Presenting the Redneck Recumbent

[cfg83]

Frank -

Cool. Could this mean you're also a Green-neck? Or an Econeck?

CarloSW2

[Frank Lee]

"You may want to consider a lower Cg to aid stability, but I believe you'll enjoy the recumbent position."

I've got about 2 block's ride time on a low store-bought bent. It didn't seem to have any stability advantage, and the starts and stops were more awkward.

"I DIDNT EVEN THINK THAT THERE ARENT ANY BREAKS!!!!!"

There are no breaks. She's solid as a rock!

"But I take it you did fire up the Sawzall on the donor bike,
which appears to have been a "boys" bike."

That is correct. Sawzalls rule!

"I suspect you had to pry the front fork tubes outward quite a bit to accept the
the rear wheel axle. I would expect something like 1-1/2 inches. That would
create a severe bending moment at the crown where the fork tubes attach to
the crown. Better keep an eye on that area for micro-cracking, in the
weld/silver solder, whatever."

I had to spread the fork legs for the additional hub width and I also had to spread the fork ends to accept the larger diameter axle- no grinding! I'd call the bending moment "minor" or "inconsequential". Of course on the back end I had to compress the frame to fit the narrow "front" hub, and the axle is small in the frame's slots but the axle nuts are holding it securely so far.

The "rear" frame stays going from the front hub to the handlbar stem (running right along the front fork) are redundant and will probably be removed eventually. I wanted to get a sense of the rigidity of that whole assembly before doing that.

"Green-neck or Econeck"

I think I'm a "Stiff-neck" after grabbing all those bike parts and bending them with bare hands! Oh yeah, I felt it later.

[Christ]

The lower Cg suggestion is from riding around on low-slung bikes... cornering "comfort" is increased for me when I'm a little closer to the ground. The recumbent position, for me, is still a bit awkward as well, but I'm getting used to it. (Not lately, since no one around here has one, and the local bike shops don't even sell them. Several haven't even heard of them.)

[Old Tele man]

...heck, I thought a 'lower Cg' just meant there was "...less distance to fall..." when you crashed (wink,wink)!

[wdb]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

...heck, I thought a 'lower Cg' just meant there was "...less distance to fall..." when you crashed (wink,wink)!

So Cg = Can-to-ground distance?

[dcb]

You know I like it Frank.

lol, micro cracking "IN THE NEWS TODAY, MAN FALLS OFF POS BIKE!!"



"...records indicated a lack of magnaflux testing...no indication of termite inspection..."

[MetroMPG]

Looks like a fun project, Mr Lee. Now I want a recumbent project too.

[Frank Lee]

Ha Ha- I was telling a friend about it, and that I'll probably be in the local paper. She said "In a good way or in a bad way?" I said "That remains to be seen"! LOL

As far as can-to-ground distance... there is a point of lowness where it gets awkward to put your foot down and save yourself; the same is true for launching I think. For me, this seat height is about perfect for that- not too low, not too high. I've read about guys having plenty of problems with higher (around 30") seat heights.

Metro, this is about the easiest way of getting into a recumbent without buying one that I've ever come up with. A little hacking, a little bending, and there you are. No welder or stuff to buy outside of the two donor bikes needed. I did it all from 2 a.m. to 3 p.m. in one day, and that includes digging through my parts bikes with a flashlight, and lots of standing there looking at it, deciding what to do.

Originally I was thinking of using the "his" from the matching his-n-hers bikes as the main chassis as it had a damaged top tube anyway. But in looking at it I decided the "hers" frame would get my seat height low enough and then I wouldn't have to weld anything. Not that I'm against welding, but to make a seatbase even lower than what I have would likely result in a weaker frame, and I didn't know where I was going to end up "fore and aft" at the time anyway. I was imagining problems with weakness in the head tube area. I can easily go an inch or two lower on this one too. Maybe I'll test that.

It may not be apparent from the pics, but the seatback angle and height are fully adjustable. I could lay it back probably up to 45 degrees. The best spec for that will gel as I get more riding time on it.

[cfg83]

Frank -

I think at some point you should do an instructables or something. You could become the "Dobson" of DIY recumbents.

Hey, let's over-engineer it! You should have drop-down safety-wheels where the "normal" pedaling gear would be.

CarloSW2

[thatguitarguy]

I love this design! How did you do the joint between the seat post and handlebar stem on the two bikes?

I have factory made recumbents. A tadpole trike and a few 2 wheelers - long and short wheelbase, but I don't have any front drives. But I have a bunch of donor bike waiting in the wings to be reintroduced into action.