Recumbents

I Rode the Bentech Recumbent Today!

(click images to enlarge)
This afternoon I put the finishing touches on the Bentech SWB recumbent. I installed the chain, or I should say about 2 1/2 chains. This was interesting to say the least. I finally did a search on Google for "recumbent chain sizing" and found a great page at the Hostel Shoppe explaining exactly how to size a chain for a recumbent bike. Ain't Google grand? So I printed this off and about 10 minutes later I had the chain perfectly sized. I then tweaked the derailleurs so that all the chain would actually go to all the gears.

We called Jeff and Holly (my wifes brother and his wife that live down the street) and told them that the maiden voyage was about to happen. They have had a bunch of fun teasing my about how I will look riding this thing, so they headed down to see it in action.

After putting on the bike helmet (better safe than sorry), I put my right foot up on the pedal and prepared myself for the unknown. I pushed down hard and off I went down the driveway. I was actually riding a recumbent - and I was smiling from ear to ear. Up the street I went with my two partners trailing behind me. It was much more stable than I initially thought it would be. Turning was interesting, but nothing that was to frightening. Our culdesac is a small incline - the boys love riding to the top and coasting down - it is very gradual, but enough slope that you don't have to pedal going down. I was surpised by how fast this bike accelerates downhill. Should be a real rush on bigger hills.

I had done plenty of reading about recumbent injuries before starting this ride. A big one seems to be the knees. The trick seems to be to spin and not mash the pedals. So I tried to keep a easy gear selected, which worked most of the time. In the evening the boys and I went out for a "long" ride - I would guess only a couple of miles, but it was fun. On a couple of smaller hills, I did not downshift early enough and had to mash the pedals, and I could feel it in my knees. The bike climbs fine, but you just have to spin the cranks fast and furious.

All in all, I am very happy with this bike! I have not really had a chance to get out and see what it is like to maintain a higher speed, but the low speed handling is awesome. With the boys, I had to ride very slow, and this thing just tracked right down the road next to them. Starting and stopping were way easier than I thought they would be.

Tomorrow night I hope to get out and ride for 30 minutes or so, just to see what it is like to "spin" at a higher pace. I am also going to install the Powergrips that I mentioned in a earlier post - I think these will be nice to help hold my feet to the pedals. Until I get a GPS or bike computer I have no idea how far or how fast I am going, which may actually be a good thing!

Installing Brake & Derailleur Cables

Tonight I finally tackeled the job that I had intentionally been putting off - installing the brake and derailleur cables on the Bentech frame. A couple of weeks ago I stopped by the local bike shop and picked up about 20 feet of cable housing and brake cables - the grip shifters came with cable pre-installed.

First I started with the rear derailleur housing and cable. For now I simply secured the housing the frame with electrical tape, but I will replace the tape tomorrow with wire tires. Then I did the back v-brakes, and finally the front v-brakes. I have not done the front derailleur yet because I need the chain installed, and I cannot install the chain until I have the pedals mounted and I can set the boom length.

Installing these cables was much easier than I thought it would be. After sitting on the bike I think that the cables will be hitting the inside of my thighs as they transition down to the frame. I think one wire tie around the steering tube should take care of this problem, and still allow for sharp turns.

Of course I still have to adjust the rear derailleur and I will do that once I have everything else done. I did preset it according to the instructions, so at least the min and max throws should be close to correct.

So on my weekly donut run in the morning Nick and I are going to swing by Ace Hardware to pick up some wire ties so I can finish this thing up. My pedals arrived today, but I forgot to bring them home from work, however, I will probably be at the office this weekend so I can pick them up then. Unless to many honey-doos get in the way, I might be ready for my first test ride on Sunday!

Ordered Pedals and Powergrips

Yesterday I surfed over to BikeNashbar.com to take a look at the pedals they had available. I really like BikeNashbar, you can get some really cheap stuff. Just like everything you probably get what you pay for, but that is fine with me on this project.

I picked up a set of Nashbar cage pedals for about $10.00 and then a set of Powergrips for about $15.00. The power grips (see picture) are like the old toe clips I used to use - with one big difference. You basically just twist you heel to the right and the strap loosens so that you can pull you foot out. I will not be using them until I get used to riding this recumbent bike, but from what I read you will want to use them.

One of the things I have heard about when riding recumbents is that if your foot slips off the pedal and then hits the ground it will get drug under you - OUCH! That is why most people either use the clipless pedals or powergrips to help keep their foot on the pedal.

How do you get on this thing?

On Friday my handlebars and stem arrived from BikeNashbar.com. Friday night I was able to get them installed. I had previously installed the seat so I was able to finally sit on the bike and get a real feel for how it was going to ride.

First question: How do you get on this thing? Due to the relationship of the handle bar riser and the front edge of the seat, it is VERY hard to stand straight up between them - the handle bar riser is smashed against your stomach causing you to lean back. Then do make a "flip" stem that allows you to flip the riser forward as you step on the bike. These are nice, but pricey - I will wait for awhile before I decide on this feature.

After some practice I figured out that if you lean the bike sideways it facilitates a easier entry and exit. Once you are on the seat you are very comfortable. It is a weird sensation to not be able to see the back tire and barely see the front tire. It should be a rush to ride this!

I still have to install the cables, and the chain - and then it will be ready for the maiden voyage.

Visit to the Bike Shop

I finally got a chance yesterday to drop by the local bike shop. I took my fork and crown race part into them, to see if they could get it pounded on the steering tube part of the fork.

Well, 5 minutes and $5.00 later I was back in my car. The guy had some type of special tool that was made especially for this installation. He slipped this long tube down over the steering tube of the fork, and beat on it with a hammer. Sure enough the race just slipped right down to where it should be.

