If that teaser photo we posted earlier wasn't enough, then you'll love these much sharper images posted to the Catrike forums.  Again, these run $139 a pair.  Catrike also mentioned that the bags are made from recycled materials and that "Arkel is using a handicapped team to help make them".

Tags: catrike | arkel | frame | bags | photos

Hits: 10

If you happened to look up, you probably noticed we have our new group photo posted.  The high res version is not yet available, but you can grab a lower res version for download.

We're happy to say that the smiles didn't leave the faces of our participants for the rest of the weekend. Well, except during a touch of painted arrow confusion that we're chalking up to some bored kids.

A lot of video footage was captured during the rally, which means it's going to be a while before we post any of it. I estimate that I have about 5 hours of raw footage to go through, cut up, put back together, and then soundtrack. It'll be worth the wait.

Tags: rbr | recumbent | rally | 2009 | group | photos

Hits: 71

Before the rally even officially started, we already have photos showing off the all new delta Aergo.  Everyone who has tried both tadpole and delta agrees that the delta version is far superior.

Check out the Rally 2009 gallery to see photos of it or take a look at the video we shot earlier today .  And check back Saturday and Sunday night for more rally photos.

Tags: rally | photos

Hits: 162

Razors Edge announced back in February that the resurrected Koosah was shipping out to retailers.  And now it's here in the shop!  The step-through frame on the long wheel base recumbent Koosah makes it a breeze to mount.  But really, I just take the pictures when new stuff comes in, so here they are:

Tags: photos | burley | koosah | edge | razors

Hits: 3394

Apologies for the delay in getting these posted.  As a reward for your patience, I'm including a photo that Rob asked me not to.  Sorry Rob.

Tags: cold | trike | recumbent | photos | snakeskin | terratrike

Hits: 1459

The TerraTrike Snakeskin Race has arrived at RBR. Since these are the first "in the wild" shots, we figured it'd be nice to put up some shots of the frame as we unboxed it today. Come back in a day or two to see photos of the completed trike.

Tags: terratrike | wizwheelz | snakeskin | race | photos | frame | velocity | rims

Hits: 1374

Catrike has gone color crazy as of late.  Just a month ago, they introduced the new aqua color for Cats and now they've gone further and introduced three new colors and a limited edition seat mesh with racing stripe!  This promotion is good through the end of February, so read on for the full details.

Tags: catrike | muscle | colors | promotion | photos

Hits: 1244 | Read more...

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!

Tags: challenge | seiran | sl | nuvinci | easyracers | javelin | mods | photos

Hits: 1045

As we mention on the Aergo page, the Aergo has its origins in the Aerolope velomobile.  Unfortunately, Aerolope info is a little tough to come by these days since it stopped production some time ago.  Thanks to the nature of the web, however, we do at least have a good selection of photos from the Aerolope days.

How is this news?  It isn't, really, but this time of year always makes me nostalgic.  Plus, 2008 has been a good year for Aergo development, and it seems appropriate to take a look back as we continue to move forward.

Tags: aergo | velomobile | aerolope | photos

Hits: 738

We've been playing around with the Aergo velomobile a bit since the last time we posted our progress.  We've improved the Aergo structurally and eliminated a lot of the shell wobble that used to be present.  We also added on side mirrors, opened up the floor to eliminate heel strike, and installed a BionX power assist system.

Road trials were planned (that is, Alycia was going to use it as a commuter) but we found a new wrinkle - the shell is so well secured that its height is inducing trike shimmy!  First step at working out that shimmy is to replace the bearings in the Catrike Trail that sits inside.

Take a look at what we've been up to!

Tags: aergo | velomobile | progress | catrike | photos | bionix | electric | assist

Hits: 651