Lovely shiny new Sprint RS

[yrmail@blueyonder.co.uk]

I've fancied a recumbent trike for over 10 years now and finally I have one - a lovely shiny new red ICE Sprint RS 

I think I spoke briefly to Tigerbiten at ICE when he was picking up his new trike. Unfortunately I didn't get to see it  - as I set off on a test ride and didn't return for several hours   

I ordered my own trike that very afternoon - a relatively standard Sprint RS but with short cranks, bar end shifters, Schmidt dynamo and B&M lights. Very envious of Tigerbiten's Rohloff as I have one on my Thorn and love it. However my bank account just won't stretch that far at the moment...

On the plus side the wonderful guys at ICE built it the very next day (minus dynamo and lights which they had to order and will be fitting later this week). It's already done almost 100 miles, though I am really slow on it at the moment. Hopefully I'll develop bent legs over the winter and will be able to ride at a slightly more respectable pace.

The short crank setup gives a low gear of about 13". Currently this doesn't feel low enough for camping trips (part of my plan for it). However the idea is to reasess gearing after some indeterminate period of time once my legs are used to it.

I'd post a picture if only I knew how...

[Tigerbiten]

Congrats ............

Is it the standard 48-36-26 chainring setup in front.
If it is then just swop the 26t to a 22t.
This gives you one more gear at the bottom end of the range.
Thats how my old Q was setup.

[Kim]

Good choice

Barakta will be getting something not entirely dissimilar soon.  Budget didn't stretch to the Schmidt, but we're working on the principle that that can be retrofitted if she ends up doing a lot of night riding.

As a recent convert to short cranks (and a slightly less recent convert to recumbents), I agree that it'll take a while to get used to both, but one day you'll get up your local Bastard Hill in one go and realise you've got a gear or two spare.  The weight means you're never going to be quite as fast uphill as on a lightweight road bike, but the beauty of having three wheels is that you can lie back and keep twiddling where others would have to stop to put their lungs back in, so you can't really have too many low gears.   

[barakta]

Ooh.  I look forward to hearing how you get on with yours as I'll be doing this sort of learning from scratch in a few weeks time.

[yrmail@blueyonder.co.uk]

Thanks all for the feedback  . As a recumbent newbie I think I'm going to need the support of this group.

Is it the standard 48-36-26 chainring setup in front.

The short cranks already come with a 22-34-44 chainring set-up, so unfortunately nothing so simple and cheap. From what I've read in various places I should be able to get a 20T chainring from the US but it would only make a very small difference and I'm not sure it would be worth it

 

As a recent convert to short cranks (and a slightly less recent convert to recumbents), I agree that it'll take a while to get used to both,

The short 152mm cranks aren't too much of a shock as I've been using 160mm on my regular bikes for most of my cycling career (I'm only 5'3" so I need short cranks to avoid knee problems). However the recumbent position is definitely going to take a while to adapt to. On my first longish ride weird muscles I didn't know I had ached.

One problem (?) with the recumbent is it's so comfortable I just can't seem to be bothered to put any effort in 

[Kim]

One problem (?) with the recumbent is it's so comfortable I just can't seem to be bothered to put any effort in 

Don't worry, you'll soon develop the skill of pretending that you're not putting effort in, which actually working really hard to cruise past people on uprights making it look easy.  That is, I believe, almost compulsory.

[tonycollinet]

Got my sprint last Jan. My experience is that I tend to put too much effort in, risking my knees - it's just too easy to push back into the seat.

One problem I had was pain in the shins ankles and feet. I found it was really important to have the pedals/boom precisely aligned to the vertical. It was easy to tell which way it was leaning by which side of the legs was feeling the pain. Even when straight, it took about 200 miles for the necessary muscles to stop moaning.

[Kim]

Got my sprint last Jan. My experience is that I tend to put too much effort in, risking my knees - it's just too easy to push back into the seat.

+1 to that.  That, combined with some longstanding walking-related issues was the basis of my muscular knee problems last year.  I've spent this year working on spinning in circles rather than pushing hard, and am only just at a comparative level of fitness.

Agreed about boom alignment.  At least with a three-wheeler it's reasonably easy to make the main body level and use a plumb-line or something as a reference.  It's a complete arse of a job on a bike.  Get it right and make marks or careful measurements so you can reproduce the position easily if you have to adjust it for any reason.  I stick a couple of pieces of insulating tape on the two sections if I'm playing with boom length - gives you something big and easy to check the rotational alignment with if you stop for a roadside tweak.

[zoxed]

...should be able to get a 20T chainring from the US but it would only make a very small difference and I'm not sure it would be worth it

A Mountain Tamer can take you down to a 17T inner: http://www.abundantadventures.com/mt_plus.html (or make it a quad ring !!)

[Kevina9]

Or even a quintuple!   

[zoxed]

Or even a quintuple!   

True: I have not been to the site for some time. I also see that the quad can go down to 16T !

[stevew]

I have just recently got a 20t chainwheel to use on my ICE classic NT, can't remember where from but it was here in the uk. Try spa cycles I'm sure they have them.
It's a replacement for the old 20 tooth that has worn out so i know it works well.

_______________________________________________________________________

[Wendy]

Congratulations, you must be super chuffed and excited!!  I'm up your way around Christmas, will try to make contact again, it would be lovely to see you and the trike. 

[yrmail@blueyonder.co.uk]

A Mountain Tamer can take you down to a 17T inner

I have just recently got a 20t chainwheel

Just had a look at the mountain tamer - unfortunately they only make it for 5 arm cranksets; the short arm cranks on my Sprint are 4 arm  The 20T I could find on spa's website is also a 5 arm. The only 4 arm I've found so far is from ActionTec in the US - it's titanium and costs $60! Might just have to stick with the 22T and work on my legs, but thanks for all the suggestions.

