My Recumbent Days

You say what are my concerns? Well here it is, I placed the order for the ThunderHorn on EBay from a dealer that had 385 sales and 100% good feedback. So you would say that there should not be any concerns there, CORRECT? Well I also sent him an email requesting to know when the item will ship. I never received an answer, or even a thank you for the order which you usually get. Oh well it is 11:39 PM Friday in Hong Kong so I guess if I hear it will be next week. The weather here is beautiful and I will wait to after lunch and head out for a ride. And I won't forget to put on sun screen. The ride was very relaxing, until the left brake started to rub again. I have to bring it in and have them work on it. I rode around 12.5 miles and the sun was shining and the temperature was perfect. This is perfect riding weather and I did enjoy myself. I do have to get some sunscreen, but I don't know what to get. The two that the doctor recommended are now being investigated for improper adv

Yesterday I decided to take the trike out for a quick test run, all was fine and operating smoothly. My only problem was from the idiot drivers around me. The small Mirrycle bell is all but useless. I decided to get a electronic horn. Yes I do have an AirZund horn which is very loud and does warn cars away, but it is almost impossible to mount and a pain to pump up after each ride. So I ordered a 115db Mega-Horn, and I hope it is worth the money, since I did this through EBay. Got to go now going to meet friends for a ride. The ride was very relaxing until my left hand disk brake started to rub and make a racket. I ended the ride at 9.5 miles and headed for the bike store for an adjustment. It took about 15 minutes and I spent another hour allowing the staff at the bike store take it for a test ride in the parking lot. They never rode a recumbent before and said it was a great ride.

Today the Black Widow lettering was added to the chain stays. I think it gives a finished look to the trike. I only have a few modifications I want to do on this trike, but it will have to wait. I want to change the headsets to Chris King, but they are expensive.

Today the UPS driver dropped off the new ActionBent 2" seat cushion. The cushion was cut very accurate and fit the seat perfect. I installed it by using 3M General Purpose adhesive which allows it to be held firmly, but yet removed if necessary. I am extremely happy the way the seat fits and the way it feels when seated. All I can say is no more numb butt! The new safety flag also came today and it is exactly what I needed to be noticed by those cars.

Today I spent some time installing a bottle cage on the trike. The original cage location is on the boom, which is a long if not impossible reach to get to. I moved it back to just in front of the cross member and axel. Since there were no lugs to screw the cage to, I used wire ties and Velcro straps. It is nice and tight, but I think next time I am by Home Depot I will purchase some long industrial ties. I also purchased some 3M number 45 adhesive to affix the cushion when it is delivered tomorrow. Hopefully the new flags and mast will come tomorrow also. I also spent time corresponding with fellow members of MARS regarding possible shirts for the club. With all the people in the club it is very hard to get them to agree on anything. As soon as the cushion and flag are installed I will post pictures.

UPS brought the two Sette XE bar ends today and I installed them along with the two new mirrors and my home made computer mount. These two photos will explain.

One of the major problems on a trike is where to mount the computer. I originally mounted the computer on the right hand steering bar, which meant I would have to take my eyes off the road and look down and to the right to see it. I felt that was not only dangerous but not easy. I then expanded upon an idea that Cliff on ActionBent forum came up with. He had used a reflector mount as the mount for his computer. I took that idea and expanded upon it by using a right angle mount which brings the computer more to the center of steering and easier to see. I also added a coupling from CPVC which is PVC hot water pipe to the bracket. This allowed the computers original mount to be used more securely. I am posting two photos of the mount one is viewed from the trike seat and the other from front of trike. Once I mount it all tomorrow I will post the installed version.

This morning on logged on to EMS.com in order to find out if they have the two bar-end mirrors I want, and according to them they were in stock and available at the Bridgewater NJ store. So I figured I was going to meet a friend at Bridgewater for lunch, and I could just go there and pick them up. Well I got there and of course they had none. Go figure! If I was driving there just for that I would be very angry. The manager of the store said that since I rode up there that he would ship them at no cost to me when he gets them in. On a good note, I was contacted by Randy from ActionBent that the seat pad was in and he would ship it out today. So it should be here by Friday next week. The price including shipping was $25.00 which is lower than any other bent dealer. It is always great to do business with nice people. A few minutes ago the tube for my front tire showed up, it took less time by regular mail than it took to get something Parcel Post. I still have to get a tube for the rear

Today the package from the bike supply came with the two front stems. I cut the handlebar s off and installed the stems. A pain to do. All I need is the two bar ends and the modification will be complete. I won't be able to do this until March 21 when they show up. I am including 2 photos of the stems installed.

Today I ordered the final parts for the steering upgrade. I ordered a set of Sette XE Alloy Bar Ends. These will be used as mirror holders and hand grips. This will give me the ability to move the mirrors into a better position where my arm is not blocking the view. Now once the two new FSA Black Eye stems arrive and I check them for fit, I can cut the handlebar off the old stem. Once that is done it is easy from then on. The only things needed after that is a new seat cushion, and a water bottle and holder. Randy from ActionBent is in Taiwan and will be bringing home sample seat cushions, and hopefully I can get one to test.

