Just got a new V-Rex-I have questions
 

After riding a friends Rocket, and after a bit of searching, I found a used V-Rex. It is a bit worn, but still quite nice. I think it is a 2001, or at least that is what the second owner said. As far as I can tell, the 2001 and 1999 both were the same color and had the same parts.

My questions:
1. Mine has a skewer seat post bracket. When did the Roc-lock seat post first get put on the V-Rex? If I got one of the new seats, would I need to add anything? The aluminum rail looks to be 1.5 inches. The Zephyr seat looks nice and is lighter. What is the best seat option? (I am light at 160 lb). I was going to change the foam pad for the lighter one, get a new cover, and a new seat back, but then I thought I might as well consider other seat options. I do find the stock seat quite comfortable, it is just a bit heavy. As you can see, the stock 31 lbs is a concern to me since it is very hilly here in Alabama.
2. Lighter wheels would be nice. Any suggestions?

I am sure others have asked these questions before, so I apologize for the newbie questions in advance.

Lovin' the V-Rex

Cheers,
Zoltan

Velocity Thracians. Love them on my Baron. They're not stupid-light but they're lighter than stock, they're strong, and they roll great. The low spoke count really makes a difference at speeds over 15 mph.

I agree, the RANS seat is pretty heavy - I think mine is 6 or 7 pounds counting the heavy upholstery foam pad in the base. I don't know what else to recommend though; if I did, I'd probably already have replaced mine.

Not sure when the V-Rex got the Rad-Loc. My 2000 Tailwind doesn't have it, either but, of course, my '08 V-Rex does. I have replaced the stock seat pads on both with the lighter, thinner seat pad/cover combo and like that better. A new seat pad/cover and new mesh seat back is much cheaper than a complete Zephyr seat; you need to figure out whether or not the Zephyr seat is worth the cost. You could contact RANS to find out how old your bike is based on the serial number. They could answer your questions about fitting a newer seat, too. Lighter wheels and tires never hurt uphill performance; have you checked out what Hostel Shoppe and other dealers carry?

The V-Rex is a great bike. I am converting mine to the new Rans HR-3way handlebar (use the B-72 riser if you want to try this) and will have it back on the road hopefully next Monday. I was just speaking to someone at Rans today about the square channel seat rail since I have some seat slippage. It can be removed - taking care not to let the rivets fall into the frame - and the new Rans V-Clamp can be used on the bare tube with their new seats. The V-Clamp has their new quick-release pin feature and is the successor to the Rad-loc. For now I will just use a bit of old inner tube to increase the clamp friction to keep the seat still.

You can also massage a Bacchetta Euromesh onto the V-Rex if you like that style. I have had fleeting thoughts of getting a Volae carbon fiber hardshell seat adapted to the bike but the handlebars are enough change for now and the stock Rans seat is quite comfortable.

Keep an eye on bentrideronline.com in the next few days for the upcoming review of the titanium version of the V-Rex, the Ti-Rex.

When the bikes were all made in Hayes, the serial number scheme was something like YYxxx, where YY was the year it was made and xxx was the # of the frame made in that year. I don't know what they do for SNs now.

Thanks guys
 

This is great. I knew there would be guys like you in this forum. I will check the year and talk with Rans. I may go with the thinner pan for now and keep looking here. I do want to change the wheels. The 20 inch front weighs more than my 700c wheel on my upright bike. Is there is place here where people have shown pictures of their V-Rexs? I almost think we should have a separate category for us! I would love to see them.

As for the seat and seat clamp. If I recall, my friend's rocket had an aluminum channel that was about 3/4 of an inch wide and 1/4 inch high that his seat slid on. Mine is nothing like that. It is an aluminum bracket (3-sides cover the tube) and there is no channel above it. I do think I would have to get something to retrofit another seat. I will call Rans, as suggested.

Thanks for all the input. I look forward to hearing more from you V-Rex riders out there! We have to stick together!

Cheers,
Zoltan

You'll probably want to join the 'official' RANS group at
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/RANSbike/

There's lots of pics in the picture section. I don't know if mine is there or not... Mine is a somewhat rare '97 V-Rex24, shown here with a Coroplast front fairing.

http://tinyurl.com/5lrtsv

Great V-Rex
 

Is the V-Rex faster with the fairing on the flats? Is it slower uphill because of the weight?

Thanks for the great picture.

Regards,
Zoltan

The fairing helps a little bit. I had another similar fairing that helped more; I think I need to play with the angles a bit, maybe round it more in front. It only weighs about 3-4 pounds, so the stuff in my seat bag affect uphills more than the fairing does.

RadLocs were introduced on the 2003 models if I remember correctly. The rail for the RadLoc is a single aluminum bar and the clamp encircles the frame.

I don't know if a RadLoc could be retrofitted but I know at the least that the old rail would have to be removed and the new rail attached. A quick call to Hayes, KS should answer the question.

BTW, 2003 V-Rex' were pearl white.

I've had my Vrex for 6 years and love it. I'd never sell it, though I have brought other bikes since then. But I always spend more time on the Vrex. Mine is a 2002, white, and it came with the Rad-Loc clamp. I think that was the first year.

About 2 years ago I picked up a set of Velocity wheels, great deal from Bikesmith. They are blue, so with the white bike make a great looking ride. I mounted some high pressure/narrow tires and that made a big difference. Now, if I'm riding dirt roads or paths, I switch to the original wheel set, but mostly keep the Velocity's set on.

Last spring I also switched the original handlebar setup over to a Volae tweener bar. I cut down the riser and turned it around so the "stem" curve points forward. I love the improved comfort of the tweener bar setup.

Brian

This was the conversation I had the other day with someone at Rans. Yes, the Rad-Loc can be fitted by popping out the rivets from the square channel. The main difficultly is the possibility of losing the rivets inside the frame where they will rattle forever unless you manage to squirt a bit of glue or something on them.

The Rad-Loc rail uses the same holes in the frame as the rivets for the older square channel setup. Easier than that though is Rans' new V-Clamp, which does not need a frame rail (although it can be used if the Rad-Loc rail is in place). V-Clamp just goes on the bare tube and includes the quick-release feature, which I think is very handy.

My older, non-rad-lock 'rex has two wing/tab thingies under the square rail that would have to be cut off & filed smooth before I could use a rad-lock system on it. I think they were supposed to function as stabilizers for the rail. I don't know if other RANS bikes with the same system had the same tabs or not.

Never noticed any wing/tab thingies on my 2000 Tailwind.

Thanks, I will be sure to check for that before removing that rail if I ever do a modify the seat mounting!

The rail is easy to remove for checking - just a couple of allen cap-top bolts. If you've got them, I think a Dremel and a few spots of paint would fix it.

At least in 2002 the format was

XXmmyynnnn

where XX = model, mm = month of manufacture, yy = year of manufacture and nnnn = the frame number. Mine is VX01020695, which presumably is a v-rex from Jan 2002 . Would they really have produced 695 frames in one month?

I think 695 was more likely the production number for that year.

Do you realize you are answering questions posted by a member who hasn't been active on this site for more than a decade? It's easy to check if you look at the OP's profile.

That had occurred to me; but then I realized that the production number for January would be the same as for the year.

Sorry. I got so taken up reading about my favorite bike that I neglected to look at the date.