LWB question

Can you give me the pros and cons of a 20" rear tire vs 26". Also, 20" is the largest front tire for LWB? Unstable with a bigger tire? My searches has led me to EZ or burley. Why? *MONEY* Iam thinking I want to buy a new one for my first bent at a shop a couples miles away.
I like the way the burley looks alittle better than the EZ and both with a larger tire on back. They are both sound companys are they not? Burley(koosah) vs EZ lower end models. Anybody help with these two companys and bikes. Thanks!

 

The Bad: A 20" rear tire will require up to a 63 tooth chainring to obtain normal gearing. For instance, the RANS Rocket has a 20" rear wheel and uses a 39/52/62 chainring set. There aren't ANY front derailleurs currently made to specifically fit that large of diameter, so you have to make do with derailleurs that are designed for 53T rings.
The Good: On the plus side, a 20" wheel will be almost indestructible, especially if it has 32-36 spokes.

Twenty inch front wheels are nearly standard for all bents except a few compacts, but especially LWBs. There are a lot of design considerations for not using larger wheels: handling, ergonomics, weight, etc.

Between EZ and Burley, my personal preference would be Burley. Why? Because although the Sun lineup is easy to ride, they are HEAVY, HEAVY, HEAVY!!! With cheap clunky components!!! Little more than a recumbent Huffy. Some of the EZs are close to 50 pounds, and even the $1200 EZ Sport weighs 40 pounds. For whatever Sun bike you're looking at, you can find something else that is a better value, even if it's a bit more expensive. Burley is one of those other choices.

Fair warning! For your second bent, the line changes from

to "I know it's expensive, but it's worth it!"

Start saving now!

 

This was the kind of information I was looking for. Thanks again.

 

My two previous 'bents had the 26/20 rear to front wheel combo. My current Cycle Genius STX Sport CLWB 'bent has the 20/20 combo. I agree with the folks at Bike Friday, makers of high quality foldable performance bikes with dual 20 inch wheels, that the gearing feels essentially the same as on any traditional upright bike with either 26 inch or 700c wheel diameters. The good about a 20 inch rear wheel: they accellerate faster and climb hills better. The bad: they will not dampen road shock as well as larger wheels, but the little bit harsher ride characteristics is very ably offset by that full back support recumbent seat! Finally, the 'bent companies Sun Bicycles (EZ), Burley, Cycle Genius, and Rans are all fine quality 'bent makers, just to name a few, so you really can't go wrong with any of these folks! Happy riding to you and yours!

 

You do not need a big chainring with 20" wheels if you use mid-drive. My Pursuit has a gear inch range of 23 to 100" using a single 42 tooth chainring.
If anyone is interested, you can go to Bentrideronline and check the for sale section. Bike is for sale there for $500.
Bruce

 

The need for monster chainrings for a 20" rear wheel is greatly overstated, unless you typically cruise at 25-30 mph and are absolutely incapable of learning to spin. Similarly, there is no real need for most "recreational" riders to have a 52-T big ring with a 26" rear wheel. Before going 'bent, I commuted on a MTB with road tires and a 42-T big ring. I kept my cadence in the mid-90's and cruised at 16 - 18 mph, rarely leaving my 34-T middle ring. My smallest cog was 14-T. Considering that an 11-T small cog is quite common these days, I don't see the case for monster rings at all. Standard "road" gearing works just fine on a dual-20 'bent, and standard "mountain" gearing works better for most 'bent riders with a 26" or larger rear wheel than "road" gearing. It would work better for most upright riders, too, but it's much harder to market to the typical, totally uninformed consumer. This is my opinion, based on 3000 miles on a DF last year and over 2000 miles combined DF and 'bent so far this year. Of course, YMMV and none of this applies to anyone with serious, recent racing experience.

Earlier comments about the acceleration (good) and shock/vibration absorbtion (bad) on 20" wheels hold true for me.

Get the bike that feels best to you, that makes you really want to ride, and ignore wheel size for now. Hint: pay close attention to handlebars, seat and crank height - different combinations feel better to different folks. Time for getting picky with your second or third 'bent.

Good luck,

 

On my CG STX, I almost never use my 52 tooth big ring: I use the 42 tooth middle for most of my steady spin cadence cruising and my 30 tooth granny for the hill climbs. My bike has an 11-28 8-speed cassette, so the speeds I maintain with my 42 tooth middle ring is plenty good enough for me! Also, in living with dual 20 inch wheels, I use high pressure fat tires: a pair of Haro 20x2.0 multisurface BMX tires that I inflate to about 75 psi, and these tires really do act as a somewhat passive suspension for me over the rough stuff, in conjunction with the somewhat longish 4130 chro-moly frame! The bike feels good and comfy for me, even more so than my lighter SWB Vision R-44 back in 2002, although I had really skinny tires (Conti Grand Prix) on the Vision. No Shimano components on my STX; I really love SRAM!

 

Does anyone know anything about ACTIONBENT Mantaray GT.

 

The EZ Sport AX is a fairly nice bike guys. Yes, 34 lbs. is a bit much, but a TI Rush from easyracers is 27 lbs. Definately test ride one before you decide on what to buy. bk

 

I just picked up the RANS Tailwind (20/20) and the gearing, if anything, seems a bit tall.

As for the ride, it is noticably better than my wifes EZ1. I know they talk about passive shock absorbtion thru the frame and it seems to work. I road the EZ sport back to back with the Tailwind and didn't notice much more harshness with the Tailwind.

 

The Tailwind works better for short legs. The EZ Sport needs longer legs.