Seat Laces - GloCord

Quoted message said:

adds an additional opportunity to be seen at night.

Good idea. Another thought is the Sparky 3 way Safety Strobe from www.largoscooters.com. This is one
mean light. I use it day and night. Ken

that's a great tip Cletus, does it pull tight, is it stretchy?

Cletus D. Lee said:

If you have a bike with a seatback that laces like my Lightning Voyager, you might be interested
in Braided Polyester Reflective Rope, Sometimes called "GloCord" I got some from McMaster-Carr
mcmaster.commcmaster.comOpen ↗ Part Number 3132T900 Here is another source.
sterlingrope.comproducts.htmOpen ↗

I just replace the seatback laces and the reflective Scotchlite filament really adds an additional
opportunity to be seen at night.

Cletus D. Lee <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

I just replace the seatback laces and the reflective Scotchlite filament really adds an additional
opportunity to be seen at night.

For a clear idea of how well this stuff works go to mnhpva.orgTrike.htmlOpen ↗ and
scroll down to the bottom 2 pix.

The one on the left was shot without a flash, and the seat lacing looks black. The one on the right
was shot, in the same location and lighting, using a flash. As brightly as it shows up in a well lit
room, You can imagine it's quite noticable in the dark.

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

that's a great tip Cletus, does it pull tight, is it stretchy?

Actually, this cord is better than that supplied by LCD. As far as I can tell this cord with the
reflective thread woven into it is the same nylon/poly kernmantle rope as used in climbing gear.
Bluewater Ropes manufactured the cord that I got from McMaster-Carr.

I have been using the 4mm dia. cord for nearly two years. I find it stronger and more durable than
the 1/8" braided cord supplied by LCD. Bluewater also sells a 3mm (~1/8"😉 kernmantle with
reflective stripe.

If you choose the 4mm, then new larger 'snug-loks' will be required. I also got these from McMaster-
Carr but can not locate a P/N. IIRC, I had to buy a Lifetime supply, so might be willing to part
with a few at my unit cost and postage.
--
Cletus D. Lee Bacchetta Giro Lightning Voyager clee.orgclee.orgOpen ↗
- Bellaire, TX USA -

Cletus D. Lee <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

If you have a bike with a seatback that laces like my Lightning Voyager, you might be interested
in Braided Polyester Reflective Rope, Sometimes called "GloCord" I got some from McMaster-Carr
mcmaster.commcmaster.comOpen ↗ Part Number 3132T900 Here is another source.
sterlingrope.comproducts.htmOpen ↗

I just replace the seatback laces and the reflective Scotchlite filament really adds an additional
opportunity to be seen at night.

Neat stuff. I just wonder how it'll hold up compared to the original Lightning cord. I tried
replacing the Lightning cord with other off-the-shelf stuff and what I could find was either much
thicker or deteriorated more quickly.

IMO, if you're relacing the seat, you should take the opportunity to sew in some Scotchlite fabric
strips... facing rearward of course. ;-)

Jeff

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I just replace the seatback laces and the reflective Scotchlite filament really adds an
additional opportunity to be seen at night.

Neat stuff. I just wonder how it'll hold up compared to the original Lightning cord. I tried
replacing the Lightning cord with other off-the-shelf stuff and what I could find was either much
thicker or deteriorated more quickly.

The original 'stuff' is braided sheath of nylon/poly over a few strands of Nylon/poly cord. If you
shop climbing gear shops (REI is a good example) for accessory cord, You can find well made cord
using a better kernmantle construction (Braided sheath over nylon/poly twisted rope) The accessory
cord is made by the major climbing rope manufacturers and is designed to withstand the abrasive
nature of the rock face. It comes in 3mm diameter equivalent to that supplied by LCD and larger
sizes. I found the 4mm still fits through the seat grommets and holds up a little better than the
3mm. I still get wear along the sharp edges of the seat grommets.

I expect the cord with the reflective scotchlite filament to last about as long as the other seat
lace replacement cord that I use. I find I need to replace the 3mm cord about once a year. I have
yet to replace the 4mm that I put on my seat bottom over a year ago.

The nice feature about using the climbing gear accessory cord is that it comes in a variety of
bright colors.

