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-   -   Joined the 'bent ranks..............sorta (https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=1087162)

cabledawg 11-06-16 06:36 PM

Joined the 'bent ranks..............sorta
 
Picked up a pair of ReBike 2600's for $180. One needed air in the tires and some minor adjustment to the brakes and it was back on the road. The other took a bit longer with shifter/brake adjustment and needed a few new brake parts, but it's now road worthy.

I've been trying to get a recumbent for a few years now but the price tags for even used stuff was always just out of the budget. Then these came along. They arent pretty, they arent top of the line, but they were affordable and I got lucky to get two so now the Mrs can ride too!

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/d...106_161030.jpg

MikeWMass 11-06-16 07:41 PM

Congratulations! Enjoy them!

BlazingPedals 11-07-16 10:00 AM

Wow, I haven't seen one of those in years!

VegasTriker 11-07-16 12:45 PM

Obviously designed as one of the affordable entry level recumbent bikes when you look up the components and prices on Bikepedia. Listed weight is ~45 pounds which makes it one of the heavier bikes for its design. MSRP for all models seemed to top out at around $500 and disappeared from the listings after 2000 when only two models were listed. You can get an idea of what they show here 1997 ReBike ReBike 818 - BikePedia Match the colors and components and you will know what year it was made or look at the hubs which sometimes have a date on them. The easiest way is to look at the inside of the crank arm but this bike has a one-piece crank so that doesn't work. If you need to get tires, check out the selection at the Niagara Cycle website. 16" tires are pretty rare but this site has 2 pages from around $6 to $40 Tires & Tubes - Tires - 16" - Page 1 - Niagara Cycle. Ditto for 20" tires. I use a $14 406 tire on the front of my Catrike 700 and absolutely love them.

There are true bargains out there. I paid $240 for an early 1980s Kaan Body Shop Linear long wheelbase bike with the idea of using it for parts for a newer Linear I owned but found it was in great shape and never ended up taking it apart.

BlazingPedals 11-07-16 03:02 PM

Sears bought out ReBike, and the hope at the time was that having one in every Sears store would increase awareness of bents. Unfortunately, Sears just 'sat' on their acquisition and as far as I know they never put any in their stores. After a year of not selling any, they quietly dropped the line. Probably just as well. It would not compete well with 40-lb mountain bikes in the dept stores that sell for <$150.

Technically, it's a semi-bent, since the seat is mounted on a vertical post.

cabledawg 11-07-16 04:52 PM

Yeah they werent top of the line by any means. But they were an excellent entry level 'bent and being a semi recumbent they would have been more favorable to folks with limited mobility that still wanted to ride something other than a trike.

As for the weight, I'll have to weigh mine but they dont feel like 40+ lbs. My cargo bike weighs 65 lbs fully loaded with tool bag and child carrier, and these 'bents are much lighter. But that may just be me.

My kids took them for an extended test ride today and now want their own 'bents. Dove into the rabbit hole.........

Question: The tires on these things are rated for 45psi front/40 psi rear. At max pressure, they still feel spongy. My cargo bikes run 65psi balloon tires and our hybrids run 60 psi standard tires. Is there a reason the bent tires are so much lower? I'm going to change them out anyways but wanted to know why the pressure would be so low on a bike designed for adult riders.

BlazingPedals 11-07-16 07:22 PM

Yes, a ReBike would be good for the beach, a flat neighborhood, or a path. Easy to get on and off, easy to start.

Those are just cheap tires. My bents all use tires that take 100+ psi. I'm not sure what your rims can handle, but certainly at least 65 psi that used to be considered 'high pressure.' What size are the wheels, 559/349?

cabledawg 11-07-16 08:13 PM

Front is 16" rim with 16x1.95 (I think, I'll have to go look again) tires and the back is a 26" rim with 26x2.125 tires. Both bents have the same tire sizes but different brands/treads. The one has Kendas and the other has Bell and some other brand. I found some Schwinn beach bike tires that I think will work fine for the back. Smooth tread and 65psi rated. Found some Kenda directionals for the front but still stuck at 45psi. These bents will most likely be ridden on rail trails and around town. No steep stuff or dirt trails. The 18 spd gearing (still need to measure the inch gears) will suffice however I plan to replace the grip shifters to rapid fire thumb shifters. I had planned to replace the V pull brakes with cross pull brakes, but after adjustment, they seem to working just fine so I'll leave those for now. I'm also going to install some chain tubes to help reduce the slapping from the really long chain length.

