Rans Stratus vs Easy Racers Tour Easy...

[H A R V]

This fall, I'm planning on upgrading from my current Sun EZ Sport to either a Rans Stratus or an
Easy Racers Tour Easy.

Currently, I'm leaning towards the Stratus, as I wasn't very satisifed how Easy Racers helped me out
with the slipping handlebar problem that I had with my EZ Sport.

However, I'm interested to hear from Stratus and TE owners as to what they think about their rides.
Good side vs not so good sides. I'm hoping that from your responses, they may help me decide which
one to get.

Thanks.

--
________________________________________
h a r v w e l c h (victoria bc canuckistan) Sun EZ Sport http://rideitbent.net
http://rideitbent.net/ezseries.htm

 

[John Riley]

Since you are in B.C., you might as well put the recomboni on the list as well:

http://www.cambiecycles.com/

Stratus is cheaper than TE and a lot easier to buy since there aren't the sizing issues. Strati are much more common in dealers. (The lack of sizing issues makes it easier to carry them.) Strati are easier to buy used and are fairly common on the used market.

Stratus has a more or less QR seat, so if you need to routinely take it off for transport, the Stratus would be more convenient.

The Stratus has more fork offset and thus less trail, but the bars are so different between the two bikes, it is hard to say what difference that makes. Might give the TE the edge at speed. I think if you are slowly grinding up a hill, you will wobble on either (certainly I do).

Most people prefer the TE bars, and if you are coming over from an EZ Sport, you might too.

I can't prove this, but I think the TE frame is stiffer laterally and does a better job of putting your power to the road. It seems like it _would_ be stiffer, since the two bottom tubes are a lot bigger on the TE.

On the Stratus the seat base and back are all of a piece, so if you lay the seat back, the base tilts up as well. The base on the TE is pretty much fixed to the frame, so its tilt doesn't change when you tilt the back. I suppose this could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your point of view. I had a Stratus last season and never really got the seat to work very well for me.

I think I would like a TE GR, or even FR. I recently rode a TE with a cobra seat and it killed my butt. I am hainvg trouble finding a med. TE with a kool back seat to test ride for an hour or so, but I won't buy one until I do, so I can make sure the seat is ok for me. As I say, because of the multitude of sizes, these bikes are hard to find at dealers. (I actually stopped by the ER factory last year, but it was raining, so I only had a short ride.)

The EZ Sport is really Sun's bike. I have never heard anything bad about ER support on "real" TE's. Quite to the contrary.

John Riley

Originally posted by H A R V
This fall, I'm planning on upgrading from my current Sun EZ Sport to either a Rans Stratus or an
Easy Racers Tour Easy.

Currently, I'm leaning towards the Stratus, as I wasn't very satisifed how Easy Racers helped me out
with the slipping handlebar problem that I had with my EZ Sport.

However, I'm interested to hear from Stratus and TE owners as to what they think about their rides.
Good side vs not so good sides. I'm hoping that from your responses, they may help me decide which
one to get.

Thanks.

--
________________________________________
h a r v w e l c h (victoria bc canuckistan) Sun EZ Sport http://rideitbent.net
http://rideitbent.net/ezseries.htm

 

[Steve Fox]

Just rode my TE coast-to-coast, fully loaded. Got recumbent butt from time to time. May be related
to sciatica, but with experimentation I discovered that I always got it while riding slow to keep up
with DFers, but when I was on my own, riding my pace, no butt prob. Never had a single mechanical
problem, and only one flat near the end in FL. Could ride away from the others (all DFers) at will,
and more than held my own on the hills out west.

Never rode a Stratus.

Steve

h a r v wrote:

>This fall, I'm planning on upgrading from my current Sun EZ Sport to either a Rans Stratus or an
>Easy Racers Tour Easy.
>
>Currently, I'm leaning towards the Stratus, as I wasn't very satisifed how Easy Racers helped me
>out with the slipping handlebar problem that I had with my EZ Sport.
>
>However, I'm interested to hear from Stratus and TE owners as to what they think about their rides.
>Good side vs not so good sides. I'm hoping that from your responses, they may help me decide which
>one to get.
>
>Thanks.
>
>
>

--
Steve Fox McKinleyville, CA http://members.cox.net/steve.fox

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[Ben Fox]

I have a Stratus with T.E. bars so if the Stratus bars are a problem it's very easy to change to the
T.E. bars. The seats are about the same as far as comfort of the padded base. If this type of seat
gives you recumbent butt, both seats will cause you a problem, although the fact that the stratus
seat base tilts with the back is a definate advantage. I even shimed the front of mine up about 1"
to keep my butt from sliding foward on the seat. I think the bikes are about equal in everything
except the price. I saw a brand new Stratus on one of the bent "for sale" pages for $1250. It's hard
to justify the the $700. or so difference in price between it and a T.E. Ben Fox P-38 Stratus

"h a r v" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:3ef32537$1@nubby2....
> This fall, I'm planning on upgrading from my current Sun EZ Sport to either a Rans Stratus or an
> Easy Racers Tour Easy.
>
> Currently, I'm leaning towards the Stratus, as I wasn't very satisifed how Easy Racers helped me
> out with the slipping handlebar problem that I had with my EZ Sport.
>
> However, I'm interested to hear from Stratus and TE owners as to what they think about their
> rides. Good side vs not so good sides. I'm hoping that from your responses, they may help me
> decide which one to get.
>
> Thanks.
>
> --
> ________________________________________
> h a r v w e l c h (victoria bc canuckistan) Sun EZ Sport http://rideitbent.net
> http://rideitbent.net/ezseries.htm
>
>
>

