"Liquid Drive" bike prototype at auction

Tom Sherman wrote in message ...
Carl Fogel wrote:
...
The recumbents that I see in my little backwater
in Pueblo, Colorado, must be the equivalent of
the inexpensive mountain bikes sold at WalMart.
The riders sit higher, their feet are lower, the
wheels are larger, and the chain runs seem much
more straightforward than that Rube Goldberg
contraption in your second--I mean your beloved
current bike, the one in your second picture.

This bike fits your verbal description.
http://www.easyracers.com/gold_rush.htm
It is one of the classic recumbent designs, but is hardly "x-Mart" in
quality or price (you can get a rather nice road bike for $3000 US).

Both my former and current bike are rare and unusual by even recumbent
standards - however they provide a good illustration of chain management
issues.

If you'll pardon a somewhat personal question,
do the chains on the more complicated bike give
any trouble in terms of staying on? That is, do
you need some recumbent-specific chain-watchers
to tame the unruly beasts beyond the guide-wheels?

The Wishbone (nickel-plated bike) had the worse chain management, as the
chain would fall off the idlers at a distressing frequency. This could
have been cured by a different idler design that included a "chain dog"
which is a pin or plate that forces the chain to stay in the idler
groove. Most regular production recumbents have these (this bike was
more of a prototype).

On the Sunset (red bike) the chain(s) can fall off the jackshaft cogs
http://www.ihpva.org/incoming/2002/sunset/Sunset005.jpg although that
is a rare occurrence. This is the one weak point in the bike's design as
far as I am concerned, and something I plan to have corrected at some
point.

Thanks for a marvelous answer,

You are welcome.

Tom Sherman - Planet Earth

Dear Tom,

I kept an eye out today, but saw only a few
common mountain bikes.

Stretching a handkerchief over the mouthpiece,
I called the local bike shop near where I've
seen some of these unidentified recumbents
prowling and asked cautiously what sort of
recumbents they sell.

EZ1 was the instant reply, followed by
Cycle Genius and Burley. They can be
obtained from Denver in a day and are
about $600.

http://www.easyracers.com/ez_1_sc.htm

This looks much like the creatures that I've
noticed. I'll take a closer look at the next
one, if I can do so without frightening it,
and try for a positive identification. A
stuffed specimen would be ideal, but I suppose
that there are the usual objections to science.

They usually travel in pairs along the river
trail, possibly feeding on berries or hiding
from predators. Their plumage is somewhat drab,
but in the evening I've seen a few around my
neighborhood with blinking red lights in back.

Their flight may be described as somewhat slow
and wobbly, but cheerful, much like my basset
hound. Possibly these are immature specimens
and improve with age?

Carl Fogel

They usually travel in pairs along the river
trail, possibly feeding on berries or hiding
from predators. Their plumage is somewhat drab,
but in the evening I've seen a few around my
neighborhood with blinking red lights in back.

Their flight may be described as somewhat slow
and wobbly, but cheerful, much like my basset
hound. Possibly these are immature specimens
and improve with age?

Carl Fogel



Some exceedingly rare specimens have evolved to optimize speed, to the
extent that their speed far exceeds that of the common diamond frame
bicycle. They are delicate and nervous creatures, and require
specialized care and feeding, but some have been reliably clocked at
well over 80 miles per hour.

No, that's not a typo. That's over 80 mph, level ground, pedal power,
no energy storage device, and no tailwind. See:
http://www.wisil.recumbents.com/wisi...02/results.htm

--
Ted Bennett
Portland OR

wrote:
Why are tandems more popular in some places while not in others?

I can't say for sure, but there are about 50 tandems in my club. It
seems two factors are cycling couples and the terrain. We have lots
of small hills but very few that are challenging. I think flatter
terrain tends to favor tandems and recumbents WRT speed.

--

John Foltz --- O _
Baron --- _O _ V-Rex 24 --- _\\/\-%)
_________(_)`=()___________________(_)= (_)_____

Tom Sherman wrote in message ...
I occasionally see recumbents wobbling along on
my local bicycle path, but have never inspected
a dead one's anatomy--possibly there is a secret
recumbent graveyard.

I don't know where you you ride but I have never seen a recumbent
wobble along anywhere and I have ridden bents since 1995. Of course
there may be the first time recumbent rider getting used to a new and
different bike. I am not so fast but some of the guys I have ridden
with will break your balls on a long, hard ride.

My bike uses 2 3/4 regular chains, shifts perfectly (XT drive train)
and is trouble-free. Also my butt doesn't hurt and my prostate
troubles got better. That numb feeling you may ocassionally
experience has been known to become permenent. Enjoy your ride.
Richard

John Foltz wrote:

wrote:
Why are tandems more popular in some places while not in others?

I can't say for sure, but there are about 50 tandems in my club....

It would be helpful if the number of conventional road bikes in the club
was stated.

Tom Sherman - Planet Earth

I have often wondered how unfaired recumbents compare with standard road
bikes on 30-60 mile rides in mixed terrain (say averaging 100 feet of
climbing per mile) on brisk, but not competitive, rides. I have almost never
seen them here in the Berkeley/Oakland hills. If I had more of an idea of
that I might like to try one.
--
Steve Juniper
"Those who are willing to sacrifice a little freedom for greater
security deserve neither."
-
- Benjamin Franklin

"Richard" wrote in message
om...
Tom Sherman wrote in message
...
I occasionally see recumbents wobbling along on
my local bicycle path, but have never inspected
a dead one's anatomy--possibly there is a secret
recumbent graveyard.

