Tsunami Recumbents?

You must have dosed off there, Robert ;-) They have been around awhile,
always direct sale on the internet. They even have a discussion area
(needed, because the bikes are a pita to assemble).
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/actionbent/messages

Quoted message said:

You must have dosed off there, Robert ;-) They have been around awhile,
always direct sale on the internet. They even have a discussion area
(needed, because the bikes are a pita to assemble).
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/actionbent/messages

Actionbent has a web page at <http://www.actionbent.com/>.

In light of the recent disaster in southwest Asia, one wonders if they
will keep using "Tidal Wave" as a model designation.

--
Tom Sherman - Near Rock Island

On Sat, 08 Jan 2005 01:46:28 GMT

Robert Haston said:

Anyone heard of them? They appear to be a Taiwanese bicycle frame firm
that went under, because their stuff is showing up in on the clearance
rack.

I have one. They are not that bad to assemble and your LBS can do it for
you if you insist.

They are manufactured by China Mascot in Taiwan, and distributed by a
company called Taiwan Bents. Actionbent.com has been the exclusive US
distributor for about a year now, but some other people still have old
stock. Different companies distribute these bikes in other parts of the
world.

CM manufactures frames and frame parts for a number of DF brands, and
are nowhere near going out of business. Chuck says his aren't selling so
well - he bought one shipping container full of them probably about 18
months ago now. If you compare his website with CM's website, it's clear
that he buys a lot of parts from CM.

The components on them are frequently entry-level but for the price you
can certainly afford to upgrade. The design and frame quality are
acceptable, but on par with, say, Cycle Genius. Though they're lighter than
CG bents. The T-1 and T-2 both weigh in in the low 30's.

Most models are SWB but CM has an LWB model that actionbent will
probably begin ordering shortly. Their lead designer says that he has a
tadpole design worked out on paper but has not had time to develop it, as
he has been very busy fulfilling existing customer demands.

:
: The components on them are frequently entry-level but for the price you
: can certainly afford to upgrade. The design and frame quality are
: acceptable, but on par with, say, Cycle Genius. Though they're lighter
than
: CG bents. The T-1 and T-2 both weigh in in the low 30's.

What's wrong with Cycle Genius?

Pat in TX

Pat said:

:
: The components on them are frequently entry-level but for the

price you

Quoted message said:

: can certainly afford to upgrade. The design and frame quality are
: acceptable, but on par with, say, Cycle Genius. Though they're

lighter

Quoted message said:

than
: CG bents. The T-1 and T-2 both weigh in in the low 30's.

What's wrong with Cycle Genius?

Pat in TX

I think Cycle Genius are ugly and crude looking. Other than that and
the fact many of their bikes are heavy there isn't anything wrong with
them.

Zach

: > What's wrong with Cycle Genius?
: >
: > Pat in TX
:
: I think Cycle Genius are ugly and crude looking. Other than that and
: the fact many of their bikes are heavy there isn't anything wrong with
: them.
:
: Zach

They don't seem to be any heavier than the ones in the hostelshoppe catalog.
As for "ugly", well, that is a subjective thing. They look similar to the
Rans Stratus, the Rans Velocity 2 and Formula, the EZ-1, and even the Tour
Easy. All ugly.

Pat in TX
:

Pat said:

: > What's wrong with Cycle Genius?
: >
: > Pat in TX
:
: I think Cycle Genius are ugly and crude looking. Other than that and
: the fact many of their bikes are heavy there isn't anything wrong with
: them.
:
: Zach

They don't seem to be any heavier than the ones in the hostelshoppe catalog.
As for "ugly", well, that is a subjective thing. They look similar to the
Rans Stratus, the Rans Velocity 2 and Formula, the EZ-1, and even the Tour
Easy. All ugly.

Who is "Rans"?

--
Tom Sherman - Near Rock Island

"Tom Sherman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Pat said:

: > What's wrong with Cycle Genius?
: >
: > Pat in TX
:
: I think Cycle Genius are ugly and crude looking. Other than that and
: the fact many of their bikes are heavy there isn't anything wrong with
: them.
:
: Zach

They don't seem to be any heavier than the ones in the hostelshoppe
catalog.
As for "ugly", well, that is a subjective thing. They look similar to the
Rans Stratus, the Rans Velocity 2 and Formula, the EZ-1, and even the
Tour
Easy. All ugly.

Who is "Rans"?

