Let me first say that I am striving to avoid any gross generalizations that would suggest that recumbent riders are all bearded engineering types who tinker with their machines endlessly. This stereotype is a disservice to the many female benters who ride sans beard. And, honestly, every area of interest has an audience that likes to customize and experiment. It's just that we bent folks don't usually mind making our weird bikes weirder. Whatever it takes to meet our goals and tailor our bikes to our personalities.
Having said all that, we received some mail from customer Chris Malloy, owner of both an EasyRacers Javelin and a Challenge Seiran SL, telling us how he has modified his rides. And he included photos, which is a sure-fire way to get your stuff posted here.
First up, the Javelin:
This is my EasyRacers Javelin with a RANS Hoagie seat and "V" clamp attachment. There is a Rohloff hub too, and, if you're watching, no front derailleur. The rohloff has such a range I just manually set the chainring to the low ring for hilly terrain and the larger one for flatter rides. The headrest is from the back seat of a 2005 Toyota. I just got the RANS seat so I used what I had lying around.
I put an extension in the standard issue Javelin handlebar riser to get the handlebars positioned. Angled this low, the steering is virtually all tiller with my knees rising above the handlebar when pedalling. It takes some getting used to but I like it. The bike frame is titanium, so seat, rohloff, riser extender and all weigh 29 lbs.
The EasyRacers seat was comfortable enough but I wanted more recline.
Next, the NuVinci'd Challenge Seiran SL:
These are pictures of a Challenge Seiran SL with a NuVinci hub. Pictures:
1. The hub. It is heavy. The bike weighs 32 lbs as is. I like it because there is always a good gear. In accelerating I can just twitch a finger to keep the pedal effort constant and pretty soon I'm doing 20 mph
without being aware of any increased effort. And, it's smooth and quiet.
2. The whole bike. The thing under the seat is a gizmo intended to be put on a rake or shovel handle to change the grip. I bolted bottle holders to it and hose clamped it to the frame. The velcro strap around the seat is just because I am a belt and suspenders kind of guy.
3. The shifter. The "inchworm" changes to indicate the terrain you are theoretically on at that point. This is a lowish gear for moderate hills.
The lowest gear in the hub is a .5 reduction. In reality the chainring to sprocket ratio cannot be less than 2:1 so the effect seems to be a lowest gear ratio of 1:1. Let me know if my understanding is wrong. I know on hills the gears feel like they should be lower.
I can't deny that the use of the Toyota headrest on the Javelin is a nice touch. Never would have thought to do that!
Thanks Chris for sending in your mods!
