First Ride and Hello
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LeadDog
Oct 25, 2009, 2:18:31 PM10/25/09
to Carbent
I got my Raven on Friday and got to go for my first ride on Saturday.
One of my first impressions is WOW. I'm still learning how to balance
the bike so I took a rural road were I could take it easy and not
worry about traffic. I'm going up hill and I look at my speed and
think that can't be right, I must have set the computer to the wrong
size wheel because I'm going way to fast. My knee is sore so I'm not
pedaling as hard as I normally would. I get off the bike and check
the settings and they are set to the right wheel size. It is hard to
believe that this bike is that fast and I was pedaling easy. This
morning I check the milage of the computer with RideWithGPS and they
agreed. Still in shock. The ride was uphill then I turned around and
coasted back home. First pedal stroke coming downhill the insert into
the boom spun on me because it wasn't tight enough. I had clipped one
shoe in and couldn't get it to release. So here I am stopped in the
middle of the road in a panic. I got off the road then undid my shoe
before I could twist it enough to get it to release. I retighten the
boom up a little bit tighter and head off downhill. This bike
accelerates downhill noticeable more than my previous bent. I ride my
breaks a lot because I don't want to get to crazy before I get use to
the bike. There was a dip somewhere along the way that gave me the
impression of going airborne. Top speed going downhill was over 38 mph
and I was riding my brakes. When I got to the stop sign at the end of
my ride a DF rider pulls up and comments on my bike saying it "was a
sweet looking ride". I just wish I could have had something like this
20 years ago.
One of my first impressions is WOW. I'm still learning how to balance
the bike so I took a rural road were I could take it easy and not
worry about traffic. I'm going up hill and I look at my speed and
think that can't be right, I must have set the computer to the wrong
size wheel because I'm going way to fast. My knee is sore so I'm not
pedaling as hard as I normally would. I get off the bike and check
the settings and they are set to the right wheel size. It is hard to
believe that this bike is that fast and I was pedaling easy. This
morning I check the milage of the computer with RideWithGPS and they
agreed. Still in shock. The ride was uphill then I turned around and
coasted back home. First pedal stroke coming downhill the insert into
the boom spun on me because it wasn't tight enough. I had clipped one
shoe in and couldn't get it to release. So here I am stopped in the
middle of the road in a panic. I got off the road then undid my shoe
before I could twist it enough to get it to release. I retighten the
boom up a little bit tighter and head off downhill. This bike
accelerates downhill noticeable more than my previous bent. I ride my
breaks a lot because I don't want to get to crazy before I get use to
the bike. There was a dip somewhere along the way that gave me the
impression of going airborne. Top speed going downhill was over 38 mph
and I was riding my brakes. When I got to the stop sign at the end of
my ride a DF rider pulls up and comments on my bike saying it "was a
sweet looking ride". I just wish I could have had something like this
20 years ago.
Gregg Lund
Oct 25, 2009, 4:49:23 PM10/25/09
to car...@googlegroups.com
All--
I have an older version Carbent (20" front wheel, 700c back). I love the
bike and always have...but I was wondering if anyone has experience going
from the old style to the new style. As reference I live in Park City, UT so
most of my rides are up and down...not like the flat when I lived in So FL
;)
I have an older version Carbent (20" front wheel, 700c back). I love the
bike and always have...but I was wondering if anyone has experience going
from the old style to the new style. As reference I live in Park City, UT so
most of my rides are up and down...not like the flat when I lived in So FL
;)
Also does anyone know if there is a market for my used bike?
Be Well
gregg
Gregg Lund, DO, MS, FAAP
Restorative Health Center
Dana Lieberman
Oct 25, 2009, 7:21:17 PM10/25/09
to car...@googlegroups.com
I'm delighted to here that you had a great first ride! A little note about the boom...in a nutshell, I don't think it is possible to crack it. Here is the testing I have conducted...you be the judge.
In the current boom, there is an extra layer of 1/16th" tubing in the clamping zone. So, where you are clamping, there is a total of three layers. I started by measuring my boom tightness, as it has never slipped - 8-9Nm. I took a single layer of tubing and used a torque wrench to slowly tighten the clamp. I was able to tighten it up to 15Nm before the clamp bottomed out. It had not cracked yet. So, with three layers of thickness, I really don't think it is possible to crack it with the current clamp design.
FWIW, prior to this testing I actually built the booms three layers thick. After the testing, I lowered it to two layers, and am currently running a single layer on my own bike to test the long term longevity of it.
The tubes we use throughout the bike are NOT off-the-shelf tubes. The layers of cloth are laid up in a very specific way to get the ride and strength characteristics that we are looking for. The boom tube has a different design than the rest of the bike with more radial "hoops" to prevent crushing. It seems to work...
Enjoy the bike!
