RBScycle
Copyright © 2000. RBScycle.

                       

About Index
OWNERSHIP
GOAL
WHY
RONNIE
HOW I STARTED
DESIGN PROBLEMS
RESOURCE
RECUMBENTS
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
N.B.

Glossary Index

OWNERSHIP
RBS Cycle -- is a sole proprietorship and is owned by myself, Ronnie Williams.
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GOAL Of RBScycle

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Why A Recembent
1. Comfort. - it is more comfortable than the traditional upright bicycle. The recumbent bicycle will allow you to ride pain free in the following ways:

2. Fun. When you're not focusing on repositioning yourself to get more comfortable, you can enjoy the scenery and the ride!

3. Safety. You can easily see traffic situations in plenty of time, and you can put your feet on the ground for an emergency stop without dismounting from the bike.

Typically, upright cyclist put their heads down when "the going gets tough" and look up every so often to check the road ahead. Danger lurks when your head is down. In contrast, the recumbent rider is reclined and facing forward, with their feet in front of them, and so does not encounter this problem.

Your head is safer too, as flying over the handlebars is not part of the recumbent cycling.

4. Speed. Typically the recumbent rider sits low with raised legs out in front, this provides a much smaller frontal area for wind resistance.

5. Veladrome. You can ride much more safely and with more manouverability on a veladrome without the fear of your pedals hitting the 45 degree banked surface!

6. Walking. If you have ridden a bike, you have walked up a hill pushing one. There are those hills you just can't ride up, and so, you walk and push the bike. And if you have walked and pushed a bike up a hill, you have banged your chins and/or calves with the pedals. The design of the recumbent keeps the pedals out of the way.
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RONNIE

Ronnie Williams -- Born of Barbadian Parents in Trinidad, raised in Grenada, Post Secondary Education in California and Canada. Came to Canada in 1969. I've lived in Toronto, Scarborough, Montreal, Oshawa, Port Hope/Cobourg, Cavan/Bethany and currently in Peterborough.

I got involved in Bicycles while in Grenada. I rode in Amateur Athletic Association sanctioned sports meetings in Grenada, Barbados and Trinidad. I began repairing, servicing and tuning my own bike almost immediately. I continued to do so, as-well-as performing these functions for my associates.

After coming to Canada, I quit cycling. Strange city, strange place, too cold, don't know anyone. I had to get a "real" job. You name it, and there was a reason NOT to cycle.

Became interested in recumbents in late 1999, after having come across them accidentally while "surfing" the web.

I have designed and built my own recumbent and intend to continue to do so. The first one turned out very well. It is fairly compact, light, nimble and fast. It uses standard Road Bike and Mountain Bike parts. There are NO specialty parts.

Thanks to "Carey Chen" for his unselfish contributions and directions.
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How I Started
Since discovering "Recumbents", it has been my desire to own and ride one. So, my first action was to find a Cycle shop that deals with Recumbents, and go see one! After seeing one I knew, I just had to own one.

Well, after picking myself up off of the floor, when I heard the price, I went into deep depression. This depression lasted many, many moons.

I surfed the WEB and druled over all the sites I could find that had Recumbents. It was not enough. Not only was it not enough, I really did not see anything I was really in love with. The closest thing I saw to what I would call My Dream Machine was the "Low Fat" by the late Dan Douchaine. Even then, it's intended price of $1995.00 US was too much for this poor man's budget.

Finally, I contacted "Carey Chen"...(Designer and Builder of the Outlander series of Recumbents). He was liberal with advice and encouragement. This, not only encouraged me to build a Recumbent, but renewed my long forgotten love of the Bicycle!

Thank you Carey for all your encouragement!

Project #1:
My first Recumbent was built in the spring of 2001. That was the first Recumbent Bicycle I ever rode. The project began as a fantisy, a dream that one day I would own and ride a Recumbent. My building skills were minimal, and tools were scarce. A hacksaw, electric drill, brazing bottles from "Canadian Tire", a hammer, screwdriver and determination. I purchased two cheap road bikes and a kids bike from Yard Sales in my area. Those and the tiny "Mapp and Oxy" bottles from "Canadian Tire" were my only costs. Built entirely from scrap parts.
After all, I didn't realy know that it would work!
It is a comfortable bike, fairly swift, very stable, and with a 24" girls MTB back wheel, it fits a standard "Triangle Indoor Trainer".

