C y c l i s t R e c u m b e n t The RANS Fusion - Steve Briggs

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Letters to RCNIf you have a comment, or a differing view or experience, send us a letter.Please limit your letter to 300 words. We reserve the right to edit for clarity,content and space limitations. Write: .DAKOTA REVIEW RCN 090Thanks very much for your excellent Dakota review. I think youcaptured the essence of the bike. You even managed to convey correctlythat Iʼm somewhat cranky about the design of Barcroft bikes.For your future files, all Barcroft Virginia and Dakota bikes from nowon (i.e., 2006 models on) will have sliding booms and be powdercoated.Weʼve finally found a good Baltimore powdercoater (thanksto the Baltimore framebuilder Tom Bruni, who sadly died earlier thissummer in a bike crash). The tandem Columbia will also be powdercoated.Bill Cook, Barcroft Cycleswww.barcroftcycles.comEditor's Comments: Bill, we love it when a busy builder takes thetime to comment on our reviews. We spend many hours setting up thebikes, riding, pondering and writing about the bikes — and we reallyappreciate it when we hear feedback (good or bad). We also receiveda call from Paulo Camasmie (Catrike Speed review) and an emailfrom Randy Schlitter (RANS Stratus XP review). Thanks!David riding the WizWheelz EdgeWIZWHEELZ EDGEIt is exciting being on the EDGE! WizWheelz has created a trikethat I merely ride around in and people beg to take it for a testspin. With just a quick adjustment of the seat to their exact specificationsthey are able to have a trike that fits them perfectly. Havingdialed in my seating position Iʼve found this trike incredibly quick,supremely comfortable, and refreshingly convenient to ride for commutesor centuries, but also then to just pick up and pack away.Three big factors make this trike so easy to ride: its low weight,adjustable seating and direct steering. First, the 28-pound EDGEallows one to keep pace with other cyclists when ascending hills;second, the various settings for seat placement mean that the rider canfind an optimal position for comfort and “power transfer;” and finally,the EDGEʼs direct steering imparts great confidence and ease on fastdescents.The EDGE accomplishes all this with overall physical dimensionsthat make for ease of passage through a normal doorway opening orfor transporting the trike in the back of a vehicle — it fits diagonallybehind my back seat in my compact station wagon! And when I lift it,I donʼt get chain lube on my hands or in the vehicle since most of thechain travels through a frame tube.I believe that WizWheelz, in creating the EDGE, has raised thestandard for recumbent performance trikes to a new level of performance,comfort, and convenience. Performance is one aspect thatʼsrelative, but there can be no doubt that this trike will be among thefastest that one can buy — at any price. Personally, I now feel no “hillhandicap” when out riding with my bike club roadie friends, and beingable to say that speaks volumes. Comfort has been one of the standardsof WizWheelz design from the very beginning and the EDGEcontinues that tradition in a very refined manner. Finally, this trike isnow conveniently available at nationwide dealers at a decent price.My recommendation: get on the EDGE!David LawsonCOUNTERPOINT TRIKE WITH 36,000 MILESI ride a rare Counterpoint Triad tadpole trike. It was built in themid-1990ʼs as a three-wheeled version of the Counterpoint PrestoSWB recumbent. The Triad has above-seat steering, a 20.5”-high seat,an 18.5”-high bottom bracket and elastomer seat suspension. I currentlyhave 36,707 miles on this trike. My gear range is 16-90 gear inches.Iʼm running Conti Top Touring tires that have 8,800 miles on thefronts and 6,500 on the rear. After wearing out two suspension units,I removed the suspension. I have found that seat angles of less than60 degrees cause neck and shoulder problems that I fought for yearson wedgies [upright bikes - Ed.]