Once I get them cleaned up and new rubber thrown on, I'll get some better pics to post in the bent pic thread. Right now, they look like they just came out of a barn. Which they did ;)

BlazingPedals 11-08-16 07:30 AM

According to Sheldon Brown, decimal-sizes in 16" have a 305 mm bead seat diameter. Hostelshoppe lists a 305 Kenda Kwest as taking 100 psi and costing $25. Just for reference.

cabledawg 11-08-16 11:09 AM

I found the same Kendas this morning but used our own BF photos to determine that many bent owners with smaller front tires used the Kwest. The logos on the tire are easy to spot even on crappy pics. So it looks like Kwest tires for the front and I'm still thinking the cruiser tires for the back. So that solves the tire questions. Thanks guys!

VegasTriker 11-08-16 12:44 PM

Lots of places to buy Kenda Kwest in the 100 psi 16" 305 1.5" version but none for 1.95". $18.06 including shipping from this eBay seller I have used in the past. Kenda Kwest High Pressure Tire 16" x 1.5" Black Steel | eBay

cabledawg 11-08-16 01:56 PM


Originally Posted by VegasTriker (Post 19177941)
Lots of places to buy Kenda Kwest in the 100 psi 16" 305 1.5" version but none for 1.95". $18.06 including shipping from this eBay seller I have used in the past. Kenda Kwest High Pressure Tire 16" x 1.5" Black Steel | eBay

I'm fine using a 1.5" versus the 1.95" that's on there now. I was more concerned with why anyone would have 40-45 psi tires on an adult bike. I get they are softer and provide a little more cushion, but I weigh 200lbs and prefer my tires dont flatten out on the bumps ;)

BlazingPedals 11-08-16 05:31 PM

Kenda also makes the Kwest in 26x1.5, so you could match front and rear if you wanted. No need to stick with 1.95" wide tires if you don't want to; the bead seat diameter is more important.

cabledawg 11-09-16 06:12 PM


Originally Posted by BlazingPedals (Post 19178782)
Kenda also makes the Kwest in 26x1.5, so you could match front and rear if you wanted. No need to stick with 1.95" wide tires if you don't want to; the bead seat diameter is more important.

That would be neat-o, plus the Mrs would dig the blue ones. :thumb:

Shahmatt 11-10-16 01:35 AM

Really nice looking bike! I'm a sucker for the compact long wheel base or crank forward type bikes.

Btw, are we sure the front wheels are a 305 and not 349?

Also, I believe 45psi should be enough to get good performance even with a weight of 200lbs. It would depend on the suppleness of the rubber maybe. But also wider tires roll better: https://www.schwalbetires.com/tech_i...ing_resistance

VegasTriker 11-10-16 03:47 PM

[QUOTE=Shahmatt;19181975]Really nice looking bike! I'm a sucker for the compact long wheel base or crank forward type bikes.

I suggest you try out a good quality short wheelbase or long wheelbase recumbent bike sometime. My first recumbent was a used $700 ~1999 BikeE AT compact long wheelbase. It was the first one I came across that seemed to fit so I bought it. Soon learned that it was pretty inefficient so I kept looking and in a few months located a $500 1997 Linear long wheelbase bike. I tolerated the BikeE but truly loved riding the Linear. Managed to get 3K miles on the odometer in the first year I owned it. I later bought an Haluzak Horizon SWB. Much different from the Linear but again a much more efficient bike to pedal. This past Spring I put the old BikeE in the dumpster after offering it to several people and getting no one to accept it. Still have the Linear and Zak but almost never ride either one. (Seduced by a trike.)

cabledawg 11-10-16 04:21 PM

My ideal bent would be a Terratrike Rambler x24. Easy enough for me to get in and out but still have a wide range of gearing and a light frame to cruise those longer distances. But at $2200, it's way out of my budget. Lots of other recumbents for sale around here, but everyone always wants new prices for used stuff. So again, I settled for something I could afford.

