Author Topic: Glutimus maximus aches - seat or on my way to recumbent legs?  (Read 4580 times)

Re: Glutimus maximus aches - seat or on my way to recumbent legs?
« Reply #25 on: 25 July, 2018, 11:45:56 am »
ICE Sprint is much like the Streetmachine, but doesn't roll quite as well, high-speed cornering is an art, and you don't have to worry about balance on double-bastard hills.
The better you can lean to the inside, the faster you can corner on a trike with 3 wheels on the ground.
I can lean a lot more on the hard shell seat vs the mesh seat.
At max lean I'm almost horizontal as I start to look down the side of the fairing and over the top of the tyre.

The art is knowing your trikes limit and getting there ..........  ;D

Kim

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Re: Glutimus maximus aches - seat or on my way to recumbent legs?
« Reply #26 on: 25 July, 2018, 12:32:22 pm »
Mind you I don't see the SMGT as a go fast bike. It's a cruising along with kit bike. Commuting or touring.

It's also a very reliable bike, especially by recumbent standards.  Yes, USS tends to mean cables corrode more quickly, and that MEKS suspension fork needs stripping and greasing every year or two[1], but it otherwise just keeps going.  Drivetrain wear is favourable compared to a DF, as it's exposed to slightly less crap, the chain tubes have an easy life (no hard deflections causing wear) and you don't have to fuck about with idlers the way you do on some recumbents.  No steering linkages or anything like that to worry about, either.


[1] Unless you go for the Andy Alsopp patented let-it-rust-solid approach.

Re: Glutimus maximus aches - seat or on my way to recumbent legs?
« Reply #27 on: 25 July, 2018, 01:51:46 pm »
Yes, as far as bikes go it's a rather basic one I think agricultural almost. Although if not want to plough a field with it.

Must look at my gearing sometime too. I think we all have favourite gears that are used more often. Mine tend to be spread over the end of the middle ring into the outer ring. I think it's better to gear it to keep in the range chainring more. Personal preference I guess. It's almost like I change the chainring instead of the cassette.

Kim

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Re: Glutimus maximus aches - seat or on my way to recumbent legs?
« Reply #28 on: 25 July, 2018, 02:34:03 pm »
I wouldn't say basic, on account of the complexity of all that supension and luggage-carrying gubbins (fast bikes tend to be lightweight, which tends to mean less stuff).  I've always thought of it as more 'tank' than 'tractor'.  It's undeniably good at what it does, though the design's starting to look a bit long in the tooth (it will, no doubt, eventually be regarded as a classic).  All the really agricultural recumbents seem to use square tubing, anyway, and it's much better looking than that :)

Agreed about gearing, though you may reconsider after you've been touring on it.  I spend most of my time in a 36T middle ring (11-34 cassette), unless I'm carrying stuff, in which case the granny becomes important.  The big ring mostly gets used when I go somewhere flat - it's not usually worth the effort of shifting to it for a few seconds of descending on my normal rolling hills.  In contrast, I've got the same size big ring on the Baron, and that gets loads of use.

Re: Glutimus maximus aches - seat or on my way to recumbent legs?
« Reply #29 on: 25 July, 2018, 03:09:08 pm »
I'm in my big ring on flat and undulating, dropping to middle if more undulating or going uphill. For small chainring I'm usually up a bigger hill or a medium hill when a bit tired. I've worked my hill climbing out. I don't spin but I run a slightly higher gear just not as high as my df bike. It works for me except the big hills. If I'm in smallest gears I'm usually close to my limit.