Gadget said:was bombing down a trail, I was rather stunned to be over taken by a bloke on slim recumbent. The
trail was not the best suited even for my MTB and this guy looked like if he hit another bump the
'bent would throw him.
The only time a 'bent is a liability off-road is if you need to shift your weight around to maintain
balance. Many trails the only problem per se is a rough surface, but many 'bents have suspension so
that's less of an issue really, and even unsuspended ones generally have shock absorption in the
seat to a fair degree. BikeE actually made a purpose built off-road model called the FX at one
point. Ben "Kinetics" Cooper has a festive picture in the shop of him getting quite a bit of air on
his old Streetmachine, fitted with knobblies for the occasion.
Quoted message said:not sure about the width of this contraption but it was a lot narrower than usual 'bents.
I'm not sure quite what you mean by that. 'Bent bikes, like most upright bikes, are narrower
than their riders aside from the handlebars, but even then only usually only on under-seat
steering models. The frame is still just a tube, and shoulders will generally be outside the
seat in any case.
Quoted message said:And have all 'bents got small BMX style wheels
Plenty do. 20" wheels are very common on 'bents. Probably the most common wheel size, in fact. A few
are 26" both ends, quite a few are 20" front 26" rear. Some go down to 16" front or both.
Quoted message said:or do you reckon that this was a custom job. Do they retail these? Does any of the 'bent riders
know of this design and/or model?
Rather difficult to tell from that description. As above, "slim" doesn't really mean anything as on
a large percentage of models the rider's the widest part, and small wheels are if anything more
common than big ones. There are certainly plenty of 20"/20" slim designs you can buy, though it
still may have been a home-build.
Quoted message said:And on a personal note I don't mind you taking over the roads but please leave our trails
alone. :o)
People have been riding "road" bikes on trails ever since there were bicycles. You certainly don't
need an MTB unless you want to go as fast and/or rough as possible along them. Usually the case that
all you need to do a typical off-road trail through woods is the assumption that you can. Most
modern 'bents should be at least as good for the job as the old Raleigh "racers" with steel wheels
and Weinman "brakes" we used to hack around woods on when I was a sprog.
Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net [email hidden]
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