I don't know where you you ride but I have never seen a recumbent
wobble along anywhere and I have ridden bents since 1995. Of course
there may be the first time recumbent rider getting used to a new and
different bike. I am not so fast but some of the guys I have ridden
with will break your balls on a long, hard ride.

My bike uses 2 3/4 regular chains, shifts perfectly (XT drive train)
and is trouble-free. Also my butt doesn't hurt and my prostate
troubles got better. That numb feeling you may ocassionally
experience has been known to become permenent. Enjoy your ride.
Richard

Richard wrote:
Tom Sherman wrote in message ...

I occasionally see recumbents wobbling along on
my local bicycle path, but have never inspected
a dead one's anatomy--possibly there is a secret
recumbent graveyard.

I don't know where you you ride but I have never seen a recumbent
wobble along anywhere and I have ridden bents since 1995. Of course
there may be the first time recumbent rider getting used to a new and
different bike. I am not so fast but some of the guys I have ridden
with will break your balls on a long, hard ride.

I went for a ride with a local cycling group on a local loop
with a varied route, ie. getting off the road at points. We
kept having to wait for the groups recumbent rider to catch
up as he rode the longer road route because it was
impossible for him to lift his bike over fences and ride on
some bumpy offroad track. I imagine he only did it to
increase his mileage.


That numb feeling you may ocassionally
experience has been known to become permenent. Enjoy your ride.

It certainly can make you feel numb listening to a recumbent
rider explain why his choice of bike is better than anyone
else's. It did seem to ease during the pleasant conversation
that was had whilst waiting for him to catch up though,
should have thanked him for the breaks.

Richard wrote:

Tom Sherman wrote in message ...
I occasionally see recumbents wobbling along on
my local bicycle path, but have never inspected
a dead one's anatomy--possibly there is a secret
recumbent graveyard.

I certainly did not write the above text. Please be more careful with
your attributions when quoting.

Tom Sherman - Planet Earth

"Steve Juniper" wrote in message news:Vdcyb.163026$Dw6.646283@attbi_s02...
I have often wondered how unfaired recumbents compare with standard road
bikes on 30-60 mile rides in mixed terrain (say averaging 100 feet of
climbing per mile) on brisk, but not competitive, rides. I have almost never
seen them here in the Berkeley/Oakland hills. If I had more of an idea of
that I might like to try one.
--
Steve Juniper

I often ride my recumbents in the Berkeley/Oakland hills on Grizzly
Peak Cyclists club rides. The majority of the production unfaired
recumbents will be overall slower than a road bike ridden by the same
rider in these conditions due to their heavy weight and not having a
significant enough aerodynamic advantage to make up for time lost on
the climbs when on the flats (the descents are usually too twisty to
exploit much of an aero advantage there). However there are a small
number of very lightweight and aerodynamic unfaired recumbents which
do great in these conditions. I have one called a Bacchetta Aero which
has a titanium frame and large diameter wheels front and rear combined
with a laid back carbon fibre shell seat, high bottom bracket and very
aerodynamic arm position. On this bike I'm overall faster than I would
be on a road bike even on rides with 100 feet of elevation gain. I
have no trouble keeping up on the climbs on the GPC "M" paced rides
and I just coast the descents and let them catch up to me at the
bottom, then take it easy on the flats when I'm riding with them.
When I'm riding solo my average speeds are generally higher than
riding with the club because I'm going faster on the level ground
parts.

Zach Kaplan

Tom Sherman wrote in message ...
Richard wrote:

Tom Sherman wrote in message ...
I occasionally see recumbents wobbling along on
my local bicycle path, but have never inspected
a dead one's anatomy--possibly there is a secret
recumbent graveyard.

I certainly did not write the above text. Please be more careful with
your attributions when quoting.

Tom Sherman - Planet Earth

Dear Tom and Richard,

Yes, I wrote "wobbling," not you. (In an
unrelated thread, I managed to lead up to
the question, "Is buzz wobble?" and am
quite bitter that no one admired my
euphony.)

To be fair, while Richard should be forced
to ride a diamond frame around the block
as penance for confusing the two of us, I
had a hard time unravelling the tangled skein
of my artless blather and your excellent
replies.

I knew that I had written "wobbling"
somewhere, but had trouble tracking it
down--our habit of snipping irrelevant
portions of the previous post can get
us into trouble when dealing with posts
as irrelevant as mine.

I was also prepared to pounce on Richard
and loftily inform him that I had revealed
my whereabouts as Pueblo, Colorado, but it
took me so long to find where the hell I'd
mentioned it that I haven't the heart to do
so.

Due to the variety of ways in which news
servers delete old posts and in which
newsreaders present threads, we just have
expect confusion, missed attributions,
hard-to-follow irony, and mistaken identities.

Excuse me for a moment . . .

I will not confuse Benjamin Lewis with Benjamin Weiner.
I will not confuse Benjamin Lewis with Benjamin Weiner.
I will not confuse Benjamin Lewis with Benjamin Weiner.
I will not confuse Benjamin Lewis . . .

Where was I? Oh, yes, some of us even manage to
confuse people without any excuse at all.

(Twice.)

So you can see why I argue for mercy in these matters.

Carl Fogel