New Recumbent Today - Optima Lynx

[cosmicbike]

I've had a hankering for a 2 wheeler for a while now, but not really wanted to go massive on the budget which kind of limited my choices. Roll back to late July and I spotted an Optima Lynx for sale on the BHPC forum, so made an offer on the basis I couldn't collect until today which was accepted.
Pictures from the ad, I'll add more as I get stuck in.

It has a Sturmey Archer 8 speed hub on the rear, with double chainrings up front. The R/D is for chain tension only.

Aside from the Brompton I've not had hub gears since my Raleigh Grifter, so be interesting to see how it goes. The bike is in excellent condition, looks not to have been ridden a great deal.
I declined a test ride today, no desire to embarrass myself! Will give it a once over when I get a day off work.
Can't wait to ride it, I do hope it was worth the 6 hours of driving.

 

[numbnuts]

WoW nice I have a hankering to want to try one out, but I don't want to fall off, good luck

 

[PaulM]

Very nice. Yes saw that and was tempted. Would be interested to know what it weighs. And what you think of the SA hub. They are usually found on small wheel bikes because they gear up. I had one on a Brompton. It took a while to run in. 4th gear tends to be noisy. I like the ratio spacing you get with them. I did think about fitting one to my Paseo so I could change gear when stationary, With a double chainring up front it's like a poor man's Rohloff.

 

[cosmicbike]

Very nice. Yes saw that and was tempted. Would be interested to know what it weighs. And what you think of the SA hub. They are usually found on small wheel bikes because they gear up. I had one on a Brompton. It took a while to run in. 4th gear tends to be noisy. I like the ratio spacing you get with them. I did think about fitting one to my Paseo so I could change gear when stationary, With a double chainring up front it's like a poor man's Rohloff.

It's not as heavy as I thought it would be. I've just weighed me, then me and bike, it's about 20kg
I'm intrigued by the hub, which at the moment needs a fettle as the cable entry does not allow all gears, just need to look at the cable run and make it straight. The biggest chainring is 32T which I thought was odd until I read up on the hub. At the end of the day if I don't get on with it then a 26" wheel can be fitted with regular gears.
It's very comfy to sit on, it does have the neck rest which I will fit, I find the one on the ICE Q useful from time to time. Higher up than I thought which is nice, even Mrs CB seems to be reasonably accepting of it!

 

[classic33]

Got a free chance some years ago to try whichever I wanted to, from the twenty in his garage. At the time more interested in the Brox.

Still regret not having bought a two wheeler from him at the same time.

 

[cosmicbike]

Had a bit of time this afternoon to look more closely at things. Nothing too far off, the rear seat mount if bent a little, perhaps a minor off though no scuffing on the seat so possibly storage. Brakes need adjusting, front cable and outer needs replacing.
The real concern for me was the SA 8 speed hub shifting. It's the X-RF8 (w) hub, and I could only get it to select 4 gears. I suspect the cable routing may be the issue

A quick read of the manual and I had the rear wheel out. SA show 2 different layouts for horizontal/vertical dropouts and slanted. The hub has been fitted in vertical dropouts with horizontal dropout lock washer installed, hence the odd cable entry. I've played and got to this point, mocked up only as I need to order the correct lock washers

The last bit that I need to sort out is the chain guide pulley and tubes retention. I reckon P clips would do the job.

Once these are all sorted I may even try riding the thing!

 

[PaulM]

Somebody got the installation all messed up. I like the rotary selector on the hub but it's movement can be obstructed by frame clearances. I recall having to fit a different width washer to provide clearance - but that was on a Brompton conversion!

 

[cosmicbike]

Clearance for the mechanism looks OK. I need to look up the standard frame spacing as tightening the hub nuts pulls the frame in 10mm or so.

 

[cosmicbike]

Well that didn't go quite to plan. I ordered the lock washers for vertical dropouts, and they are no different, aside from being thicker at 5mm. Much head scratching, internet searching and so on and it's the axle which is 90 degrees out of line. After taking the hub apart there is no way of changing the axle-shifter orientation, so my engineered solution was the removal of 2 out of 8 of the locating tabs on the cable guide. This gave me a not quite horizontal cable entry with a good line in from under the frame. A new bit of outer and I have a nicely shifting 8 speed rear hub. The OLD was a mile off too, I had to add 12mm of washers (2 x 5mm lock washers + 1 plain) to get it to 135mm, so the frame was being pulled in a fair bit.
Both front and rear brake blocks need replacing, they are worn smooth. The fronts weren't even on the braking surface, they were nearly in the spokes!
Got a few bits on order now, new tyres will be on the list but I need to get the mechanics of the thing working nicely first, and the ones on it will do for now.

@Falco Frank I think you have one of these?

 

[404 Not Found Anywhere]

The Sturmey 8 speed hubs come in two widths - 120mm and 135mm, sounds like yours is a 120mm!

 

[cosmicbike]

The Sturmey 8 speed hubs come in two widths - 120mm and 135mm, sounds like yours is a 120mm!

Quite possibly, though the axle length is that of the 135 O.L.D version which is odd.

Anyway, the machine is now ready to go. I think first efforts will be up the park, rather than in front of the neighbours....

 

[Nigelnightmare]

So!…. How did it go?

 

[cosmicbike]

So!…. How did it go?

Not tried it yet, work and weather are conspiring against me. Maybe next week if I'm lucky...

 

[cosmicbike]

I think I'm avoiding trying to ride this thing. I was looking at the power idler pulley and it's worn smooth, all the teeth are gone Which prompted me to look at the one on the trike, which isn't a great deal better. Replacement Optima and ICE idlers are £20 & £30 respectively, but I found TerraCycle idlers which are much nicer, but at £70 posted each are a bit steep. So I got fiddling with the worn Optima idler and an old cassette...

Before

During the fiddling

Finished

Fitted

Works very well

 

[Smokin Joe]

Great job.