 

[Steve Boykin]

Steve Fox <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Just rode my TE coast-to-coast, fully loaded. Got recumbent butt from time to time. May be related
> to sciatica, but with experimentation I discovered that I always got it while riding slow to keep
> up with DFers, but when I was on my own, riding my pace, no butt prob. Never had a single
> mechanical problem, and only one flat near the end in FL. Could ride away from the others (all
> DFers) at will, and more than held my own on the hills out west.
>
> Never rode a Stratus.
>
> Steve
>
> h a r v wrote:
>
> >This fall, I'm planning on upgrading from my current Sun EZ Sport to either a Rans Stratus or an
> >Easy Racers Tour Easy.
> >
> >Currently, I'm leaning towards the Stratus, as I wasn't very satisifed how Easy Racers helped me
> >out with the slipping handlebar problem that I had with my EZ Sport.
> >
> >However, I'm interested to hear from Stratus and TE owners as to what they think about their
> >rides. Good side vs not so good sides. I'm hoping that from your responses, they may help me
> >decide which one to get.
> >
> >Thanks.
> >
> >
> >

I have had a Stratus for almost 20 years. Just had it repainted. It is incredibly comfortable. As
noted, the frame is less rigid than a TE. It is designed to flex and does. I like this feature as it
dampens bumps without loss of power. In fact, it is at least as comfortable as my Hurricane which
has a rear shock. My best friend has had a TE for many years. He prefers it. He is faster than I am
on the flats. On the hills, I am faster. I have a set of TE- like handlebars that Rans once offered
as an option, but I prefer the old closed loop bars. Creates a bit of a tiller effect, and the bars
flex, but I like it. The Stratus is also marginally lighter than the TE. When we rode unsagged the
Natchez Trace several years ago , both bikes handled the camping gear well and were completely
stable going downhill at 48+ miles per hour. Bottom line is, both bikes are great.

 

[David]

How did you like the ERRC looooooooongg panniers?

Steve Fox wrote:
> Just rode my TE coast-to-coast, fully loaded. Got recumbent butt from time to time. May be related
> to sciatica, but with experimentation I discovered that I always got it while riding slow to keep
> up with DFers, but when I was on my own, riding my pace, no butt prob. Never had a single
> mechanical problem, and only one flat near the end in FL. Could ride away from the others (all
> DFers) at will, and more than held my own on the hills out west.
>
> Never rode a Stratus.
>
> Steve

 

[Edward Dolan]

John Riley <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...

>I recently rode a TE with a cobra seat and it killed my butt. I am
having trouble finding a med. TE with a kool back seat to test ride for an hour or so, but I won't
buy one until I do, so I can make sure the seat is ok for me.

> John Riley

I once rode a TE with the cobra seat and I lasted about 15 minutes. Sheer torture! And yet others
say the cobra seat is just fine and gives them total comfort. The moral of the story is to know
what kind of butt you have. It is good to know that I am not the only one in this world with a
sensitive butt.

Ed Dolan - Minnesota

 

[Steve Fox]

That's another story. I did a critique of them for my online journal
(http://SoTier2003.crazyguyonabike.com), but here's the short of it:

1. Biggest problem was attaching the shock cord and hook to the rails. I had to attach a zip tie
to the cord to pull it down, then use needle nose pliers to attach the hook. All this while
lying on my back. Same thing for detaching. The shock cord is too strong, and it needs to be
longer so that the hook hangs below the cloth guide; you can't easily grab it without the
aforementioned tools.

2. No compartments hurt. Had to take the bags off the bike every night and repack the whole
thing every morning.

3. There are way too many straps that do nothing. The ones that are needed should be
reconfigured to put them in better locations. There's just a lot of stuff hanging off the
bags, waiting to catch on something.

Steve

David wrote:

> How did you like the ERRC looooooooongg panniers?
>
> Steve Fox wrote:
>
>> Just rode my TE coast-to-coast, fully loaded. Got recumbent butt from time to time. May be
>> related to sciatica, but with experimentation I discovered that I always got it while riding slow
>> to keep up with DFers, but when I was on my own, riding my pace, no butt prob. Never had a single
>> mechanical problem, and only one flat near the end in FL. Could ride away from the others (all
>> DFers) at will, and more than held my own on the hills out west.
>>
>> Never rode a Stratus.
>>
>> Steve
>>
>

--
Steve Fox McKinleyville, CA http://members.cox.net/steve.fox

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[J Browe]

I am wondering if there is a market to take a lwb with low bb and weld an additional bb higher like
a v2 so that someone could swap them when there riding styles changed. it may add a few ounces, but
it would give you 2 bikes in one joel
> >
> >

 

[Roger Dennis]

i actually have both a tour easy with a cobra seat and rans stratus...each is a great bike...i have
8500 miles on the toureasy and 1500 miles on the stratus...i believe the tour easy is a tad faster
(maybe as a consequence of 700c rear wheel)...i find the cobra seat ok, have done a century on both
bikes...r [email protected] (j browe) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> I am wondering if there is a market to take a lwb with low bb and weld an additional bb higher
> like a v2 so that someone could swap them when there riding styles changed. it may add a few
> ounces, but it would give you 2 bikes in one joel
> > >
> > >
>