that these were increasing in popularity and would be considered the "new standard" for LWB design. I've never seen one. Who makes them?

Thanks!

atom bomb

RANS - Formula 26, Stratus XP
Lightfoot Cycles - Ranger, World Traveler, etc....

nedgoudy

Reynolds Labs T Bone 26/26
https://www.reynoldsweldlabs.com/Pict...ics3/Pics3.htm

Or an even better choice:

Bachetta Strada (I think they are 26 inch tires)
and look at their other upscale models...
https://www.bacchettabikes.com/recumb...rada_specs.htm

funbun

Lightfoot cycles make the World Traveler:
https://www.lightfootcycles.com/wtmodel.htm

I may be wrong, but weren't they the first with a dual 26 lwb bike?

atom bomb

Nice bikes, but the OP asked about LWB. Although the Reynolds is a fairly long SWB, the crank is in front of the wheel - ergo: SWB.

vulcan

I just couldn't justify the price of one of those so I built one. I love it and I believe that if you go LWB you should at least try a dual 26.bentfinright.jpg

funbun

Nice bike. How does it handle? Ever thought of brazing on a small square top tube to truss the whole frame?

vulcan

It handles great. I replicated the same head tube angle as a DF bike. The square tube is 1.5 inch and has just enough bounce to even out the bumps and is more of a "step through" feel. I do have another design idea that would be stiffer but am looking for another donor bike.

vulcan

"Hype has a way of obscuring or twisting the facts. For touring or off-road... perhaps, but not an optimum choice for commuting. CoG is further aft and the unavoidable, excessive tiller... coupled with the added mass of the larger front wheel assy, inhibits crucial steering corrections at lower speeds. With its upright seating and lower cranks, the Stratus XP is tolerable (in experienced hands) ... the Formula 26, on the other hand, should be banned within city limits."

I must say that I don't experience this with my homebuilt. I don't hesitate to ride it anywhere I ride my DF, including dirt trails (with minimal hills). Those production bikes may have problems, but not anything you shouldn't notice during a test ride. And you REALLY SHOULD take lengthy test rides before buying. If it doesn't feel right don't buy.

bobkat

I've only ridden the 26 for a short distance down a road during a ride so can't comment much on it. It's a BIG bike, though which presents problems transporting it.