If this Recumbent WebSite does nothing else, it assures everyone, that they too, can build one!
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Design Problems
Because of my short legs, there were several problems with the Geometry and space that I must fit seating, front wheel and pedals into.
Because the seating is so low, the seat back had to be reclined more than a conventional SWB recumbent. Because the seat reclines more, the rear wheel had to be made smaller. Because the rear wheel is smaller the gearing had to be changed.
Added to this, Recumbents don't climb hills as-well-as uprights, a problem I don't yet understand. The design of the recumbent bicycle SHOULD make it easier to climb hills with, but, I digress. Because of this inability to climb very well, I decided to combine the gearing of a road bike with the gearing of a mountain bike. The Gearing of a typical 18 speed Mountain bike, realistically, only gives you 11 gears. Several gears overlap. My thought is to, some how, adjust the gears to have less physical gears with close to the same 11 actual gearings.
I would like to have a fixed pedal distance and adjust the seat position for taller/shorter riders. This adds additional complexities. Typically, cyclist move their seats not their pedals for adjustment.
HandleBars are yet another issue. If the seat moves back for adjustment, the reach to the handlebars is further. The longer individual should have a longer reach to compensate for this problem. All of these things have made the Geometry very complex. Not insurmountable, but complex. I won't give up yet. I am planning to build a prototype by winter 2000, and use it for in house exercise/testing over the winter. If all goes well, and it should, the frame will be re-made for summer 2001. The prototype will be built out of mild steel, and the production model out of Chro-Moly.
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RESOURCE
One of the most basic and important things when designing and building a bike is to have a well drawn plan. Drawings may be as simple as some graph paper, but must be drawn to some scale. The larger the better, (generally speaking). Graph paper is easy to use and readily available. You don't really need sophisticated tools and Drawing Machine or Computer CAD programs. If you already have these and know how to use them, then of course, use them.
CAD programs can take a long time, if you are not familiar with the program and can be difficult to use. You would also need a Plotter or at least a very wide carriage printer to get a descent printout to scale.
The only power tool you really need is an electric drill. If you are building more than one frame you may wish to buy a Dremel Tool to speed up finishing joints before painting.
Using Bi-Metal Hole saws to cut the tubes are better than mitreing the joints as it fits the shape of the tube. This will save a lot of time in filing.
The essential tools for building bike frames can be separated into three different stages of building. The first stage is cutting the tubes, the second is joining the tubes and the third stage is finishing the frame for painting.

Stage 1
For the first stage, a good quality, strong stiff hacksaw with a top quality blade, with a tooth pitch of 32 teeth per inch. An electric drill preferably with a 1/2" chuck, and some hole saws to match the sizes of tubing that has to be cut.
The hole saws should be Bi-Metal saws designed to cut metal. A good quality Half-Round File. This is great for making sure the joints fit as close as possible.

Stage 2
The second stage is Brazing the Tubes together. For small projects such as a one off design/frame, use propylene gas with a high temperature torch head. The basic setup looks like a conventional propane torch but the temperatures are much higher. Propane is okay for soldering but brazing requires temperatures of at least 1982C or 3600F. Use flux coated brazing rods that are preferably 1/8" or less in diameter. Before brazing, clean the joint area with emery cloth. Brush on flux helps to clean the area also but is not always necessary. Propylene is sold as brazing fuel, or sometimes Mapp (tm) Gas. Under ideal conditions, two 400g tanks can build a whole frame. This type of torch will easily braze tubes with wall thicknesses of 1/16" or less. I join frame tubes by a combination of fillet brazing and lap joints. I find brazing to be the best for building frames because you can do so much with it, such as putting water bottle bosses on, or cable housing guides and stops.

For heavier stuff or areas that need a large fillet, I'll use a oxy/propane torch. This is a two tank setup which can cost about a dollar a minute and a single tank of oxygen will last only about 10 minutes. You can go through up to 10 oxygen cylinders for one propane cylinder. A oxy/acetylene torch setup would be the best but has a higher startup cost and will impact on your household insurance policy.

Stage 3
The third stage can take a long time. Mostly what is required are files (mostly round and half-round), emery cloth, steel wool, and lots of elbow grease. How well you finish the joints and prep the surface of the frame will result in a better overall finish. But be careful not to take too much off some joints, because it may weaken the joint.
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RECUMBENTS
Recumbent Bicycles have been around since even before the turn of the century. In fact, in 1892, a recumbent cartoon made its way around the world of print while in 1895, a recumbent made it's presence at a bicycle show in Geneva, Switzerland.

