I have an older V-Rex with a 1.5 inch top tube covered with the 3-sided aluminum bracket. It has the old style skewer seat post attachment. I wanted to change to the M5 seat (or something similar) and I talked to Rans about it. They suggested that others have retrofitted the M5 seat to older V-Rexs and that maybe there was information out there dealing with this conversion. Has anyone done this? Is it difficult? Could I put the old seatpost attachment on the M5?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

It's not something I'd recommend. The VRex is a very short wheelbase bike, designed around a relatively upright seat position, and the M5 seat is designed to be very reclined. I tried laying the RANS seat on my 'Rex back further and almost ended up on my head a few times. The weight distribution was so heavily rear-biased that just trying to start uphill was enough to provoke a wheelie. The fact that my seat is almost all the way back to start with probably contributed to the problem, as did my height (6'3"). Needless to say;, I'm back with the original seat position.

SP
Bend, OR

I agree - I don't se any real benefit you'd gain from an m5 seat other than making it less comfortable. The v-rex is just about as good as it can get stock. I'd spend the money on the hot rod mods.

I agree, don't change the seat. Anyway, the first upgrade should be the wheels. (IMHO) I'm not convinced that 'hot-rodding' a V-Rex does what the name implies. If you like the 'superman' position better than the 'praying hamster' then go for it, otherwise save your money. What the superman position gains in aero positioning of the arms, it loses with a wider profile.

I actually like the praying hamster position of the arms from the very beginning. Maybe because an older V-Rex (this one) and a Rocket are the only ones I have tried. I probably will not change that. The suggestions on the seat sound quite reasonable so I will leave that alone. The wheel suggestions sound good. What I have seen are the Velocity wheels, which seem good. Are there other choices out there that are better?

Thanks for your input.

IMO, you can't get better than velocity wheels for price and durability. If you want never-fail wheels, go with the heavier aerospokes.