Bent Revolution is one of the country's leading recumbent dealers. We feature HP Velotechnik, ICE, Greenspeed, Trident Trikes, Cruzbike, and Bacchetta. We service all brands and can also help add an electric motor to your existing bike or trike. We love helping people find the right recumbent for their needs. We believe in explaining the benefits of recumbent riding without confusing jargon. From product reviews to repair how-tos, we spread the joy of recumbents! Bentrevolution.com
The bottom brackets are way too high for commuting. These bikes are made for long rides where you don't have to stop and go a lot. Anyone who buys one for of these for commuting is making a mistake.
HP makes a nice product for those who need to have the most expensive toys. Other co’s make good products that are much more reasonably priced. I will never consider an HP trike…
I’ve biked most of my life, use to race when I was young and bullet proof. I have never heard, No Big, Big, No Small, Small, And in the Middle you can go anywhere at all. I get asked what gear should I use and have tried to explain how and why you use what gears, what the ratio and target cadence should be, and I see their eyes go deer in the headlights. But your no big big and no small small, anywhere in the middle… thing, that’s brilliant and explains the basics oh so well, it’s 5 year old simple, I love it. (5 year old it, is what I tell people when they are being to technical or complicated with their explanation, I tell them, “OK, now explain this to me like I’m 5 years old”. It’s sounds silly, but people will instantly simply their direction every time. I’m using you Big big, small small thing, it’s simple but brilliant. Nice video. 👍
Recently I bought a 1 year old (500km) Speedmachine with Rohloff for a good price. It has that low steering as well. It's a great bike but takes some time for learning.
Love mine. Another note of interest for others is that it accepts a wide range of tire widths. I run 2" tires because I mostly ride gravel and trails. Regarding rider height, I am 5'6" and do find it challenging to reach the ground, made worse by having the other seat you showed. I wear lug-soled hiking shoes to reach the ground and still have to plan ahead for stops. The seat you have is better for shorter riders, but it probably still sits too high for anyone under 5'6".
Tim, What an excellent review and vid! Just straight to the point with everything! We released a portable air pump as well. Can we invite you to do a review? We have reached out
It is a good trike but, the most comfortable, no, I use a ICE Adventure HD 26 with a higher seat, it rides great but coblestone roads and with Schwalbe Marathon plus tirers on 4,5bar it is realy not comfortable. But on tarmark and the great dutch cyclepads, it rides like a dream.
I ride a V20 in traffic and while there is such a thing as pedal steer, it is not difficult to keep the bike straight. I have videos on my channel of me going through very narrow gates at +24mph with barely inches of clearance on both sides. It is on average 6kph (4mph) faster than my TT bike, and much more comfortable. I wouldn't even bother racing against an S40 on my TT bike. If possible ask on the Cruzbike forum for a test ride and see if 1 fits for you.
Do you know someone who has a useful channel for learning two-wheel recumbent maintenance and tips and tricks, accessories? I just bought 4 two-wheels and it's very hard to find info specific to two wheels.
The components are the same between two and three-wheel recumbents. The big challenge for recumbents is getting them off the ground to work on them. Let me know what type of questions you have and I will see what I can do.
Isn’t the front end in the way when taking sharp corners? As in your legs seem to have to bend with the pedals around the steering axle. Only a problem for very sharp corners of course, but still interesting to know how one deals with this.
My big complaint about Bacchetta is their stupid aluminum to steel, fork blades to steer tube is a glued joint. Also that they don't make their bikes anymore and provide no phone to call or even a parts supplier. I repair bikes at a community bike shop and we got in a Bacchetta as a trade in that had a loose front fork. Looked up their Seattle dealer, which wouldn't answer any calls, seems according to a Seattle bicycle forum that they weren't exactly a good shop. The fork needed to be replaced so I ended up buying a 26" size steel track bike fork with little rake. it also didn't have the mounts for the disc brake so I had to mount a sidepull. There is NO recourse to repairing your Bacchetta's wobbling fork, none. You cannot weld steel to aluminum and whoever came up with this lame construction design should be ashamed. BTW my experience is building my own recumbent FWD arm and leg powered recumbent and working for Burley's tandem frame shop. So I'm fairly experienced in production bike frame manufacturing.
I have ridden (briefly) airless tires in a road bike size from a different vendor many years ago. Maybe these are better but I doubt it. I personally would recommend the Tannus Liner if you are having flat issues. I use one on my 29" x 2.5" trekking bike in parallel with a simple Kevlar strip and have never had a flat since. If you use a Kevlar strip, place it between tire and Tannus, not next to tube or it might cut tube. The big thing is that the tube is still there to provide smooth and efficient rolling resistance and mitigates the road vibration. I also place a large quantity of PTFE powder on the inside of the tire to minimize internal friction. Wheel pressure is ~40 psi.
@@alexsainsbury2176 Yes, true. That should be the optimum power transmission position for the whole body. With this (video), you don't get the power transferred through whole body only via legs and feet. My custom modified bike has arms almost horizontally; with a firm hand grip you feel the whole body work (and supported) with pedal transmission.
Hey Tim, I use a Bontrager floor pump. It’s set for all type valves but that push down lever to lock the hose on the valve, lets out some of the air I just put in when removing. I remedy that by adding an extra pound or two to compensate. Does this unit do that when removing the hose? Also, how does the hose fit the Presta valve? Does it lock on or do you have to hold it and how long does it take to add 10 or 12 pounds?
You just need to pop your pump off quicker ;). This pump threads onto the valve (no lever) so very little pressure comes off when disconnecting. Both the presta and Schrader valve adapters screw onto the tire valve. As far as time to put in 10 -12 PSI, I would estimate it is around 20 seconds.
I've been riding an Adventure HD with "Full Suspension" for a couple of years now. Quotes because the travel is very limited. The suspension takes the edge off of sidewalk cracks, but over tree roots or even grass with hidden bumps you had better be sitting bolt upright or you will be risking spinal cord injury. I am currently shopping for something with a "Real" suspension. SteinTrike Wild One and Azub TiFly are on my short list.
I have a 2017 AZUB T-Tris 26.. love it.. tried to order the DreamSeat (a $270 upgrade). but found out that because i'm pre 2018 model, i have to buy a seat frame $580 + $270 DreamSeat... the old seat frame is 14" wide, the new frame is 15".. Can't justify $850 for a cushion.. LOL. I would have spent the $270 on a new mesh.. SAD AZUB made my trike seat obsolete.. kinda like computers and peripherals..?
I installed these at night with porch light slippery hands in less than thirty mins. It's easy to do BUT you GOTTA do it INCH BY Inch don't try to wedge the whole thing on in one go. You need to treat it light a really tight wheel and you need to hold onto the opposite side to stop it from slipping
flexible as a snake, have you tried foam tube inside an outside wheel. foam should act like air inner tire. it should be elastic to restore the original form after compression.
Great debate. The extra cost of the Cruz is prohibitive for me but otherwise my choice. Having and loving a Bacchetta Cafe in new condition for $300 and having the front wheel hitting my heals on tight turns is a turn-off. I also like the shorter chain and distribution of weight on the front wheel of the Cruz.
Nice! I’d be swearing under my breath for sure. This concept is neat so appreciate the review. I cannot swap out a tube in 5 minutes personally and don’t enjoy the task very much. Might give these a try on my errand bike.
