# what recumbent dealers/shops are there?



## bonj2 (25 Oct 2008)

*what recumbent dealers/shops are there? (and general questions about recumbents)*

you know on this recumbent
http://www.kinetics-online.co.uk/assets/images/speedmachine_liegerad_mitzi02.jpg

his knees are almost hitting the bars! is that normal on above-seat-steering ones?


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## Auntie Helen (25 Oct 2008)

I got my trike from D-Tek in Little Thetford, near Ely (Cambridgeshire) and he had a lot of different bikes and trikes to try.

We bought a second-hand Trice from a chap in Leeds who seems to sell quite a few recumbents second hand (bikes and trikes). He had a cellar full of 'em and periodically advertises them for sale on VeloVision, I think.


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## ufkacbln (25 Oct 2008)

Catrike UK who frequents this Parish has a range of trikes and bikes

Otherwise it will depend where you live!

Oop North is a big area...... You have Ben at Kineticsin Glasgow, the slightly confusing  West Country recumbents (who aren't as they are in Derbyshire) stockists of Greenspeed. Norman Fay is on South Shields, Tyne and Wear and stocks Challenge cycles and Trices

Of course - none of this si really helpful as London is probably closer which brings you back to London recumbents, DTek, and Bikefix


Apart from that its down Sarf for you, my boy!


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## bonj2 (25 Oct 2008)

you know on this recumbent
http://www.kinetics-online.co.uk/assets/images/speedmachine_liegerad_mitzi02.jpg

his knees are almost hitting the bars! is that normal on above-seat-steering ones?


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## bonj2 (25 Oct 2008)

Cunobelin said:


> Catrike UK who frequents this Parish has a range of trikes and bikes
> 
> Otherwise it will depend where you live!
> 
> ...



ah yes bikefix that's the one i was looking for. they've got the best range of them

I guess if i was getting one i'd be going to london...


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## Rhythm Thief (25 Oct 2008)

Auntie Helen said:


> I got my trike from D-Tek in Little Thetford, near Ely (Cambridgeshire) and he had a lot of different bikes and trikes to try.



He still owes me £45 for a Moulton APB bag. The thieving bugger. I don't bear him a grudge though cos it is a fantastic shop and he let me have a go on a Windcheetah and a Kingcycle.


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## ufkacbln (25 Oct 2008)

bonj said:


> ah yes bikefix that's the one i was looking for. they've got the best range of them
> 
> I guess if i was getting one i'd be going to london...



To be quite honest you would pass DTek on the way down... better range and better test facilities!


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## ufkacbln (25 Oct 2008)

Back to the Speed Machine...it is to do with bringing the arms and legs within the body profile thus improving the aerodynamics. It does work and is not as uncomfortable or impractical as it looks.

The same concept was used on the Kingcycle, Peter Ross used similar on the Speed Ross, and ICE have it as an option on the new B1 and B2


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## bonj2 (25 Oct 2008)

Cunobelin said:


> To be quite honest you would pass DTek on the way down... better range and better test facilities!



yep, cheers, i've emailed them.


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## bonj2 (25 Oct 2008)

also how necessary is rear suspension on a recumbent - does it really jar your back if you don't have it and you go over a bumpy bit of road?

and are 'bent bikes (not trikes) that hard to balance? I suspect the answer will be 'no, you get used to it dead easy', but just wonder why you get so many trikes around...
I quite like the idea of the lower-slung ones like fujin sl II/hurricane sport/hp speed machine.


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## Auntie Helen (26 Oct 2008)

Rhythm Thief said:


> He still owes me £45 for a Moulton APB bag. The thieving bugger. I don't bear him a grudge though cos it is a fantastic shop and he let me have a go on a Windcheetah and a Kingcycle.


I still owe him £75 for a paid of Trice Sidepods although he's supposed to be sending me a tool for extracting my chainring so I can fit a guard. I think with Kevin it's wise to remind him of things. I'll remind him about the sidepods next time I visit...


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## Auntie Helen (26 Oct 2008)

bonj said:


> also how necessary is rear suspension on a recumbent - does it really jar your back if you don't have it and you go over a bumpy bit of road?


I can only speak for my own experience on a trike which has rear suspension and my husband's which doesn't. Generally the rear suspension seems to us to be a nice extra. He could retro-fit it for £350 but doesn't feel that's necessary as he runs a Big Apple tyre at the back. However I am glad to have the suspension. Even big potholes don't really jar in a painful way but they can jiggle you so if you're talking your voice hitches.



> and are 'bent bikes (not trikes) that hard to balance? I suspect the answer will be 'no, you get used to it dead easy', but just wonder why you get so many trikes around...


I can't comment on bikes as I haven't ridden one but there are other reasons that people might pick a trike rather than a bike, as I'm sure you're aware. People with balancing difficulties, obviously, or who are very sure they don't want to fall off (me).


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## BentMikey (26 Oct 2008)

I have rear suspension on the Hurricane, but I don't think I'll have any on the next bike I buy. I want to go light weight given the hills on the way home on my commute.


