26" Front Wheel on Burley Hepcat

Has anyone tried retro-fitting a 26" front wheel (vs the 20") on a
Burley Hepcat? If so, were there any geometry problems? Handling
issues? What fork did you go to? Since "Big Wheels Rule" now-a-days, I
thought I'd join the fray and make my bent go really fast by adding
the big wheel up front ;) Comments?

(remove 'despam' for direct reply}

Chuck

If you want to learn some interesting lessons then go right ahead and
put a 26" wheel and fork on the front end of your Hepcat, but know
that others have been there before you.

In stock form, The Hepcat in my opinion is one of the sweetest handling SWB
recumbents available commercially. Without going into detail, putting
a 26" front wheel on it will only screw it up. You will have geometry
problems, and perhaps design, and even ergonomic problems too.

Going to a large front wheel will simultaneously make the head angle
shallower, and increase the trail value thereby changing the feel of
the controls by a lot more than you might like. If you can obtain a
fork with an unusually large amount of offset you can lessen some of
the effect, but I predict that in any event you'll surely be
disappointed with the resultant handling. You may also have problems
with the cranks overlapping the front wheel. I don't know about you,
but for me that is a recipe for a sure accident. Also, what do you
think about pedaling around with your feet up in your field of
vision? It may also be an issue for you whether or not your blood
will struggle to reach your toes?

In addition to understanding some of the mathematics and physics
involved I've got multiple bikes including one convertible SWB/LWB
recumbent with whose geometry I've experimented extensively. I've
done this type of thing before - including the sure accident. So I'm
not just talking out my butt.

Besides - a 26" wheel won't make you go any faster! It will make the
ride a bit smoother though if you use an equivalent tire and pressure.

Have fun!

if you go to smartgroups.com and punch in burleyriders there is a
picture of one, but it's a Canto. Plus a hard shell on a hepcat

wrote:
Has anyone tried retro-fitting a 26" front wheel (vs the 20") on a
Burley Hepcat? If so, were there any geometry problems? Handling
issues? What fork did you go to? Since "Big Wheels Rule" now-a-days, I
thought I'd join the fray and make my bent go really fast by adding
the big wheel up front ;) Comments?

(remove 'despam' for direct reply}

Chuck

there are many bikes with this conversion, such as v-rex and vision.
Post on BROL about it, you'll get some good advice. It will change the
handling some, but it won't be that drastic. Biggest thing is the seat
height will be quite a bit higher.

George MacKenzie wrote:
If you want to learn some interesting lessons then go right ahead and
put a 26" wheel and fork on the front end of your Hepcat, but know
that others have been there before you.

In stock form, The Hepcat in my opinion is one of the sweetest handling SWB
recumbents available commercially. Without going into detail, putting
a 26" front wheel on it will only screw it up. You will have geometry
problems, and perhaps design, and even ergonomic problems too.

Going to a large front wheel will simultaneously make the head angle
shallower, and increase the trail value thereby changing the feel of
the controls by a lot more than you might like. If you can obtain a
fork with an unusually large amount of offset you can lessen some of
the effect, but I predict that in any event you'll surely be
disappointed with the resultant handling. You may also have problems
with the cranks overlapping the front wheel. I don't know about you,
but for me that is a recipe for a sure accident. Also, what do you
think about pedaling around with your feet up in your field of
vision? It may also be an issue for you whether or not your blood
will struggle to reach your toes?

In addition to understanding some of the mathematics and physics
involved I've got multiple bikes including one convertible SWB/LWB
recumbent with whose geometry I've experimented extensively. I've
done this type of thing before - including the sure accident. So I'm
not just talking out my butt.

Besides - a 26" wheel won't make you go any faster! It will make the
ride a bit smoother though if you use an equivalent tire and pressure.

Have fun!

Thanks for all the comments. I'm not going to mess with a good thing.
I have installed a Pantour suspension hub on the front wheel. It does
makes a difference in the ride.

On Sun, 29 Feb 2004 06:09:47 -0600, rskeny
wrote:

Ok so ditch the 26" front wheel how about putting a front fork with
shock in it to smoth out the ride???

wrote:

Has anyone tried retro-fitting a 26" front wheel (vs the 20") on a
Burley Hepcat? If so, were there any geometry problems? Handling
issues? What fork did you go to? Since "Big Wheels Rule" now-a-days, I
thought I'd join the fray and make my bent go really fast by adding
the big wheel up front ;) Comments?

(remove 'despam' for direct reply}

Chuck

Ok so ditch the 26" front wheel how about putting a front fork with
shock in it to smoth out the ride???

wrote:

Has anyone tried retro-fitting a 26" front wheel (vs the 20") on a
Burley Hepcat? If so, were there any geometry problems? Handling
issues? What fork did you go to? Since "Big Wheels Rule" now-a-days, I
thought I'd join the fray and make my bent go really fast by adding
the big wheel up front ;) Comments?

(remove 'despam' for direct reply}

Chuck

bentbiker writes:

there are many bikes with this conversion, such as v-rex and
vision. Post on BROL about it, you'll get some good advice. It will
change the handling some, but it won't be that drastic. Biggest thing
is the seat height will be quite a bit higher.


Have you actually ridden one or more of these conversions yourself?