I found it was really important to have the pedals/boom precisely aligned to the vertical. It was easy to tell which way it was leaning by which side of the legs was feeling the pain.

Which way caused which side to ache? (apologies if I'm being dumb)

I'm up your way around Christmas,

Will you have a recumbent with you? I saw a recumbent bike a few months ago in the distance, but so far that's my only sighting of any 'bents around Bristol (though I've heard rumours of others).

[cycleman]

there is a shimino 36 tooth cassette available that is used for 29 wheeled mountain bikes . you would need the specific rear mech to go with it of course as a standard one will not cope but it will lower your gearing  fairly inexpensively 

[Tigerbiten]

there is a shimino 36 tooth cassette available that is used for 29 wheeled mountain bikes . you would need the specific rear mech to go with it of course as a standard one will not cope but it will lower your gearing  fairly inexpensively 

The trouble with fitting a non-Capreo cassette is you loose the 9t-10t sprockets.
This drops your top end gears by ~20%.
I think you'd be spinning out sub 25 mph.
Which I don't think is fast enough.
Says him who now spins out ~44 mph ........... 

I think ICE can replace the 32t sprocket for a 34t one if asked.
It will give you a little lower 1st but makes the jump to it from second a little bigger.

[Kim]

there is a shimino 36 tooth cassette available that is used for 29 wheeled mountain bikes . you would need the specific rear mech to go with it of course as a standard one will not cope but it will lower your gearing  fairly inexpensively 

I'd also be wary of putting a longer cage rear mech on a 20" wheel.  They're already a bit marginal for ground clearance in the bigger sprockets.

[tonycollinet]

I found it was really important to have the pedals/boom precisely aligned to the vertical. It was easy to tell which way it was leaning by which side of the legs was feeling the pain.

Which way caused which side to ache? (apologies if I'm being dumb)

Not dumb at all - probably only obvious if you've experienced it. If the post is leaning left, the pain was up the RHS of the leg (and feet). I think because you are actually pushing then with the RH edge of the feet

[Jobro]

I have the 36 tooth sprocket on my ICE TNT which also has the short cranks. The plan is (as suggested by Neil Selwood of ICE) to drill out the rivets that hold the cassettes together and mix and match the separate sprockets, using the largest two of the CS-HS61 cassette with the rest of the Capreo sprockets. My machine has the SRAM X9 rear mech which swallowed the large sprocket without modification.
Snags are 1) the mechs B screw has to be turned in to get clearance for the big sprocket, which means a gap between the jockey wheel and the sprocket in higher gears. This seems to cause rattling on rougher roads.
2) The rear mech arm does have less clearance from the ground in bottom gear - not had any problem with this, but you need to remember this if ploughing into mud or rocks.
3) As each sprocket now takes its load alone the sprockets may bite into the hub splines.
So it does work, but if I had a shiny new Trice I might hesitate to hack it about in this way, at least until the newness wears off!   

[stevew]

Stainless Steel Chainrings
Bolt Spacing Teeth Price Ordering #
58mm 20 $15.00 3020RS
58mm 22 $15.00 3022RS
58mm 24 $15.00 3024RS

Not sure if they are 4 or 5 arm


These any good from action tec?

they appear on their price list but they don't mention them in the chainwheel section

[yrmail@blueyonder.co.uk]

I think ICE can replace the 32t sprocket for a 34t one if asked.

I did discuss this with them, but I got the impression they don't do it any more - also it would still be more expensive that the very expensive 20T sprocket for less of an impact on gearing ratio.

Not sure if they are 4 or 5 arm

All 5 arm again.

I worked through so many options trying to spec this trike and ended up back at the standard. If, after training my legs, I decide I need lower gears I'm just going to have to save up for a Rohloff. Would happily exceed their gear ratio  limits once it's run in.

Though maybe ... 
Hey Tigerbiten, you won't like your Rohloff you know, they're terrible things, rubbish gear changes, really unreliable, you'll really wish you'd stuck with a derailleur system honest If you ever decide you want to get rid of it I could probably take it off your hands... give it a good home with another Rohloff to keep it company...

On a different note - took it out for another spin yesterday. 80km at an average of 18kph - still slower than me on a bike but a bit more respectable than my previous effforts. Mind you I'm still a long way from:

Don't worry, you'll soon develop the skill of pretending that you're not putting effort in, which actually working really hard to cruise past people on uprights making it look easy.  That is, I believe, almost compulsory.

I'm thinking of making that my target for the winter!

[Tigerbiten]

Though maybe ... 
Hey Tigerbiten, you won't like your Rohloff you know, they're terrible things, rubbish gear changes, really unreliable, you'll really wish you'd stuck with a derailleur system honest If you ever decide you want to get rid of it I could probably take it off your hands... give it a good home with another Rohloff to keep it company...

Let me do a few thousand miles first and run it in ......... 
I think I need to tweak the gears on the new trike.
I want to change the sprocket from a 16t to a 13t one.
At the moment I spin out in B14 is ~15 mph, which is just to low.
This is just to low.
Changing the sprocket will up it to ~18 mph, which is a much better upper cruising speed.
Mind you, doing that will up the spinout speed for T14 to well over 50 mph ......... 

It will take a few thou miles to realy get bent legs.
When I first got my ICE trike, I had not riden for over 10 years, half the time I was out I was in the granny ring.
Now after a couple of years cycling and ~15k miles covered, its was rare that I used the granny ring with the unloaded trike.