Converting to 24-speed

[jerryelbow]

I got my SofRider several weeks ago and work and weather have conspired against me to keep me from riding it remotely as often as I'd hoped. Getting on it for only an hour or so at a time every couple of weeks has NOT made it easy to learn to ride this new and very different bike. I'm finding that it's like learning to ride a bicycle all over again except that I'm now 60 instead of 5 and I don't have my dad around to run alongside and hold it steady. At first it was all I could do to get started on flat ground without almost falling over. I got over that and then found my knees knocking the handlebars. I moved the front bracket out a bit and angled the handlebars differently and it got better. My legs rubbed against the cables, do I snaked them through the connection between the front stem and front bracket plus zip-tied them to the stem and that was better. Then I found I got winded easily on the bike. I couldn't figure that out for a while as I'm fairly fit aerobically for my age (my doctor says I have the heart and lungs of a 30-year-old). I finally tried moving the seat back to it's rear-most position, straightening the seat and bring the pedals in accordingly. Boy, that seemed to be the ticket! I think with the seat angled back further, I was working my abs harder and limiting how deeply I was able to breathe.

I still have two problems, possibly related. If I'm on even a slight uphill incline, I cannot get the bike started. Also, I'm finding climbing even very shallow hills much harder than on my old, very basic bike. I'm thinking the old bike is geared much lower than this, that even the middle of the front 3 gears has more teeth than the lower of the 2 gears on this bike. I'm wondering if I'd be better off swapping in a triple gear set for the front that would include a far lower gear. Has anybody else found that to be helpful for them? If so, what kind of gear did they get?

On the other hand, this bike seems fast . Just coasting down one hill near my house ends up in speeds what seems like 5 mph faster than doing so on the old bike. I suppose I should mount the new GPS on the old bike and try that hill to see if it's measurable or just a matter of perception. I'm really trying to keep off the old bike until I've mastered the SofRider.

Also, I've never had so many people call out comments (all positive or at least amused) at me or even flat out stop me to ask about my bike while on the old bike. Serious bikers are puzzled and delighted and casual bikers are confused and complimentary. I jokingly tell them I got a new bike in a kit and I put it together inside out. Little kids in particular seem enthralled. They don't know quite why the bike is so different, but they know they like it.

This has been quite a jump in in bike for me. This one was about $1400, including shipping. The previous one (maybe 3 years ago) was a $300 Chinese model from Costco. The one before that (quite a few years ago) was around a hundred bucks. Heck, the GPS I bought for this bike was nearly as much as the "two bikes ago" bike! Switching front gears might well set me back that much again. Ouch! And this is considered an inexpensive bike by recumbent or high-end bike standards!

I got one of the mirrors that the site sold and found it useless. It strapped on to the end of the handlebar grips, leaving almost no room for my fairly large hands. I got a mirror that straps onto my hand (made for snowmobiling, I believe) and that works much better. The kickstand is utterly useless. Every time I've tried to use it, the front wheel just whips around and points rearwards and the bike tips over. I finally removed it. Who needs the weight if it's useless? Other than that, the quality of the build of the bike is outstanding. The fit and finish is great and the paint job flawless. It looks like it should be way heavier than my old bike and it's actually rather lighter. How nice is that? Well, I hope to retire before long and I think this bike is going to last me a long, long time.

Shoot, I'm still stuck at work for a couple of hours and now I really want to jump on the SofRider and put on a few miles!

Thanks in advance for any suggestions on possibly re-gearing this bike!

 

[Jeremy S]

If I'm on even a slight

If I'm on even a slight uphill incline, I cannot get the bike started

I'm sure you've already figured this out but make sure you're in your lowest gear (on both derailleurs) whenever you are launching, especially if you're facing uphill. This means you have to plan your stops a bit and shift down before you stop.

I got one of the mirrors that the site sold and found it useless. It strapped on to the end of the handlebar grips, leaving almost no room for my fairly large hands. I got a mirror that straps onto my hand (made for snowmobiling, I believe) and that works much better.

Sounds like you already have a good solution but FYI, I used to use a Mountain Mirrycle bar-end mirror on my Sofrider, and still use one on my Silvio (although I'm going to try out the much smaller Zefal Spy that everyone recommends). I leave out the middle arm section on the Mountain Mirrycle which makes it more compact.

 

[Charles.Plager]

I very much think the

I very much think the Sofrider needs a triple. I used a 68x123 mm square taper bottom bracket and a Shimano triple and it was very easy going (I did use a hair dryer to warm up the bottom bracket to make it easier to unscrew).

http://recumbentquant.blogspot.com/2012/03/new-crankset-installed.html
http://recumbentquant.blogspot.com/2012/06/how-low-can-i-go.html

For starting on very steep hills, you don't want to be in your smallest gear (assuming you have very small gears). You'll spin through too quickly before you can get your other foot on the pedals (even with clipless, I can't start this way).

On steep hills, I've lifted up the front of the bike to shift up a few gears for starting. Of course, my low gears are very low (I run a 48/38/22 on my Sofrider and a 50/39/24 on my conversion) - both have a low gear below 17". (I still use an 11-32 on the back. The Sofrider comes with 48/34).

I also use the Mirracle mirror, but I did replace the grips (although I don't remember having a size problem before). I've also used a snow mobile mirror, but at least the one I found, it was too convex and didn't show cars far enough away.

Good luck!
Charles

 

[Jeremy S]

For starting on very steep

For starting on very steep hills, you don't want to be in your smallest gear (assuming you have very small gears). You'll spin through too quickly before you can get your other foot on the pedals (even with clipless, I can't start this way).

I was speaking from my experience with a double, I always find it easiest to start in the lowest gear (currently 34x32, same as on the Sofrider). I'm sure the rules change with a triple and the very low gearing that allows.