chicagobent

So today I decided to clean out and reorganize my basement storage locker and I came across my Haluzak Leprechaun which I have not ridden in several years. I needed the space it was taking up, so I pumped up the tires, cleaned it up and moved it to our building's bike room, soon to be taken on a nice long ride. Until I was putting it all back together I forgot how lightweight and comfortable the bike is. I am so excited to get bent again! I cannot wait.

chicagobent

Here are some pics

FREEBIRD1

Nice looking bike, I have not tried under seat steering yet. I imagine at speed you get a pretty good "flying sensation" and a spectacular view.

chicagobent

For some reason I have always been partial to underseat steering. I have ridden the Leprechaun through at least two mountain ranges and it does very well climbing (for a bent) and it handles very well and is quite stable on the down hills. It is not great in headwinds as the under seat steering has your arms next to your sides which causes more wind resistance compare to above sear steering, but I find it more comfortable and well worth the trade-off. I wanted a short wheel base bike with under seat steering and because I am short I had limited choices of bikes which met those criteria and which allowed my feet to touch the ground when stopped. The bike is very comfortable overall and reasonably fast, but certainly no racer. Good for touring.

tallbikeman

Chicagobent I'm another fan of underseat steering. I own a Ryan Vanguard because of the underseat steering. I owned a Rans Gliss for about 20 years. The tiller steering always made my hands go numb or get tired from holding them up on long rides. Neither happens with underseat steering. Another advantage of the Ryan is the fork has a very normal headtube angle and the front wheel steers very smoothly. My Gliss had the chopper headtube angle and the front wheel more or less flops from side to side. Nowhere as nice as the Ryan. However the rear suspension was superb on the Gliss and the ride was very Cadillac in nature. No sharp bumps, no road vibrations, just smoothness. The front wheel was not suspended and it would be vibrating and jumping like crazy but where you sat was a sea of calm.

tallbikeman

My wife has had trouble being able to reach the floor when seated on recumbents. We have never tried this brand and now I'm looking for a used one for her to try.

VegasTriker

Bill Haluzak ceased production in 2007. Most of the Zaks you see for sale are the Horizon model since it fit a wider group of riders. I took a quick look over at Bentrideronline and the last time a Leprechaun may have been available was a couple of years back. You might consider an older Linear. That one was a very popular bike and suitable for shorter riders. You could get Linears with USS in both short and long wheelbase models. I paid $500 for one back around 2001. I rode my long wheelbase Linear for a couple of years before being seduced by trikes. It was extremely comfortable and I could reach the ground easily. My Haluzak Horizon went for $850 but it is a tad too high seating for me to reach the ground as comfortably as I could on the Linear long wheelbase. I bought it on a whim when it showed up in the local newspaper at a price that was too good to pass up.

DenisH

I too like underseat steering. It is very comfortable. I had a Ryan. A very smooth feel, but not very efficient due to I believe the energy lost in the seat. I also had a Horizon. More efficient, very comfortable, stable, easy handling. I had no way to transport it to distant places, and no space for an extra bike, so I sold it too. I now have a Bacchetta Giro 20, although I miss the underseat steering.

-Denis

chicagobent

So, last weekend I rode the Leprechaun from Chicago up to Illinois Beach State Park (38 miles) with some friends who rode their DF bikes. We had a headwind the entire way, but it was great fun and I was able to keep up with my friends. We camped overnight and rode back the next day. Unfortunately, the wind shifted and we also had headwinds the whole way back home. My recumbent muscles were challenged as I had not ridden the bike in over 10 years, but by the end of the trip back I had my recumbent legs back. I will definitely be riding this bike much more now. I had forgotten how pain free a long bike ride could be on a bent.

I added some cheap fenders at the last minute because we were riding in part on some gravel trails and had recently had a lot of rain. They came in very handy.

Before the ride I put a new Schwalbe marathon green belt tire on the front wheel which was a little wider than the original Primo Comet and the bike handled the gravel very well.

We are planning another camping trip for July 4th weekend up to the Bong Rec Area in Wisconsin (80 miles). Can't wait for that trip now that I have my bent confidence back.