eBent Recumbent Cycling

April 2008 - Posts

• Tips: Recumbents and Trailers

  BicyleR Evolution - The Shopper There are times when you need to tote more than you can comfortably carry on your bicycle, even a long wheel base recumbent designed for self contained touring. That is when you need a trailer. I used a trailer for all of my European Tours and for Newfoundland and Labrador. I didn’t [...] Posted Apr 25 2008, 08:29 AM by eBent Recumbent Cycling Filed under: Equipment, Tips, bicycle, Groceries, Camping, Trailer

• Fixing Rear Deraileur Shifting Problems

  Nice set of tips on fixing Rear Dérailleur shifting problems. This video is not a tutorial on how to adjust your rear deraileur see Rear Deraileur Adjustment Made Simple - Wow!!! for that. Instead this video goes through common rear shifting problems and how to fix them. As you may have guessed I am having trouble [...] Posted Apr 24 2008, 11:52 AM by eBent Recumbent Cycling Filed under: Repair and Maintenance

• Hot Buy - Recumbent Rain Pants

  Nice price at Campmor on Rain Pants, they are on sales for $14.97 (List is $60). These won’t be around for very long so if you would like a pair of rain pants for summer/spring wear at an excellent price grab them fast. At this price these kind of pants make sense. They don’t last [...] Posted Apr 19 2008, 08:03 AM by eBent Recumbent Cycling Filed under: Uncategorized

• Hot Buy: Cycling in Quebec, 5th Edition

  A new edition of Cycling in Quebec: Official Guide, 5th Edition in English is coming out very soon and can be ordered now. This is the best guide available for La Route Verde and cycling around Montreal and Quebec City. The English version is hard to get and usually sold out before summer. So if you [...] Posted Apr 18 2008, 09:24 AM by eBent Recumbent Cycling Filed under: Tour Planning, Hot Buys

• Keen Commuter Sandal - Sorry No

  My Keen Commuter Sandals arrived today from REI. I have been hearing people rave about them and despite price decided to buy a pair. These are very nice looking sandals with a comfortable foot bed. Unfortunately for me they have a shallow toe box that crushes my Hobbit toes. I was not able to put the [...] Posted Apr 17 2008, 08:55 AM by eBent Recumbent Cycling Filed under: Pedals and Shoes

• Best Cleated Bicycling Sandal Yet

  Follow on from an earlier post: Another Cycling Sandal - Nashbar Ragster I wasn’t expecting much from the Bike Nashbar Ragster Bicycling Sandal but I have been very pleasantly surprised. They  don’t look as impressive as the Shamino or Lake Sandals but they work on my feet. This is the first cleated sandal that I can wear comfortably [...] Posted Apr 16 2008, 08:31 AM by eBent Recumbent Cycling Filed under: recumbent, bicycle, Pedals and Shoes, Cleat, Add new tag, clipless, Sandal

• Garmin Maps - Price Increase Continued

  Continued from: Garmin Maps - Big Price Increase, Using a GPS as a Bike Computer Just got off the phone with Garmin after trying to update the maps in my 60cs. I purchased the retail version of the maps because it was cheaper than the $75 on line update. But I couldn’t get it to work. Here’s what [...] Posted Apr 15 2008, 09:49 AM by eBent Recumbent Cycling Filed under: Uncategorized

• How to Adjust the Front Dérailleur

  After installing shorter cranks, I just needed to touch up my front dérailleur. Here’s a video on Front Dérailleur Adjustment. The good news is that front dérailleurs are more stable than rear dérailleurs and don’t require much attention. When they do you usually don’t have to go through the whole procedure, most of the time it [...] Posted Apr 14 2008, 09:19 AM by eBent Recumbent Cycling Filed under: recumbent, bicycle, Repair and Maintenance, deraileur

• KneeSavers: First Impressions

  When you first put your foot on the pedal after installing KneeSavers, things feel quite different. You can feel the wider spacing and it feels awkward. After riding a few miles that feeling diminishes. One thing that is noticeable for me, is that my foot isn’t really much further from the crank because I slide the [...] Posted Apr 13 2008, 08:43 AM by eBent Recumbent Cycling Filed under: recumbent, bicycle, Pedals and Shoes, kneesavers

• Tip: In for a Fall with your Slipstream?

  Yesterday, I fell for the first time in quite a while. Just a twisted knee and a bruised shoulder but major embarrassment. As I was riding across a bridge, suddenly I was on the ground and a little dazed. The diamond frame rider behind me asked if I was OK and then added “Nice ride”. What [...] Posted Apr 12 2008, 08:56 AM by eBent Recumbent Cycling Filed under: Tips, Longbikes Slipstream

• Jandd Grocery Panniers

  With gas prices up and a new grocery store only about three miles away, my though has been wouldn’t using my bike for grocery shopping be great. I’d get the exercise, save on gas, and do some hauling with a load. But groceries don’t fit very well in panniers and I just couldn’t put those ugly [...] Posted Apr 11 2008, 09:00 AM by eBent Recumbent Cycling Filed under: Equipment, Bags

• Short Cranks - First Impressions - Wow!!!

  Slipstream - Spring 08 - Short Cranks - TerraCycle Idlers - Grocerey Bags Continued from So you want shorter Crank Arms Now What? My new shorter cranks(155MM) from Biksmith Design & Fabrications are now installed and I have taken my first few rides with them. Here are my first impressions: 1. Installtion was very quick and simple, once you have the [...] Posted Apr 10 2008, 10:40 AM by eBent Recumbent Cycling Filed under: Equipment, Tips, Cranks and BBs

• Slipstream Kick Stand Fix Installed

  Continued from Fixing the SlipStream Kick Stand and SlipStream Kick Stand Fix. I have installed and ridden with the Slipstream Kick Stand Fix and have to say I love it. The kick stand is now firmly in place even when the bike is loaded. Kudos to Greg Peek. Posted Apr 09 2008, 06:33 PM by eBent Recumbent Cycling Filed under: Uncategorized

• Tip: SRAM Power Link Gold 9-speed Connector

  Today I installed my new cranks and idlers. Everything went very easy except I forgot how to open the SRAM Power Link Gold 9-speed Connector I use on my chains. I had forgotten that the link needs to be squeezed together in two directions to open. These Power Links are great to have on your chains. No [...] Posted Apr 07 2008, 08:48 PM by eBent Recumbent Cycling Filed under: Equipment, Tips

• Slipstream Idler kit - Part 2

  This is a continuation of an earlier posting,  TerraCycle’s Long bikes Slipstream Idler Kit. So what is in TerraCycle’s  Longbikes Slipstream Idler Kit? The answer is simple, 2 idlers, some hardware, and installation instructions. Here is the return idler with mounting hardware. The back view of the return idler and hardware. A back view of the Power idler and it’s [...] Posted Apr 05 2008, 07:59 PM by eBent Recumbent Cycling Filed under: Longbikes Slipstream