Sofrider for Sale

[hank9752]

I am selling my Sofrider after owning it for less than one month. The learning curve is a bit steep for my 68 years. I am the third owner.

The bike is in good condition. It comes with all original papers and the owner's manual. It has 16 forward gears,fenders, extra gear rings (lower gearing), two sets of extra tires of differing widths with one tube for each set, a bike computer in need of a battery and a small underseat bike pouch. I am in Asheville North Carolina and can ship the bike to you if you pay for shipping. $750 for the bike and extra goodies.

If you have thoughts of buying one of the more exotic, higher priced recumbents then buying this 'entry level' Sofrider would give you a good idea of what to expect with this line of recumbents before investing serious money in a higher priced recumbent. You could then easily sell the Sofrider.

 

[hank9752]

Pictures

I have pictures that didn't post. I can send you via email if you like.

 

[leakyduck]

Learning curve

Hank, stick with it for a while longer. I've a few years on you and the first few days I was worring that I might have bit off more than I could chew. Stuck to trips around the block on quiet streets at first.

I'm still not up to being able to take the long rides I could on my SWB. Most of the advise is to not switch back and forth. Ride the Cruz only in the begining. It has been hard to leave my V-Rex sitting in the garage, but it is paying off. The Cruz gets easier every time I ride it.

 

[hank9752]

Cruzbike vs. Rubieux Specialized

Thanks for the encouragement. I depend upon my daily ride of 24-44 miles to stay healthy. I bought the Sofrider with the hopes of easing the discomfort associated with upright bikes. The hills (mountains?) here in the Asheville N.C. area are challenging even when you can 'stand up' and attack them. Riding my Sofrider on flat ground is fun. I tried some of the hills near my home and I could hardly get it done. The front gear rings are geared higher than factory issue and I probably should reinstall the lower geared ones and try again. But, I do need the conditioning of the longer rides pain and all and would not dare and ride the Sofrider where I ride my upright and hence the sale.

 

[Charles.Plager]

Hi Hank,
For what it's worth,

Hi Hank,

For what it's worth, I think the Sofrider comes geared way too high for hills (at least for a flatlander like myself who has moved to places with real elevation changes). I almost immediately swapped out the double crankset for a triple 48/38/28 and then decided the 28 wasn't low enough and dropped it down to a 22T. Dropping the 34T to 22T has given me a lot more range on the bottom end and makes climbing hills much easier.

At some point, it is perfectly reasonable to say "enough is enough" and decide the bike isn't working for you. I found that in my case, it was worth the initial investment in time and am glad I did. My big problem with upright bicycles was numb hands and that problem has completely gone away. If you can wait a bit longer, check out the links above. With lower gears, it makes a huge difference on hills.

Good luck with whatever you decide (and in some sense I apologize since this is the for sale forum and here we are pestering you to not sell).

Cheers,
Charles

 

[hank9752]

Gears

Charles, when you are in the very low granny gears and going quite slow up a steep hill, pedaling very hard, do you experience any stability problems or wobbling?

 

[Charles.Plager]

Hi Hank,
I am often going

Hi Hank,

I am often going between 3 and 4 mph when climbing steep hills (you can see this track; at the end I've got speeds around there). I have no problems balancing at these speeds when I'm not tired. For long hill climbs, I do find that I just don't have the energy to do it in one pass and will stop and rest.

After i had about 200 miles of experienced, I clipped into the pedals for the first time. I found that being clipped in, I felt much more control. I was able to spin much faster and just felt more in control over all.

Cheers,
Charles

 

[rubberbandito]

Is your sofrider still for

Is your sofrider still for sale? What is the cost?

 

[GregFork]

Hank,
Give thought to adding

Hank,

Give thought to adding an electric rear drive hub to get you passed the hills etc that are troubling you, I've been thinking of doing it and use the bike for work ... electric in the morning so I not stink the place out at work and human on the way home.

The only thing is in Australia the kit $2000-2500 a bit step for me but you may get better $$ in your area.

Greg