"facw" (facw)
10/27/2019 at 21:50 • Filed to: bikelopnik, trike, Bicycle, bicycles, Pedal power, TerraTrike, Getting run over by oblivious motorists
5
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"facw" (facw)
10/27/2019 at 21:50 • Filed to: bikelopnik, trike, Bicycle, bicycles, Pedal power, TerraTrike, Getting run over by oblivious motorists | 5
| 18 |
With my shoulder falling apart (surgery upcoming!), and back pain problematic as well, I’ve been looking at recumbents, and especially tadpole trikes, but unfortunately, they are super expensive. However, last week this fairly beat TerraTrike Rover i8 popped up on Craigslist and I picked it up yesterday (crappy pic from ad):
Still expensive, but way, way cheaper than buying new. It’s well worn, but seems mechanically sound. Stuff that’s being done:
Seat cleaning - Complete!
New pedals
New grips
New locking brake levers (the ones on there are probably fine, but I’m irrationally offended that they don’t match, and replacements are cheap)
New brake cables
Water bottle cage (default place is kind of crappy, I should see if people have found better mount points)
Maybe new shifter (the one on there is missing its grip, which doesn’t seem to be available for sale separately. I ordered a new one but my bank blocked the charge, though ebay isn’t complaining about not getting paid)
New seat stay pins (currently attached with a rusty nut on a bent rusty screw)
New caliper bracket bolts (current ones look like they’ve been in the ocean)
New stupid looking safety flag (these all look so bad, I sort of like these
!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
flags, but $60 seems really steep.
!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
look decent as well, and are more reasonable but they don’t have online ordering and I hate calling people)
Removing crappy peeling reflective tape (unfortunately if you peel it, most of the back side of the reflective material stays on)
New lights
New mirror
Alignment (pretty sure there’s a bit of toe-in)
Chain de-grease and lube
Various other oiling
Maybe cleaning up that boom rust, as it looks pretty ugly.
In any event, none of that is especially difficult, so hopefully I don’t screw it up. If this turns out to be a fun ride, I might look to upgrade to something like the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , though that is so damn expensive (when I was in Houston one came up on CL for only $1500, and I probably should have jumped on that).
XJDano
> facw
10/27/2019 at 21:56 |
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So it’s like the old LeMans prototypes where your legs are over the front suspension/ wheels.
BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
> facw
10/27/2019 at 22:04 |
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What on God’s green earth makes something like that cost thousands of dollars even USED?
Maybe a little bit more than a Walmart rack bicycle, but I don’t get it... the materials and quality don’t seem to add up to the same kind of money as a USED MOTORCYCLE, or most of what I spent on my FIRST CAR!
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facw
> BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
10/27/2019 at 22:09 |
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I guess it’s just low- volume production for a niche market . I saw something saying TerraTrike is retiring the Rover, which is one of the cheapest tadpole trikes available (and thus presumably one of the best selling) , but the same thing said that they had only sold around 16,000 of them in 10 years.
But yeah, it’s a bit shocking how much they cost, especially as almost all of them are steel frame, and are using standard (and often not even especially good) shifters, brakes, etc. Conventional recumbents are the same way.
MrDakka
> facw
10/27/2019 at 22:13 |
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So front engine, rear wheel drive?
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facw
> MrDakka
10/27/2019 at 22:15 |
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Something like that... I guess most of the “engine” is behind the wheels, but the crank output is all the way forward.
HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
> facw
10/27/2019 at 22:26 |
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I enjoy pretty much every aspect of cycling, mountain, road, BMX, my sick beach cruiser, and really any kind of bike. So naturally I’ve been curious about recumbents, but holy heck they are expensive. And it’s not like normal bicycles where the 2,000 dollar ones at least look cool.
They don’t seem to get much cheaper used either. I know it’s just because of supply and demand. In this case the supply being very small.
There’s a couple kids in my town that cruise around on a side by side tandem recumbent and I reeeeally want to see how fast we could make it go.
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HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
> BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
10/27/2019 at 22:31 |
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Recumbent bikes are dumb expensive. But it’s really just cuz they are such a niche product. Thay can’t Be mass produced because 99 % of people buying a bicycle don’t want one.
The craziest thing is that the main reason they aren’t as popular is that they are banned in most racing because they are such an unfair advantage.
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facw
> HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
10/27/2019 at 22:39 |
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Yeah, the price is scary, es pe cially since it’s not like a quick test ride is going to be able to tell you if you enjoy it. I figure it’s manageable if don’t enjoy it or if I want to upgrade to something higher-end. But I feel like I’d have paid like a 5 th as much for a conventional bike in this condition (though I also wouldn’t bother with a conventional bike is this condition).
There is a kit ($1400!) to turn the Rover into a tandem:
Coming out something like this:
I do not anticipate purchasing it... (and not just because I’d have to repaint it silver)
SiennaMan
> MrDakka
10/27/2019 at 22:41 |
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Do you think anyone has tried an LS swap on this yet. ;-)
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HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
> facw
10/27/2019 at 22:45 |
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I did just find this. 3-350 seems to be the bottom of the price range for recumbents.
If I got one I’d want something like this that sacrifices safety and comfort for aerodynamics
Nom De Plume
> facw
10/27/2019 at 22:48 |
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I hope by seat cleaning complete you did in fact mean cleansed with fire and spread the ashes far and wide.
Looks like you need new tires. I’d rebuild the wheels and take a spoke key to them as well.
Make your own flag while you’re at it. Or go full bike nerd and turn it into a land yacht and scare the crap out of people tacking with the wind.
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facw
> Nom De Plume
10/27/2019 at 22:58 |
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Tires look ok to me. They aren’t brand new, but I’d guess they’ve got at least another season in them. They look a little more squared off than they actually are because they were under- inflated. Wheels seem reasonably in true, I might tidy them up a bit , but it doesn’t feel like a rebuild will be necessary.
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facw
> SiennaMan
10/27/2019 at 23:00 |
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I will admit to thinking that if I don’t like it, it might not be that hard to slap a small engine behind/underneath the seat...
Clown Shoe Pilot
> facw
10/27/2019 at 23:12 |
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I JUST sold my 559. I’m taking it to work tomorrow to crate up and ship to Atlanta. The guy’s getting a smoking deal on it.
Just Jeepin'
> facw
10/27/2019 at 23:21 |
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When I was much, much younger (like, 30 years ago) my mother was president of the International Human Powered Vehicle Association.
Which meant I hung out with a lot of odd people with odd interests, like recumbents (at the least-odd end) and human-powered flight enthusiasts.
At that point in time there were two recumbent bike manufacturers in Indiana. Brian Defelice in New Palestine and Infinity in Bloomington.
Both are long defunct, but I was fortunate enough to be able to ride a few. Other than climbing hills, I was a big fan.
SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
> facw
10/28/2019 at 06:13 |
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Of all the bikes I would be interested to build from the ground up , a recumbent would be second on the list. First would be a steel duallie MTB with 120-140 mm travel...
TSJ
> facw
10/28/2019 at 07:14 |
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Well I bought a new e-trike from a recumbent shop and I love it. I have a bad back. By the time you do all this work your gonna be spending over what I paid for mine. I couldn't do without the electric on long trips but I do pedal with electric assist. You can also not pedal at all. Mine with a few add ins was $4000 but 0% financing I couldn't resist. I cannot ride a 2 wheel bike so this is great. Love it
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TSJ
> HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
10/28/2019 at 07:17 |
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Mine goes up to 20mph