. I am quite happy with my Triad andcontinue to ride 3,000 miles per year, but I am nervous about the lifeexpectancy of the Triad. You reviewed many trikes in RCN 088, noneof which would meet my needs. I am 81 years old and question myability to get up from seats that are so low, plus I canʼt handle the veryreclined seat backs. I hope to see reviews of tadpoles like mine in thefuture.PS: I realize that my Triad may well outlast me!Donald CockeramRichland, WAEditorʼs Comments: Thanks for the great letter. I think youʼve gotyour moneyʼs worth from the Triad. While this is a rare trike, thosewho own them seem to love them. The recumbent movement is movingtowards lower, more laid back and more performance oriented models.Perhaps this letter will serve as a wake-up call to would-be builderswho would like to build taller commuting and touring trikes. The onlythat come to mind for me are the Lightfoot, Sun and Human PoweredMachines delta trikes.SAFETY SWERVELocal bike riding for me in Port Townsend, Washington, often startson Hastings Road, a narrow asphalt road with no shoulders. Althoughthe posted speed limit is 35 mph, cars and trucks often pass at 50 mphor faster. I ride a recumbent and I use a rear view mirror, and sometimesI see that approaching cars and trucks apparently arenʼt goingto give me much room. Still worse, a car may be approaching fromahead of me, while the one in my rear view appears about to reach meat the same time, and believe me, these folks are in a hurry.I can almost read the mind of the vehicle driver behind me, espe-6 Recumbent Cyclist News
cially, it seems, if he drives an SUV. “Iʼm askilled driver, and I know I can fit betweenthat car and that bicyclist, no sweat!” Iʼvebeen closely shaved like this in the past, andwhen you consider that maybe as many ashalf the drivers on the road have less than anaverage IQ (and many may have had a licensefor only a few years) this is a terrifyingproposition.My current solution is simple. If I seethis situation developing (or if it looks likeI wonʼt get much room), I swerve when thecar is about 100 yards behind me. Nothingreally fancy, just a loopy swerve perhaps twofeet out into the roadway and back on myline. All of a sudden the driver behind meis not so sure. His skills are adequate to thetask, but apparently my bike riding skills, mysanity, or both are second-rate, so threadingthe needle might lead to scratching his paintjob or even denting his new car (in additionto having to call for an ambulance on his cellphone). Since Iʼve started using this techniqueIʼve never had a problem with closeapproaches by such “highly skilled” drivers.Remember, it might be good to practicethis swerve when no cars are in sight. Also,swerving while the car is upon you can leadto bloodshed (do the swerve well before theyarrive), and a rearview mirror is an essentialpiece of equipment for successfully performing“the safety swerve.”Chet Rideoutchetride@msn.comEditor Comments: Use this technique at yourown risk, I know I do.DELTA MYTHSI wanted to add some notes to John Lindsayʼsexcellent practical and factual review ofthe Sun delta trike, concerning characteristicswhich may be true of the Sun trike, but whichshould not be extrapolated to all delta trikedesigns.The Sun trike uses an ordinary “adult trikestyle rear end, with a solid or two-piece axlebetween the rear wheels. This configurationimposes several limits on the transmission.First, John expressed his disappointmentin the narrow gear range, which was both toohigh for climbing and too low on the highend. This is not a failing of all deltas. Boththe Penninger and the Lightfoot use a jackshaft transmission system that incorporatesan additional mid-drive sprocket, allowingfor compound gearing. In the case of theLightfoot, the standard gear range is from9 gear-inches to 120, with a choice of 10 to15% changes between gears.Secondly, there is no choice of wheels withthe “adult” rear end, and repair of a damagedrim or hub may involve lengthy waitsfor factory-built replacements, or in Johnʼscase, buying $466 worth of replacement rearwheels. I believe that the Lightfoot delta designsare unique in permitting the use of anyordinary (and affordable) 26” rear wheels.John noted that carrying a load on therear of a delta is limited by the fact that itis already heavily loaded by design. Unbalancedcargo loading, however, is veryavoidable. A jack shaft transmission opensup the space between the rear wheels. Cargoplaced between the rear wheels, as done onthe Lightfoot models, is distributed in front ofand behind the rear axle, neither weighting orde-weighting the front wheel.Another loading issue was mentioned byJohn as being common to deltas, the tendencyof the front wheel to de-weight and “skate”.This is often, but not necessarily, true ofa delta. Lightfoot models are carefullydesigned to have about 30% of the weight onthe front wheel.A myth that John did not mention, butbears mention here because it accompaniesthe delta wherever it goes, is that the tadpoleconfiguration is superior in that it is stablewhile the delta is not. A little less stabilitycan be quite workable, as anyone who drivesa mini van instead of a Ferrari will tell you.It is true that in the worst case (emergencybraking and