Friday, April 24, 2020

Instagram Post

Clean air, quiet streets and humans walking, running and cycling during COVID-19.





Sunday, April 19, 2020

Rear Brake Change for Sprint

Update March 2021... After using the  disc brake setup for a parking brake I went back to a v-brake . Due to the flex of the rear wheel in turns the disc brake pads would slightly rub on the rotor while turning. I don't light rubbing noises, especially so close to my head, annoys the heck out of me. If I were to adjust the disc pads so they wouldn't rub then it would become useless as brake for parking.

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I changed out the rear rim parking brake for a disc brake. 

What I've learned:

1. With a rim brake removing the rear tire from the trike requires an extra step...reaching underneath the trike and releasing the brake cable so the tire can slip past the brake shoes. Doing it with one had   requires a bit of dexterity. Doing it with both hands requires getting down on your ass to reach under the trike or putting the trike on its side. With a disc brake no extra step required.

2. The rim brake doesn't have the same holding power to prevent the trike from moving while trying too dismount on a hill. The disc brake has better holding power.


BB7 


Handlebar mounted brake lever. 


Recumbent Trike Store has a rear disc brake kit so you don't have to accumulate the components.



Thursday, April 16, 2020

ICE Ergo-Luxe Seat Cover

Updated June 3rd, 2020 - Please go to new post ICE Ergo-Luxe Seat Re-reviewed and forget about this post.


Not only is the "stay at home order" helping to mitigate COVID 19 in California it is also giving me time to see how I can spend money. So I popped on an ICE Ergo-Luxe seat cover for my ICE Sprint FS E8000. I purchased an Adventure Ergo-Luxe cover because I use an Adventure seat frame on my Sprint. The seat of the Adventure frame is a bit longer and I find it more comfortable.

I rode with it for 12 miles and concluded that it might not be the right seat for me. It's super comfortable but I have two issues with it. I ride a lot of hills and I felt that the Ergo-Luxe was a bit too cushy and absorbing some of my power when pushing pedals going up a hill. Even with the E8000 assist I still like to do most of the work when riding. The only other issue is the 7" scar on my back from a recent back surgery. The extra padding on the Ergo-Luxe was causing chafing on the incision area. This issue will probably resolve itself in time but I'm not sure if I want to wait.

Right now I have the Ergo-Luxe seat cover for sale on the Bent Rider classifieds. I know that 12 miles is not a long enough ride to draw a fair conclusion so if it doesn't sell I'll keep it and give it another try when my back toughens up.




An issue some are concerned about is heat. It was about 70 degrees when I took the seat on a spin and I felt it was a little warmer than the mesh seat but not of any real concern. That being said 70 degrees is not hot enough to really know how the Ergo-Luxe will perform on a hot day.