--
Tom Sherman - Near Rock Island

Rans is the division of RANS that makes the ugly ones. And they aren't as
smart as some other bicycles either.

skip

On Sat, 8 Jan 2005 19:34:01 -0600

Pat said:

:
: The components on them are frequently entry-level but for the price
you: can certainly afford to upgrade. The design and frame quality are
: acceptable, but on par with, say, Cycle Genius. Though they're lighter
than
: CG bents. The T-1 and T-2 both weigh in in the low 30's.

What's wrong with Cycle Genius?

Nothing at all. In fact, they were the first company known to have
considered importing the tsunami recumbents. Reportedly they decided not to
because the freight costs were too high. The boxes they were shipped in
were too large to go UPS at any price, and at the time the seats were
shipped separately. They paid almost as much for freight all the way to
central texas as they did for the bikes themselves.

Chuck's Bikes is in Los Angeles, which, as a major shipping port, is a
bit cheaper to ship to. His bikes are still in huge boxes but at least the
seats are included. He can get UPS To ship them for about $100 or Greyhound
for about $70.

Actionbent is in seattle, which is also a major shipping port. The
current bikes from China Mascot are packed in boxes that can be shipped by
UPS For $60 or so. Randy literally buys them by the shipping container
full, and pays to have the shipping container picked up at the dock and
dropped off at his house, where he unloads it into his basement.

The china mascot designs and welding are not as polished as, say,
bacchetta or HPVelotechnik, and neither are CG. Nothing wrong with that.

But a Tsunami T-2 is 10 pounds lighter than a Cycle Genius CGX.

Some of the china mascot bikes have quirks that

Actionbent has it's issues. The owner of this distributor frequently
appears to be asleep at the wheel and I'd love to see him show up and argue
his case. Some of the bikes have interesting foibles.

The Jetstream 1 comes with SRAM grip shifters, an SRAM rear derailer,
and a Shimano Tiagra front derailer. For reasons that are debated, the FD
doesn't work so well. People say that they have enormous difficulty
shifting into the big ring. I suspect that since a shimano road FD is going
to have a different pull ratio than an SRAM mountain FD, and since road FDs
are designed for a different chainstay angle than mountain FDs, it's a
double whammy. People solve this issue by installing a $7 SRAM FD.

My Tsunami T-2 came with SRAM Centera grip shifters which are designed
to be Shimano compatible, Shimano Acera-X RD, and Shimano Tourney FD. I had
no shifting problems at all. I've since installed Shimano Ultegra barcons
and a Shimano XT FD, which work beautifully.

Some people who have purchased the suspended version of the Road Runner
from actionbent have reported that the chain they received was about a foot
too short. Some have said that Randy wasn't particularly responsive about
the issue. To be fair, any LBS will probably admit that they sometimes open
a box and find an incomplete bike. Part of the LBS value-add is taking care
of this eventuality.

One of the actionbent models - I forget which one - comes with a carbon
fiber fork that is only just barely big enough. It turns out that there are
only about 3 tires that will clear it, and one of them is a wheelchair tire
in gray rubber. Randy sells replacements, but people have been somewhat
grumpy about this one. Randy says he's talked to CM about the issue and
that they have dismissed his concerns. Randy should grow a pair and get
tough with his supplier.

It is widely suspected that the actionbent hi-racer is just a TidalWave
with a rakeless 700c fork. So far nobody has been able to compare the
frames side by side to confirm or deny. If it is, the head angle may be
somewhat wrong. It remains to be seen how well it handles.

I hear that the AB lowracer is a pretty neat vehicle.

To be frank, these taiwanese recumbents are entry-level in every
category. Even the high end bikes are entry-level high-end. Nothing at all
wrong with that. You're not getting some kind of amazing deal - you're
getting a good, fair deal.

Now if he would just import this one

http://www.recumbent.com.tw/HTM/lowracer.htm

With the exchange rate being what it is in the US all the European brands
are rather expensive

"Eric Jorgensen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:20050108215316.422503d3@wafer...

Quoted message said:

On Sat, 8 Jan 2005 19:34:01 -0600

Nothing at all. In fact, they were the first company known to have
considered importing the tsunami recumbents. Reportedly they decided not

to

Quoted message said:

because the freight costs were too high. The boxes they were shipped in
were too large to go UPS at any price, and at the time the seats were
shipped separately. They paid almost as much for freight all the way to
central texas as they did for the bikes themselves.

Chuck's Bikes is in Los Angeles, which, as a major shipping port, is a
bit cheaper to ship to. His bikes are still in huge boxes but at least the
seats are included. He can get UPS To ship them for about $100 or

Greyhound

Quoted message said:

for about $70.

Actionbent is in seattle, which is also a major shipping port. The
current bikes from China Mascot are packed in boxes that can be shipped by
UPS For $60 or so. Randy literally buys them by the shipping container
full, and pays to have the shipping container picked up at the dock and
dropped off at his house, where he unloads it into his basement.

