Back Page: The Hot-SeatBy Bob BryantIf you’ve read RCN for very long you mayhave noticed that I’m frequently on thehot-seat for something. One thing aboutme is that if you want to nit-pick or dissectanything I’ve written — you have a lot of ammunitionwith 100 issues of RCN in print overthe last 16 years. I frequently hear that I onlylike “Easy Racers bikes”, “Long Wheelbasebikes”, “Crank-Forwards” or “Trikes.”The truth is that I like all recumbents — andbicycles for that matter. For longer rides inthe country or touring I prefer a robust longwheelbase recumbent — preferably with lots offoot/wheel clearance for big tires with fenders(I'm currently looking for this bike). I like goingfast down quiet country roads on performancebents, and racing around neighborhood streetson trikes. I also have a upright MTB/commuterfor trail riding in the woods and riding on rainydays. I love low speed trail riding.I’ve been criticized for not liking highracersand performance recumbents. It's true thatskinny tire bikes don’t work as well for my localriding, as I can’t take them on trails, local shortcutsthrough the woods (cuts of miles of ridingand is a safer route). That said, I like them andif I had the bucks for a fleet of bents’ I’d ownone — and the lighter the better. I'd also havea shell seat on it. I have given great reviews toprevious Bacchettas and Volaes. We currentlyhave a Volae Expedition Pro here now. I lovethe concept of the dual big wheels. Utilizinghigh end road bike components to standardizeand lighten our bikes is a brilliant idea.As for other performance bikes, I have nevertested a lowracer, nor do I hear from builders.I have owned many performance recumbentsover the years and I like them very much.Some people think I don’t like bikes withhigh pedals/bottom bracket. What I believe isthat these are more for serious enthusiasts whowant to wear Lycra and use clipless pedals. Arecumbent with low pedals doesn’t require theseitems. Here is a quote from a recent RCN: “Seriousenthusiasts are capable of making up theirown minds what works best for them.” Thispretty much sums it up.Contrary to popular belief, I don’t hate Lycra.I own some and use it when I go on non-commutingsporting rides. What I don’t like is whena Lycra-clad racer makes me feel inadequate forbeing a utlity/commuter cyclist — like I’m justnot serious enough or good enough.To be honest, it really doesn't matter what Ilike. I much prefer to publish reader-reviewsby passionate enthusiasts who love what theyare writing about. If they need help writingwith the article, we can do that too. We lovedJay Singer's Challenge article in this issue andDiane Pittman's SatRDay article in RCN 099. Itis also our privelage to work with writers suchas Larry Varney (Catrike Expedition) and AlanBarnard (Easy Racers Javelin).CURRENT BENTS GOOD ENOUGH?A blogger wrote a critical post about my RCN099 essay online, “The Ultimate Affordableand Rider Friendly Recumbent.” However, henever wrote a letter to RCN about it. I won’tdebate each of his comments as he has a rightto his own opinion, but here is my bottom line:If a manufacturer built the recumbent basedthe basic criteria in my article — it could be agreat news for our industry. There is nothingnegative about it and I think everybody wouldagree (except perhaps this blogger) that a sub-$1000, 26”/20”, low pedals, rider-friendly,long wheelbase with a low step-over frameand around 30 pounds would be a good thing.My intention for this article was to get peopleto THINK about promoting recumbency to awider spectrum of people — perhaps the 65%of Americans who don’t ride bikes, or eventhe forward thinking people starting to thinkabout bikes as transportation (see the link toTrek/John Burke’s Tapei address about “TheBicycle Industry’s Greatest Opportunity” in ourblog’s April 2007 archive.This blogger’s comments led me to wonderif he thinks the current crop of recumbents aregood enough, can’t get any better and perhapswe shouldn’t even try to make them better? Myview is that the bikes can always get better,more comfortable, more affordable and be soldto a larger market. Note to blogger: please writea letter to RCN next time.ACTIONBENT ONLINE CRITICSA few enthusiasts at an online forum werecommenting about our RCN 099 Actionbentreview and how it was misleading. One readereven thought it was a parody. RCN is uniquein that we publish reader and owner reviews.The benefit is that there are many voices — notjust the same reviewer. I don't think the authorbought the bike with the idea of spending allof that money on upgrades. He was initiallylooking for an affordable tough SWB. This wasnot your typical recumbent road test — but theActionbent is not your average recumbent. Itseems to appeal to bargain hunters and tinkerers— buyers who are willing to go it alonewithout a local dealer to lean on.”Another forum reader commented thatperhaps the article was titled incorrectly, andperhaps should have been called, “How I blew$1,200 and learned my lesson.” Perhaps a bitharsh, but I agree the article could have beentitled better. I’m was most disappointed thatthere were criticisms of the article by peoplewho had never read the article — such is lifeon the Internet.RCN SMALLER?I've had a few comments about the smallersize of the last few RCN issues. The reasonfor the smaller size is that we lost about threepages of advertisers for 2007. We also reducedthe type face size from 10-point to 9-point inorder to make RCN a bit more compact, lighterand more affordable to mail.We were hit with the biggest postal increasethat I can ever recall in May of this year. Firstclass postage went up .27 cents per mailedRCN! This may necessitate a format redesignto a smaller page size. We are currently exploringthe possibilities. Printing has also gone upsignificantly in the last two years and RCN rateshaven't gone up at all.REVIEWS WANTEDWe'd like go received reader reviews of theCatrike Trail, Lightfoot Explorer, Sun trikes,Bacchetta Corsa, Carbon Aero, and Cycle GeniusLTX. We also need some good touring,home-built, or customizing stories. If you havean idea for a bike review or RCN story, pleaseemail us at: recumbentcyclist@gmail.com.RCN TIPSDISC WHEELS & BRAKES: If you arebuying a bike with linear (V-) brakes, then youprobably want natural aluminum rims (notdark anodized), or at least machined sidewallsand you don't really want disc hubs (they areweaker because they have more off-set for thedisc rotor. It seems like some of the rim makersdon't do as very good of a job machiningthe seams of wheels that are meant for discbrakes.ON BIKE WEIGHT: Seen on the web: "AllBicycles weigh 40 pounds; A 30 pound bicycleneeds a 10 pound lock. A 20 pound bicycleneeds a 20 pound lock. A 40 pound bicycledoesn’t need a lock. — Bicycle Law."◆--------------------------------------------------------------WWW.BENTRIDERONLINE.COMThe Internet's Largest Online Recumbent Zine--------------------------------------------------------------HAMPTON'S EDGE TRAILSIDE BIKESSales · Service · RentalsEasy Racers · Sun ·Bacchetta · CatrikeTurner · Cycle Genius · RANS9550 East Atkinson Court in Istachatta cetralFlorida on the Withlacoochee Trail 60miles north of Tampa Tel. 352-799-4979 ·www.hamptonsedge.com--------------------------------------------------------------- 22 -
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