geebee

Hey, can the poll be enable for multiple options?
I have them all except the "none".

defjack

FWD Cruzbike kit bike. Soon Cruzbike Silvio.All my bikes will be FWD. Jack

hotbike

I did an experiment to move the seat b-a-c-k as far as posible, starting with an upright ladies bike. My Daughter Mellisa designed this bike:

The effective seat tube angle (angle of a line drawn from the seat to the bottom bracket) is 54 degrees.
IIRC, 54 degrees is the dividing line between upright and recumbent.
Mellisa wanted a bicycle that looks like a moped. This was built by a no-weld method. This bike only required $270 worth of materials to build. I spent 400 hours building it. I put about 8000 miles on it. Dozens of people showed me wads of money(~$700) and asked if they could buy the bike on the spot.
Finally a man who owns an auto-body shop paid me $1,200.00 (twelve hundred dollars) because his girlfriend wanted it.
I have since bought a matching pair of electric bicycles (both mens and ladies model), the LaFree sport, which was produced by Giant in 2002.
I follow the developments in recumbent bicycles. I once subscribed to the IHPVA newsletter HPV news and journal Human Power. Back then (1986) there were only 2000 recumbent bikes in America.
I was interested in building an electric motorcycle, and there was no other tech newsletter. Now it can be found online : https://www.ihpva.org

The mid-section of this frame can be sat on and the spar that holds the fairing was made strong enough to support a bottom bracket. Mellisa based the fairing on the Kenworth Truck Spoiler. I am kicking myself because Schwinn capitalized on the name Spoiler:
https://www.schwinnstingray.com/bike-spoiler.html

I also have a Worksman Y3K with a similar spoiler/fairing. The Y3K is a semi-recumbent. It sure looks like a semi when it's approaching you.
https://www.worksman.com/y3kwebpage2.htm

We are holding off on any attempt to mass produce a bike. Electric mopeds are great , but they need the newfangled fuel-cells. Range is limited by batteries.

BlazingPedals

That's an interesting bike, hotbike. It looks vaguely like some pocket-rocket motorcycle. However, the term "recumbent" means reclined, or lying back. You cannot do that without having a functional seatback. AFAIK there is not a seat-to-crank angle that defines the boundary between bent, semi-bent, or C/F. Based on not having a seatback, I'd say what you have is a crank-forward bike.

oilfreeandhappy

Hotbike,
Where'd you get that purple shaped piece of plastic? So many questions arise. How is it mounted? Crazy!

Bushman51

I've just dusted off my Giant Revive and have seen it advertised with many names including recumbent, semi-recumbent, and upright. So I guess I am "other"?

hotbike

The plastic is fiberglass. A lot of recumbents have fairings.
https://www.whatisafairing.com
In this case, Mellisa suggested the fairing be based on her Kenworth truck's spoiler.
And although the bike is of the type known as semi-recumbent, it's not because it looks like a semi.
The frame (the thing that looks like a 4x6 piece of lumber) and the fairing are permanently bonded. The 4x6 frame goes forward past the head-tube by about ten inches, which gives the handlebars room to turn.
The fairing is frame-mounted, not connected to the handlebars. The fairing has a bulkhead (Bulkhead is a term used in ship and aircraft construction, it means "wall") four inches high and set two inches in from the rear edge of the fairing. The fairing's bulkhead has a two inch lip on the top edge, so it is flush with the rear edge of the fairing. The 4"x6" frame has tapered to 4"x4" at the head tube, so it is butt-jointed to the bulkhead. Woven fiberglass tape and polyester resin were then applied, so the fairing is bonded to the frame.
The design of the fairing, as I said, was my Daughter Mellisa's idea.
I could call this a "quarter scale Kenworth", but building it was more of a sculptural exercise. Much of the work was done while I was in the Navy. I used an aircraft hangar at my Naval Air Station because the lighting is designed so aircraft mechanics can see what they're doing. I was able to sand the fiberglass to perfection because the overhead lights are staggered, top row sodium vapor and bottom row mercury vapor, so there were no shadows under the sanding block.
Whether you call it crank-forward or semi-recumbent , I am posting it here because the technique lends itself to building a recumbent. I posted some info about this bike in the "framebuilders forum".
I'll give you a hint, the first plug-mold was made of paper-mache' and plaster. I laid fiberglass over the plug-mold. When that hardened, I broke away the plaster with a hammer.
If I do this again, I will use polystyrene foam (styrofoam, building insulation board) and epoxy resin. Epoxy resin is four times as expensive as polyester resin, but it will not melt the foam.
BTW, I added aluminum powder to the resin, so in the second photo the unpainted areas (rear of fairing) look grey.

oilfreeandhappy

Wow! Quite creative. I can tell you're not one who shies away from work.

tigrr8

In order of preference: TiRush, Vrex, Vanguard, EZ-1 (ER orig.)

BlazingPedals

I am currrently building a highracer frame out of a pink styrofoam plug and carbon fiber. Well, *avoiding working on* it might be a better term, since it isn't making much headway in the almost 2 years I've been doing it. I've really gotta get it done one of these years so I can avoid working on my next project!

Sandwarrior

Bacchetta Agio

bkaapcke

I started with an EZ Sport AX and have been upgrading it ever since. This bike responds really well to equipment upgrades. So far, It's been; custom h-0bars, velocity wheels, SRAM XO derailleur, SRAM 990/991 chain and cassette, FSA Pro chainrings, and I'm waiting on a phil wood bottom bracket. Each upgrade has added significantly to the precision working of the bike. bk

Katysax

Bacchetta Agio (LWB), Bacchetta Giro 20 (SWB), RANS Dynamik (CF) and Catrike Speed (tadpole trike). Which do I ride most? Depends on the ride, weather and my mood.

bradw

Bacchetta Agio (LWB), Bacchetta Giro 20 (SWB)

I put 2000 miles on the Giro last year, and just got the Agio a few days ago. I also ride a Trek 520.

Tom Bombadil

Just got bent yesterday by picking up a Sun EZ-Rider AX that had 15 miles on it for almost 50% off of list.

But with the temps running at 30 to 45 degrees below freezing point, it may be a while before I can give it a good workout.

Trsnrtr

First off, welcome to the darks side! Second, luckily or unluckily, I developed a cold on Monday and am in the depths of it. The good side, you ask? I don't feel guilty about not riding in the weather you mentioned!

I_Bike

Three RANS Crank Forwards.

I used to have a RANS V-Rex and a Rocket.

vik 

Volae Expedition is my main bent ride with a BikeE CT I keep mostly for sentimental reasons.

STEEKER

none yet but hopefully soon I'll be on a recumbent.

bentpebbles

I ride a 2005 Sherer TLT tadpole trike (72)speeds 18" CNC 7075 aluminum cranksbentpebblesPicture%20039.jpg

Dchiefransom

2007 Rans Stratus LE.

tayman

2000 RANS Rocket & 2000 BikeE AT.....

funbun

High racer by Bentech with Volae tweener bars. SB makes it easy to get up and down the stairs.

countersTrike

Only one choice? I like the being the underdog, so I chose 'velomobile'- a fully enclosed fiberglass/kevlar body w/ lexan top, windsheild. and side pieces also w/ about 6 yards of mylar insulation.

The list would not let me put 3 other tadpole trikes on the list: TerraTrike (p-a), JM Recumbents JMX2 (folding), Sun EZ Tad CX.

countersTrike

funbun

Sounds like good set up for a heat stroke down here in the Alabama summer