Looking for bent owners/riders in Mid TN

Since I recently looked for a bike/trike in Nashville, I can tell you there's basically Art, or finding people locally who have something you might be interested in riding. The only place I know if in or around Nashville that can GET 'bents is The Bicycle Center in Clarksville. They don't keep much in stock, but I know they can order RANS bikes and Catrikes - I'm prettu sure there's other stuff they can get too, but again, since they sell so little of it, they keep very little in stock.

 

Thanks for the response, Jon. Art responded to my e-mail today. I plan to call him this evening and see if we can set up a date.

 

Hi,
I recently built a long wheelbase "EZ Cruiser" two wheel bent. I really like it, I`ve been riding it every day I can. I have about $20 in it, I was given several unwanted bikes which I cut up to piece it together. It`s a 15 speed, has a comfortable seat, and is easy to ride, once it`s past about 5mph. Slow speeds are a little unsteady, but I`m just getting used to it. It has parts of bikes from China, England, USA, Taiwan, Germany, Italy and Japan. I put a kickstand and a computer on it since the fotos were taken. I`m gathering parts for a trike for my wife. I plan to build a short wheelbase two wheeler for me after her trike is done.I live in Wayne County, about two hours south of Nashville, down the Trace. I hope to get together with other bent riders sometime. Doug

 

Doug, I recognize that as an Andrew Carson Tour Easy Clone,
from stem to stern. Did you do the seat? Good job. I have his
Mack II. Wish I'd known about you last month. I was in your
area with time on my hands. I'll be back. I have family in Nashville.

 

Looks good Doug. I don't know when I'll be back towards nashville, but I'll be riding the 25th in Hopkinsville Ky. There was talk of a nashville area trace ride this fall, but I haven't heard any more mentioned. I'm certain we'll see one another around at some point.

 

Buddy,
Yes, I made the seat, it`s 1/2" conduit with shade cloth from Lowes on it, really inexpensive, but comfortable and breathes well. I need to figure out a way to carry the bike, it`s longer than my car is wide, one of the reasons I want to build a SWB bent. Doug

 

Well, I'm 100% impressed. The seat alone stopped me cold.
It would take a tubing bender for me to try that. Mine came
from AD Carson. He sent the seat, frame and front fork. That
was several years ago and it was/is my first recumbent.

I've taken it to Florida. I put two Bell bike racks on the back of
the Scamp travel trailer. Had to take the front wheel off and
turn the fork around for road clearance. I've tried all combinations
of front wheels on it, from 16" to 26". Found the 20" to work
best for me. I've also carried it on the back of the truck with
one Bell bicycle rack. It is too long for a 6' truck bed, so I
put it in corner to corner.

Any way, It is a nice ride and well worth the effort. Here
is AD Carson's web site and drawings:
http://www.recycledrecumbent.com/ez1draw.htm

That's a good picture of you and your bike back in the
photo section.

 

Hello everyone! New to the forum and bent riding. I am 40 years old this month, out of shape, and havnt ridden in almost 20 years. I decided I wanted to start riding again, so last fall bought a used RANS Tailwind. I only tried it a couple of times before I put it in the shed for the winter, but I did not have the trick to balancing while laid back! Is there some trick to it, or do I basically have to learn to bike and balance all over again? Hahaha.

For those looking for recumbents in the Nashville area, I see that SUN & Ski Sports in the Opry Mills Mall has a recumbent for sale, so they must be able to get them.

They also have a bike shop with mechanic who will work on just about anything. My RANS is there now getting new tires and a tune up for spring.

 

Gregory,

Start by setting the seat so you can very comfortably reach the pedals. Make sure the seat back is pretty straight. This is not the most comfortable position for your butt, but it makes the transition to 'bents a little easier because it is not so laid back.

As you get more comfortable with the balance, you can lean the seat back a little at a time until you find the most comfortable position for you. Give yourself as much time as you need to feel comfortable in one position before leaning the seat back more.

Also, do not grip the handlebars tightly. Keep your grip loose, especially when starting from a stop or climbing a hill. It helps to actually push on the handlebar in these situations. If you pull on the handlebar you will pull your shoulders off the seat back and this will cause you to wobble.

Both power and control (balance) come from the seat. Push your butt and shoulders back into the seat and the bike will be a lot easier to handle.

By the way, does this happen to be a blue Tailwind with the Rans 3-way adjustable chopper handlebar and a TerraCycle handlebar mast?

 

Why yes it is that bike ... hahaha ... I guess I must have bought it from you eh?
...

Thanks!

...

I love the bike and I am determined to get on it and practice this week until I have the balance it takes to master it!

 

I thought your name sounded familiar. Laurie and I drove from Knoxville to Cookville to deliver the bike to you.

Those handlebars are much more adjustable than the stock bars. You can adjust them in every plane so that you can get you hand controls exactly where they feel the best to you.

Check out this link to an article on Rans' website about them: http://www.ransbikes.com/ITR30.htm

The long TerraCycle mast and stem combination give you a lot of extra room to move the bars up, down, colser to you, or farther away. You can even change the stem to get a different reach/rise if you need to. It uses a 2 bolt mountain bike stem which allows you to swap out stems without having to take any of the controls off the handlebar.

All this adjustibility means a little more work (experimentation) to get the controls just where you want them but it pays off.

Good luck and good riding.

 

I have the Terra Cycle mast on my V-Rex and LOVE IT. (Mike was the one who told me to get one.) I have very long legs so the standard Rans mast wasn't long enough for me. Never had a problem since swapping it out.

It takes about 300 miles (the first 50 it TOTALLY WHITE KNUCKLE) to get used to riding "laid back". Take your time and do what Mike says. He taught me also and he was RIGHT!!!

Most importantly, HAVE FUN while you are doing it. No need to be in a hurry or fast. Get out and enjoy the day.

I ride A LOT but never fast. I just enjoy riding.