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#11
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Low Cost SWB Comments?
Hey guys -
Sorry for the extra message to you newreader types. I'm just bumping this thread back up ahead of the latest round of SPAM from the anonymous jerk, who will hopefully now consider his duty done till March at least. Regards, Wayne |
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#12
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Low Cost SWB Comments?
"32GO" wrote in message ups.com... Hey gang - PW (echoed by similar suggestions) wrote: If you can find a used Haluzak Horizon Buy it... Thanks for the replies. I was purposely a little vague about 'WHY' I was looking for a lowl-cost SWB, not being devious, but more in the way of playing it down. However, that seems to have confused the issue. I have a retail storefront trike shop, and although we're not (nearly) looking to expand into a more general 'bent store or 'real' LBS, we do get a number of requests for the type of bike I mentioned. There are now a number of new trikes listing for under $2000, with several available from dealers. Given the much simpler construction of (essentially two-dimensional) bike frames versus trikes, it seems to me that we should be seeing a good $1000 SWB on the market, ala Lightning's discontinued Thunderbolt and others. Marketing is a confusing mess, and there are lots of reasons why good designs fail, while others with less 'value' succeed, and recumbent bikes in general seem to having a hard time lately. Anyway, I am interested in suggestions for 'my idea of the right SWB', available via a dealer network as new bikes in small quantities. Please keep suggestions and comments coming. If you want a SWB bike to carry in your shop, get the RANS Rocket and don't look back. I have never heard anything but good reports on this bike and even Tom Sherman liked it a lot. I think it sells retail for around $1000. By the way, the Lightning P-38 was always vastly overrated - and not everyone liked that bike by any means. The high BB bothered many, but I think the high cost of it was what finally killed it. Regards, Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota aka Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota PS. Bike riding has already reached its glory days and it will now be on the decline into the foreseeable future. We are becoming more and more sedentary in our lifestyles and the roads and highways are a mess everywhere. The only thing that can somewhat save the bicycle are the many bike trails that are being built. But this may just be the last gasp for an adult toy that never really was popular. Most folks just do not like to peddle. |
#13
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Low Cost SWB Comments?
"32GO" wrote in message oups.com... Hey guys - Sorry for the extra message to you newreader types. I'm just bumping this thread back up ahead of the latest round of SPAM from the anonymous jerk, who will hopefully now consider his duty done till March at least. You do not understand the SPAMMING TROLL. The reason you do not understand him is because you do not have a sufficiently deep appreciation of just how foul human nature can be. It really does take someone like me who has been around for awhile to give you some insight on these types. They are basically criminal scum. As such, they belong in very small prison cells with other criminal scum where they can prey on one another. Their lives tend to be nasty, poor, brutish and short. They are not civilized nor are they even socialized. In short, they are criminal scum. There! Now that you are up to speed, let us hope that you do not waste your time playing games with him. I think he is Ed Gin, but if not him, then one of his associates. Jim McNamara is the expert on this tribe of criminal scum. He is NOT one of them, but it seems he knows them to his eternal discredit. Trust me on this Wayne, you do not ever want to know them, let alone get anywhere close to them. Regards, Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota aka Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota |
#14
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Low Cost SWB Comments?
On Feb 1, 11:14 pm, "Edward Dolan" wrote:
snip If you want a SWB bike to carry in your shop, get the RANS Rocket and don't look back. I have never heard anything but good reports on this bike and even Tom Sherman liked it a lot. I think it sells retail for around $1000. snip I would tend to agree. As far as value for the consumer, ease of riding for those unfamiliar with 'bents, and (IME) good customer service, the Rocket seems hard to beat. I can't speak to how favorable the _dealer_ experience is, of course... One caveat; although not a universal rule, the whole "slipping seat" problem with the RANS seat does exist (at least for fat guys like me), so stocking your shop with the new Memory Loc seat position retention devices (http://www.shoprans.com/proddetail.asp?prod=BPST0233) may be a wise idea, if you go the Rocket or V-Rex route. Also be aware that many standard rear racks will not easily fit, so you'd need to look at interesting adaptation efforts or ordering the seat-specific racks from RANS, if you wished to provide rear racks as an accessory option. Best, Dan |
#15
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Low Cost SWB Comments?