The china mascot designs and welding are not as polished as, say,
bacchetta or HPVelotechnik, and neither are CG. Nothing wrong with that.

But a Tsunami T-2 is 10 pounds lighter than a Cycle Genius CGX.

Some of the china mascot bikes have quirks that

Actionbent has it's issues. The owner of this distributor frequently
appears to be asleep at the wheel and I'd love to see him show up and

argue

Quoted message said:

his case. Some of the bikes have interesting foibles.

The Jetstream 1 comes with SRAM grip shifters, an SRAM rear derailer,
and a Shimano Tiagra front derailer. For reasons that are debated, the FD
doesn't work so well. People say that they have enormous difficulty
shifting into the big ring. I suspect that since a shimano road FD is

going

Quoted message said:

to have a different pull ratio than an SRAM mountain FD, and since road

FDs

Quoted message said:

are designed for a different chainstay angle than mountain FDs, it's a
double whammy. People solve this issue by installing a $7 SRAM FD.

My Tsunami T-2 came with SRAM Centera grip shifters which are designed
to be Shimano compatible, Shimano Acera-X RD, and Shimano Tourney FD. I

had

Quoted message said:

no shifting problems at all. I've since installed Shimano Ultegra barcons
and a Shimano XT FD, which work beautifully.

Some people who have purchased the suspended version of the Road Runner
from actionbent have reported that the chain they received was about a

foot

Quoted message said:

too short. Some have said that Randy wasn't particularly responsive about
the issue. To be fair, any LBS will probably admit that they sometimes

open

Quoted message said:

a box and find an incomplete bike. Part of the LBS value-add is taking

care

Quoted message said:

of this eventuality.

One of the actionbent models - I forget which one - comes with a carbon
fiber fork that is only just barely big enough. It turns out that there

are

Quoted message said:

only about 3 tires that will clear it, and one of them is a wheelchair

tire

Quoted message said:

in gray rubber. Randy sells replacements, but people have been somewhat
grumpy about this one. Randy says he's talked to CM about the issue and
that they have dismissed his concerns. Randy should grow a pair and get
tough with his supplier.

It is widely suspected that the actionbent hi-racer is just a TidalWave
with a rakeless 700c fork. So far nobody has been able to compare the
frames side by side to confirm or deny. If it is, the head angle may be
somewhat wrong. It remains to be seen how well it handles.

I hear that the AB lowracer is a pretty neat vehicle.

To be frank, these taiwanese recumbents are entry-level in every
category. Even the high end bikes are entry-level high-end. Nothing at all
wrong with that. You're not getting some kind of amazing deal - you're
getting a good, fair deal.

On Sun, 9 Jan 2005 00:26:59 -0600

Mark Leuck said:

Now if he would just import this one

http://www.recumbent.com.tw/HTM/lowracer.htm

With the exchange rate being what it is in the US all the European brands
are rather expensive

Send Randy an email - One person on the actionbent list actually has one
of these, and says it's a barrel of fun. Randy probably purchased a small
quantity in his last shipment, he may have a few on hand, though they
aren't mentioned on the website.

skip said:

"Tom Sherman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

Who is "Rans"?

--
Tom Sherman - Near Rock Island

Rans is the division of RANS that makes the ugly ones. And they aren't as
smart as some other bicycles either.

skip

rAnS must be the division making the smart-nice looking ones.

"meb" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

skip said:

"Tom Sherman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

Who is "Rans"?

--
Tom Sherman - Near Rock Island

Rans is the division of RANS that makes the ugly ones. And they aren't
as
smart as some other bicycles either.

skip

rAnS must be the division making the smart-nice looking ones.

--
meb

I've been thinking about bikes with names like Cycle Genius. From what I
gather none of the arbr self proclaimed geniuses or Mensa members want to
ride one (with that said it should be noted that Larry Varney was able to
give the Cycle Genius a fair and balanced Brol review). My guess is our
geniuses don't want other people thinking that their bikes might be as smart
as they are.

To meet the unique needs of the genius market I'm thinking about a line of
bikes that would leave little doubt that the genius riders are smarter than
their bikes. I'm thinking the corporate name would be Cycle Moron Bikes.
We would have our Moron Racers, high and low, our Moron Team, our Moron
Club, our expensive Italian sound alike bikes for the connoisseur - the
Moronachettas, and of course the Smirking Moron bikes for the southern male
market. All of these bikes would allow our cycling geniuses to feel
superior to what they were riding.

