|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
ryan recumbent history
A bit of Ryan Recumbent customer history
Bob Reed was Trek's head engineer, he developed Trek's OCLV frames. Bob helped me with some surplus suspension parts for a prototype bike. Unfortunately he died in a car crash ending my unofficial association with Trek. Augie Nieto, owner of Life Fitness, one of the largest fitness equipment companies in the world. Expressed some interest in the company, but nothing ever came of it. Vic Sussman, Vic was an editor at US News and World Report. Vic did a big article in the magazine with a center fold spread picture of the Vanguard and the Rebike. I spent years trying to get coverage on the bikes and this was a really big deal for us. Bur unfortunately they printed the wrong phone number for us resulting in some woman in Ma. getting calls from all over the world. Nordic Trac hired us to build a prototype recumbent utilizing an automatic transmission and a band brake designed by the inventor Royce Husted. They opted to go with a conventional df bike they named the "Yankee" that was chosen as one of the best 100 products of the year by Popular Science magazine in 1992. Patrick Byrne, owner of "Overstock.com" rode our bike across the country to raise money for cancer research. Terry O'reilly, former Boston Bruin hockey player, owns two Vanguards and a Duplex, has ridden in numerous charity rides. Kurt Jensen, a part owner of Ryan Recumbents. He and his eleven year old daughter rode our tandem across the country. The enjoyment that our customers got from our products was one of the few good things about the whole bicycle business experience. Dick Ryan |
Ads |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
ryan recumbent history
"ryancycles" wrote in message ... A bit of Ryan Recumbent customer history Bob Reed was Trek's head engineer, he developed Trek's OCLV frames. Bob helped me with some surplus suspension parts for a prototype bike. Unfortunately he died in a car crash ending my unofficial association with Trek. Augie Nieto, owner of Life Fitness, one of the largest fitness equipment companies in the world. Expressed some interest in the company, but nothing ever came of it. Vic Sussman, Vic was an editor at US News and World Report. Vic did a big article in the magazine with a center fold spread picture of the Vanguard and the Rebike. I spent years trying to get coverage on the bikes and this was a really big deal for us. Bur unfortunately they printed the wrong phone number for us resulting in some woman in Ma. getting calls from all over the world. Nordic Trac hired us to build a prototype recumbent utilizing an automatic transmission and a band brake designed by the inventor Royce Husted. They opted to go with a conventional df bike they named the "Yankee" that was chosen as one of the best 100 products of the year by Popular Science magazine in 1992. Patrick Byrne, owner of "Overstock.com" rode our bike across the country to raise money for cancer research. Terry O'reilly, former Boston Bruin hockey player, owns two Vanguards and a Duplex, has ridden in numerous charity rides. Kurt Jensen, a part owner of Ryan Recumbents. He and his eleven year old daughter rode our tandem across the country. The enjoyment that our customers got from our products was one of the few good things about the whole bicycle business experience. Dick Ryan You were relying too much on promoters and other charlatans and not enough on the intrinsic value of your product. Build a good product at a good price and the world will beat a path to your doorstep. You failed because you were never able to get the price of your recumbent reasonable. Only those who had more money than brains would ever want your bike. Robert Bryant of RCN also needed to get the price of his newsletter more reasonable and he would most likely still be in business. Why build something if the cost of it is unreasonable? Regards, Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota aka Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Ryan recumbent history
ryancycles aka Dick Ryan wrote:
[...] Vic Sussman, Vic was an editor at US News and World Report. Vic did a big article in the magazine with a center fold spread picture of the Vanguard and the Rebike. I spent years trying to get coverage on the bikes and this was a really big deal for us. Bur unfortunately they printed the wrong phone number for us resulting in some woman in Ma. getting calls from all over the world.[...] Did Vic work at USN&WR at the same time as Bill Cook of Barcroft? -- Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia The weather is here, wish you were beautiful |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
