I’ll be picking up my new carbon seat from Laid Back in Edinburgh next week and will be keen to get it on the bike. David at Laid Back has been trying to contact Challenge for a while about obtaining the required fittings but so far they are unresponsive. I certain that I could make the brackets myself using either aluminum or mild steel with rubber padding between seat and bracket however I’d really appreciate hearing/seeing how others have fitted none standard seats to their bents.
I don't have knowledge of how Challenge mount the seat, and my 2 Performers have simple but effective seat mounts, but in another life I had to get new bushes made for mounting the mast on my 40 yo 26ft sailboat when the insurance surveyor said they were worn. (it's irrelevant that the wear was minimal and in no way affected the structural integrity of the mast, but if you want to renew your insurance, you have to jump through a few irrelevant hoops).
Anyway, I designed up a mounting bush on paper (spares were long since extinct) and was fortunate to find a local one man band machine shop who made what I needed, to my drawings, at very reasonable cost, in only a few days. They worked perfectly and the insurers were happy. I was amazed at what British men in sheds can make.
Last week, and I don't know how I did this, I broke off the welded lug that mounts the side stand on my Performer Amigo, such that the lug tore out a section of the aluminium rear subframe/fork. Rang a couple of firms on the local industrial estate who professed to be able to weld aluminium. One said it'd be expensive because he'd have to hire an aluminium welder (i.e. he had minimal experience...) and the second said he didn't touch bikes because of the liability.... Wimp....
Then, praise be, I fell over a local guy in a tiny industrial unit in the ar*e end of no-where who makes bespoke motorcycle frames. Aly welding, bike, no problem.. Bring it round. Friday ok? Paint will suffer a bit though..... £30 OK?
Anyway, the point is, if you can work out a bracket design, there's a man in a shed somewhere nearby who'll make it for you, no matter how improbable it seems. We Brits are really, really good at this. Low volume, highly skilled and specialised engineering. The challenge for those of us who ride recumbents is to find that shed..... But they are there, just well hidden..... Whatever you need, there's a man with a fag in a shed who can make it.
Now, how about making me a pair of Amigo forks anyone?
So, Joe, all you need is paper, a sharp pencil, and the help of Inspector Morse, and new brackets can be yours in only a week or so. I find it really satisfying to find that man in the shed. It appeals to my 'beat the system', anti-throwaway society, planned obsolescence. It's amazing what we can get mended if we put our minds to it. Go for it Joe!
