charly17201

Let me start by saying I'm a new 'bent rider. Had to give up the DF as I couldn't ride it anymore without constant shoulder and neck pain. I got a 'bent so I could get back to commuting and try and stay healthy. Yeah, I got in at the cheap end of bents - ActionBent JetStream II (swb-uss), but I knew going in I'd be upgrading components.... so I've got a few questions for the "old hands" here....

I'm not very pleased with the shifters or derailers. My DF had Shimano Soras... every click gave me a positive gear change. Nothing missed - EVER (haven't had to adjust them in 3 years). On the 'bent, I've got SRAM Centera twist-shifters, Shimano Acura rear derailer and a "no-name" front derailer.

I don't think I'd mind the twist-shifters if every click gave me a solid change of gears, or if at least I wasn't 'clicking' into an in-between point. And I'd seriously consider just stealing the gear off the DF if a friend wasn't interested in buying the bike off of me - I wouldn't do that to them.

I would think, that if I at least matched the derailers and shifters I'd get a lot better control/response from them. Is that right?

FYI- triple chain-ring 30/42/52; rear cog 10/12/14/16/18/21/26/32

I also don't care for the tires - Kendra Kwest 20 x 1.25 and 26 x 1.25 because of the amount of sideways flex to the tires. When I commute I have to carry a fairly heavy load.... close to 30 lbs in gear before I get on - and no, leaving stuff at work really isn't an option. I work outside all year round.

Does anyone know of decent tires that don't have a lot of sideways flex to them? Maybe a lower 'profile' style tire? I know years ago when I did a cross-country train/bike vacation my LBS set me up with different tires for the trip that had stronger sidewalls than my slicks - and if I still lived in NC I'd have been to see them about this. I'm not fond of the LBS here at all, and they definitely don't do 'bents.

Shaman

Your shifter and derailleur should function just fine as long as they are tuned properly. There is no magic beyond that. You can easily upgrade to higher quality levels but I'd make sure that what you have is properly adjusted before going that route. My actionbent trike came with Shimano XT RDR and non-indexed bar end shifter. Both of these can be purchased from the actionbent web site.

My wife's Catrike has SRAM X-7 trist shifters and RDR. They are not top level components but they shift beautifully.

As for tires, I like Schwalbe Marathon tires. Lots of choices for your riding preference and comfort level. www.schwalbetires.com

Pockets

I would have to 2nd the Schwalbe Marathons, but I went with the Schwalbe Marathon Racers on my Rans Stratus & V2. Over 4000 mile and no flats so far.