ryan recumbent history
On May 6, 3:21*pm, "Edward Dolan" wrote:
Only those who had more money than brains would ever want your bike. Ed, before I bought my Stratus in 1999, I confess I really wanted to ride a Vanguard. At that time the Vanguard was $1800. Yes. big bucks.... Sadly Ryan was being sold to Longbikes at exactly that time..... when Greg Peek opened for business the Vanguard turned Slipstream was $2500.... Game. Set. Match. $1800 was out there. $2500 was out of the question. Since that time, I have ridden several Vanguards and Slipstreams. After I installed a RANS seat ( I don;t like the sling seat), and added a rear rack, I can't think of a better touring machine! Jim |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
ryan recumbent history
"stratrider" wrote in message ... On May 6, 3:21 pm, "Edward Dolan" wrote: Only those who had more money than brains would ever want your bike. Ed, before I bought my Stratus in 1999, I confess I really wanted to ride a Vanguard. At that time the Vanguard was $1800. Yes. big bucks.... Sadly Ryan was being sold to Longbikes at exactly that time..... when Greg Peek opened for business the Vanguard turned Slipstream was $2500.... Game. Set. Match. $1800 was out there. $2500 was out of the question. Since that time, I have ridden several Vanguards and Slipstreams. After I installed a RANS seat ( I don;t like the sling seat), and added a rear rack, I can't think of a better touring machine! Jim Jim, I have spent the big bucks too - over and over, but I never felt good about it. I always feels like I am spending at least $1000. too much. I suspect Dick Ryan did the best he could, but I just can't help being permanently ****ed off at the high prices. Like you, I love recumbents, but we are a very small minority. In the early days it was possible to get cheap recumbents, mostly as framesets, and then build them ourselves at not much additional cost. Now there is hardly anything available at all for less than $1000. A recumbent manufacturer who tells me that $2600. is a bargain for a bicycle is going to get my wrath and that is all he is ever going to get. Regards, Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota aka Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Ryan recumbent history
"stratrider" wrote in message ... On May 6, 3:21 pm, "Edward Dolan" wrote: Only those who had more money than brains would ever want your bike. Ed, before I bought my Stratus in 1999, I confess I really wanted to ride a Vanguard. At that time the Vanguard was $1800. Yes. big bucks.... Sadly Ryan was being sold to Longbikes at exactly that time..... when Greg Peek opened for business the Vanguard turned Slipstream was $2500.... Game. Set. Match. $1800 was out there. $2500 was out of the question. Since that time, I have ridden several Vanguards and Slipstreams. After I installed a RANS seat ( I don;t like the sling seat), and added a rear rack, I can't think of a better touring machine! Jim Trying to fill in some blanks here, I take it that you did purchase a Vanguard or Slipstream somewhere along the way for $1800 or less. Then you installed a Rans, oops RANS seat to replace the sling seat and put a rear rack on the bike. So considering the Stratus vs. the Vanguard what do you like most and least about each bike? |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Ryan recumbent history
On May 10, 3:10*am, "Wilson" wrote:
"stratrider" wrote in message ... On May 6, 3:21 pm, "Edward Dolan" wrote: Only those who had more money than brains would ever want your bike. Ed, before I bought my Stratus in 1999, I confess I really wanted to ride a Vanguard. *At that time the Vanguard was $1800. *Yes. big bucks.... Sadly Ryan was being sold to Longbikes at exactly that time..... when Greg Peek opened for business the Vanguard turned Slipstream was $2500.... Game. *Set. *Match. *$1800 was out there. $2500 was out of the question. *Since that time, I have ridden several Vanguards and Slipstreams. * After I installed a RANS seat ( I don;t like the sling seat), *and added a rear rack, I can't think of a better touring machine! Jim Trying to fill in some blanks here, I take it that you did purchase a Vanguard or Slipstream somewhere along the way for $1800 or less. *Then you installed a Rans, oops RANS seat to replace the sling seat and put a rear rack on the bike. *So considering the Stratus vs. the Vanguard what do you like most and least about each bike? Sorry for the blanks... I never owned