Rans Screamer

If you are new to recumbents, you have to continue to be persistant in your training until you recumbent muscles sets develop. It does take time. But going up hills will get you there.

Cathy,

The first question that comes to mind is: Are you shifting to an easy gear before getting onto
the slope??

Easy means a big gear in the back and/or a small gear in the front.

You read about "spinning" here a lot. That means riding in an easy gear and turning the pedals "very
fast". Doing this helps you to save your knees while you develop . It also helps you to start up
easier and to go up hills easier.

While "legs of steel" will come and will help go up hills, all those speeds you paid for are there
for a reason. Experiment with the shifter until you get an idea of what's going on, then, put 'er in
a low (easy) gear and head for the hills.

--
Miles of Smiles,

Tom Blum Winter Haven, Florida Homebuilts: SWB Tour Easy Clone Speed Machine Clone High Racer Clone
www.gate.net/~teblum

Cathy, Don't get discouraged. Your legs will come with continued riding. Getting to know what you
need to do on this bike and when will also come with further miles. My wife and I are not light
weights by any means, and also are vertically challenged. We only run about 16 mph on a calm day,
with flat roads. We've just got back from SAGBRAW, and had a weeks' average of
11.8 mph. Not fast by any means. We've had our Screamer since late June of 2001, and have put close
to 3500 miles on it so far, including 2 RAGBRAIs and 2 SAGBRAWs. We have yet to walk a hill with
it. Some have really been close to falling over as we went up, but we made them. I have a rule
for the wife. I told her that if she sees a negative number on her computer going up hill, she
should get off. Neither of us were strong riders on an upright. But the comfort factor has made
the 'bent a better riding experience for us. Let us know what happens.

Jim Vincent RANS Screamer - Vision R50

It is possible that the gearing is not low enough on your new bike. When my wife and I bought a
BikeE E2 last year we had the gearing adjusted down by replacing all the chainrings with smaller
ones. I think we would not be able to get up hills if we hadn't done that. You might want to check
that your lowest gear inch is 20" or less. You can do this by the following formula:

# teeth on smallest chain ring in front
--------------------------------------- times wheel diameter
# teeth on largest cog in back

On your Screamer the rear wheel is 26". I think the stock gearing has a 30-tooth small chainring and
32-tooth large cog, meaning your smallest gear-inch is

30/32 x 26" = 24.375"

In my opinion this is too high, and you'd do well to get a 24-tooth front chainring (or smaller),
which would bring you down to a 19.5" low gear (or lower). This might mean that you have to get
smaller medium and large chainrings, too; ask your dealer.

Just my two cents,

Alan Weiss NJ Gold Rush, E2 tandem, and Leitra rider

P.S. Usually the heaviest person is the largest person, and should be in front, just because it is
easier to balance that way, but if the two of you have roughly similar weights then it
shouldn't matter. And it certainly shouldn't matter as far as getting up a hill.

Cathy said:

We bought a Rans Screamer with ISP but just can't get up any hill!! Okay we are not in the
greatest shape but even the smallest hill does us in. I feel like I am going to die before I get
back home! Is there any help? What are we doing wrong? Should the strongest person be in back? The
heaviest up front? Does it matter? Do I just suffer till I develop legs of steel?

Hi Cathy,

I just went out the garage and counted the teeth on our Screamer, and we have a 26-tooth chainring
and 32-tooth rear cog. We haven't met a hill we couldn't climb (yet). So you might want to check
your gearing (as suggested by other posters) and change if necessary.

Also, keep in mind that any tandem, and especially a recumbent, is a lot heavier than a single bike.
Going uphill is just going to be slower than on a single bike. The key is to gear down before you
start on the hill, and then just grind steadily up the hill. Don't worry how long it takes you; just
appreciate that with every pedal stroke you get a little closer to the top.

Our experience with ISP was not particularly positive, so that may be something else to consider
(your pedaling uphill may not be very smooth). But, many posters here really like ISP, so that seems
to be very dependent on the riders.

And finally, yes, it does take a while to develop those recumbent muscles! Keep riding, including
the hills (though maybe the smaller ones at first).

Good luck and enjoy your new bike!

Diane and Wayne RANS Screamer, Haluzak Horizon, GRR "Cathy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

We bought a Rans Screamer with ISP but just can't get up any hill!! Okay we are not in the
greatest shape but even the smallest hill does us in. I feel like I am going to die before I get
back home! Is there any help? What are we doing wrong? Should the strongest person be in back? The
heaviest up front? Does it matter? Do I just suffer till I develop legs of steel?

Diane Krohn said:

... Also, keep in mind that any tandem, and especially a recumbent, is a lot heavier than a single
bike....

