Spare tire in RANS mesh seatback

[R. T. McKenzie]

For what it's worth...

I'll be doing some unsupported touring next month, and have been trying/making various mods to my
V-Rex in preparation. Under the assumption that finding a 26" rear tire, if necessary, should not
present too much of a problem, but that finding a suitable 20" front tire somewhere out in the
boonies might be more problematic, I decided to experiment with stuffing a spare 20" tire down the
mesh seatback.

Today, I tried this for the first time on a local, hilly 50 miler. Much to my amazement, it actually
ended up being more comfortable than the "unstuffed" seatback, and provided better support when
climbing. I may just leave the thing in there all the time!

The Primo Comet that serves as my spare (guess where I got that) forms a nice "fat oval" when tucked
into the seat, with the bottom of the oval just above the seat bottom, the top of the oval just
below the top of the seatback, and the sides of the oval just inside the seatback rails. When
squished into an oval, the tire will contort from the plane at the top and bottom of the oval -- I
stuffed it in such a way that the top and bottom flared toward my back. For me, this ends up
providing support with no pressure points -- I imagine for many others this would not be the case.

At any rate, I was expecting the arrangement to be uncomfortable, or at best, not too noticeable. My
surprise at the result prompted me to pass this tidbit of information along to anyone else who might
find it a useful touring addition to their bike.

-- RT

 

[Cletus D . Lee]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> I decided to experiment with stuffing a spare 20" tire down the mesh seatback.

Worked for me in 2000 and 2001.

--
Cletus D. Lee Bacchetta Giro Lightning Voyager http://www.clee.org
- Bellaire, TX USA -

 

[Freewheeling]

On Sat, 26 Jul 2003 02:25:07 GMT, "R. T. McKenzie" <[email protected]> wrote:

>The Primo Comet that serves as my spare (guess where I got that) forms a nice "fat oval" when
>tucked into the seat, with the bottom of the oval just above the seat bottom, the top of the oval
>just below the top of the seatback, and the sides of the oval just inside the seatback rails. When
>squished into an oval, the tire will contort from the plane at the top and bottom of the oval -- I
>stuffed it in such a way that the top and bottom flared toward my back.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, this is one-tenth of a picture.

--Scott [email protected]

 

[bentcruiser]

Originally posted by R. T. McKenzie
I decided to experiment with stuffing a spare 20" tire down the mesh seatback...<snip>...At any rate, I was expecting the arrangement to be uncomfortable, or at best, not too noticeable. My surprise at the result prompted me to pass this tidbit of information along to anyone else who might find it a useful touring addition to their bike.

I had never thought of this. I like to tour and get to about once a month. I will have to try this.

 

[John Riley]

The front wheel is BMX size, so if the rim was wide enough, finding an emergency replacement for the
front wouldn't be that hard either.

John Riley

 

[Tom Sherman]

Freewheeling wrote:
>
> On Sat, 26 Jul 2003 02:25:07 GMT, "R. T. McKenzie" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >The Primo Comet that serves as my spare (guess where I got that) forms a nice "fat oval" when
> >tucked into the seat, with the bottom of the oval just above the seat bottom, the top of the oval
> >just below the top of the seatback, and the sides of the oval just inside the seatback rails.
> >When squished into an oval, the tire will contort from the plane at the top and bottom of the
> >oval -- I stuffed it in such a way that the top and bottom flared toward my back.
>
> If a picture is worth a thousand words, this is one-tenth of a picture.

I count [1] 94 words in the quoted section, so it should be 94 one-thousands of a picture.

[1] Using the word count feature in MS Weird after copying and pasting.

Tom Sherman - Pedant Quad Cities USA (Illinois side)