Benoît's home page

Last update 16 may 04

(04/04/04 !), I did the first test ride with the bike . First impression: Yeeeehaaah!!!

(16/05/04), after sevaral 100's of km's, it's time to write about my findings about the bike.

Pro

No strength problem to mention, even after riding on some bad road conditions. The bike is very confortable due to the "not too layed back" seat angle. I find it a good compromise, as I don't feel the need for a headrest and yet, I ride this bike faster than my Taifun who's seat angle is lower. The 20"/26" solution is more stable than a 20"/20" one. This improves comfort. Of course, the bike doesn't turn as easely, so it's a matter of preferences. I don't regret chosing for rear suspension even if it means a more complicated construction and an increasement of weight. It dramaticaly improves comfort and reduced the chances of flat tyres.

Globaly, I'm very satisfied with the result. The design suites me fine in terms of looks and strength. No need to say that you get much more satifaction  by riding your own home made bike.

Contra (What would I change if I had to make it over)

Stiffness of the main frame is pretty good. The boom swings over a few mm's when using a lot of leg force. It's of no consequence. Stiffness of the rear stays could be better however. This is the result of their length. I encountered this problem on some other cf recumbents (models you can buy). This lack of stiffness is not a pain, but it results in a lesser stability in turns. Maybe I will strenghten this part to improve stiffness. The tiller might be a few cm's shorter. In fact, I made it long enough since I often touched the steer of my Taifun with my legs. I plan to shorten it to improve my arms position.

Some pics of the completed bike. Total weight of the bike as shown here is 12.5 kg. I consider this to be satisfying since no especially light equipment was used for the wheels, crancks, fork etc and since it's a bike with a rear suspension. Even more important than weight, is the stiffness of the frame. A lack of stiffness results in a loss of power. Finding a good equilibrium is not easy and will allways remain a matter of choices. I chose stiffness and strength above weight...

Notice the new "ventilated" padding of the seat. Bought it at "De Ligfiets" (www.deligfiets.be) in Antwerp. Your back really gets less wet in comparison to a plain one. It's available in different measurements and thickness.

I chose the seat to be part of the frame to increase stiffness. The seat angle will be defined by the attachment point of the rear suspension. Just drill another hole in the frame ;-)

Most parts of the equiment were taken from my Taifun to reduce costs. Some new parts were bought at "Tim Biesemans" (www.tim.be)and other at "De Ligfiets" (www.deligfiets.be). Tim has quite a stock of spare parts.