Most tandems are lighter than two single bikes, however. Two RANS V-Rexi are heavier [1] than one
RANS Screamer is. Poor synchronization between the pedal strokes of the rider's [2] is a more likely
explanation for the climbing performance.

[1] Assuming the same value of gravity when weighing the bikes. 😉
[2] Any reports of the climbing ability of tandems with two independent drivetrains such as Prof.
Patterson's WYMS?

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities USA (Illinois side)

Cathy said:

We bought a Rans Screamer with ISP but just can't get up any hill!!

Hah! I alone have come up with the answer! The problem is the IP, more properly called 'independent
coasting,' allowing the stoker to stop pedaling at critical times. When this happens, eventually the
captain runs out of gas and the bike stops. The solution is to install a "Foltz Automatic Stoker
Zapper" (patent pending) on the back seat. Gentle 600V electric pulses are delivered through the
seat when cadence drops too low, training the stoker to keep the pedals moving, even on hills.

I wonder if Sheldon Brown will market it for me??? B-)
--

John Foltz --- O _ Baron --- _O _ V-Rex 24 --- _\\/\-%)
_________(_)`=()___________________(_)= (_)_____

Oops, I stand corrected about the weight. It just "feels" like a tandem weighs more on the uphills
than a single bike. "Tom Sherman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Diane Krohn said:

... Also, keep in mind that any tandem, and especially a recumbent, is a lot heavier than a
single bike....

Most tandems are lighter than two single bikes, however. Two RANS V-Rexi are heavier [1] than one
RANS Screamer is. Poor synchronization between the pedal strokes of the rider's [2] is a more
likely explanation for the climbing performance.

[1] Assuming the same value of gravity when weighing the bikes. 😉
[2] Any reports of the climbing ability of tandems with two independent drivetrains such as Prof.
Patterson's WYMS?

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities USA (Illinois side)

Diane Krohn must be edykated coz e writed:

Quoted message said:

Oops, I stand corrected about the weight. It just "feels" like a tandem weighs more on the uphills
than a single bike. "Tom Sherman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Diane Krohn said:

... Also, keep in mind that any tandem, and especially a recumbent, is a lot heavier than a
single bike....

Most tandems are lighter than two single bikes, however. Two RANS V-Rexi are heavier [1] than one
RANS Screamer is. Poor synchronization between the pedal strokes of the rider's [2] is a more
likely explanation for the climbing performance.

[1] Assuming the same value of gravity when weighing the bikes. 😉
[2] Any reports of the climbing ability of tandems with two independent drivetrains such as Prof.
Patterson's WYMS?

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities USA (Illinois side)

It feels a lot heavier if the stoker stops pedalling half way up.

--
Ian

catrike.co.ukcatrike.co.ukOpen ↗

Hey, we stokers need our rest. Otherwise, we get cranky 🙂 "Ian" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Diane Krohn must be edykated coz e writed:

Quoted message said:

Oops, I stand corrected about the weight. It just "feels" like a tandem weighs more on the
uphills than a single bike. "Tom Sherman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Diane Krohn wrote:
> ... Also, keep in mind that any tandem, and especially a recumbent, is a

lot

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> heavier than a single bike....

Most tandems are lighter than two single bikes, however. Two RANS

V-Rexi

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

are heavier [1] than one RANS Screamer is. Poor synchronization between the pedal strokes of
the rider's [2] is a more likely explanation for the climbing performance.

[1] Assuming the same value of gravity when weighing the bikes. 😉
[2] Any reports of the climbing ability of tandems with two independent drivetrains such as
Prof. Patterson's WYMS?

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities USA (Illinois side)

It feels a lot heavier if the stoker stops pedalling half way up.

--
Ian

catrike.co.ukcatrike.co.ukOpen ↗

Cathy: We have 2500 miles over the last 17 months on our Barcroft Columbia. In all the time we have
ridden, under a variety of riding conditions, we still have not met a hill we cared for. A tandem,
as I am sure you discovered, is just a different animal. The downhills are exhilarating. The
uphills can be agony. You just gear down, keep pedaling, and eventually make it up. Problem with
any tandem is that at five miles and below (which seems to be the speed you climb a steep hill )
handling gets a little squirrely. But, you just keep spinning and you make it. When we first
started tandeming I was fortunate to have someone compare a tandem to a diesel truck and I think
the analogy sometimes fits. Slow on the uphills, but when gravity takes over and helps pull you
down the other side, Yahoo.

Mike S. St. Louis, Mo

Barcroft Columbia Barcroft Virginia RANS Rocket