Pro & Con of Recumbent bike

[whiteblade]

I found this on the internet & would like to make something similar good or a bad idea?

I am 37 years old ,182 lbs ,6ft tall. Have not been on a bike for a few years now, but like the idea or a recumbent bike.

I want to be able at present to do be 8-15 miles on around trip , i am in the philippines so not always the best roads and some very dangerous car drivers about so i don't want to be too low to the ground . I will be pedaling so only want to go about 10-15mph thats fast enough at present .

Bugget is very limited as i have 2 other projects on the go, so if i get a hub motor it would be a hub motor only and i would try and lace the wheel myself.

Was looking at 24-36v setup to start with and buy bits when i have the money, was looking at rc lipo as acheaper battery option, or though i do have 3 x 12v 15ah sla.
As a starting point .
Yes i know they are heavy ,but not everyone has lots of money to spend on there projects.
But i enjoy building things ( I fix heliopters by trade so i am good with my hands at making things. )

Here's some pics of what i would like to build from scratch, i would like suspension on my version & 20" front wheel .Its call S17 24" rear and i think a 16" front




Here's a video too : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ-nYL5WQ-I&feature=player_embedded

Here's there web site : http://ph.babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_url?trurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.17bicycle.com%2F&lp=ja_en&.intl=ph&fr=yfp-t-711

 

[Papa]

There is some obvious quirks with the design.

* The weight distribution is poor because the seat is too far aft. This exacerbates front wheel wash-out on wet and sub-par surfaces. Also, the ideal seat height should be closer to 20-22" (500-559mm), which places you eye-to-eye with motor traffic.

* Remote steering (aka USS or Under Seat Steering) complicates the build and makes mounting and dismounting more awkward. And if there is ANY detectable slop in the system, the bike will be difficult to balance and maneuver.

My first suggestion would be http://sites.google.com/site/recycledrecumbents/home This homebuilt design was originally inspired by the late Gardner Martin and his wildly popular Tour Easy. Good weight distribution and excellent low and high speed handling. Andrew Carson (the Recycled Recumbent site owner/builder) is an intelligent and wonderfully helpful chap when builders need assistance. His online plans and detailed instructions are well laid out and 'free'. And he even offers bare frame sets if you are hesitant to go-it-alone, or don't have the tools.

 

[amberwolf]

Another option is something like my CrazyBike2, which is a semirecumbent long wheel base, also using remote steering. Made from a couple of recycled bikes and some other salvaged junk, it's actually a nice bike to ride, but heavy (around 80 pounds for the bare bike, no motor/batteries/cargo pods). Fork rake and caster ended up more for higher speeds than low ones; it's not stable really below about 10MPH, hard to balance below 8; rides really great just coasting down a steep hill keeping up with traffic at almost 40MPH though. :lol: (at least it did prior to adding the batteries and motor and pods; it probably still rides well at those speeds but might not coast as fast).

Or something like Justin's Cross-Canada bike, which is basically a regular bike with an Xtracycle on the back, and handlebars in the seatpost of the bike with remote steering to the front bars, and a seat on the Xtracycle. I have a cargo bike in progress that is similar but is again two bikes (no money for an xtracycle and want it to be a bolt-together rather than weld).

There are many many variations on recumbents. At least as many as there are on regular "DF" diamond-frame bikes. Each one has something to offer the rider that others don't, but what you want or need might not be that thing.

 

[ebent]

whiteblade,

your title of Pro & Con of Recumbent is difficult to respond to. Once you indicate a limited budget a lot of very nice and worth while recumbents are out of consideration. I ride a tadpole trike. Will not work for you. Needs good roads. Or a suspended trike. Not good on the budget. The main benefit of the right recumbent is comfort. A good fitting recumbent will support the spine and neck. Best for long range comfort. And easy on the ass.

ebent

 

[whiteblade]

whiteblade,

your title of Pro & Con of Recumbent is difficult to respond to. Once you indicate a limited budget a lot of very nice and worth while recumbents are out of consideration. I ride a tadpole trike. Will not work for you. Needs good roads. Or a suspended trike. Not good on the budget. The main benefit of the right recumbent is comfort. A good fitting recumbent will support the spine and neck. Best for long range comfort. And easy on the ass.

ebent

Thanks for that , but i not going to buy abike, i am going to build one bit by bit when i have funds.
This is just the design stage, i have plans for afew different recumbents, tadpoles and even quadcycles that can be redesign for my purpose.
I have plans from atomic zombie and other places.( i collect plans for different vehicles new habit) may be it will be come a bad habit. LOL

A MTB proberly would be the best bike to get .

Why is a limited budget a problem? just means i can not buy everything at once.

Electric vehicle are not just for the rich , but also more poorer people too who like to experiment.

A recumbent is just onething i am looking at .

Not everyone can buy hub motors or lifepo4 batteries, and people still built electric bikes.

Worse case if limited budget can not be funded, I have my fake etek motor 36v 20Ah sla batteries that would push a tadpole quite well i believe? May be a recumbent?

No reason why you cannot use a recumbent for short trips here and there? Short trips turn in to long trips if you are having fun.

 

[whiteblade]

I found this the other day

If i could build something like this, i think it would be ok on bad roads or abit of light off roading.

Here's a review : http://www.bentrideronline.com/?p=2531


Here's a few pictures :

 

[sk8norcal]

i tried an electric Giant Revive "semi-recumbent" recently, with rear hub motor.

very nice... with rear suspension..
do a google search on it...

http://sheboygan.craigslist.org/bik/1698794209.html