Retro Grouch 11-11-16 09:09 AM


Originally Posted by cabledawg (Post 19176437)
The 18 spd gearing (still need to measure the inch gears) will suffice however I plan to replace the grip shifters to rapid fire thumb shifters. I had planned to replace the V pull brakes with cross pull brakes, but after adjustment, they seem to working just fine so I'll leave those for now. I'm also going to install some chain tubes to help reduce the slapping from the really long chain length.

Oh oh! It sounds to me like you've caught the "CBT" (compulsive bike tinkerer) disease.

I recognize the symptoms because I've got it too. There's no known cure and it can be a lot of fun.

Buying a new high end bike certainly won't cure it, the cost of parts to improve it just goes up. I think that you've found perfect bikes for you and your intended use. Have fun with them and post back when you find an issue that you can't figure out how to solve.

cabledawg 11-11-16 06:04 PM


Originally Posted by Retro Grouch (Post 19184561)
Oh oh! It sounds to me like you've caught the "CBT" (compulsive bike tinkerer) disease.

I recognize the symptoms because I've got it too. There's no known cure and it can be a lot of fun.

Buying a new high end bike certainly won't cure it, the cost of parts to improve it just goes up. I think that you've found perfect bikes for you and your intended use. Have fun with them and post back when you find an issue that you can't figure out how to solve.

Tell me about it. Most of my bikes have been tinkered with at some point. There's one that still has all the factory components but that's because my son doesnt want me to Tim Taylor (Home Improvement reference) his bike. Most have the stock derailers, cranksets, gears and brake arms, but that's about it. Handle bars, headsets, tires, seats, and even rims/hubs have been swapped for either better parts or parts to transform the bike for another purpose. Take my GT Karakorum K2. The frame, crankset and rear gears are about all that's left of the original bike. Went from mountain bike to cargo/commuter bike. Some stuff was done by previous owner but most was done by me. I have boxes of parts in my garage.

People give me old or broken bikes that I either rebuild to give away or strip anything usable from the frame and junk the rest. My wife occasionally gets annoyed when stuff trickles out into the back yard but that only happens when I've got a few projects finished up and havent quite got them out the door. Otherwise, she appreciates the recycle/reuse mentality and knows that I've often helped people out that may not have otherwise been able to get bikes. So yes, I have CBT with a touch or hoarder :p

cabledawg 11-12-16 07:10 PM

Okay, the one in the picture in my first post is now a tad cleaner and I broke down the rear hub and cassette for a good cleaning and re-lube. Replaced the 40psi rear with a 65 psi one I had laying around. Cleaned the chain and front sprockets. Chain probably needs to be replaced as it's pretty nasty, but without a slack tool I'm only guessing on the actual wear. The whole drivetrain was covered in what looks like automotive white lithium grease and had tons of dirt and debris packed into everything.

Took it out for a ride and already like the improvements. Rear doesnt seem so spongy and seems to have a much smoother ride. Learned a lesson though: double check your brake cables. I didnt check the rear before heading out on the road and when I tried to brake to slow down for a turn, I almost hit my neighbors car. In 25 years of working on my own bikes, I've never done that before. Old age is making me careless ;)

osco53 11-13-16 09:50 AM

Atomic Zombie

Atomic ZombieŽ DIY Bike Building Community - Atomic Zombie News

NormanF 04-01-17 12:35 PM

ReBike was the first crank forward bike. Never caught on.

Most people would buy an Electra Townie or a Rans CF at the upper market segment for relaxed riding.


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