The excitement they caused didn't stop there, however, in 1914, the bike manufacturing giant, Peugeot, entered the recumbent marketplace with a recumbent.
Then during the early part of this century, the Frenchman, Charles Mochet, made the rounds with a recumbent that literally rewrote all the known cycling record books. When one of his riders, a second-rate racer named Francais Faure, set a new world record for the hour on one.   On July 7, 1933, covering 45.056 kilometers, the United Cyclists Internationale (UCI), eight months later banned the recumbent bicycle from any of the races it sanctioned.
The UCI decision spelled death for the recumbent bicycle for the next 5 decades. It wasn't until 1979 when Dick Ryan, of the present day Ryan Recumbent, teamed up with a handful of others to manufacture the first recumbent of the modern day era, the Avatar (a LWB, USS), that people even knew such a two wheel option existed. Then when E.I. Dupont, the chemical giant, offered $15,000 to the first human powered single rider machine that could top 65 miles per hour, a new era in bicycling had been reborn. This was so because when the engineers went to work, it was the recumbent design, which is 25 to 33% more aerodynamically efficient than a conventional upright bicycle, that satisfied their equations for a two wheeler that could produce such speed.

Soon, in 1986, a recumbent bicycle ridden by Fast Freddy Markham captured the Dupont prize and it was his victory that gave a shot of adrenaline to the fledgling industry that Ryan had helped to revitalize. Since then, scores of manufacturers and a myriad of different laid back machines have sprouted up all over the world. In 1990 Recumbent Cyclist News then, with great success, began helping these builders merchandise their wares to a very receptive public. Here now in 1998, it is the world wide web that has catapulted the recumbent bicycle to an even higher level of popularity and excitement.

And the renewed interest these bikes are enjoying is far more than just about speed. Besides the fact that recumbents also hold the one hour and 4000 meter pursuit records along with many other speed successes, comfort was rediscovered as an interesting by-product of the engineer's quest for speed. With the recumbent, people are discovering that their bicycle does not have to cause them pain. Not at all, in fact, they can be ridden for hours and miles without ailments such as the sore butt, stiff neck, aching shoulders or numb hands that afflict the conventional bicycle rider. Instead the recumbent rider experiences far greater comfort, a better view of the world, a toning and strengthening of the abdomen. Even a better sun tanning position.

And no, they are not dangerous. In fact the lower center of gravity and greater proximity to the ground mean that if you should crash on one, your feet will absorb most of the shock instead of your head. Because more of your weight is over the rear wheel, recumbents also stop faster. Cars see you better, too, because the biggest part of your body is in the car driver's field of vision and you do not blend in with pedestrians, joggers or conventional bicyclists.
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Executive Committee
The Executive Committee consiste of ME! Yup! That's It! Just Me! The Buck Stops Here! I'm the one to blame! The Big Cheese! Head Honcho!
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Glossary Index
ICON HELP
ASS
CLWB
GEAR SIZE
LWB
LOW RACER
MWB
OSS
SWB
USS
VASS
WHEELBASE

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ASS
Above Seat Steering. Handlebars are located above the seat, knees or bike frame, generally in front of the rider; also may be  referred to as OSS.
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CLWB
Compact Long Wheelbase recumbents. Typically 52"-60" wheelbase bike, the Medium format is considered the city bike of recumbents. The easiest recumbent to ride the first time, they are a great "egrab my bike for an errand" cycle, with a wheelbase more maneuverable in traffic than a LWB, a good commuter.
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GEAR SIZE
The Gear Size refers to the distance a bike travels, with one complete revolution of the pedal. The formula used to calculate the size of gear is: drive wheel diameter, multiplied by the front chainring size determined by the number of teeth on the chainring (# of teeth), divided by rear cog number of teeth (# of teeth). This produces the Gear Ratio.
ie. (26*42)/18 = 60.67
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LWB
Long Wheelbase recumbents - Typically 64" - 70" wheelbase bike, the long wheelbase is good for open country touring. Generally these bikes have an easy to use low crank position, provide a comfortable ride, and are aerodynamic in the above steering format. Glossary Index

LOW RACER
a recumbent, built as low as possible, intended for racing; wheelbase may range from SWB to shorter range of LWB.
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MWB
Medium Wheelbase recumbents. Typically 45" - 54" wheelbase bike, the Medium format falls in the range between the CLWB and the LWB recumbents.
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OSS
Over-Seat Steering. Handlebars are located above the seat, knees or bike frame, generally in front of the rider; also may be  referred to as ASS.
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SWB
Short Wheelbase - Typically 33" - 47" wheelbase, the SWB bikes are easy to maneuver, generally fast, and have a high crank position that helps in hill climbing. Stable at speed with the right geometry. The crank usually higher than the seat, and ahead of the front wheel fork.
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USS
Under Seat Steering. Handlebars are located below the seat, often with bends or barends to allow for easier reach; allows the rider to ride with arms relaxed, at his/her sides; considered less aerodynamic. than ASS.
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VASS
Vertical Above Seat Steering. Handlebars are located above the seat, knees or bike frame, generally in front of the rider. Quite similar to ASS, but the handlebars are taller and with little or no offset.
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WHEELBASE
The distance between the center of the rear hub, to the center of the front hub.
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ICON HELP

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