Short wheel base for beginner

Ken M wrote:

Hello, I posted here a few times last winter when I was experimenting
with a home-built short wheel base bent. It was a less than successful
attempt. Anyway, I was browsing some older threads, looking for
recommendations on bikes for beginners. I see two are recommended a lot,
the BikeE and the EZ1. From my limited experience with bents, I think I
would prefer a SWB design. I have ridden a couple of LWB bikes and while
they do give a nice ride, I still think I would prefer a SWB, does
anyone have any suggestions for a beginner besides the BikeE?

Ken

Ken,

I have ridden both a BikeE and a Rans Tailwind; both are classified as
"compact long wheelbase" recumbents. Both have a low bottom bracket height
and an upright position that beginners find comfortable and reassuring. Of
the two, I would recommend the Rans. It has higher quality components, the
Rans cro-mag frame flexes more over bumps (the standard BikeE with its
aluminum frame and without the rear shock absorber was murder!) and the
sitting position is more toward the center (as opposed to sitting over the
rear wheel on the BikeE). In addition, the Rans seat is very comfortable.
I don't have any personal experience with the EZ1, but I understand it is
very heavy. I just happen to have a Rans Tailwind for sale that I've
ridden for 8000 miles - I've upgraded to a Rans V2 on Christmas! Contact
me at privately if you're interested.

Regards,
Jim

Jim Wylie wrote:
Ken M wrote:

Hello, I posted here a few times last winter when I was experimenting
with a home-built short wheel base bent. It was a less than successful
attempt. Anyway, I was browsing some older threads, looking for
recommendations on bikes for beginners. I see two are recommended a lot,
the BikeE and the EZ1. From my limited experience with bents, I think I
would prefer a SWB design. I have ridden a couple of LWB bikes and while
they do give a nice ride, I still think I would prefer a SWB, does
anyone have any suggestions for a beginner besides the BikeE?

Ken

Ken,

I have ridden both a BikeE and a Rans Tailwind; both are classified as
"compact long wheelbase" recumbents. Both have a low bottom bracket height
and an upright position that beginners find comfortable and reassuring. Of
the two, I would recommend the Rans. It has higher quality components, the
Rans cro-mag frame flexes more over bumps (the standard BikeE with its
aluminum frame and without the rear shock absorber was murder!) and the
sitting position is more toward the center (as opposed to sitting over the
rear wheel on the BikeE). In addition, the Rans seat is very comfortable.
I don't have any personal experience with the EZ1, but I understand it is
very heavy. I just happen to have a Rans Tailwind for sale that I've
ridden for 8000 miles - I've upgraded to a Rans V2 on Christmas! Contact
me at privately if you're interested.

Is the Rans (sic) Tailwind anything like this bike:
http://www.RANSbikes.com/tailwind.htm? [1]

Other than to point out the RANS Tailwind frame is made from 4130
chromium-molybdenum steel, not chromium-manganese steel, I agree with
the above.

Of course the BikeE is out of production, but both the RANS Tailwind
and BikeE CT (and its predecessor) and AT models should be easy to find
used (BikeE FX/RX models would be somewhat less common, with the NX and
RoadE models being relatively rare).

[1] I won the 2000 alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent AWARD FOR EFFECTIVELY
MONITORING THE APPROPRIATE USE OF CAPITAL LETTERS [2]
[2] See
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent/msg/d38f4253c556c402?dmode=source.
--
Tom Sherman - Fox River Valley

Johnny Sunset wrote:

[1] I won the 2000 alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent AWARD FOR EFFECTIVELY
MONITORING THE APPROPRIATE USE OF CAPITAL LETTERS

Tom Sherman - Fox River Valley


Tommy, Tommy, Tommy

You redefined the acronym!

RANS = Really Anal Retentive Nazi Speller

It's still dark in that closet, isn't it!

Enjoy,

Perry B

Perry Butler of Beyond Evansville, MN wrote:
Johnny Sunset wrote:

[1] I won the 2000 alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent AWARD FOR EFFECTIVELY
MONITORING THE APPROPRIATE USE OF CAPITAL LETTERS

Tom Sherman - Fox River Valley


Tommy, Tommy, Tommy

You redefined the acronym!

RANS = Really Anal Retentive Nazi Speller

It's still dark in that closet, isn't it!

When people fail to capitalize all the letters in proper names like
RANS and SRAM, an innocent puppy dies.

It's a joke, and I plan to flog the deceased equine for all its worth
and then some.

--
Tom Sherman - Fox River Valley

"Johnny Sunset" wrote in message
ups.com...

Perry Butler of Beyond Evansville, MN wrote:
Johnny Sunset wrote:

[1] I won the 2000 alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent AWARD FOR EFFECTIVELY
MONITORING THE APPROPRIATE USE OF CAPITAL LETTERS

Tom Sherman - Fox River Valley


Tommy, Tommy, Tommy

You redefined the acronym!

RANS = Really Anal Retentive Nazi Speller

It's still dark in that closet, isn't it!

When people fail to capitalize all the letters in proper names like
RANS and SRAM, an innocent puppy dies.

It's a joke, and I plan to flog the deceased equine for all its worth
and then some.

It is ever a delight for this old conservative to witness a couple of
liberals having a falling out, and on the subject of who is more for homos!
Yes, Ed Dolan is now rolling on the floor with laughter at these two
numskulls arguing over nothing at all other than figments of their
imaginations.

I would like to warn Mr. Sherman that Mr. Butler, being from Minnesota like
I am, is never going to give an inch or back off. He has been slighted by
you and he will never recover from such an affront. He is more in favor of
homos than you are and thinks it is just fine and dandy to be a homo. No one
will get to the left of him on this issue. Certainly not Mr. Sherman!

It is in the nature of all Minnesotans to be impossibly stubborn. Our
damnable winters make us like this. Mr. Butler probably goes out on the
frozen lake and sits in a shack all afternoon and tries to catch fish
through the ice. But he never catches any fish and this has driven him
around the bend. He is now stark raving mad with the frustration of it all.

We are all stupid as donkeys here in Minnesota, but there is no one more
stupid than a Minnesota liberal. Hells Bells, we almost gave this nation
Humphry for President, didn't we? And what kind of idiot was Eugene
McCarthy? But for absolute, TOTAL idiocy you have go to our neighboring
state of South Dakota where they come up with supreme jackasses like
McGovern and Dashle. I rest my case!

Regards,

Ed Dolan - Minnesota