Lowracers

I've never ridden a lowracer, but am intrigued by them. I'm not real convinced how practical they are in the situations I ride in. That being said, I still would like to give one a spin. Toward that end, I think it would be kind of cool to combine my desire for a LWB and a lowracer. The design that catches my eye is the Atomic Zombie Marauder.

Marauder

I actually like their original design and have the book. I also have a welder at work I can bribe with beer. Hmmm.

I know it won't be a flyweight, but if I like the bike, I could then buy good tubing and have a real framebuilder tig weld a much lighter frame. Something to think about.

Mark

In the video it looks like he's having to work at avoiding a heel strike. His foot is placed higher on the pedal and it looks like he's flexing his ankle to keep from hitting the ground especially in the turns. That said there are a couple of his designs that I like.

Like I said, I liked the original Marauder much better. I think he got it right the first time. In the Marauder reloaded, he tried to get the seat too low, added suspension which, if you noticed, causes a lot of bounce in the chain as he rides. Overkill, he should have stuck with the original design.

Mark

I never saw the original design.

Racer46 wrote:In the video it looks like he's having to work at avoiding a heel strike. His foot is placed higher on the pedal and it looks like he's flexing his ankle to keep from hitting the ground especially in the turns. That said there are a couple of his designs that I like.

Riding on flat or rolling areas, the low racer frame is generally recognized as being the fastest style bike out there, it's kinda the sports car of recumbent bikes. but if you think or have problems climbing with a bent don't buy a low racer cause there climbing ability's really suck.

If you want the same type of ride just buy a Tadpole Trike with like a 28 degree or maybe a 30 degree seat. it's about the same type ride. Try looking at this link it tells all about the pros and cons.Zox Low Racer

Admin wrote:

Racer46 wrote:In the video it looks like he's having to work at avoiding a heel strike. His foot is placed higher on the pedal and it looks like he's flexing his ankle to keep from hitting the ground especially in the turns. That said there are a couple of his designs that I like.

Riding on flat or rolling areas, the low racer frame is generally recognized as being the fastest style bike out there, it's kinda the sports car of recumbent bikes. but if you think or have problems climbing with a bent don't buy a low racer cause there climbing ability's really suck.

If you want the same type of ride just buy a Tadpole Trike with like a 28 degree or maybe a 30 degree seat. it's about the same type ride. Try looking at this link it tells all about the pros and cons.Zox Low Racer

That's exactly why I would want to build one on the cheap. It wouldn't be something I'd take on club rides, or even commute with. Just a toy. A very.... sexy toy! But Admin is right. Lowracers generally aren't practical for everyday use. They're racers.

Mark

I meant to post this comment here, but I'm new and just getting used to the layout, so I put it in the wrong place.

Anyway, I have been fascinated by the Barcroft Oregon ever since seeing an online ad a year ago. It's very low, with the rider in a semi-fetal position. It's quite light, with a one-piece S-shaped curved frame that looks really sexy.

The most unusual feature, though, is that it has front wheel drive. The chainrings are up front as in most SWB recumbents, but the chain runs aft, does a right angle around an idler, and drives through a cassette on the front wheel. Shifting appears normal for a 24-speed (or more?) bike, and the headset and front fork also appear normal for a SWB machine, but that's where the usualness stops: it's the darndest-looking thing you've ever seen.

It's billed as a racing bike, and it has to be. Barcroft has a swiveling pulley to help guide the return chain when the wheel is turned, but however well it works, and however flexible the chain is, it's not going to accommodate sharp turns of the front wheel at low speeds.

And as you might imagine with any machine that has unique engineering, it's pricey: around $3,000, from the ad.

All the same, I can't stop thinking about this model and would love to see one and try it out. Barcroft is located in the DC area, from their ads, and I can't find a dealer who has any in stock closer to home (NJ) than DC.

Anybody know anything about this bike?

Larry K

I don’t know anything about that recumbent but I do have a Sofrider which is FWD. Cruzbike has a different chain arrangement then most of the other FWD systems. Silvio is a light fast model but you are probably interested in a lower seat? One place to get information about this model would be going to Bentrideronline. I’m sure you can find information there?

Peder

I took a look at the Sofrider, Peder. It's quite a machine. It never occurred to me that a recumbent could have full-sized wheels and thus take road irregularities as easily as upright diamond frames.

The front-wheel drive arrangement appears very straight-forward, just a standard layout flipped over vertically with pedals, feet, and legs following the wheel wherever it goes. I suppose the leverage in turning comes from the driver being anchored in the seat, just as it does with kids' tricycles. Very practical.

Actually, this power train is almost exactly like the one in my other trike, a hand-cranked Freedom Ryder. Knobs for gripping with the hands substitute for pedals, but the configuration of the chainrings, derailleurs, and cassette is identical.