Doug5150

Lots of companies "almost" make a 26/26 LWB..... -since a 20/26 LWB could be converted pretty easily, just by mounting a 26" fork+wheel.
Technically you are altering the steering geometry but not greatly so.
People have converted SWB's into highracers this way as well.
~~~~~

vulcan

I tested 5 different bents on the silver comet trail. Been riding bikes for a while.
Also built cars and motorcycles.

My fork isn't raked like those other ones.

LWB's do present a problem for people that need to transport one. I don't and I have a truck for when I do.

Some of what has been said rings true but many of these cons are seriously outweighed. Mainly, the roads here are horrible and those big wheels really smooth out the bumbs and roll out of potholes with less jarring and chance of damage.

I also like the stability on long straightaways and sweeping curves. If I wanted an urban city bent I would get a tiny swb with small wheels.

I guess I'll let this go now.

Doug5150

-Well, yes and sort-of no.
Most LWB's have wheelbases around 65 inches or so. Taking a 20" front wheel off and fitting a 26" wheel on would raise the front end only about three inches, and that would rotate the front end up about 2.5 degrees. That would make the steering feel different but would hardly make it unrideable, and picking the right forks could minimize the bad effects. I don't believe that the center of gravity would be significantly altered at all by this modification (changing from a 20" to a 26" front wheel).
....
As for "how much tiller is enough", that is very much just an opinion. Some people think that the "quick steering" on a typical SWB is great, but I found it had no actual advantages and it made the bike a chore to ride. On a LWB, the head tube ends up quite a ways away from where the riders arms can reasonably reach. You can go with a lot of tiller, a little tiller or no tiller (using a linkage) but each of these has drawbacks.
------
I've not tried the 26" Rans bikes (V2 and F-26); I was curious as it was mentioned that one was so difficult. I figured I wouldn't bother unless I could ride both at the same time and the LBS has not yet had both on the floor at once.
~

Doug5150

-Yea, but most people who have only ever rode uprght bikes would tell you that ALL recumbents weave too much at low speeds. In theory they should be as stable, but in practice they usually are not--I can ride most-any upright bike no-handed, but so far, no recumbents. Why is that? And even using my hands, I know that I haven't been able to ride any recumbent in as stable a line as I can ride an upright bike. Does that make all recumbents defective?
Like I said--"As for 'how much tiller is enough', that is very much just an opinion.".... what some will find acceptable others will not.
Yep.
High-wheelers dominated bicycling for some-number of years too--but most people wouldn't say that means they were the pinnacle of design, although certainly a few people probably would.
-Well, I don't know really. I don't have one (original, or one converted to 26/26"). I'd bet that the lower rolling resistance of the bigger wheel is more than offset by greater frame and wheel weight, but one reason might be if you're touring and only want to worry about packing one size of spare tire and tube (I can easily see this attraction). Another possibility is if you were riding off-road, then you might want bigger wheels to roll over obstacles better that you cannot ride around, or that you simply want to be able to roll over. If someone thinks that they need a dual-26" bike, that might be because they have tried using a small-front-wheel bike already and found it lacking.
~

FarHorizon

OK, PuttPutt - let's cut to the chase. If I understand you, there is often no specific benefit to a front 26" wheel unless the design was specifically optimized for that from scratch. Further, the majority of front 26" designs currently on the market are kludges of smaller front wheel designs. Finally, there is much to recommend a 20" front wheel on a LWB design, and I shouldn't be concerned about buying one of those.

Pardon me if I've misunderstood anything - I'm not the sharpest blade in the drawer sometimes. I appreciate your comments and would also appreciate any clarification you might wish to make on my understandings of your comments as expressed in the previous paragraph.

Thanks!

funbun

lol, that's why they're called Monster Bents? It's amazing what ppl will buy vs what ppl need.

olson99

I'm a new member to Bike Forums, someone on BROL mentioned this interesting discussion.

I'm on my fourth recumbent, the last two have been LWB's. I had a used RANS Velocity Squared with fairing that I never quite got in tune with. It had the old style T-bar that had too much tiller effect for my tastes.

So I traded it off for a Stratus XP with the chopper handle bars. I love this bike! I have more than 2200 miles on it. I have the chopper bars adjusted up and forward to minimize tiller in the steering. My arms are just gently bent and it works well for me.

However, most of my riding is done on rural roads. I do not use it for stop and go traffic or on busy multiple use shared paths. I ride it to church on Sundays, but it always feels slightly awkward in parking lots.

I did not like the 20-inch wheel on the Velocity Squared or the 16-inch wheel that I had on a Lightning Thunderbolt before that. I do like the dual 26-inch wheels on the XP. For me it just feels right. Much smoother on rough roads.

Last Sunday I completed the Wright Stuff Century in southern Wisconsin on my XP. It is a hilly ride and I saw only four other recumbents (RANS Stratus, Easy Racer, P-38, Volae dual 26 SWB). I'm not a racer, I do centuries for my own personal challenge and fun so it took 7 1/2 hours of bike time. Going up steep hills at 4.5 to 5 mph works for me. I don't wobble unless I get distracted looking at something along the road.

My conclusion is that for some people (me), with some riding requirements (mine), the dual 26 LWB is a good choice. For many people, it is not the correct flexible recumbent for all around needs.

Gordon

funbun

1. Something I could afford.
2. Something with a really laid back riding position.
3. Both wheels of the same size.

I bought a Bentech Highracer. Dom built up a frame; I salvaged parts off my MTB and parts bin.

olson99

PuttPutt,

This may belong in a different thread, but here is a quick reply.

My criteria have been different for each purchase. Convenience was the major criterion for my first bent, a Lightning Thunderbolt. The nearest bike store with recumbents was 100 miles away while this Thunderbolt was for sale privately in my hometown. I had been curious about bents and this one was easy to buy and reasonably priced. It got me hooked on bents.

But for commuting on my local streets, I didn't like the 16-inch front wheel. So I went too far the other way and bought a fully suspended Optima Orca, a dual 26-inch SWB. Great urban assault bike in that it could comfortably ride anywhere over anything, but it was too heavy and too tall for me. Doing 100-mile rides was a lot of work because of the weight. The seat was high enough that at stop signs with one foot clipped in, the other one on the ground was on tiptoe.

So, I decided to go to a 20/26 configuration with a Volae Century. The weight was much better and the 20-inch wheel was much better than the earlier 16-inch front wheel.

Then I retired and moved to a different community. I no longer needed a compact bike that would fit in my office and I now did most of my riding on rural roads and was doing longer distances more often. So I decided that a LWB would be a better choice and bought a RANS Velocity Squared. My move was to WI, where there is snow, so also I bought a trike, Catrike Road, for winter use. It works well in small amounts of snow and ice and is great fun on the local ice rink. When I was having hardware problems with the V2, I actually used the tike to do a century ride last year.

From what I had read, I thought that the faired V2 would be my ideal bike. But I never did fall in love with the fairing and the small tire on the front would bother me on rough roads. So, when the Stratus XP was announced and then the Formula 26, I thought that I could get all the benefits that I had in the Orca in a more comfortable and lighter weight package.

My local bent dealer refused to stock the F26 and would only special order them on request. After test riding the XP, I decided that it was fast enough and would climb hills well enough, so I bought one.

That was five months and 2200 miles ago. I'm happy until my needs change or a better model comes along.

Gordon

chtorr

I've had my Formula 26 for about 6 months now and I love it. I also have a Giro 20, but my wife usually rides that one. At first the V26 was sort of hard to handle but after getting used to it I would much rather ride it than the Giro. It's faster, more comfortable and I just feel more comfortable on it. I ride some pretty steep hills with it and the handling is acceptable to me. I have enough miles on it now that I'm more confident on it than I am my DF bikes. It just takes some getting used to. Is it the ideal bent? Of course it's not for everyone, but to me its poor handling has been exaggerated. It just takes some practice. No, it probably isn't the ideal city bike, far from it, but if you like riding out in the country and getting your speed up on flats and rolling hills, it's a total blast. It is faster than the Giro 20, no question about it in my experience. I've ridden it on gravel roads even, and it's manageable even with its skinny tires. Obviously you can't ride it no-handed. But other that it's a great, fast, fun bike.

funbun

lol

Anyway, Putt Putt do you have a website for the bikes you build?