'Bent purchase history

[UpWrong]

I was thinking about my two wheeled 'bent bike history. Many of my purchase decisions have been determined by not being able to manage a high seat or high BB. I also find it difficult to manage a seat angle of less than approx 37 degrees. I thought the list might be of interest.

HPV Spirit - comfortable but I wanted something faster so
HPV Grasshopper - too reclined for me at the time. (I might be able to manage it now.) So
Bacchetta Bellandare - comfortable but long and heavy, got stolen, so
Bacchetta Giro 20 - not so comforable and not as quick as I hoped for, so
Metabikes Metathesis 20/26 - harsh ride, got catapulted out of the seat, couldn't get used to the tiller, so
RANS Stratus XP - comfortable and the quickest ride from A to B so far but too long to fit in the car or get on the train, so
Nazca Paseo - comfortable but not as quick as the XP, so far - still making mods to improve performance

How about you?

[Campag]

Kingcycle - a local seller on fleabay, my first chance to try a recumbent. Comfortable and fast once I got the hang of it and still compares well to my newer ones
Aerobikes Tour - a long wheelbase, fairly high bike. Comfortable and stable, a bit tricky stopping / starting because of the seat height
Aerobikes Sprint - very rare, only four of them were made, designed for racing. Small wheels, short wheelbase, light and fast.
Own design Moulton recumbent based on a 1960's f-frame, very comfortable with the full suspension
Velomotion Scopa - now that I understood what I wanted, a frameset built up into a light road bike
Optima Orca - recent impulse buy, a touring machine with rear suspension and hydraulic disc brakes. I'm just starting to get used to this after giving it an overhaul (it had been in storage for a while).

If I had to choose just one of these I'd probably still go for the Kingcycle.

[UpWrong]

Interesting. It's a shame the Kingcycle is no longer being made. I see Kinetics have an LWB Aerobikes for sale @£1500.

I kind of wish I still had my first, the HPV Spirit. In hindsight I realise how well it performed. I had it as a 1x8, now I would convert it to a 1x12.

[Mike Sales]

Interesting. It's a shame the Kingcycle is no longer being made. I see Kinetics have an LWB Aerobikes for sale @£1500.

I had a Kingcycle years ago. Hydraulic rim brakes and front fairing fitted. A goat amongst sheep on the club run!

Now a Bacchetta Giro 20.
I think I will have to sell it though. Ill health and too many bikes I can't ride, alas.

[squeaker]

Challenge Mistral (new, sold after the Grasshopper arrived)
HPV Grasshopper (ex demo, now in it's 14th year)
ICE 'S' trike (S/H, sold as I needed the space)
Raptobike (S/H, sold after a few years as too fast for owner)
ICE Sprint 26 (S/H bargain, might be up for sale if SWIMBO doesn't start using 'her' ICE 'T')
Nazca Fuego (with Rohloff, S/H, never managed to displace the Grasshopper)
WAW (S/H, 'try before you die' )

[UpWrong]

I had omitted my trikes. They have a separate but linked narrative:

ICE T with rear suspension. Obtained after trading in the Grasshopper because I kept on falling over at junctions. Very good but wanted to go lighter and more reclined, so
Catriike Speed. Light but slowed down by small front wheels. I tried a 700c rear wheel conversion. So
ICE Sprint 26. Nice but heavier than the T, and I was no faster on it. Tried a 3x26 conversion. Gave up on a trikes for a while. And then,
Catrike 700. Lighter and more responsive. Slightly too reclined for me despite trying different neck rests. Gave up on trikes again and then,
AZUB T-Tris 20. A return to 3 wheels. Something that will fit in the back of the car with a higher seat height to make dismounting easier, and a relative bargain.

In hindsight I didn't appreciate how good the ICE T was.

[[XAP]Bob]

A pre-ICE Pete Ross trike, which insurance replaced new-for-old with an ICE Sprint 2rs (I forked over the extra for the RS bit)

A Raptobike - fabulous machine, was very sad to have to sell it

Still hanker after a velo, but struggle to justify it (I could have done a couple of years ago).

[squeaker]

Still hanker after a velo, but struggle to justify it (I could have done a couple of years ago).

Justify

[[XAP]Bob]

Still hanker after a velo, but struggle to justify it (I could have done a couple of years ago).

Justify

Commuting 30 miles a day all year round I could have justified it - at least for some value of justified (I’d have probably sold the trike, velo and rapto as my two rides would have been nice).

Working from home it’s a harder call.

[Cunobelin]

Originally a LWB Linear which I purchased second hand from the limited range at the time - Sold
Followed up by a 1994 Peter Ross Tice - Donated to Cycle Magic in Leicester
Challenge Hurricane (first imported into the UK andbbough tsecond hand)
HP Velotechnik Street Machine
Catrike Expedition (Rohloff)
HP Velotechnik Gekko (Rohloff)
HP Velotechnik Gekko with Bionx assist
Kettwiesel

[Cunobelin]

Originally a LWB Linear which I purchased second hand from the limited range at the time - Sold
Followed up by a 1994 Peter Ross Tice - Donated to Cycle Magic in Leicester
Challenge Hurricane (first imported into the UK andbbough tsecond hand)
HP Velotechnik Street Machine
Catrike Expedition (Rohloff)
HP Velotechnik Gekko (Rohloff)
HP Velotechnik Gekko with Bionx assist
Kettwiesel

[nobrakes]

Nazca Fuego as a general purpose bike - for fun rides and commuting
Then I convinced my wife to go darkside and we bought a Nazca Quetzal tandem
An ICE Sprint 26 trike mainly for use in winter when the roads are a mess
A brief foray into MBB with a Cruzbike V20 that didn't work out, sold on 9 months later.
Lastly an M5 CHR to replace the Cruzbike.

[ambodach]

Long time ago I tried a Linear lWB at a trial event in Duns. Rather liked it but decided it was a move too far.
Now I have an Ice Adventure HD slightly laid back which I rather like but so far not had as much use as I would like mainly due to inclement weather coinciding with riding opportunities. Wind I can cope with but combined with heavy rain it is not nice.

[squeaker]

Wind I can cope with but combined with heavy rain it is not nice.

Me too! Head & torso tilted forwards is much more bearable in such conditions.

[Tigerbiten]

I tried to ride a DF bike after my accident with a Tiger.
But quickly gave up as I decided it was far too dangerous.
Then I found ICE's web page online.
Drove down very undecided if I was buying one and came back with a Q .......
That was soon modded, mesh seat -> hard shell seat and 26t -> 22t chainring.
Two years later I decided to upgrade the gears.
So sold the Q and bought a Sprint FS with a Schlumpf HSD and a Rohloff for gears.
It took me a further two years to finally find the best gear setup for me.
Twin 38/55 chainrings on the HSD and a 21t sprocket on the Rohloff.
That gives me 24 unique gears and a 9.4"-179" range.
My gears are setup so that the other 32 gears are all very close duplicates of the above gears.

Luck .............