turning) having the wide end ofthe trike forward is to be preferred. Thereare deltas that require the rider to lean intosharp turns (such as the Hase and Penningermodels), and there are delta designs that areharder to get up on two wheels than manytadpoles (such as the Lightfoot RoadRunner).And, almost any delta becomes more stableas it is loaded.As John shows us, there is plenty of roomfor delta trikes in the recumbent pantheon.Rod MinerLightfoot Cycles Inc.Editor Comments: We'd love to review aLightfoot delta trike, how about it Rod?USX UPDATEAfter having my trike wheels custom built(RCN 89 page 15) the spokes started workingloose every few weeks because the shop copiedthe light duty wheelʼs offset dish pattern(that came with the trike).I asked several trike and quad buildersabout the problem. They said wheels withrims centered between the flanges are muchstronger (symmetrical dishing).I took the rear wheels in to Mikeʼs Bikes(.com) in Sequim, WA, and paid $50 to havethem reconfigure the spokes with high tensionon both sides. Low tension on one sidewas the cause of the problem.John Lindsayjawnn.geo@yahoo.comEditor's Comments: I saw John the other dayand he has since tied and soldered his spokeswhich he says has been working better.BENEFITS OF TRIANGULATIONIn your review of the RANS Force 5 youmissed the biggest benefit of a triangulatedframe: bending. On a monotube, your weighttends to bend the frame down under yourbutt. Because you are sitting on top of thetube, like a giant pushing the towers apart ona suspension bridge, the middle tries to riseand fall with every pedal stroke.As a BIG rider (6ʼ6”, 250 pounds), mymonotube Phantom (with 300-pound option)flexes no less than 1/2” when I sit on it.And being a fairly strong rider, my energiesnoticeably make me go up and down ratherthan forward. It seems to me itʼs a basic contradictionthat a recumbent frame is designedto flex for a smooth ride, but must be stiff inthe same direction for maximum pedalingefficiency. In addition, the typical rear dropoutmounted seat stay bypasses the passivesuspension entirely and road shock enters theupper back and neck directly, the areas mostsensitive to it.I see this as a basic failure in both theRANS and Bacchetta design approaches. Asa remedy, I suggest a new direction in recumbentframe design: make the middle-forwardpart of the frame very stiff and concentratethe tuned flex rearward of the seat pan. Also,the rear seat stay attachment must be movedaway from the rear axle and attached closerto the inflexion point, maybe half-way upthe chainstay or on a seat mast off the mainframe. This would supply more than amplesupport for the seat back with little additionalframe stress.Currently there are few, if any, unsuspendedframe designs which follow theseprinciples. Using them in the next generationof recumbents can mean a smoother ride andgreater efficiency all around without addingheavy suspension.John Duvalcatgita@worldnet.att.netEditorʼs Comments: There are two differentissues here: The first is ride comfort forrecumbent bicycles, and the second is abouthighracers in general. Certainly designchanges could be made to improve the comforton some recumbents. Two bikes that looksimilar can ride differently. Weʼve experiencedthis recently in both our tadpole trikeand long wheelbase reviews.Now back to the matter at hand: Highracersare designed for performance, and like adiamond-frame road bike, this means a stiffframe so that no power is lost. Some designerswill choose a lightweight (monotube)frame design over a stiffer triangulated framefor aesthetic reasons, to save weight or fora more shock absorbant ride. Larger ridersmight find a bike like this too flexible.. . . Letters continued on page 24September/October 2005 7
Page 1 and 2: R e c u m b e n tC y c l i s tNewsR
Page 3 and 4: RRecumbent NewsRANS STRATUS XP UPDA
Page 5: Left: TheBionX kitfor a freewheel (
Page 9 and 10: fast as most of our test bikes in t
Page 11 and 12: 2006 RANS Dynamik Duo tandemPhoto c
Page 13 and 14: excellently, though speed is about
Page 15 and 16: BIKE: SpiderBUILDER: BurleyORIGIN:
Page 17 and 18: fenders required custom cutting man
Page 19 and 20: Bicycle Miles Per GallonBy Chet Rid
Page 21 and 22: 12th Annual Midwest Recumbent Rally
Page 23 and 24: ike, or fast recumbent.CF climbing
Page 25 and 26: website. I recommend it. Thanks aga
Page 27 and 28: Short Cranks: Slicker, Quicker & Ea
Page 29 and 30: Sidebar: Short CranksBy Bob BryantS
Page 31 and 32: September/October 2005 31

C y c l i s t R e c u m b e n t The RANS Fusion - Steve Briggs

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?