Lesson learned: If I cannot fix it easily with my tools, go to the bike shop - they have the right tools!

I also ordered a stem and handle bar from bikenashbar.com. They should arrive on Friday. Hopefully this weekend I can get all the cables hooked up and adjusted - then take my first ride!

Installing Parts on the Recumbent

I am totally fascinated with this process. I have never assembled or disassembled a bike before so this is all brand new to me. The neat thing is that when I am done, I should be able to do most of my own bicycle maintenance!

So tonight I installed the tires and tubes on the wheels, and also dropped in the quick release assemblies into the hubs. I have Schwabe Marathons that have the reflective stripe on the edge of the tire, you can see the glow in the picture.

I also installed the cassette (gears) on the back wheel and attached this wheel to the frame. I also bolted the seat frame to the recumbent frame. I still have to install the mesh fabric for the seat, before it will really start to take shape.

If I get to work on the bike tomorrow night I will finish installing the fork into the headset, and get the steering tube riser installed. I still have to get a stem and a handle bar - then I can install the derailleurs and brake levers.

I also installed the bottom bracket in, but I have not put the cranks on this part yet.

Still lots to do, but it is really starting to take shape! I can already feel the wind in my hair.....

Installing the Headset

When it comes to installing your headset, you have two choices: Do it yourself, or pay the bikeshop $15 to $20 to do it for you. I did it myself (mostly), and it seems to have worked out okay.

When you install a headset you have to press the top and bottom bearing race into your head tube. This is a very tight friction fit and they have to go in straight, and all the way. I liberally greased the inside of my head tube with some Park Tools grease that I picked up from the local bike shop (lbs).

Then I ventured down to the local True Value store and picked up $2.30 worth of parts to make my homemade press. Park Tools sells a really nice tool made for this job, but it is over $100 - out of the question financially for me. I purchased a 8"x3/8" bolt, two large fender washers (that were bigger diameter than the bearing races), and a nut. This became my homemade press. I installed one race, and then the other - don't attempt to install them both at the same time. It is enough work for two hands to simply do one at a time.

There is another bearing race that installs on the steering tube of the fork. This is another friction fit, and for the life of me I cannot figure out how to install this thing. So I am going by the lbs tomorrow and for $5.00 they are going to beat this thing on - literally. Money well spent!

Here are a couple of pictures of my homemade press. I took these after the fact, so you will have to use your imagination, but you should get the idea.

Photos of Painted Frame

(click on pictures to enlarge)

Here are a few pictures of my painting adventure!

The picture of the forks where they appear greeen was taken while I was priming them with the self etching primer from Duplicolor.

You can clearly see the color changing affects of the Mirage paint, changing from Magenta to Gold. I had to take all the pictures without the flash (a couple are a bit blurry), otherwise they all looked purple! This is going to be one sweet looking recumbent frame!

Frame Painting Details

Okay, I have a minute at lunch so I thought I would detail my frame painting sequence. I am not a professional painter, and I am not saying what I did was right, but it seems to work.

1. First I sanded the parts down with 400 grit sandpaper wet. This was messy, instead of dust you end up with black dirt on you and the floor under you from dripping water. Be sure this is okay...hopefully it wears off my driveway! You know you are getting the job done when the metal starts to turn silvery. I did not try to get every be of it silvery, but I did hit every square inch with the sandpaper.

2. After sanding I then wiped all of the parts down with lacquer thinner, to remove all the dust and oils on the metal. I then got my roll of blue painters tape and taped up all threaded parts as well as any areas I did not want to prime.

3. I primed the metal parts with Duplicolor Self Etching Primer - mine was army green. This stuff is very aromatic, so be sure to do this in a well ventilated area. The smell must come from the etching solution, because the Mirage paints did not have this strong of smell. I put 2 or 3 coats on all of the parts. This primer sprayed on very well from the rattle can, and I can highly recommend it.

4. After the primer had dried it was time for the fun part - the color! The Duplicolor Mirage paints are a 3 step process. The first step is a black base coat. I did not sand the primer coat before applying the base coat. The instructions say that the black base coat is required, or you will not see the color change in the paint. After waiting 30 minutes for the black base coat to dry (applied several coats quickly), it was time for the mid-coat. The mid-coat is actually the color coat. You can apply the next coat as soon as the first coat becomes tacky. This went quickly and the effect was amazing. I ended up applying about 4 or 5 coats, the instruction say the more coats you apply the more color change you will see. This is very cool paint, it has a metallic look that changes from magenta to gold depending on how the light reflects off the part! After waiting about 30 minutes for the mid-coat to dry I then applied the top clear coat. I shot on 3 coats of the clear coat.

There is not as much "orange peel" affect as I thought there would be. The instructions say you can take some mild rubbing compound and buff out the clear coat. I might try this after the paint hardens for a few days. It is pretty shiny right now, so it would be interesting to see how much it would change with the rubbing compound.

As I said the forks are done and the result is stunning! The rest of the frame and seat is primed right now. I hope to get it painted this week. My parts package and wheels should arrive this week, so the quicker the painting is done the better.

Painting the frame

Okay, I finally have made some progress. The forks are completely painted, and the rest of the frame and seat is mostly primed. The Duplicolor Mirage paint is really cool. If you hold the forks "away from you" they appear to be a brilliant gold color, but if you look at them straight on the color looks magenta. My Wife says it is pink, but I keep reminding her it is MAGENTA (burgundy). She does think the color looks really cool. She still is not sure she will claim me to the neighbors once I start riding this thing! :)

Posting could be sparce the next couple of weeks, but if I get a chance I will post a full write up of my painting sequence, along with a couple of photos.