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## wafflycat (26 Oct 2008)

Auntie Helen said:


> I got my trike from D-Tek in Little Thetford, near Ely (Cambridgeshire) and he had a lot of different bikes and trikes to try.



That's where mine is from.


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## BentMikey (26 Oct 2008)

AFAIK the baron is a very good bike, but getting older now and not particularly light. The Fujin is very highly rated, and is one of my choices for next bike, though I'm not very enamoured of Challenge customer service.


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## squeaker (26 Oct 2008)

*What's the problem?*



bonj said:


> you know on this recumbent
> http://www.kinetics-online.co.uk/assets/images/speedmachine_liegerad_mitzi02.jpg
> 
> his knees are almost hitting the bars! is that normal on above-seat-steering ones?


Provided they don't hit, then fine IME, but do think about tight turns....


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## squeaker (26 Oct 2008)

*Balance - it's different*



bonj said:


> are 'bent bikes (not trikes) that hard to balance?


Not with a bit of practice, but they are different from upwrongs, as you can't really move your body around in the same way, so most 'balancing' is done through the steering (e.g. steer left to fall to the right, and vice versa). It's also a different sensation ('lying down' cf 'standing up') which IME can be quite scary the first time.... Also, as the centre of gravity is nearer the pivot point (ground contact patch), they tend to roll (= fall over) faster.


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## Arch (26 Oct 2008)

squeaker said:


> Not with a bit of practice, but they are different from upwrongs, as you can't really move your body around in the same way, so most 'balancing' is done through the steering (e.g. steer left to fall to the right, and vice versa). It's also a different sensation ('lying down' cf 'standing up') which IME can be quite scary the first time.... *Also, as the centre of gravity is nearer the pivot point (ground contact patch), they tend to roll (= fall over) faster*.



I wouldn't say there's that much difference in it (in my admittedly limited experience of 'bent bikes)... And on a recumbent you've less distance to fall, and it's very quick and easy to get a foot, or even hand, down..

With regard to trikes, I just love the stability, and I'll throw my trike into corners and down hills I'd be crawling round on any bike. Also, whenever you stop, you have a ready-to-hand picnic chair...


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## wafflycat (26 Oct 2008)

I have been known to refer to Mr Norbert Frosty as my mobile deckchair.


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## bonj2 (26 Oct 2008)

what trikes does the D-Tek place in thetford sell?


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## squeaker (27 Oct 2008)

Have we forgotten Future Cycles in Forest Row?


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## Seamus (28 Oct 2008)

From Byke Kultuur Never 13 (july 2002)...

So where can I buy one?

* Bikefix
48 Lambs Conduit Lane, Conduit Street, London, WC1N 3LJ.
website: http://www.bikefix.co.uk/bikefix.html

* London Recumbents
Rangers Yard, Dulwich Park, College Road, London.
website:http://www.londonrecumbents.com/index.php

* Life Cycle
The Tile House, Preston Park, Preston Road, Brighton, BN1 6HN.
website:http://www.lifecyclebrighton.com/

* Kinetics
54 Switchback Road, Bearsden, Glasgow, G61 1AE.
website: http://www.kinetics.org.uk/html/about_us.htm

* Future Cycles
Friends Yard, Station Road, Forest Row, East Sussex, RH18 5EE.
website:http://www.futurecycles.co.uk/

* D-Tek
Main Street, Little Thetford, Nr. Ely, Cambidgeshire, CB6 1BR

* Westcountry Recumbents
2 Main Street, Broomfleet, Brough, East Yorkshire, HU15 1RJ.
website:http://www.wrhpv.com

* Pedal Partners
91 Church Road, Tiptree, essex, CO5 OHB.
website:http://www.pedalpartners.co.uk/index.html

* Pashley Cycles
Pashley Cycles, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 9NL.
website:http://www.pashley.co.uk


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## Mr Magoo (28 Oct 2008)

bonj said:


> what trikes does the D-Tek place in thetford sell?


You name it D.TEK appear to have it ! 
Just an amazing range and depth of stock .
Such a bonus to see all the great makes
side by side in one place .
How many forum members have spent hours trawling websites and then phoned to be greeted with "Ah you are asking if we stock them ...Hmm well ...we only list them and stock just one or two examples and can obtain the others listed on our website Sir if you place an order "


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## Mr Magoo (28 Oct 2008)

User3143 said:


> http://www.cyclecentric.com/
> 
> Here as well for Bacchetta and Optima.



Which Optima models do they have in stock ?
or are you quoting from a website list ?


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## peter_streetmachineGT (11 Nov 2008)

I don't know if rear suspension is strictly necessary but it certainly makes for a more comfortable and less alarming ride. Being lower down means you don't always see potholes until it's too late and you have to take them quite often at high speed.


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## Amanda P (12 Nov 2008)

You can order plans, a set of cut and bent tubes to weld yourself, or a painted or unpainted frame kit from Dom Bencivenga (dollars are still pretty cheap). 

You get a quality frame and all non-standard parts. Builds up into a nice bike.


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