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New to the "bent" game

Old 06-21-13, 05:49 PM
  #1  
Mbrgr1
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New to the "bent" game

Hello all, I am a frequent poster on the vintage forum, but went and test drove one of these today and am picking it up tomorrow! It is used from Craigslist. A Sun EZ sport, it fit my 6'5 225lb frame just right and felt very natural, I can't wait to take it on an extended trip. I have read the 40lb weight compared to the more expensive models might be a problem, but for someone my size, the 300lb max weight rating is reassuring, and I also like the high seat. $400 didn't seem too bad? Any tips?? Thanks
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Old 06-21-13, 06:29 PM
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$400 for a functional 'bent is a deal. Looks to be in great shape. Excellent starter 'bent.
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Old 06-21-13, 08:05 PM
  #3  
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Looks to be a good deal to me.
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Old 06-22-13, 06:01 AM
  #4  
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Congrats OP, you made it to the Dark side. You must Un-Learn much of what you know about bikes, like how to deal with wrist, neck and tail pain.
You need to focus on what's Important like, Spinning, and not taking too much gear along.

As for the bikes extra 10-15 pounds, not an Issue if you loose 10-15 pounds, and you will XD

Long climbs are a bit harder not just because of the extra weight but mostly because you cannot push down on the pedals, you cannot stand and pump.

But you can press back against the seat back and push, spin grasshopper spin! The basics work for recumbent's, no complex fit set up.
Sit and sit back into the seat comfortably, heel on the center of a pedal, pedal as far away on the stroke as possible, knee locked.
Lock down the seat, Your done here.

Bars, elbows comfortably bent, knee's on the up stroke, the 10 to 11 o'clock position should just be under the hand grips on a tight U-Turn,
If not, no issue, swing the knee out.

Your Body must learn this new riding position, you must develop slightly different muscles also.

Low speed, even moderate speed stability comes when you learn to lean back and R E L A X
Also hold the bars like you have a Dove In each hand and you want them to be able to breathe.


Hi-pressure tires lower rolling resistance,
Re Learn braking, your rear has much more power now.. still use both.
Pay attention to those extra long cable runs, keep them clean and free, when changing upgrade to Teflon coated.
Mountain bike brake pads, as long as will mount/fit the curve of the rims make a difference you can feel
Different size rim up front so fit each brake pad set, may need different sizes/lengths
If your bike was like mine, a low mile garage queen, change out the brake pads, they get brittle fast.

My bike was three years old and less than 50 miles, (original tires told me this), my brake pads would barely stop the bike and were
coming apart, but looked new.

First time you stop for a breather and you find yourself NOT getting off the bike but just sitting there drinking water and comfy,
you will come to know the power of the Dark Side XD

My Ride, Also a Sun bike, a good copy of the much too expensive Tour Easy:
Tour Easy LE, white, the blue one, a Sun EZ-1 sx.


Last edited by osco53; 11-29-16 at 06:30 AM.
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Old 06-22-13, 12:55 PM
  #5  
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We got used EZ Sports last fall, like them a lot. We have 5 DF's and ride just the Bents. Hope you like yours as much as we like ours.
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Old 06-22-13, 01:42 PM
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The EZ Sport was designed by non other than Gardner Martin. The man knew what he was doing.

You got a great bike for a fantastic price. The weight is really not that much of a factor. I alternate between my Tour Easy, Volae Tour, and Sun EZ Sport. I really enjoy them all. The EZ Sport gives the comfort of a LWB, a seat height that seems un-intimidating to the newer recumbent rider, yet the bike is still fast enough to enjoy group rides with other recumbent riders and diamond frame riders. I often exceed 30 mph in the middle ring on mine. The bike is also very durable so you can ride hard and trust that it will hold together very well.

Enjoy your new to you bike!!
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Old 06-22-13, 07:05 PM
  #7  
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Originally Posted by osco53
Congrats OP, you made it to the Dark side. You must Un-Learn much of what you know about bikes, like how to deal with wrist, neck and tail pain.
You need to focus on what's Important like, Spinning, and not taking too much gear along.

As for the bikes extra 10-15 pounds, not an Issue if you loose 10-15 pounds, and you will XD

Long climbs are a bit harder not just because of the extra weight but mostly because you cannot push down on the pedals, you cannot stand and pump.

But you can press back against the seat back and push, spin grasshopper spin! The basics work for recumbent's, no complex fit set up.
Sit and sit back into the seat comfortably, heel on the center of a pedal, pedal as far away on the stroke as possible, knee locked.
Lock down the seat, Your done here.

Bars, elbows comfortably bent, knee's on the up stroke, the 10 to 11 o'clock position should just be under the hand grips on a tight U-Turn,
If not, no issue, swing the knee out.

Your Body must learn this new riding position, you must develop slightly different muscles also.

Low speed, even moderate speed stability comes when you learn to lean back and R E L A X
Also hold the bars like you have a Dove In each hand and you want them to be able to breathe.


Hi-pressure tires lower rolling resistance,
Re Learn braking, your rear has much more power now.. still use both.
Pay attention to those extra long cable runs, keep them clean and free, when changing upgrade to Teflon coated.
Mountain bike brake pads, as long as will mount/fit the curve of the rims make a difference you can feel
Different size rim up front so fit each brake pad set, may need different sizes/lengths
If your bike was like mine, a low mile garage queen, change out the brake pads, they get brittle fast.

My bike was three years old and less than 50 miles, (original tires told me this), my brake pads would barely stop the bike and were
coming apart, but looked new.