either the Vanguard or Slipstream. The Stratus @ $1600 was too nice a bike to justify paying 900 more for the slipstream. I was trying to describe (though quickly and poorly) how I would customize the Slipstream for me. As for comparison, I have been on a Vanguard and a Slipsteam. I have come to prefer a higher BB so the Slipstream is my preference. As for the Stratus vs the Vanguard/Slipstream, for me the RANS seat is a hands down winner. Period. As for steering, the underseat steering provides ultimate comfort for me. That's why I suggested to ED that I'd love to tour on a Vanguard/Slipstream. In 1999, the Stratus came with a "T" bar. After eventually replacing it with Calhoun's Evo-Pro Bars (this was before RANS came out with their version) I would come to realize how horrible the "T" bar was for me. Finally, let me really mix it up..... If I could could go back to 99, with my current knowledge of what I like and with the bikes on the market at that time, I would choose neither the Status or Vanguard. I would have gotten a Tour Easy for $1800. No question. I could not find one to ride here in the Northeast USA in 99. If I had that would have been the bike..... The steering, while not USS, is just right. The bike is comfortable and fast enough for most! Jim |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Ryan recumbent history
"stratrider" wrote in message ... [...] Finally, let me really mix it up..... If I could could go back to 99, with my current knowledge of what I like and with the bikes on the market at that time, I would choose neither the Status [Stratus] or Vanguard. I would have gotten a Tour Easy for $1800. No question. I could not find one to ride here in the Northeast USA in 99. If I had that would have been the bike..... The steering, while not USS, is just right. The bike is comfortable and fast enough for most! I had to laugh at Jim's remark concerning the Tour Easy. I have a dozen recumbents and I consistently ride my Tour Easy the most. This is a bike that I built from plans, but it turned out very nice. In the end, you want a recumbent that handles easily above all else. Any recumbent that is the least bit squirrelly will come to irritate you. The Tour Easy is totally predictable and, like Jim says, is comfortable and fast enough. I liked USS well enough at first, but I found that hanging my arms down at my sides eventually proved uncomfortable. I now prefer OSS and would no longer even consider USS. Those days are gone forever. Regards, Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota aka Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
recumbent history [was Ryan...]
"stratrider" wrote
If I could could go back to 99, with my current knowledge of what I like and with the bikes on the market at that time, I would choose neither the Status or Vanguard. I would have gotten a Tour Easy for $1800. No question. Tour Easy is my second recumbent. After about three years with my BikeE AT, I wanted something better for longer distances and perhaps faster. I could not find one to ride here in the Northeast USA in 99 Me neither, in north Texas. I bought my Tour Easy in late 2000 shipped from a dealer in Virgina, sight unseen and seat unridden. I wasn't disappointed then and not now. The steering, while not USS, is just right. The bike is comfortable and fast enough for most! Fast is relative and domain specific. %^) For a couple of years, I sometimes ran narrow, high-pressure tires on my Tour Easy to be "faster". Now I run medium touring tires on it all the time. I have a third recumbent that is setup as my "fast" road bike, a Volae Sport. I haven't bought a bike in 5 years. If I were tempted today, it might be for a low racer, or perhaps a tandem like the RANS Seavo... There's used Fold Rush currently for sale that I might consider for a more transportable touring setup. We're planning a bike vacation/tour in The Netherlands this summer. I'll rent a "Dutch" recumbent for a week or so. Hopefully, I'll get to test ride several makes and models. If the US$ were in better shape, perhaps one could be coming home with me... Jon |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Ryan Vanguard Recumbent for sale | bikerdan | Marketplace | 0 | March 6th 08 04:00 AM |
Ryan Vanguard Recumbent Bike for sale | bikerdan | General | 0 | March 6th 08 03:56 AM |
Ryan Cox R.I.P | Jan | UK | 0 | August 1st 07 11:50 PM |
Recumbent history on CD from Dick Ryan | Martin Krieg | Recumbent Biking | 0 | September 30th 04 09:14 PM |
Recumbent history on CD from Dick Ryan | richard ryan | Recumbent Biking | 0 | September 18th 04 11:13 PM |