Frankly I think it's one hell of a concept.

skip

I used to owna a ranS
"Tom Sherman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Pat said:

: > What's wrong with Cycle Genius?
: >
: > Pat in TX
:
: I think Cycle Genius are ugly and crude looking. Other than that and
: the fact many of their bikes are heavy there isn't anything wrong with
: them.
:
: Zach

They don't seem to be any heavier than the ones in the hostelshoppe

catalog.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

As for "ugly", well, that is a subjective thing. They look similar to

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Rans Stratus, the Rans Velocity 2 and Formula, the EZ-1, and even the

Tour

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Easy. All ugly.

Who is "Rans"?

--
Tom Sherman - Near Rock Island

"Tom Sherman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Pat said:

: > What's wrong with Cycle Genius?
: >
: > Pat in TX
:
: I think Cycle Genius are ugly and crude looking. Other than that and
: the fact many of their bikes are heavy there isn't anything wrong with
: them.
:
: Zach

They don't seem to be any heavier than the ones in the hostelshoppe
catalog.
As for "ugly", well, that is a subjective thing. They look similar to the
Rans Stratus, the Rans Velocity 2 and Formula, the EZ-1, and even the
Tour
Easy. All ugly.

Who is "Rans"?

--
Tom Sherman - Near Rock Island

Rans is the past tense for what you had after you drank the water when you
were vacationing in Mexico.

----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups
---= East/West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =---

"skip" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
[...]

Quoted message said:

I've been thinking about bikes with names like Cycle Genius. From what I
gather none of the arbr self proclaimed geniuses or Mensa members want to
ride one (with that said it should be noted that Larry Varney was able to
give the Cycle Genius a fair and balanced Brol review). My guess is our
geniuses don't want other people thinking that their bikes might be as
smart as they are.

To meet the unique needs of the genius market I'm thinking about a line of
bikes that would leave little doubt that the genius riders are smarter
than their bikes. I'm thinking the corporate name would be Cycle Moron
Bikes. We would have our Moron Racers, high and low, our Moron Team, our
Moron Club, our expensive Italian sound alike bikes for the connoisseur -
the Moronachettas, and of course the Smirking Moron bikes for the southern
male market. All of these bikes would allow our cycling geniuses to feel
superior to what they were riding.

Frankly I think it's one hell of a concept.

Almost all bikes are badly named, especially recumbent bikes. That is
because the guys that make them are also the guys that name them. The
mechanical arts and the fine arts are seldom to be found in the same person.
Naming something is almost as important as the ability to design and build
something. But everyone always thinks they are smart enough to name
something. That is where they go most awfully wrong.

Engineers and technicians should design and build the bikes and artists and
poets should name them.

--
Regards,

Ed Dolan - Minnesota

"Al Luminium" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Rans is the past tense for what you had after you drank the water when you
were vacationing in Mexico.

Same feeling you get after riding the bikes too

Pat said:

: > What's wrong with Cycle Genius?
: >
: > Pat in TX
:
: I think Cycle Genius are ugly and crude looking. Other than that

and

Quoted message said:

: the fact many of their bikes are heavy there isn't anything wrong

with

Quoted message said:

: them.
:
: Zach

They don't seem to be any heavier than the ones in the hostelshoppe

catalog.

Quoted message said:

As for "ugly", well, that is a subjective thing. They look similar to

the

Quoted message said:

Rans Stratus, the Rans Velocity 2 and Formula, the EZ-1, and even

the Tour

Quoted message said:

Easy. All ugly.

Pat in TX
:

To even suggest that Cycle Genius is in the same league as EasyRacers
and Rans is totally idiotic. Cycle Genius was manufactured for entry
level recumbent riders as where the EZ-1. There are no entry level
"Bents" in the Rans stable nor are the top three (3) EasyRacers
products (TourEasy, GRR and The Ti-Rush) considered "entry level". If
you don't have the coin in your purse to purchase the last three or any
of the Rans "Bents" you might as well stay home and put them on your
wish list. Carpe Diem

: To even suggest that Cycle Genius is in the same league as EasyRacers
: and Rans is totally idiotic. Cycle Genius was manufactured for entry
: level recumbent riders as where the EZ-1. There are no entry level
: "Bents" in the Rans stable nor are the top three (3) EasyRacers
: products (TourEasy, GRR and The Ti-Rush) considered "entry level". If
: you don't have the coin in your purse to purchase the last three or any
: of the Rans "Bents" you might as well stay home and put them on your
: wish list. Carpe Diem

We were talking about ugly. Those models I mentioned are, in my opinion,
ugly, no matter whether you think they are made super great or anything
else. They're ugly!

Pat in TX
: