My RecumBent Experience

First Tour of 2011

2011-08-23T15:57:00.000-07:00

This is the moment I have been waiting and training for. All preparations are complete - bike, gear, route, time. I am almost ready to hit the road!

I plan on rolling from San Francisco to Los Angeles on PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) or Highway 1.

I have been studying "Bicycling the Pacific Coast" by Vicky Spring and Tom Kirkendall. This is how my itinerary looks so far:

1st day: From Montara to New Brighton State Beach

2nd - Vets Memorial Park

3rd - Kirk Creek campground

4th - San Simeon State Beach

5th - Oceano campground

6th - Gaviota sate park

7th - Carpenteria state beach

8th - Leo Carrillio state beach

9th - Home Stretch!

I have been packing and there is the list of things I am taking:

Clothes:

Lycra recumbent pants

Synthetic jersey

Long sleeve jersey

Keen cycling sandals

Socks (for evening campsite use with sandals)

Long sleeve shirt for campsite

Pants for campsite

Hat

Bicycle

HP Velotechnik Streetmachine GTe

Arkel T52 panniers

Fastback Double Century with 3L bladder

Bicycle maintenance:

Pump

2 spare tubes (different sizes)

Patch kit

Tire levers

Multitool

Kevlar spoke kit

Chain links

Dry lube (2oz)

Camping & Food

Tent

Sleeping bag

Silk liner

Inflatable pad

White gas stove with .5l bottle worth of fuel

Lighter

One pot with lid

One lexan cup

One spoon

Swiss army knife

Paracord (to dry wet clothes)

Multi use liquid soap (dr bronner's)

Tea bags

Instant oatmeal

First aid kit

Liquid bandaid
Band aids

Water supply solution for Streetmachine GTe

2011-07-25T17:50:00.000-07:00

Years ago I traveled to Baja Mexico with Greet Tortoise bus. While we stopped at Cataviña to see the cave paintings, I chatted with a lonely bicycle tourist. I remember asking him what was the most difficult part of his trip. He thought for a second, then said - water. In Baja it was difficult to find drinking water.

Now I have been planning a trip through baja of my own. I have read Graham Mackintosh'es first book - Into a Desert Place: A 3000 Mile Walk around the Coast of Baja California. His trip takes him to the extreme - he goes way of the beaten path. Graham distills fresh water from the sea at a times, he is so hard core.

My plan is to stay on the paved road, Highway 1 most of the time. Riding in the morning and resting in the afternoons. My goal is 30-50 miles per day. I will camp. I will carry a emergency dry food rations, and about 6L of water.

Now about the water - instead of giant plastic jug I have been having nightmares about I have invested into two 3L Nalgene CXC bladders, and Terracycle FastBack Double Century hydration pack. According to Bicycle Touring 101 website there are truck stops/shacks every 50KM or so, so there are places to get food and water.

Blogging with a Kindle

2011-07-20T11:57:00.000-07:00

With my SanFran to Santa Monica trip approaching I have been trying to figure out a solution for my blog. I tried my iPhone 3gs. It works but I would need data plan and a charging solution - after an ehaustive search I thought I had it all figured out.

Then I came across Kindle 3g.

Battery life - at least couple weeks with 3g, and no data plan required. I picked up a refurbished unit for $159 from amazon warehouse deals. So far I could not be happier - I am blogging over wifi right now.

Tracking my rides with an iPhone

2011-07-11T12:05:00.000-07:00

I have been working out how to keep track of my riding using iPhone 3gs.

My favorite programs so far are Cyctastic and MotionX.

Cyctastic wants you to register for any kind of data sharing, but I am not keen about that. In standalone mode it gives you audible cues - I have it set up to tell me when I have ridden a mile and the speed I am going at. If I have the phone in my front pocket with speaker facing up, I can hear it pretty well.

MotionX is my new favorite. It has audible cues, and supports downloadable maps too. So if I am planning a trip, I can select maps for it and just go. It does not do turn by turn routing however. You need their "drive" version, which I have not evaluated yet.

For turn by turn I could use TomTom which has bicycle mode as a part of routing. However, that is good only for a quick trips - the drain on batteries is pretty high when using GPS. I can get about 3 hours of use in GPS mode, then the phone is useless.

Right now I am investigating external power packs and solar charging to make iPhone a viable tool for long distance navigation.

There is an example of MotionX generated report.

Jul 10, 2011 11:48 am

Name:		Track 004
Date:		Jul 10, 2011 11:48 am
Map: (valid until Jan 6, 2012)		View on Map
Distance:		16.2 miles
Elapsed Time:		1:23:00
Avg Speed:		11.7 mph
Max Speed:		27.2 mph
Avg Pace:		05' 07" per mile
Min Altitude:		112 ft
Max Altitude:		220 ft
Start Time:		2011-07-10T18:48:26Z
Start Location:
	Latitude:	34.005264º N
	Longitude:	118.489827º W
End Location:
	Latitude:	34.004753º N
	Longitude:	118.488990º W

Smaller Chainring Problems

2011-03-18T14:37:00.000-07:00

I have received Surly stainless steel 34T 110mm.

Although on Surly website it proudly displays "made in Canada", my ring was clearly made in Taiwan. Globalization in action, I hoped to support our North American neighbors. Duped again, but I am at least glad it is not made in Chiñå.

All looked good, I replaced the old chainring with the new one.

Then the problems began - although I only rode the bike for less than 100 miles, the chain and new ring would not mesh and my chain would skip terribly.

Could the chain wear out that quickly? I doubt it. Is it designed for a different kind of chain? What went wrong?

I have put back the original 46T chain ring, and went for a ride.

Update 3-18-11 evening:

I have emailed my bicycle guru (and dealer extraordinaire) Zach Kaplan, here is his response:

Interesting about the Surly chainring being shown on their website as being made in Canada but the ring you received was made in Taiwan. I agree made in Taiwan is better than made in China but their website is deceptive to people like us who try to support North American manufacturing (in my case I'm also trying to support EU manufacturing). I would recommend you contact Surly to complain. AFAIK, Surly doesn't actually make anything, they are the high end brand name of Quality Bicycle Products, a major US wholesale bike parts distributor based in Minnesota. They probably made a running supplier change from a Canadian supplier to a Taiwanese supplier. I'm only aware of 2 manufacturers of aluminium chainrings in Canada, Blackspirehttp://www.blackspire.com/qs/category/83/5948/0/0 and Race Face and I recently read Race Face suddenly announced they are going out of business and liquidating all their assets. Perhaps QBP had been getting their rings made by Race Face and were having trouble getting them so switched to a Taiwanese supplier.

I know Vuelta chainrings are made in the US. Vuelta USA is based in Southern California. http://www.vueltausa.com/components/chainrings.html

In any case the problem isn't with the chainring. The chain is hanging up near each bolt because the inner chainring guard was designed for a 46T chainring and is of the type that is directly mounted to the chainring and curves out from the base to provide chain clearance. A 34T chainring places the chain down low next to the part of the guard that is too close to clear the chain, thus preventing the chain from properly engaging with the chainring.

Several things you could do. For now you could remove the inner guard ring. That will completely eliminate the interference problem but the chain will fall off to the inside from time to time when hitting certain types of bumps. You could install thin chainring spacers to space the inner guard ring away from the chain. Very thin spacers won't require longer bolts but you may need thick enough spacers to require longer bolts. You could also go to a different type of inner guard ring which is flat like the outer guard ring but with this type you have to use thick spacers which will definitely require going to longer chainring bolts.

I am running a 40T Q-Ring on the same model crankset with same guard rings and it works fine. Due to its elliptical shape, the 40T Q-Ring is probably like a 37 or 38T ring on its short axis so that might be the lower limit of what will work without adding spacers or using a different guard. Feel free to post this reply on your blog.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Zach Kaplan Cycles

510-522-BENT (2368)

zach@zachkaplancycles.com

http://zachkaplancycles.com

Update: 3-19-11 morning:

I emailed Surly with complain about country of origin of the ring shown on their website and the ring sold, let's see how they deal with it.

Update: 3-21-11 afternoon:

This is the reply I got from Surly:

Agnius,

Our first batch of chainrings was made by a Canadian firm, but they could never quite get what we wanted done like we wanted it. We’ve had them made in Taiwan ever since then.

I’m sorry that you feel swindled. That was not our intent. We just have never changed the photo (we are changing it now.) Feel free to take your chainring back to the bikeshop where you purchased it. We’ll take it back from them no problem.

Thanks,

Eric Sovern

Surly Bikes

877-743-3191

esovern@surlybikes.com

Surly has also updated their website with a new image - it does not say "Made in Canada" anymore. That is more likely how my received ring looks.

Street Machine Diaries - seat adjustments & kickstand

2011-03-15T15:26:00.000-07:00

Since I got my Street Machine couple weeks ago, I have been trying to figure out the "best" riding position.

I have been playing with seat length and the recline angle adjustments.

I had problems with my neck not being supported at first, and was tempted to purchase the headrest. However, today I was fine tuning the length adjustment on the seat, and came across the position which is reasonably comfortable, especially when the seat is in the about 75% reclined position. I will adjust the seat some more, but I am getting much closer to a comfortable ride. I need to find a point where the seat angle is curving my back in such a way were my head is up, comfortable and can turn side to side easily.

I experimented with laying the head back all the way, but that way you can not turn left and right and there is quite a bit of stress on the neck muscles.

I got the chainstay mounted kickstand, and I can not get it up when seated on the bike. Starting to ride is quite a bit of a balancing act. First, get the kickstand into "up" position. Then, while balancing the bike by left handlebar, straddle the bike around the boom, sit down, click in right cleat into the pedal and press off. I think if the bike was fully loaded for touring, I would be having balancing issues. I hope that the lowrider pannier rack mounted kickstand can be reached and flicked up with the foot AFTER sitting down. I could flick up the kickstand after sitting down on my Cannondale Bent, I didn't even think I could not do it on Street Machine.

How to select your chainring for a Street Machine GTe with Rohloff

2011-03-11T21:10:00.000-08:00

After riding my HP Velotechnik Street Machine GTe I realized that I want lower gearing than stock.

My stock setup is 46T chainring and 16T sprocket on a Rohloff IGH.

Gears from 1-7 are quite noisy and feel "draggy". The noisiest is #7. My cruising gear on flats is somewhere between #7 & #8. Direct drive on Rohloff is #11.

Ideally, #11 should be my main cruising gear.

First I went to Sheldon Brown's gear calculator and figured where I was at.

For 26 X 1.5 / 38-559 / MTB tire with 155 mm cranks
With Custom Sprocket(s) Cassette
With Rohloff 14-speed Speedhub Rear Hub

Low

High

19.9

22.6

25.7

29.2

33.2

37.8

42.9

48.8

55.3

63.0

71.5

81.2

92.4

104.9

So my cruising is done between 48.8 and 55.3 Gear Inches.

So this would be my "ideal" setup.

For 26 X 1.5 / 38-559 / MTB tire with 155 mm cranks
With Custom Sprocket(s) Cassette
With Rohloff 14-speed Speedhub Rear Hub

Low - - - - - - - - - 11 - - High

13.5

15.3

17.4

19.7

22.4

25.5

29.0

32.9

37.4

42.5

48.3

54.8

62.4

70.8

If I would like to move my cruising to gear #11, I would need 33T chainring and 17T sprocket. But Rohloff insists on 38T chainring as the smallest with 16T cog, as going smaller would go beyond 2.4 ratio suggestion from Rohloff. What to do?

Doing more research I realized that Rohloff recommendations includes tandems and super fit riders who can really crank on their pedals. In recumbent situation I don't have jolts of force applied to the pedals (I can't stand on them, I am just "spinning"). There are articles that suggest you can go lower in gearing, but Rohloff will not honor the warranty.

So, if I decide to go with "unapproved" ratio on gearing, what are my options for chainrings and sprockets?

Standard sprocket from Rohloff is 16T. For lower gearing they have a 17T sprocket available.

17T sprocket costs $50-60 USD, then you need a chain whip ($10-30 USD) and special Rohloff tool to remove it ($53).

What if I leave the sprocket at 16T, and just change the chainring?

T.A. Specialites does make a 33T chainring, but it is designed for inside of the shiftable cluster. It might work, but I don't want ramps for shifting on the chainring.

For 34T chainring, there are more choices. Again, I am avoiding rings with pins and ramps. You can have a Surly stainless steel chainring, or numerous aluminum ones. The hardest aluminum alloy is 7075-T6.

How does aluminum compare against steel? Surly uses 304 steel. It is harder than 7075-T6 aluminum, but also it is heavier. As I am going for reliability, so weight is not that significant for one piece. I would go with Surly. Surly is also reversible - just like the Rohloff sprocket.

For $30 I can get a Surly chainring and get much closer to the "ideal" range.

For 26 X 1.5 / 38-559 / MTB tire with 155 mm cranks
With Custom Sprocket(s) Cassette
With Rohloff 14-speed Speedhub Rear Hub

Low

High

14.7

16.7

19.0

21.6

24.5

27.9

31.7

36.0

40.9

46.6

52.8

60.0

68.3

77.5

Would this work? There is only one real way to find out.

Baja Dreams

2011-03-07T20:16:00.000-08:00

This year I want to ride my bent through Baja Mexico.

Years ago I met a cyclist who was crossing Baja on his bike (I was on a Green Tortoise Baja Beach Daze, we have stopped to see the cave paintings near Catavina). I had a short chat with the fellow cyclists. I asked him what was the hardest thing, and he told me that the supply of water was dictating where he could travel.

Lower back pain has stopped me from bicycling a few years back, but I have been fighting back with a recumbent. Suddenly, the dream is back and I have ways of achieving it!

I did not feel that my Cannondale Bent 1 was adequate - I had unresolved issues with midrive that would cause the chain jump chainrings and would sometimes jam, so I was looking for the "ultimate" touring bent.

I came to the conclusion of HP Velotechnik's StreetMachine GTe. I had some money set aside for the traveling, which I dipped into and placed an order for an orange Street Machine. I ended up placing an order with Zach Kaplan in Alameda, as my almost local dealer (BentUp Cycles) did not have a Street Machine in stock to try. My local dealer Victor from Bicycle Workshop in Santa Monica doesn't carry HP Velotechnik at all, but I see him doing most of the work I can not do for the bike.

After going to India and coming back I eagerly awaited my new "dream machine".

India and bicycles

2011-01-10T01:10:00.000-08:00

I have been fortunate enough to spend time living in India.

Living outside the bubble can be very refreshing and an eye opening experience.

Bicycles here still play major role in transportation. On bicycles milkman delivers milk, construction worker brings piece of iron, vegetable seller distributes the greens.

Although there are other modes of transport available, nothing is as affordable and efficient as bicycle.

There are 4 wheel carts made here that use bicycle wheels. Many things are sold from these carts. Bicycle technology is everywhere.

Five years ago I did not see any bicycles other than a sinlge speed models. Now I see derailer mountain bikes, but they are not too popular. Why? I think because of maintenance required. The environment here is extremely dusty in dry season, and wet and muddy during the monsoon. The open derailers just can't cope with the conditions. Items for Indian market need to be simple, strong and reliable. And even then they fail - so the maintenance should be simple too.

I think if costs were low enough, India could benefit from internal gear hubs. They are sealed from the elements, and maintenance is minimal.

Wet weather riding

2010-12-20T14:42:00.000-08:00

After couple days cooked up at home I could stay no more.

I got my rubber/neoprene riding shoes (Keen Commuters), synthetic REI stretch pants and synthetic long sleeve top, and I was off!

At first I was ecstatic. I was riding, and there was pretty much no one on the beach. Figures, it was still raining, but not hard.

I rode North, towards Malibu.

As I approached Santa Monica Pier, I expected some flooding. Well, "some" turned out to be a lot, and I ended up riding through what I think was up to 4 inches of water. I figured I could just downshift and power through the water. The concrete path was still there, just underwater.

Riding through water feeling was great. There was increased resistance, but I knew where the path was so I was not concerned with road disappearing. Good thing, it did not, and I safely forded the water barrier.

After my water experience, I decided to test my weather resistant disc brake.

BB7 brake has turned to mush. There was no fiction to stop, then the calipers started to drag on the rotors, then the lever would not spring back to neutral.

Slowly, the brake sponged back to semi neutral so it was not making scraping noises, but whenever I tried to use it to slow down the bike, it was pretty much useless.

If I was touring with a load and going downhill, and that was my only brake option, I would be in deep trouble.

So much for "improved wet performance" over rim brakes. On my front wheel I had Avid V brake, and it was still functioning. Granted, it took a moment for the brake to start breaking, but the friction was still there.

My dry lube (right now I had Finish Line dry lubricant, in the past I used Boeshield T9 with good results) got washed out and I could hear sand crunching on my chainring and middle drive chainrings. I stopped at the shower and tried to wash the sand, and that helped for 30 yards, then the sand was back.

I think I pair of fenders would have slowed down the sand working it's way from the water and sand slury into the chain. Also, I will use wet lube for my next wet ride.

What did work extremely well was the Shimano LX derailleur. It did not skip a beat through my shifting, no problem whatsoever. I was waiting for sand induced noises, but all was in vain. Noises were coming for lower bracket/chainring area, but not from derailleur.

Lessons learned:

Riding in the rain could be fun. Way better than being cooked up at home in front of the computer!
Horses for courses. You have to have wet weather clothes and wet weather lubricants on your bike. Fenders don't hurt either. You have to keep sand laden water out of the drive train!
Brakes that work in wet, not only in dry. I always thought of my BB7 disk brake as my best defense against weather. Not so - it has failed to live up to it's expectations. On my next bike I am sticking with rim brakes.
I am very impressed by Shimano LX derailleur. I was set to get Rohloff Speedhub for my next bike build, but now I feel I need to rethink my convictions. I still think if money is no option Rohloff is the way to go, but my newly regained respect for Shimano keeps them in the running.
My hat is off to all of you in Northern climates - snow and ice are not cyclists friends. I do have a friend who moved from California to New England and was riding his bike (with studded tires and all) through the winter. Go Winston!

How important is weather to riding?

2010-12-17T10:09:00.000-08:00

Weather is very important.

When I think about riding and I go outside and it is drizzling, ride is probably not happening.

Luckily I live in Santa Monica, where weather is sunny and mild most of the year.

Today, however, it is raining and I am staying at home. Sure, I could still go out there, but the joy is just not there. Why suffer?

Rainy weather gets me scrambling for a "rainy day" solutions.

I start thinking about fenders and rain gear, but today I will just take bus.

If I was on my "world domination" bicycle tour, I would have to be prepared for rain.

How would I deal with rain?

If it is raining cats and dogs, I would just try to wait it out. A day or two of rest is always good.

If it is just ongoing drizzle, I would ride through it. Bicycle with fenders, waterproof luggage, rain clothes.

Rain clothes for me a clothes that are designed to get me wet, but still allow to breath. I don't want waterproof clothing - you just get steamy inside and get wet from your perspiration. I like microfiber tops and stretchy pants. They are both synthetic fiber, so the water doesn't accumulate. If it is cold, I would add a fleece top. I am wet, but still warm. I wear a synthetic fiber hat and gloves too. You have to dress appropriately for climate conditions you are in.

In my waterproof luggage, I would have a dry clothes to change once I arrive to my destination (work, campsite, etc.)

The wet clothes should be hung to dry if possible. Not too much fun putting on wet clothes in the morning, but it is possible.

Rear suspension - coil vs. air

2010-12-16T17:58:00.000-08:00

The biggest advantage of the air suspension is in weight savings. Second, as the shock is more progressive, there is less chance of bottoming out. Also, it is easier to adjust amount of preload on an air spring - just pump in more air.

Performance wise, coil gives more linear, smoother performance. Bottoming out is more of a possibility.

The bad thing is that if valve in the air shock fails, you are in trouble. There are kits to rebuild the shock, so it is possible.

Bottoming out is more of the MTB issue, where riding and jumping is much more aggressive. On a recumbent, that is not an issue, as long as the spring is in the ballpark of the load.

In my opinion I will stick with a coil shock.

Elliptical chainrings vs. round; standard cranks vs. short

2010-12-16T17:49:00.000-08:00

After doing a lot of computer research I came to conclusion that elliptical chainrings either help you climb or help you spin - that depends on orientation.

Old Shimano Biopace was designed to help you climb mashing your feet, on a recumbent that is not a good thing. Your knees will remind you later. New Rotor Q rings are better, they are designed to help you with spinning. But the effect could be also mental, so I will save my money.

Crank length of 170 comes from diamond frame bikes. Longer cranks can help you power up when you are mashing up the hill. That is not happening on a recumbent, so the benefit is lost.

Shorter cranks of 155 will flex your knee less, thus will reduce the wear and tear on the joint. For most of the people shorter crank on the recumbent should result in increased comfort and thus would prolong performance. Sound like a win win to me.

So, I am sticking with circular chainring and adding shorter cranks.

Light solutions for commuting bent

2010-12-16T14:02:00.000-08:00

I have multi decade commuting experience between my "safety" and recumbent.

In Santa Monica streets are illuminated enough for you to see without any lights, so the main goal of light is for you to be seen.

I have had a CyGo twin lens contraption years ago with lead acid battery, it was pretty weak but much better than a single bulb 4AA setup I used before.

In LED era I have had my Cateye for over 5 years. It is not too bright, so you will not be blinding anyone, but enough of a light to get you noticed - especially for casual riding. However, if you want to ride beach path at night, there are spots with no illumination at all, and Cateye just falls short lighting the road at speed.

I have purchased Trailtech HID lamp system 3 years ago. My model only has on/off feature, but the new ones has variable brightness as well. Eventually, the lamp started shutting off after a short time, so it went. What I liked about this light was that it put out a lot of light. What I did not like was that the light was put out in circular pattern and would blind the upcoming riders/drivers. If the reflector was improved, it would be a killer light.

Now I am looking at LED light from Lupine - Tesla is already plenty, but for you who want to thrash down the mountain in the dark, there is Betty. Both lamps put out quite a bit of light, but I wonder how well are reflectors designed?

There are quality lights designed for bicycles too. B&M from Germany have a line of lamps to match their hub dynamo - SON. It sounds good on paper, but with current battery technology I can have a decent commuting light without additional drag of a dynamo. The claimed drag is very little, but there are reports of annoying resonances at certain speeds, so why bother? There are battery powered versions of those lights as well, but I just have not dealt with them.

Looking for a new bent

2010-12-10T22:34:00.000-08:00

From research stage I am moving into a locating stage for my next bent.

I am set on a Streetmachine by HP Velotechnik. Recent GT or GTe would do nicely.

The problem is that I have champagne taste and beer budget.

Nicely equipped brand new SMGTe tips scales at $6000 - that is more than my several cars worth combined. I am more thinking $2000 and couple years of gentle use.

I think the bikes are out there - in peoples garages and sheds collecting dust and slowly rusting away.

I can promise to give them a good home and ride the hell out of them.

Another option is to buy a base model and over time to upgrade it.

However, most of the times when I got a bike, bike stayed the way it was purchased.

So best is to find as close to the desired bike used and ride ride ride!

Impulse Buys

2010-12-09T21:09:00.000-08:00

Some folks want something so desperatly, they do not think through their purchases.

I wanted a Westfalia camper van for a long time, but thinking out the scenario where I did not have parking, using the van only seldom I decided against it.

Now my neighbor got an exact van I was thinking about.

He is in the same shoes as me and he is parking on the street. At least once a week he needs to move the van for street cleaning, keep it insured, registered. He needs to WORRY about it.

I want to have the least amount of things on my mind. Everything I bought on impulse I usually regretted later and lost money in the long run.

Now-days I try my best to take time to think through my big purchases.

I don't buy new unless there is a significant benefit to it. New car? No way. New bicycle? Maybe, especially if I want something special and the price is right. But usually, with enough patience, you can always find the same item on the market again and again, and as the item gets older the deal gets sweeter.

Transportation does not appreciate as it ages, and that includes bicycles as well.

So I would advice to hold your horses on that new purchase and wait out for a special deal. I am glad I do, and money in the bank feels so much better than a debt on a credit card.

My yoga teacher kept on saying "No hurry". It is so true in so many ways.

Cycle progression

2010-12-05T22:02:00.000-08:00

I have noticed that a lot of people start with a DF bike, then a recumbent bike, and then comes a trike. After that a fast high/low racer might come. I was trying figure out why such succession is popular?

I look at trikes as a very specialized vehicles - not popular for city commuting duties (I have seen no trikes on the streets of Santa Monica for past 20 years), but more of weekend/bicycle path/outside town riding. You could take it on the tour as well, but with our busy lives that is a very small of our total riding time. I did try Scorpion FS & FX, they were fine on an empty streets, but I would not want to be doored or cut off by the car driver with "I did not see you".

CLWB (I have Cannondale bent 1) does make a decent city commuter, and I ride it pretty much every day. Lately I have tried several SWB bents, and liked the way Streetmachine felt the best, so that might be my next commuter. I plan to do touring on Streetmachine as well, but realistically it will be 90% commuter, and 10% tourer. I could justify that.

So my conclusion is that the trikes are mostly a recreational vehicles, while bikes could be more utilitarian.

And then there is a need for speed.

I wish I could go faster when I am cruising on the bicycle path - both trikes with skinny high pressure tires and high racers leave me in the dust. I do like an idea of being able to go faster, but not at the expense of the utility.

I did have a drastic idea of using a trike for commuting, but I think I will come back to this idea after velomobile market matures a little more or oil price jumps to $300 a barrel. Right now there is a flood of innovation on suspended trikes, but that's just a first wave. I am willing to wait it out and buy a more mature product.

In conclusion, when my commuting needs are met, I might experiment with trikes or racier bents, but SWB seems to be the best bent for busy city streets.

Long Trip - a conversation with travelers

2010-12-03T17:29:00.000-08:00

Couple weeks ago I was riding on the beach path in Santa Monica.

I saw two cyclists with full camping gear pass me. Later I saw them pulled over talking.

I stopped and asked them where they were coming from. Two guys - Pip and (name to be inserted later, when the brain comes back from vacation) where from Rotterdam, Netherlands. They started about 5 months ago in Toronto, rode across the continent to San Francisco, then spent a month coming down to L.A. They were leaving LAX for home in 3 days. And now they were looking for a motel to stay at.

I was able to recommend a local motel on Pico blvd. and 11th street in Santa Monica. I showed them which way to go. Later I was going by and saw their bikes, so I asked them if they had any plans. They did not, so I offered to show around L.A.. Later we met up, and I took them out for Mexican food (La Playita on Lincoln blvd. near Rose), then drove them around - we went to Beverly Hills and Hollywood. It was at night, so we could not see Hollywood sign, but still my guests were excited. They haven't been in a car for over 5 months!

I was very interested in their trip. I asked them what they would change if they had to do it over again, and first thing they said that they might bring warmer clothes. Also, they would wash their sleeping bags more often - after 5 months they felt very dingy.

They tried budgeting themselves to $40 per day. They camped - outside California costs were about $5 a person per night, inside California the costs doubled. They ate a lot of Top Ramen and hot dogs. At first they bought firewood, but later they started collecting fallen branches around the campsites. Later they acquired a saw to cut more wood.

Pip had 3 flats, Yelle (memory is back) had 7. One broken spoke. Because they were running ahead of schedule, they were cycling slowly. Some days they rode only 7 or 10 miles - from one campsite to another.

They said that their trip was not hard. Most important was to find a place to camp. Then, to get fire going - it was getting dark pretty early, and you had nothing else to do if you had no fire. Last, get the food going on the fire you started. Everything else was non essential.

So, what did I learn from their experience?

You need to have a clothing to protect you from the elements.
You need a roof over the head (tent + site).
You need food.
You need transportation.
You need destination.

Everything else is optional. Yellu and Pim did not have laptops, hell, they did not have cell phones. They had no gps, they were traveling "old school". Their bikes were just simple 24 speed mountain bikes with fenders and racks. They did have some maps and guidebooks, but most communications were done through internet at local libraries. They were living "off the land".

I feel they were living at most basic level, yet it was very satisfying. Sometimes, less is more.

To trike or not to trike?

2010-12-02T15:08:00.000-08:00

On BentRiderOnline there was a post for a HP Velo Scorpion for sale.

The trike offered was a base model Scorpion with some options - airflow seat cushions, 50 tooth rotor Q-Ring, Crankbrothers Eggbeater pedals, four sets of various tires. Although SRAM DualDrive is not my favorite, I was intrigued. I exchanged quite a few emails with the owner, and made an offer. I figured if I did not like the trike, I could sell it later, meanwhile I could have some fun on a beach path. If the trike grew on me, I might consider upgrading it to a full touring trike, but then again I might not, especially after I liked testriding Streetmachine so much.

Well, it seems that the trike deal is not going through - somebody else local offered little more money than I felt comfortable with. I didn't want to overextend myself financially and I feel very comfortable with or without a trike.

This is working out to my advantage - if I can not get the trike at the price I am comfortable, I could use the money towards a bike that I really liked - Streetmachine GTe. Now all I need is to find one in good condition. New price still makes me cringe, but next year is my 40th birthday, so maybe I will splurge...

Thanksgiving Day Ride

2010-11-26T09:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a nice day in Santa Monica for a beach path ride. The weather was in the 40s to start, and it warmed up nicely into low 60s in the mid day.

In Santa Monica beach path was fairly sand free. Once I got over to Venice area there were many sand drifts on the path, you had to be careful not to wipe out.

When I came to L.A. river, I rode inland (I was meeting my buddy for a ride, he comes from that direction). Once I ran into him, we turned back and rode west, then south towards Redondo Beach.

Once we reached Redondo Beach, we turned around and went back. My buddy had an early lunch engagement.

While on the path, I saw several 'bents. I saw 2 gentlemen on Rans Rockets, I saw a guy on a trice trike, and a couple on an eBike tandem. I talked to them for a moment, wished them happy Thanksgiving and pushed back towards home.

There some ride stats according to B.icycle app for iphone:

Trip time: 02:36:24
Distance: 27.8 mi
Average speed: 10.7 mph
Max speed: 19.2 mph
Climbed altitude: 778 ft
Total experience: Priceless

Visit to Zach Kaplan's bent shop

2010-11-14T22:17:00.000-08:00

This weekend I drove almost 700 miles from Santa Monica to Oakland to check out some recumbents at Zach Kaplan's shop.

Luckily, my wife ~~supports~~ ~~understands~~ tolerates my strange behaviors, so we made a two day trip to the Bay area with a visit to old friends we don't get to see too often.

Zach's shop is located in a very nondescript building - very low key. If you don't have the address, you be hard pressed to find it. The only clue is a bicycle tire mounted above the entrance, way up by the roof.

But that's just the way I like it. The service is one on one - Zach will make an appointment, then will spend whatever time it takes to help you out. He charges $25 per hour for his consultation (he has a stopwatch to be precise), later if you buy a cycle from him he will subtract the money you spent on a consultation from the final price of a vehicle. I found out his services to be totally worth the money.

Zach is very knowledgeable - he rides a Grasshopper FX himself (amongst other 6 bents). His Grasshopper FX with Above Seat Steering (ASS) is also equipped with Schmidt dynamo hub (SON). Although not as bright as my Trailtech HID lamp, he doesn't need to worry about dead batteries and the way HP Velotechnik integrates all the wires into the frame and rack is really really clean.

Zach's shop is full of bikes and trikes. I saw on his workbench bikes in various states of assembly.

When you talk to Zach, you are talking to the main guy. There is no one else. Which is good, as you cut through all the layers of uncertainty and deal directly with the source. Any more closer, and you would be talking to the manufacturer.

So let's get down to to business of checking out and test riding the bikes.

I wanted to check out the Grasshopper FX, and I sure did. Zach had two versions in stock - ASS (above seat steering) and USS (under seat steering). Honestly, neither bike impressed me. Maybe because that was a second time I rode a SWB recumbent (first being Barcroft Virginia, which I thought was quite a fun but had a harsh ride) or just the way the bikes handled - I don't know. I did not like indirect USS, it felt quite twitchy and disconnected. ASS was better, but still did not make me feel anything special. Certainly, I will not be investing my money into a Grasshopper FX. That's done.

Next I tried was my other highly anticipated bike - Speedmachine by HP Velotechnik.

Again, this bike failed to impress me. It just did not see something in it that I would like to ride every day. The bike did roll nicely, but I was afraid to turn it too sharply due for my lack of experience. No special feeling. Again, back to the drawing board.

I was getting crushed - my dream of a fun 2 wheeler was quickly coming to an end.

Alas, there was the last contender, Streetmachine GTe.

This bike felt right from the first stroke. The steering was nimble and quick, I felt quite connected to the bike. I tried 3 different positions for the seat, the most upright felt most comfortable. The headrest might have worked, but the helmet was getting in the way. The hand position just felt so natural and comfortable. The bar end shifters where in a just a right position too. The bike also felt quite lighter compared to my Cannondale Bent I. Now that's the bike I could become good friends with!

Not all was perfect - turning circle at slow speed is quite large due to the limited range of handle bars, the mounted shifters somehow just didn't feel like super precise levers carved out of metal - I wonder if there is another "level up" of those little shifters?

So now I have to figure out if I want to go Streetmachine GTe or Scorpion FS route.