Good riding!

Larry K

R42Pilot wrote:Like I said, I liked the original Marauder much better. I think he got it right the first time. In the Marauder reloaded, he tried to get the seat too low, added suspension which, if you noticed, causes a lot of bounce in the chain as he rides. Overkill, he should have stuck with the original design.

Mark

I almost have a Marauder reloaded complete. Have coasted it a few times and it feels good. There is just enough clearance on the pedals. You can make it higher if you want but I left it alone. The pedal height is about the same as my trike. The only real negatives are weight and length. This thing is 9 ft long. If the suspension doesn't work out I'll replace the suspension spring with a bit of tube.

https://2img.net/h/i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh98/lew2au/Marauder-Build/John3.jpg

There is some discussion on AZ at present re swb lowracers. Seems you might need greater than 33" inseam for a 20" wheel. That would let me out at 30". How would 16" wheels go? The Trisled Nitro has 16" wheels and weighs in at 8.2 kg.

http://www.trisled.com.au/nitro.html

I'm thinking seriously about building a FWD swb lowracer and something like this might fit the bill but I'd like bigger wheels. The Python with its moving BB solves the problem but is reputed to be hard to learn to ride.

John Lewis

John Lewis wrote:There is some discussion on AZ at present re swb lowracers. Seems you might need greater than 33" inseam for a 20" wheel. That would let me out at 30". How would 16" wheels go? The Trisled Nitro has 16" wheels and weighs in at 8.2 kg.

http://www.trisled.com.au/nitro.html

I'm thinking seriously about building a FWD swb lowracer and something like this might fit the bill but I'd like bigger wheels. The Python with its moving BB solves the problem but is reputed to be hard to learn to ride.

John Lewis

You could always go this route:

Tom Traylor's FWD

Mark

Yes Mark that's a thought. I knew of Traylor's bikes. I think the Cruzbike is based on it. I've tried one incidently and rather enjoyed it but the owner was having trouble getting used to it. He didn't like it and eventually scrapped it in favour of a SWB.

I didn't know Traylor had a lowracer version so I'll have a good read of the site.

Thanks,
John Lewis

I have a Lowracer, Tour Easy, EZ-1, P-38. Out of these 4 bikes the lowracer is the most fun to ride. In town it is hard to see when you stop at a traffic light you can not see over the vehicle next to you. If you ride in town you need a mirror on each side of your helmet. It is very easy to wreck on gravel, sand, dirt, or mud. Other than that it is a great ride. It is the most fun ride in the world to ride the lowracer on the road and just go fast. After a 5 mile warm up ride I can cruise along pretty easy 24 mph of a flat level road. It is a confertable relaxing ride too.

The next most fun bike to ride is the P-38, it is a great ride in town and fast too but not as fast as the Lowracer.

The EZ-1 is a very relaxing fun ride.

I put the Tour Easy at the bottom of my list as the least fun bikes to ride of these 4 bikes.

I mocked this up to see if I wanted to build one, but committed the parts to something else...



The Atom Blaster design also qualifies...

I think I'd get squashed in the distinctly bike-hostile area in which I live...

Well my Marauder has been finished a while now. I had a few teething problems with the chain management which I fixed with a chain tube instead of the modified deraileur. Its long at around 9 ft overall But I can still do a U turn in the street with room to spare. I still need to make a neck rest as it becomes a bit uncomfortable after an hour or so. The bike is rather heavy at 21kg but it is fast. I've geared it pretty low so it climbs well but I spin out around 40kmh. That's ok because I can only manage that downhill anyway at my age. The moulded wood seat and ventisit style pad worked out well too.

John Lewis

Side View


Threequarters


Moulded seat with Ventisit style pad


Modified chain management


Wheel disk experiment. Some small improvement in speed. Doesn't seem to be a problem in crosswind

John:

I like it!

Do you run it in that trainer?

And are those your other bikes in that last picture? C'mon, gotta show those to us, too!

No the trainer is just some remains I picked up at the dump. Handy for holding bike while working.

The other bikes are junkers from roadside pick upwaiting for the angle grinder and rebirth as bents.

There are photos of my other bikes on here already. Delta Wolf, Tadpole, Bentech SWB and a Recycled Recumbent Mk2 TE clone. I think they are all here anyway.

John

Well Brad at Atomic Zombie has come up with a new short wheelbase lowracer called the Tomahawk.
I bought a set of plans and am getting ready for the build. I intend to use a 700c roadbike size rear wheel instead of a 26".

I've also thought of using dual 20's and front wheel drive like the Performer lowracer so it can be dismantled.
At this stage I'm building more or less to the plan. If it fits me I'll build another incorporating my ideas.

Pictures in due course but in the meantime if you want top see what it will look like have a snoop over on AZ.

John Lewis