The postman showed up today with the panniers, and I found that I can move a few things on the trike for better accessibility. I moved the CamelBack hydration pack from under the seat to the top of the rear rack, also moved the pump to the inside of panniers. The parts for the steering upgrade have been shipped Priority Mail so I should have them this week. I have modified the neck-rest so it is much lower on the seat. It hits just below my helmet. I modified it by cutting bracket and drilling new holes.

This morning I ordered two alloy stems to replace the stems on the AB trike, this will provide me with a huge amount of adjustment of the handlebars. It took a while to find ones that were suitable for the job. I purchased two FSA Black Eye Stems 50 mm 0 degrees , which are not too heavy and will give a nice finished look to the trike. UPS came a few minutes ago and delivered the neck-rest and a front chain tube, not the tire tube that was damaged. I don't understand why AB can't get it correct. The chain tube will come in handy at a later date. I will just go out and purchase a front 20" tube and a rear 26" tube. One thing I have been taught by ordering from Nashbar bike is not to! They shipped the panniers on the seventh of March at 10:00 AM via USPS Parcel Post and it is still not here. The amount of money they charge is what you would expect to be charged if it was sent UPS. So the only way I order from them is if I can't find the item anywhere else. I thought

This morning I took a extended test ride, the temperature was 65 degrees and sunny. The trike road beautiful and very quiet, which I was very surprised about. The reason for the surprise is that other owners have said the idler was extremely noisy, which I heard nothing that resembled noise. The trike was fast and stable in the turns, as I mentioned before it felt like I was on rails. I did find out that my little Miracle bell is useless and that I have to add the AirZound to the trike which poses a few problems. First problem is finding a location for the air bottle and the second is to purchase a accessory mount to hold the horn out of the way since the cockpit is so tight. I also found that my rear was sore after the 8 1/2 miles, and I would need a different cushion. I sent off an email to Randy of ActionBent regarding getting one that he is bringing in from TW this coming week. I am sure every time I ride I will learn something new about my little toy.

Yesterday was my first extended ride on the ActionBent trike. All I can say is amazing! The ride was fairly smooth, and not jittery at all. The steering was very responsive and easy to control. The turn radius is large as I expected it would be. Sharp turns were very stable and felt like the trike was connected to a track. I did feel a little like I was going to fall on my side, but there was no danger of that. I guess it is like making a sharp turn in a car and you are pulled to one side. I will continue tweaking the cockpit, until I get the handles just where I want them. I already have moved the computer for better view and have played with bar position. I am sure the seat would be a lot more comfortable if it had some open cell foam. Randy form ActionBent is bringing some home from TW where he is attending the bike show. I am hoping today the package containing the panniers from Bike Nashbar will be delivered. And I plan to visit my local LBS to see how much it would cost to add

This morning I had a few minutes to kill and decided I would try painting my safety flag pole with reflective paint. I originally planned on purchasing the GreenSpeed safety flag, but thought I would try this idea first. Still haven't come to a conclusion if I will purchase the GreenSpeed flag. The reason I say this, is that I don't know how long the paint will stay on before chipping off.

Sometime today I am expecting the UPS truck to drop off the package from ActionBent. This package contains the Dura-Ace index bar-end shifters, 20" x 1.25" tube and the neck-rest. Once I have the box I can arrange installation of the replacement shifters. As my past days blog reported, I had ordered a set of black Nashbar Day Trekker panniers using Amazon's Nashbar store front. I should have ordered directly from Nashbar bike direct. I didn't realize that when you order from Amazon store the order is not transmitted to Nashbar for a few days. That was a big mistake on my behalf. Oh well just another week or so waiting for the delivery to arrive. I plan to spend a few hours today trying to find a few safety items I need to acquire. One will require a few phone calls to different recumbent stores around the country. The second requires a few emails sent out. The first is a GreenSpeed safety flag, it is an orange triangle flag mounted on an orange Fiberglas 6' pole

On Monday I should be receiving the replacement parts for the trike. I have a pair of Dura-Ace bar end shifters coming to replace the Diacomp that was installed in error at time of manufacture. There should also be a replacement neck-rest and front 20" tube that was damaged during shipping. Early this morning I ordered a set of panniers for my rear rack. The trunk bag I have is way to high and gets in the way. It also is very small for my daily needs. I have to have enough room to store spare tubes, patch kit, pump and a wind breaker. For some reason I can't find my good cable lock and my son lost the keys to his. We would loose our heads if they weren't attached to our shoulders. For a temporary fix I purchased a cable lock at our local Dollar Tree. Good it isn't but will serve the purpose until I can replace my lost one.

I went to the Post-Office to check and see if the package from BikeWorld arrived. Sure enough it was there, and I headed home. When I first opened the box, I was taken back at the small size. I thought that it might be a little too small, but I was wrong. I installed the mirror which took about two minutes, and another minute to adjust it. It will do the job very well, because it uses a convex mirror which gives a large field of view. Post office Post-office Positives Positive Positiver Edit... Revert to "Postoffice" Bike World Bike-World Bejeweled Bejewelled Bejewels Edit... Ignore all Add to dictionary