Anyone ever thought of buying one of these? They certainly bridge the gap between the traditional diamond frame (DF) bike and a recumbent. Having owned both previously (my recumbent was a CruzBike btw) the RANS CF design certainly gives you many of the advantages of a 'bent - much greater seat comfort, no wrist, arm, or neck strain, an upright 'admire the scenery' seating position, and the ability to place both feet flat on the ground whilst still seated. Despite not having a backrest, you still get to brace against the back edge of the seat for maximum push, and pull on the bars too for a bit of extra power when climbing. With the Dynamik geometry you can also stand up to pedal - which you can't do on RANS more laid back Fusion geometry - however, I don't find this either comfortable or advantageous to do this on my bike. Finally, there is no leaning curve (like you have with most recumbents) with these bikes, they are pretty much like riding a DF bike. Another plus over most 'bents is the ease of starting off - especially on a hill, I always had issues with this on my CruzBike.
Downsides? The most obvious is that the aerodynamics are not as good as a 'bent, as you sit pretty much bolt upright, albeit with your legs stretched out a bit more in front than on a DF bike. I have tried to overcome this on mine by fitting 'North Rounder' handlebars and use long bar ends mid bar as kind of improvised tri-bars. This enables you to crouch down a bit out of the wind, and I find gives about 2mph extra for the same effort. As with all semi-recumbents you sit a bit lower than on a DF - not necessarily a disadvantage, as drivers approaching from behind may think you are a child! I also find the bike does not attract as much attention as a bent, people can't always work out what's different about the bike but know something is!
A couple not far from me in Lincolnshire used to import these bikes in very small numbers, and they are very, very rare. However if you fancy one I have mine up for sale, its silver, in very good condition and on ebay uk. I can't post a classified on here as apparently I haven't made enough posts, but hope you found this interesting anyway. Please reply or PM me with any queries.
Downsides? The most obvious is that the aerodynamics are not as good as a 'bent, as you sit pretty much bolt upright, albeit with your legs stretched out a bit more in front than on a DF bike. I have tried to overcome this on mine by fitting 'North Rounder' handlebars and use long bar ends mid bar as kind of improvised tri-bars. This enables you to crouch down a bit out of the wind, and I find gives about 2mph extra for the same effort. As with all semi-recumbents you sit a bit lower than on a DF - not necessarily a disadvantage, as drivers approaching from behind may think you are a child! I also find the bike does not attract as much attention as a bent, people can't always work out what's different about the bike but know something is!
A couple not far from me in Lincolnshire used to import these bikes in very small numbers, and they are very, very rare. However if you fancy one I have mine up for sale, its silver, in very good condition and on ebay uk. I can't post a classified on here as apparently I haven't made enough posts, but hope you found this interesting anyway. Please reply or PM me with any queries.
