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Posted by Warm Worm on May 9, 2006, 2:09 am
"JeffWills"
>
> Warm Worm wrote:
>>
>> Two things I dislike about recumbents are their frames and
>> ridiculously-long
>> drive chains.
>> A front-wheel-drive recumbent, if done properly, would be excellent!
>>
>
> I've seen lots of FWD recumbents, in both the fixed boom and swinging
> boom varieties. Here's a swinging boom FWD built from a mountain bike:
> http://www.cruzbike.com/
That looks clever and funky. I tried to get a movie to see how the thing
rides, and if one's legs turn, too, and also how solid the pedaling area is,
since those should affect pedal efficiency.
It seems rare to have something where the production-model is still, in a
sense, the prototype. Perhaps there's some kind of engineering term for
this.
> Here's a fixed boom FWD (and world's fastest HPV):
> http://www.ohpv.org/albums/bm2004/varnas/pages/varnas14.htm
I may have read about that.
It would be cool if there could be a lighter, human or electric-powered
production-model equivalent of a Ecomobile/Monotrace... Maybe there is.
>> Ever seen a recumbent motorcycle, btw?
>
> I like the open-air version:
> http://www.allamericanracers.com/alligator/alligator_home.html
That looks awkward, and I'd be curious to know how it rides and handles, how
safe it is (with the engine in front) and/or if it made it into production.
From the blurb on that link it still looks like it's in the planning stage,
and from a brief Google, the death of someone working on the bike:
http://home.earthlink.net/~jimmythralltribute/farewell1.html
The Ecomobile/Monotrace is a proven design, and apparently surprisingly
safe, even in a crash.
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