The Sunshine State Recumbent Rally for 2008 is scheduled for November 7th through 9th and now accepting registrations.

Catrike, Bacchetta, and Power On Cycling will be present to unveil their 2009 products and provide equipment for test rides.  There will also be a Q&A, newbie session, prizes, and both guided and self-guided rides.

Check out the Sunshine State Recumbent Rally web site for more info.

Tags: power on cycling | bacchetta | catrike | florida | rally | sunshine state

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Sure, it has probably been a long time since you pulled the sticker out of a pack of cards and slapped it on your books, backpacks, and bikes.  You might think you're too old for stickers these days, but I'm willing to bet you'd feel differently about vinyl decals of recumbent bikes, trikes, and tandems.

Denny Vorhees, long time BentRider and RBR regular, supplied RBR with a few sample decals some months ago.  They were a hit at the rally.  The news now is that Denny has ramped up production and is selling the decals through his website.

Tags: stickers | decals | denny | vinyl | bling

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Tim Blangger of The Morning Call, an Allentown, PA newspaper, contacted RBR about a month ago with questions about recumbents.  He was looking to do a piece on our bikes/trikes of choice and that piece is now available online.

The first half of the article hits on all the common reasons why recumbents are not quite perfect, though some of the points are strained at best.  The second half hits some of the benefits and also focuses on RBR's contribution to the article.

To say that some recumbent riders are displeased with the tone would be an understatement.  One has only to look at the comments attached to the article to see that riders have already started firing back.

Tags: article | newspaper | the morning call | tim blangger

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RBR customer Jim T. sent us an image a while back of his Optima Baron sporting Bacchetta tweener bars.  You might have seen that pic in our Customer Photos gallery.

Jim recently wrote RBR to divulge a bit of what went into his custom modification.  I have to admit that I am still in the infancy stage when it comes to my technical knowledge of recumbents and cycling, so I'm going to just spit this out and leave it to your interpretation:

• Replacement handle bars – bacchetta 22” (I like the wider bars for my wider rear end!)
• Riser 10.5” – cut down 4.5” (this gives me a ½ inch knee clearance on my upstroke)
• B-Pivot
• Spacer for fork stem – 29 mm ID x 40 mm OD x 41.5 mm L – In a perfect world I would have cut down the stem on the front fork that 41.5 mm – making the spacer was easier – If I ever change out the front fork to a carbon one – then I’ll make that change and eliminate the spacer.

So there you have it, the ingredients of a successful conversion. And what does Jim think of his Baron? "This bike is FAST!!!!"

Tags: tweener bars hamster conversion opt

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Not too long ago, a customer came to the shop looking to trade in an old trike towards a newer long wheelbase bike.  The trike had seen better times and was covered with dust and grime, but the 700c tire on the rear revealed that it wasn't just any piece of kit.

A little research showed it to be a circa 1990 ICE Trice, one of the earliest models to be sold in the US and the first Trice to feature 20" fronts and the 700c rear.  It was also the last model of Trice to feature their fiberglass seat, which was amazingly intact (with original seat cushion!) on the trike that was traded in.

Not everything survived the years.  The original steering bars had long since been replaced by a standard set of handlebars and some custom bar ends sporting hand rests.  The idler also had been replaced by one intended for BMX bikes.  While the front brakes were still functional, the rear brake was shot.

Still, there was a lot of promise in the 18 year old trike, so Rob took it in and handed it over to Oliver for reconditioning.

Tags: trice | trike | tricycle | recondition | classic | ice | oliver

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EBent, over at the 'BentRider Online forums, recently posted to let the world know that yes, recumbents can race off-road. Here's what he had to say:

At the last minute, I entered an MTB off-road bike race this Sunday (2 days before the race) and to my shock and pleasant surprise, I came in 4th in my age group (top 1/3 overall in my division)!

The shock/surprise came from:

-I "raced" on my wife's stock Rans Stratus.

-Tires were Big Apples.

-I'm 47 and haven't done this kind of intense off-road riding since my 20's.

-It was a fairly intense 12 mile course with steep elevation gain/loss over logging trails and single track with plenty of mud due to wet summer here in New England, plus rain the day before the race. Yes, I had to get off and push my bike in a few spots, but so were all those on MTB's around me. Yes, I'm plenty sore today.

Tags: rans | bravado | mountain | mtb | ebent

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There was an ... incident ... during the 2008 RBR rally in which some Pennsylvania wildlife perpetrated an attack upon one of the intrepid trikers. This incident has served as an inspiration for song.

BlindTriker, another rally attendee, posted the following shortly after arriving home:

Tags: rbr | rally | 2008 | chipmunk | bentjay | blindtriker | ballad | squirrell

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It's a rainy Tuesday afternoon, and there's a slight buzz in the shop. It's there because of what has to be one of the most daring, possibly foolhardy, things I've ever witnessed.

A single man who hasn't biked in some time is in the shop picking up his Greenspeed trike, Burley trailer, Arkel bags, tools, supplies, and water bottles in anticipation of riding it all out of the front door of the shop and straight to Akron, Ohio!

Meet Linden, a man with a mission. The mission is to take as long as necessary to bike his new purchase all the way home. This isn't the first time he has done this, either. When he was 15, he went on a bicycle trip of Europe without incident even though he had no experience. He readily admits he has the type of personality to just decide to do something, to persevere until he succeeds or fails spectacularly.

Tags: bravado | akron | tour | trike | greenspeed

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Leo Lyman, glass artisan, brought to our attention the fact that he creates glass representations of recumbent bicycles.  Read the rest of this entry...

Tags: recumbent | leo lyman | ornament | glass

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Rob called me at 11:13 on Friday and said, "Amputees Across America is here.  You might want to come meet them."  He thought that because of my BikeAble initiative, and he was right.

Tags: amputees across america | rob | joe sapere | luke myers | visit

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There's no limit to the lengths Catrikers will go to show their Cat pride. Case in point: ffinklow's customized Catrike chain guard as done by the folks at Purely Custom.

Tags: catrike | chain | guard | custom

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Rob had mercy on my poor soul. For my first ever build, he threw me a blue Sun EZ-3 SX. Even though the outside of the box stated clearly that the trike was "partially assembled", I had no idea just how assembled it already was until I opened the box.

Tags: trike | sun | ez-3 | newbie | build | easy | cocky

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There's no use trying to sugarcoat this - I have no clue when it comes to bicycles. When I say "no clue", I mean no clue. I put my feet on the pedals, push them around, and try not to fall over.

Tags: build | newbie | trike | ez-3 | sun

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I now totally understand when manufacturers tell me "we are waiting on a vendor"!

Pulling the Aergo together is a learning experience and I am humbled. :) To answer a few inquiries, here's some of what's going on in our heads:

Tags: aergo | velomobile | progress

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