For the practical city riding I am leaning towards Streetmachine - higher seat, easier to park at work, plenty of cargo options available.

Scorpion FS is a cupcake too - smooth and slick, but taking a lot more space. I would get used to riding it on the streets (especially in a bicycle lanes) but it is more of a "car" feel vs. "bike" feel of a Streetmachine. I don't think I would be jumping curbs on Scorpion, but that should not be a problem on a Streetmachine.

Also I wonder if the Streetmachine can be made really bulletproof - all the bearings on it should be sealed type (if they are not already) - best quality for longest life and least resistance (and no maintenance). And then there are the options for the drive train, brakes, suspension, etc. I don't want to go overboard, I'll try to stick with KISS (keep it simple, stupid) concept.

As I am leaving for India in a month and a half, I don't think I'll be bringing my new bike with me. The decision will probably wait till I am back in the Santa Monica in February. That should give me plenty of time to ponder.

Again, if you are in Bay area and not sure which bent you want, make an appointment to see Zach. He can be reached at zakaplan@sonic.net.

Which bent is right for me?

2010-11-11T16:36:00.000-08:00

My current Cannondale Bent I is a smooth gliding bent. I just took it out for a 20 mile ride this morning, and that dual suspension soaks up road bumps with aplomb. I love the "cushy" ride. I am only wishing for something a little faster - I am cruising with Cannondale at average of 10 mph on a fairly flat bicycle path. Also, stability won't hurt it either - on a sandy patches on the beach bike path I had that "slipping" feeling couple times, it is quite unnerving.

I started thinking about Grasshopper FX - on paper it makes good sense. The 'hopper FX folds for transportation, should be fairly comfy and reasonably stable. Also, I hope it would be little quicker than my Cannondale.

My first attempt to try Grasshopper FX in SoCal turned out fruitless.

I went into Bentup Cycles wanting to try a Grasshopper FX, but they no longer carry that model. Hence I took couple trikes for a spin. I have tried Scorpion FX and Scorpion FS by HP Velotechnik, and they both felt smooth and nice, FS even more so plush, especially when I was riding over the uneven ground.

This could turn out to be very dangerous to my valet. But there were downsides as well.

What I did not like was inability to lean in while turning - that's what makes 2 wheelers so special.

This weekend I am going to Oakland to see Zach Kaplan who has Grasshopper FX and other SWB bents in stock to ride.

I'll be trying out Grasshopper FX, Streetmachine GTe and Speedmachine and see if any of them "talk" to me. If not, I might start saving for Scorpion FS.

Am I setting myself for a trike? Sure looks like that to me. If I go the trike route, there is a whole bunch more to try - Ice has a fully sprung machine (I got spoiled by a smooth ride, I don't even want to try non suspended bents anymore). Also there are deltas for Hase and Greenspeed - Kettwiesel and Anura. From looking at Deltas are kind of ugly, but I have to look beyond looks. It is all about what feels right.

Also, there are fully suspended Velomobile - one from Greenspeed looks interesting, but I think it is an overkill for SoCal "weather".

Most important is to try as many bikes, trikes and quads as possible.

So I am thinking with my brain, but going with my gut.

Daylight saving time is adjusted the wrong way!

2010-11-07T19:08:00.000-08:00

I am in Santa Monica, and as of November 7th, it has gotten dark around 5 o'clock.

That puts another disadvantage into a riding a bicycle to work - I have to ride bike with traffic in a dark.

Riding a bike with traffic is hard enough. I was going to work (I work an afternoon-evening shift), then coming home for dinner around 6 (still some light) and then taking bus back to work in the dark. Now I get an extra leg of a journey - going home from work at the rush time in the dark.

The time should have been adjusted to PROLONG the daylight, not to make it shorter.

Combatting "Recumbutt"

2010-10-28T15:48:00.000-07:00

After couple hours in the saddle of my Cannondale Bent I, my butt started to become uncomfortable. I would try to shift it around, but the dull pain feeling kept on returning. I developed a "recumbutt".

Next day I went for a ride, and a recumbent butt returned in about 45 minutes. Wow, sore butt is back so quick!

Next day I just rode around town - quick runs to work, home, to the store. Not enough time for sore butt.

On the fourth day I went for a longer ride again, and sore butt was back, but it took more than an hour to occur.

Eureka!

I think it is all about conditioning your butt. More riding will make your butt muscles stronger, and you will be able to sit in a saddle (or on a piece of foam in my case) longer.

I also look forward to a lower, more weight distributing seat in a future. Like a BodyLink seat from HP Velotechnik...

Dream machine?

2010-10-27T08:01:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been investigating different bents. I am seem to be on the mission for an "ultimate" bike. I want to take it on a world tour, I want to commute on it. I want it to be reliable. Hp velotechnik grasshopper fx? Maybe.

Also, I am writing this from my iPhone, just to see how blogging from the road would work. I do no see a way to add images, that link seems to be gone. It would be cool to be able to add camera photos to the blog.