First time you stop for a breather and you find yourself NOT getting off the bike but just sitting there drinking water and comfy,
you will come to know the power of the Dark Side XD

My Ride, Also a Sun bike, a good copy of the much too expensive Tour Easy:
Tour Easy LE, white, the blue one, a Sun EZ-1 sx.

Thanks for all the useful info! I just got it cleaned up and tires up etc, but only spent 15 minutes riding it and I like it already, I'll be heading down to the Rio Grande tomorrow AM for a longer cruise.

Say, did you put a 26in front wheel on your EZ in the pic? That was my first reaction to the 20 inch wheel, to get longer forks and go to 26, is that a common upgrade??

Thanks again. MK
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Old 06-23-13, 07:06 AM
  #8  
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Actually it is welcome to the smart modern side of biking. The recumbent community is not restrained by 1930s thinking. Bent engineers and manuf can design any type of bike they think is logical and people might like.
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Old 06-23-13, 08:58 AM
  #9  
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OP the EZ-1 sx (Blue one) had a 16" front wheel, I Upped to the 20"front, same as the rear, There was some benefit to the EZ-1,, mostly just different. Improving on Gardner Martins bikes is almost Impossible, I'd call my 20 Inch front a change in handling not an Improvement, I liked it. As for your bike,, Don't do It, You have a 20 up there already and a 26 rear, your fine,, ALL you would get with a 26 front would be more wheel flop, more instability and less hi speed cornering traction due to less of a load on the front from leaning back more..... Plus bending forks to correct rake can be dangerous,, weakens them a lot..The front end fork and wheel change on my EZ-1 was about $120,,was worth it to me only because I had the 16" front wheel and rode a lot of sidewalks,, cracks, holes etc,, the 16" didn't like that.. My 20" on my Tour Easy works great...

Run proper tire pressures,
clean the drive train up, rebuild anything that needs it,
check every chain link for proper flex,

and ride the snot outta that bike...

If you want more speed get stronger and learn to spin better..

If you ride a lot above 16-18 mph a faring is nice but not needed..
They are nice in a strong head wind but under 16 mph and all normal riding conditions they do absolutely nothing..
Full front fairings on LWB bents sometimes, often, but not always can add about 2 to 4 mph give or take to your top speed..

If you want fast the price of admission is several thousand and looks like this :


Javelin

Or this:


Gold Rush

Both are Easy Racers,
Both have 20 Inch front wheels,,, like yours XD

Last edited by osco53; 11-29-16 at 06:30 AM.
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Old 06-23-13, 12:06 PM
  #10  
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I agree with osco53. Leave your 406 (20") up front and keep the great handling that was designed into the bike. Note that in some instances it is possible to switch to a 451 (20") to help tame bumpy roads, assuming your fork can handle the larger size. The change would require changing your front brakes also. Anything bigger would most certainly have a negative effect on the bike's handling characteristics.

Contrary to what some may tell you, designing a reliable and well behaved recumbent is a lot more than just visualizing a cool looking bike and slamming a bunch of parts together. Over a quarter of a century of design and testing and competitive experience preceded the birth of the EZ Sport.

Researching Gardner Martin and his team's accomplishments have helped me to realize what great machines my Easy Racers Tour Easy and Sun EZ Sport truly are.

Last edited by cranky old dude; 06-23-13 at 12:11 PM.
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Old 06-24-13, 08:08 AM
  #11  
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There are a couple of good reasons to keep the 20" front wheel. It is stronger, but on a LWB bent doesnt carry that much weight. Also being smaller it has less aero drag, and less rotational enertia for faster starts.
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Old 06-24-13, 01:11 PM
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osco53 wrote:
The front end fork and wheel change on my EZ-1 was about $120,,was worth it to me only because I had the 16" front wheel and rode a lot of sidewalks,, cracks, holes etc,, the 16" didn't like that..
Where did you find the fork for that 20" wheel upgrade? Was it custom-made or off the shelf?
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Old 06-24-13, 02:44 PM
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Originally Posted by trestlehed
osco53 wrote:

Where did you find the fork for that 20" wheel upgrade? Was it custom-made or off the shelf?
The Sun EZ Sport fork fits but is about 1/2" too long at the top of the neck, couple of ring spacers and I had a perfect drop In fit.
(Look real close at the post #9 pic, the spacers are black,, at the top)

I bent the fork forward the old fashion way, a 'BFP' and a vice... (BFP= Big Fat Pipe) and some tire rubber in the pipe to spread the load.
Remember back in the day when we made Choppers ? 26" forks n 20" wheels, sissy bars and banana seats XD
several small bends here and there, plus several more to re-align the axle mounting points..

The 20" mod before I bent the fork made for an interesting busy ride,, very very floppy front end,, lol

It settled down after bending the fork bottom forward about 3" give or take.. If you do this stay In brake range.

What you get on the EZ-1 sx:
A small gain in lower rolling resistance from the 16 to 20"
A decent gain in cornering traction at dusty, light sandy intersections, Those little woops moments when you wish you were not going quite so fast, not as bad.
A decent gain in crack tracking control,, takes a bigger/longer sidewalk crack to grab the front tire.....

A Loss of about 30% of front braking power/control,, your front end is up a bit,, weight a bit more rearward..
Overall stopping ability IMO is about,,,,,, say 20% less.. Do-able just look ahead more.

Jamming hard down sidewalks taxed the 16" front tire, the 20" a bit less..

Did It make the EZ-1 ride better ??
For me Yes, But I was asking a lot of that little bike,

For most people who would buy the EZ-1 I would advise not to mod the bike one bit.

Also, post #9 again, the kickstand needs to be longer,,

Last edited by osco53; 06-24-13 at 02:55 PM.
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