T50 vs. Q45 ride quality?

[Mrnelson]

I regularly ride a paved rail trail that has seen better days and I'm finding the rhythmic pounding of the bumps to be harsh on my back, etc. Question: does anyone who owns or has ridden both the T50 and the Q45 have any advice as to whether the Q45 would be worth the upgrade?

In most riding situations I'm fine with the T50's ride; the wider tires soak up most of the harshness. I'm just curious as to how much that rear suspension soaks up the flaws.

Thanks in advance for any insights.

 

[Robert Holler]

The Q45 rear swingarm is very plush. These are really night and day riding machines if you are talking about a lot of bumps.

Robert

 

[benphyr]

I agree with the esteemed Mr. Holler. Q is much more plush. Big tires are fine and do an excellent job but the rear suspension on the QX100 that I have takes away the jarring. (Depending on the purpose of my ride I do choose my non-suspended kit-bike- for example for the Cruzbike TT. )

Note also that the current Q45 is newer than mine with even better suspension. Additionally, it has the better front triangle so it really is an order of magnitude upgrade from T50 to Q45.

 

[Mrnelson]

I agree with the esteemed Mr. Holler. Q is much more plush. Big tires are fine and do an excellent job but the rear suspension on the QX100 that I have takes away the jarring. (Depending on the purpose of my ride I do choose my non-suspended kit-bike- for example for the Cruzbike TT. )

Note also that the current Q45 is newer than mine with even better suspension. Additionally, it has the better front triangle so it really is an order of magnitude upgrade from T50 to Q45.

Perfect, thanks for this.
I apologize if this follow up question has been covered (I searched and did not find): I would not expect the rear suspension to rob it of any speed, given of course that the drive is up front. Am I correct or is there a speed penalty for the rear suspension?

 

[super slim]

There will be NO power loss with rear suspension on a recumbent, as power is going HORIZONTALLY into the front wheel, NOT vertically into the rear wheel, which also moves the rear suspension, as on a Diamond Framed MTB!!!

If there are any hills involved in your riding, then the Q45 will be MUCH better due to its stiff front power triangle with no clamped at 90 degrees joints to the handle bars, and easy adjustment for the distance of the handle bars from you, for your desired elbow bend!
A Q45 with a rear air shocker will take out most large bumps, as you will be floating on air!!!!
A Huge improvement for me on a Softrider V1.0 going from a spring unit to a air shocker, with the same 165 mm fully extended air shocker unit rear suspension as the Q45

Both the T50 and the Q45 can take 26" * 2.25" tyres, and if you are 80 kgs (176 lbs), then the recommended tyre pressure is 27 psi for a 15% tyre deflection when sitting on the bike, with a 50%/50% front/ rear wheel load.
Each wheel load would be 176+35 lbs 211 lbs / 2 =106 lb, from the table = 27 psi
http://interdependentscience.blogspot.com/2013/06/bicycle-tire-pressure.html
The minimum recommended Schwalbe tyre pressure for this size is 30 psi, so I would not go below this.

What tyre pressure and tyre size are you using on the T50?

It would be cheaper to upgrade tyre size and run it at its minimum tyre pressure, while carrying a spare tube in case of pinch flats, than to buy a new bike.
If pinch flats occur due to the size of the pot holes, and the increased tyre pressure creates a poor ride, then its time to upgrade to an air shocked Q45!

 

[3bs]

in case you are just looking for an N+1 validation, here it is. t50. great bike. great entry bike to CB life. i beat the crap out of mine. but, it has its limits, and it sounds like to me its time to upgrade.

go 4 it.

 

[Mrnelson]

Thanks for responses. I'll try a slightly wider tire than the stock 26X1.75 but knowing myself in the end I'll probably upgrade.

FWIW I talked to my serious roadie friend about the trail I frequent and he agreed that it's very rough going, so it's not the bike's fault.

 

[Mrnelson]

Should anyone experience similar harshness of ride on the T50 I did do a simple adjustment that seems to have made quite a bit of difference: because I had leaned the seat back a fair amount -- by cutting the seat struts and moving the mounting bracket up -- my weight was obviously shifted more to the rear. So I shifted the seat pan forward by using the rear-most bolt holes and sliding it as far forward as it would go, perhaps 3 or so inches up. Much smoother ride, preliminarily at least.