Quoted message said:

IMO, if you're relacing the seat, you should take the opportunity to sew in some Scotchlite fabric
strips... facing rearward of course. ;-)

--
Cletus D. Lee Bacchetta Giro Lightning Voyager clee.orgclee.orgOpen ↗
- Bellaire, TX USA -

Mark,
I like the trike,homebuilt? I had thought about the "u" joint steering when
I had my Stratus,but ended up selling it.
I had looked at "U" joints on Mc Masters- Carr,they have some pretty good
ones ,some with bearings if I remember correctly.
ben fox
"Mark Stonich" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Cletus D. Lee <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

I just replace the seatback laces and the reflective Scotchlite filament really adds an
additional opportunity to be seen at night.

For a clear idea of how well this stuff works go to mnhpva.orgTrike.htmlOpen ↗
and scroll down to the bottom 2 pix.

The one on the left was shot without a flash, and the seat lacing looks black. The one on the
right was shot, in the same location and lighting, using a flash. As brightly as it shows up in a
well lit room, You can imagine it's quite noticable in the dark.

Ben Fox said:

Mark, I like the trike,homebuilt? I had thought about the "u" joint steering when I had my
Stratus,but ended up selling it. I had looked at "U" joints on Mc Masters- Carr,they have some
pretty good ones ,some with bearings if I remember correctly. ben fox

Greg Peek of Longbikes had some comments on this.

<groups.google.comgroupsOpen ↗
8&safe=off&selm=38ddc192.0202032053.3d1e9f46%40posting.google.com>

Longbikes might have some leftover U-joints from the short-lived production runs of OSS Slipstreams
and Duplexes.

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities

Much smaller diameter stuff is still sold by Kelty Tents.

see kelty.com tents, accessories, look for "TripTeaseLiteLine." It's an orange/brown braid with
Scotchlite about 25% of the strand makeup. 180 pound breaking strength, good for lacing up seats
like the TE Koolback.

david boise ID

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Much smaller diameter stuff is still sold by Kelty Tents.

see kelty.com tents, accessories, look for "TripTeaseLiteLine." It's an orange/brown braid with
Scotchlite about 25% of the strand makeup. 180 pound breaking strength, good for lacing up seats
like the TE Koolback.

This is likely the 3mm dia (also sold by McMaster-Carr). If it is smaller than 3mm, then it probably
is unsuitable for seat lacing.

--

Cletus D. Lee Bacchetta Giro Lightning Voyager clee.orgclee.orgOpen ↗
- Bellaire, TX USA -

Tom Sherman <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

Ben Fox said:

Mark, I like the trike,homebuilt?

Yup. 2WD, strictly for winter. See bikesmithdesign.comFairing.htmlOpen ↗ for the current
configuration. Since the earlier pix I made the bars extremely narrow to allow more tiller within
the confines of the shell.

BTW The shell was designed strictly for weather protection. But with it, at the 2003 Ice HPV World
Championships I went 1 mph faster than in 2002 without it. This, despite ice/snow conditions that
had everyone else 1-4 mph slower than 2002.

See home.mn.rr.comIce2003.htmlOpen ↗ for Pix of the event. See mnhpva.orgmnhpva.orgOpen ↗
for info on this year's event Jan. 24th

I had thought about the "u" joint steering when

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I had my Stratus,but ended up selling it. I had looked at "U" joints on Mc Masters- Carr,they
have some pretty good ones ,some with bearings if I remember correctly. ben fox

Greg Peek of Longbikes had some comments on this.

<groups.google.comgroupsOpen ↗
8&safe=off&selm=38ddc192.0202032053.3d1e9f46%40posting.google.com>

Given that the worst handling, by a huge margin, (2nd worst wasn't even close, and I've ridden
dozens of crude homebuilts) recumbent I've ever been on was the Longbikes U-joint LWB, it's
not surprizing that he doesn't understand what constitutes a proper U-joint for steering a
bicycle either.

However, the problems with the bike had nothing to do with U-joint selection, and everything to do
with ergonomics. It was almost impossible to make small, quick balancing corrections with the bars.
I was called in by a bike shop who had one on the floor, and no customer had been able to ride it
far enough to get out of the parking lot. I was able to figure out the problem, but there wasn't
enough adjustability to fix it, so the U-joint ASS was replaced with USS. This experience taught me
more about the importance of ergonmics to recumbent handling than any other.