Dan wrote:
... the Rocket seems hard to beat. Except... as I noted in my first post, and I've spelled out a bit more in depth in the 'Availability of Better Wheel and Tire Sizes' thread, the Rocket has a 406 rear (drive) wheel, which limits its top gear. I've struggled with that limitation on trikes way too much to welcome it on a bike that we might sell. I'm a bit of a spinner; for me, like a whole lot of other cyclists, especially those who rarely see speeds above 20 MPH except on steep downhills where they're more concerned with braking than with gearing, a 90" high gear (2.85 m development) isn't a huge negative. But lots of other folks, for whatever reasons, whether real and practical or largely emotional, want gears some 15 to 20 per cent taller. I'd really like to find one bike that could satisfy as many customers as possible. Regards, Wayne |
#16
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Low Cost SWB Comments?
On Feb 2, 11:48 am, "32GO" wrote:
Dan wrote: ... the Rocket seems hard to beat. Except... as I noted in my first post, and I've spelled out a bit more in depth in the 'Availability of Better Wheel and Tire Sizes' thread, the Rocket has a 406 rear (drive) wheel, which limits its top gear. I've struggled with that limitation on trikes way too much to welcome it on a bike that we might sell. I'm a bit of a spinner; for me, like a whole lot of other cyclists, especially those who rarely see speeds above 20 MPH except on steep downhills where they're more concerned with braking than with gearing, a 90" high gear (2.85 m development) isn't a huge negative. But lots of other folks, for whatever reasons, whether real and practical or largely emotional, want gears some 15 to 20 per cent taller. I'd really like to find one bike that could satisfy as many customers as possible. Regards, Wayne Hmmm...did you factor the Rocket's stock 62/52/39 and 11/32 cassette into the calculations? The gear range on the Rocket is 26"-113", according to their website. That would seem to satisfy the criteria of "15-20% taller". ;-) Without actually doing the math, I think a 62-11 combo on a nominal 406 tire at 100 rpm is what, 30-33 mph? I know that's roughly where I start spinning out...those who spin better than I might see high 30s in mph. Best, Dan |
#17
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Low Cost SWB Comments?
In article 2007013118085416807-SPAMTRAPian@trikesandstuffDOTcoDOTuk,
k says... Be aware that 451 rims mean being restricted to Schwalbe Stevio or Primo Comets. And IRC Roadlites... -- Dave Larrington - http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/ Maffeo Barberini (1568-1644) was made entirely of salmon. |
#18
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Low Cost SWB Comments?
As Dan was posting this:
... did you factor the Rocket's stock 62/52/39 and 11/32 cassette into the calculations? The gear range on the Rocket is 26"-113", according to their website. I was mentioning in a private email to him that I had forgotten to note that the current (and maybe all?) Rockets have oversize chainrings, although not all of them are still running around wearing them. I (the critical engineer) am not fond of big chainrings as a workaround for small drive wheels. Lots of folks have tried and some still use them as aftermarket bits on tadpoles, of course. But they're not nearly perfect. No front derailleur I've seen is made with the radial curvature to match oversize rings, and (maybe especially when their mounting posts are tilted backward to span a wider difference in ring sizes) the actual path of the chain doesn't align with that the lateral contours (ramps) of the cage were designed for. It's not as big a problem for bikes as for trikes, which, with their low speed stability, can use a wider gear range, but another problem with big chainrings is that the same difference in size from small to large gives you a smaller gear range. For example, 23 teeth going from a 39 to a 62 tooth ring is a 1.59 ratio, while from a 30 to a 53 ring is a 1.76 ratio. The bottom line is that as you increase the top gear, the low end takes a sort of double whammy. In this example, while top gear goes up less 20 per cent, the low gear is 30 per cent higher. A third reason I like a larger wheel is that the super long cage rear derailleurs really should have a bit more ground clearance than they get with a 406 rear wheel. And finally, huge chainrings are simply more obtrusive and fragile. All that said, so far the RANS Rocket may be the best choice for this type of bike in its price range. Their V-Rex (with a 559 rear wheel) lists for $800 more. Regards, Wayne |
#19
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Low Cost SWB Comments?
On 2007-02-02 18:20:29 +0000, Dave Larrington
said: In article 2007013118085416807-SPAMTRAPian@trikesandstuffDOTcoDOTuk, k says... Be aware that 451 rims mean being restricted to Schwalbe Stevio or Primo Comets. And IRC Roadlites... If you can find them. -- Three wheels good, two wheels ok www.catrike.co.uk |
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