So how many recumbent riders have we?

[classic33]

Now that E-bikes and trikes have become popular, almost anyone can ride. Especially e-trikes. As tikes catch on more and more, that market was around 1%, and now it is up to 5% or more and climbing.

You spelt Tykes wrong, and I want to point out we(Tykes) weren't slow in catching onto recumbent cycles.

 

[farfromtheland]

One more! Just aquired a 'Top End' recumbent handcycle and thrilled to be riding again.
Any more hand-crank cyclists out there?

 

[alpine fenlander]

And another noob here! Thanks again everyone for giving me advice in the other thread
I did go with the Cruzbike S40 in the end. Got the frame set to save on cost and import charges and treated myself to some lovely Hunt wheels.
Then I ran into the usual problem of bike standards not being as standard as you'd think and ended up buying a Wheeltop groupset anyway. So I didn't really save any money and spent a lot of time faffing around... But it's all good fun and at least I got to try some new fangled stuff like tubeless tires, wireless shifting and hydraulic brakes and learnt how to set it all up.

The learning curve for riding it is quite something and the first few weeks were very wobbly! Slow and steady does it and I've done my first longer (for me) 90km ride at the weekend and about 250km in total and it's all coming together. I haven't figured out how to steer with my feet yet and starting off without the Fred Flintstone run is more miss than hit...

What I love most so far is all the smiles and looks of wonderment from children as you wobble past! Even teenagers have been heard to say 'wow - cool bike'!
And it's perfect for the long + flat roads around here, although I'm still a bit too scared to really push hard.

Great fun so far 😊

 

[farfromtheland]

Fortunately my area has lots of smooth paths to get up to speed. The whole trike is as light as my classic road racer, being aluminium. Not feeling road ready yet and will deffo need a flag.

I'm nervous of mashing up the 7 speed Shimano hub gears - anyone have experience of 'em?

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I'm nervous of mashing up the 7 speed Shimano hub gears - anyone have experience of 'em?

Hub gears are pretty tolerant of the rider.

 

[farfromtheland]

Hub gears are pretty tolerant of the rider.

Thanks, that's good to hear. Always had derailleurs so far, and to replace the hub would cost more than I paid for the trike.

 

[a.twiddler]

Fortunately my area has lots of smooth paths to get up to speed. The whole trike is as light as my classic road racer, being aluminium. Not feeling road ready yet and will deffo need a flag.

I'm nervous of mashing up the 7 speed Shimano hub gears - anyone have experience of 'em?

Learning a lot of new things at once is a steep learning curve. It's getting lots of practice that will make you familiar with the way it responds. Small steps, quiet paths, seems that you have a plan.

I've had a couple of bikes with a Shimano 7 speed hub and have had no issues. They seem to be pretty tough. Any problems tend to be as a result of cable needing adjustment or replacement rather than internal ones. If you Google Sheldon Brown there's a mine of information on the site. I recall one quote being that the Shimano 7 speed is one of the more complicated hub gears, but is one of the more reliable ones. A curious feature is that none of the gears are direct as with a traditional 3 speed, ie the hub and sprocket turn at the same speed in second for example, but the nearest with the Shimano 7 speed is 4th gear, where the ratio is around 98-99%. In theory a direct gear is the most efficient with minimal internal losses. More details on ratios from Sheldon Brown.

 

[FrankCrank]

And another noob here! Thanks again everyone for giving me advice in the other thread
I did go with the Cruzbike S40 in the end. Got the frame set to save on cost and import charges and treated myself to some lovely Hunt wheels.
Then I ran into the usual problem of bike standards not being as standard as you'd think and ended up buying a Wheeltop groupset anyway. So I didn't really save any money and spent a lot of time faffing around... But it's all good fun and at least I got to try some new fangled stuff like tubeless tires, wireless shifting and hydraulic brakes and learnt how to set it all up.

The learning curve for riding it is quite something and the first few weeks were very wobbly! Slow and steady does it and I've done my first longer (for me) 90km ride at the weekend and about 250km in total and it's all coming together. I haven't figured out how to steer with my feet yet and starting off without the Fred Flintstone run is more miss than hit...

What I love most so far is all the smiles and looks of wonderment from children as you wobble past! Even teenagers have been heard to say 'wow - cool bike'!
And it's perfect for the long + flat roads around here, although I'm still a bit too scared to really push hard.

Great fun so far 😊

View attachment 821050

Do you get much pedal steer with that? I cobbled together a front wheel drive, moving bottom bracket, a few years back. Managed to ride it down a straight road for around 1K, but enough to decide that the format was not for me. Heard it said you get used to it over time, but just felt too strange for me to continue with the project. For now I'm happy with my trike and LWB

 

[farfromtheland]

Learning a lot of new things at once is a steep learning curve. It's getting lots of practice that will make you familiar with the way it responds. Small steps, quiet paths, seems that you have a plan.

I've had a couple of bikes with a Shimano 7 speed hub and have had no issues. They seem to be pretty tough. Any problems tend to be as a result of cable needing adjustment or replacement rather than internal ones. If you Google Sheldon Brown there's a mine of information on the site. I recall one quote being that the Shimano 7 speed is one of the more complicated hub gears, but is one of the more reliable ones. A curious feature is that none of the gears are direct as with a traditional 3 speed, ie the hub and sprocket turn at the same speed in second for example, but the nearest with the Shimano 7 speed is 4th gear, where the ratio is around 98-99%. In theory a direct gear is the most efficient with minimal internal losses. More details on ratios from Sheldon Brown.

Thanks, this is the stuff I need. Not that I plan racing it, but gear ratios and efficiency are things I feel better knowing about.

The basic question is, must I be rolling before I change gear however?

 

[a.twiddler]

Thanks, this is the stuff I need. Not that I plan racing it, but gear ratios and efficiency are things I feel better knowing about.

The basic question is, must I be rolling before I change gear however?

The plus point about hub gears is that you can change gear at a standstill. Useful if you stop unexpectedly in a high gear. When rolling, you just need to ease off the pressure on the drive briefly as you change to let the internals move freely. If it's been unused for a while before you bought it there might be some stickiness when changing but that should improve with use. They benefit from being used.

 

[farfromtheland]

there might be some stickiness when changing but that should improve with use. They benefit from being used.

Big thanks!