Dana--
Dana Lieberman, Owner
Bent Up Cycles
7828 Balboa Blvd.
Van Nuys, CA 91406
www.bentupcycles.com
In the current boom, there is an extra layer of 1/16th" tubing in the clamping zone. So, where you are clamping, there is a total of three layers. I started by measuring my boom tightness, as it has never slipped - 8-9Nm. I took a single layer of tubing and used a torque wrench to slowly tighten the clamp. I was able to tighten it up to 15Nm before the clamp bottomed out. It had not cracked yet. So, with three layers of thickness, I really don't think it is possible to crack it with the current clamp design.
FWIW, prior to this testing I actually built the booms three layers thick. After the testing, I lowered it to two layers, and am currently running a single layer on my own bike to test the long term longevity of it.
The tubes we use throughout the bike are NOT off-the-shelf tubes. The layers of cloth are laid up in a very specific way to get the ride and strength characteristics that we are looking for. The boom tube has a different design than the rest of the bike with more radial "hoops" to prevent crushing. It seems to work...
Enjoy the bike!
Dana
Dana Lieberman, Owner
Bent Up Cycles
7828 Balboa Blvd.
Van Nuys, CA 91406
www.bentupcycles.com
Sandy
Oct 26, 2009, 10:53:55 AM10/26/09
to Carbent
Woo-hoo!!!! Aweseome first ride story! Great to hear you're enjoying
the bike! My favorite Carbent v. DF story...toasting a couple of Trek
Madones on a rolling uphill, having them catch up with me at a market/
food stop.."Wow - I've heard about those recumbent bikes - are they
fast downhill, too?"
Have fun out there!
Sandy
the bike! My favorite Carbent v. DF story...toasting a couple of Trek
Madones on a rolling uphill, having them catch up with me at a market/
food stop.."Wow - I've heard about those recumbent bikes - are they
fast downhill, too?"
Have fun out there!
Sandy
Willie
Oct 26, 2009, 11:07:20 AM10/26/09
to Carbent
Welcome to the club! Yes, it takes a while to get use to the Carbent,
and yes it climbs fast! I had a year on a Bacchetta Corsa so when I
got on my Carbent it seemed like second nature. However, I spent a
month or so really getting tuned into my Corsa. In time when you
understand the handling, your comfort on downhills will pick up. I've
had mine over 50 MPH many times, something that scared me to death on
an upright bike. Last weekend 175 miles into the Death Valley Double
Century, in the pitch black of rural desert and thanks to excellent
lighting, I was bombing down from Hell's Gate at nearly 50 MPH.
Willie
and yes it climbs fast! I had a year on a Bacchetta Corsa so when I
got on my Carbent it seemed like second nature. However, I spent a
month or so really getting tuned into my Corsa. In time when you
understand the handling, your comfort on downhills will pick up. I've
had mine over 50 MPH many times, something that scared me to death on
an upright bike. Last weekend 175 miles into the Death Valley Double
Century, in the pitch black of rural desert and thanks to excellent
lighting, I was bombing down from Hell's Gate at nearly 50 MPH.
Willie
LeadDog
Oct 26, 2009, 11:14:28 PM10/26/09
to Carbent
Dana, I don't have a torque wrench that I can use to tighten that
clamp. The boom hasn't slipped since so it is okay.
Sandy, That is a great story. I'm starting to get my downhill speeds
up to what I have done on other bikes. The carbent surprises me in
that it accelerates so fast that I'm experiencing higher speeds in
places that I haven't been that fast before. My fastest spot on the
road I'm riding is in some curves that are banked the wrong way. I
just don't have the nerve to go through them full out yet.
Willie, I have read a few of your ride reports and this is such a
nice club to belong to, thanks. I have ridden a bent for 9 years but
it was a more upright sitting position. Getting on the carbent was
like learning to ride a bent all over again. The 2nd ride was much
better and today I'm pedaling at speed downhill in a very nice line.
I'm still getting use to it but it fells much better now. I don't
think I ever got my other bent over 50 mph but I had my DF up over 55
once or twice. I'll be flying down the hills pretty soon.
clamp. The boom hasn't slipped since so it is okay.
Sandy, That is a great story. I'm starting to get my downhill speeds
up to what I have done on other bikes. The carbent surprises me in
that it accelerates so fast that I'm experiencing higher speeds in
places that I haven't been that fast before. My fastest spot on the
road I'm riding is in some curves that are banked the wrong way. I
just don't have the nerve to go through them full out yet.
Willie, I have read a few of your ride reports and this is such a
nice club to belong to, thanks. I have ridden a bent for 9 years but
it was a more upright sitting position. Getting on the carbent was
like learning to ride a bent all over again. The 2nd ride was much
better and today I'm pedaling at speed downhill in a very nice line.
I'm still getting use to it but it fells much better now. I don't
think I ever got my other bent over 50 mph but I had my DF up over 55
once or twice. I'll be flying down the hills pretty soon.
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