Registered: Jan 2005
Location: parkland florida
Posts: 122

I love my TE. I have 5 or 6 thousand miles on it. My only gripe is that after 10 miles or so, that annoying recumbutt keeps returning. When it does return I just get off for a few minutes and I'm able to go another 10 miles or so before the recumbutt returns. I'll probably never sell the bike, but I would NEVER consider any kind of tour or long trip. I even put on a Rans seat. It's great! But it didn't solve my problem. Like I said, I love the bike and wouldn't trade it. It rides and handles great. For longer rides, which up till now I wouldn't attempt, I hope a Barcroft Virginia Ti or Daytona will do the trick. I have an appointment with Bill Cook next month. I'm very excited about getting a SWB with a low enough seat for me to be able to stop and be flat footed. The Virginia Ti seat is only 18 inches as opposed to 23 0n the Rans V Rex. At 5'8'' I needed to be a couple of more inches lower on the V Rex to be comfortable. If Rans somehow were to make a lower seated SWB, they would sell quite a few more than they have because I'm sure there are many potential buyers like myself who need a couple less inches of seat height. I need to fly up to see Bill not only because Barcroft has such a great reputation, but because his bikes fill that void for the shorter rider without having to purchase a low racer.

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Barry

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Registered: Jul 2006
Location: Connecticut, USA
Posts: 383

Barry,

I'd love to hear a report about the Barcroft bikes once you get a chance to visit Bill Cook.

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Perry
[Ti-rush]

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Registered: Nov 2002
Location: Lugoff, South Carolina
Posts: 116

Like a lot of Easy Racers riders, I have other bikes in my stable
(no DF's, though !!). My Gold Rush is a great all-around bike
that I have been riding for seven years. I also ride a Bacchetta
Carbon Aero dual 650 bike and a Wizwheelz recumbent trike.
The Carbon Aero weighs 20 pounds and is the fastest bike of
any kind that I have ever ridden. It is fitted out for ultra 12 and
24 hour racing, with a cost approaching 7 grand. It has none of
the low speed handling quirks that some have mentioned, and it
is extremely stable at high speed. Having said that, starting and
stopping are tricky (due to it very high bottom bracket), so it is
not as well suited to around town riding as the Gold Rush.

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Easy Racers Titanium Javelin SS
Easy Racers Gold Rush
Wizwheelz Trike

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Registered: Nov 2002
Location: Lugoff, South Carolina
Posts: 116

Continuing (my previous post suddenly got submitted, don't know
why):
Both of these two bikes have their strong points. Someone
mentioned that some other dual big wheel bikes have whippy,
flexible handling traits. I've seen that first hand re the Stratus
XP. I was following one of those while riding my Gold Rush
recently . The XP's frame and handlebars were in constant
motion, very flexible. I talked to the XP rider about that while
we rode along together. He said that he wished that he had bought a Gold Rush instead !!
Re the comment about the Corsa: I have ridden Corsas, and I
haven't experienced the odd low speed handling that has been
mentioned in this thread. High racers such as the Corsa do
require an adjustment period. My Carbon Aero's configuration
is somewhat similar to the Corsa's layout, and it took a couple
of weeks experience on it to adjust to the different ergonomics.
My trike is probably more fun than the Gold Rush and Carbon Aero combined, but it has its limitations. Its wider track and low
seat height require careful selection of roads to avoid unsafe
situations. But it is fun to put it into a 3-wheel drift in turns.
Anyhow, I like a lot of different types of bikes (except DF's !).
Geezers (I'm 65) like a little variety.

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Easy Racers Titanium Javelin SS
Easy Racers Gold Rush
Wizwheelz Trike

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Registered: Oct 2003
Location:
Posts: 11

I also own both a TE and a Stratus...more than 10K miles on each..I find the TE slightly stiffer and slightly better at tracking, the Stratus slightly more comfortable from passive suspension effect

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Registered: Mar 2008
Location:
Posts: 21

Unless Rans has changed, you cannot put bar end shifters on their handle bars (the bar diameter is the wrong size!). If you want a friction mode of shifting, you have to get Tom Thumb adapters. This may seem like a small point, but it is something I regard as BIG. I had a Rans V2 and still have a Screamer. I hated the constant clicking noise of the twist shifters and always had the feeling I was going to break the mechanism. Plus, I've experienced sore wrists due to Roller Blade falls and even bad golf swings, and found twisting the shifter aggravated that situation. Also, I like the simplicity of a friction mode shifter. It is something that can be easily adjusted. I also think that bar end shifters go best on bar ends and not on thumb adapters. Sure the thumb adapters work OK, I've got em on my Vision 40, but the shifting methods are more versatile on the bar ends. I ended up converting my Screamer to P-38 bars just to get the right feel out of the cockpit.

ER bikes to their credit, are set up to go with Bar Ends right from the get-go, and that says a lot to me.

Also, I find the ER mesh seat much more comfortable than the Rans seat. I get a sore butt on my Screamer after about a 20 mile ride. I also needed a back pad on the V2 and Screamer to avoid getting a sore spot on my back near the tailbone.

If you look at other Rans models with tilt steering, you should know that Terra Cycle designs a much better tilting mechanism. The cheesy one that Rans designs is borderline dangerous. It was absolutely unsatisfactory for the Screamer. It seems odd to me that a company involved in aircraft design would produce something so inadequate.

If you are looking for functionality, comfort, and stability, go with an Easy Racer.

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Registered: Nov 2002
Location:
Posts: 9

When comparing a stratus to a tour easy or a GRR it's no contest. I've ridden all three bikes and the ER bikes are magic.

Mike

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Registered: Apr 2008
Location: Wyoming
Posts: 12

Thanks to all. XL Fold Rush being sent this week from Easy Racer.

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Registered: Apr 2008
Location: S Oregon
Posts: 9

quote:

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Originally posted by rjdennis
I also own both a TE and a Stratus...more than 10K miles on each..I find the TE slightly stiffer and slightly better at tracking, the Stratus slightly more comfortable from passive suspension effect

---

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Registered: Nov 2002
Location: Claremont, CA
Posts: 65

I agree with Freddy. You will be happier with a GRR and a Tirush is even smoother. If you want more handlebar adjustment than the stock stem provides just ask for a Kalloy stem. I have them on both of my GRR's - mostly to put the fairing where I want while keeping my hands where I want them. IMO there is a significant difference between the Tour Easy's I've ridden and the GRR's.

LFS

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Registered: Jan 2006
Location: Fremont CA
Posts: 52

I had custom handle bars made for my EZ Sport because the wrist angles were all wrong. A short time later, Rans came out with the 3-way adjustable bars. That's life. The problem is that ER's bars are designed to fit behind fairings, with little consideration given to the riders hand comfort. If this is a problem for you, the Rans bars should fit ER's bikes. bk

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Registered: Apr 2008
Location: South Florida
Posts: 38

I completed a 2300 mile tour on my XXL Tour Easy and it was great! I'm 6'5" and weighed 310 at the start (290 at the finish), so I put some strain on anything I sit on or ride. The bike hauled me around just fine. The handling climbing hills was excellent down to 5 mph and still very good below 5 mph. Going down hill, the ride was like being on rails.

One day on the ride, I got off to a late start and had to ride through some forest preserves outside Chicago in the dark. These preserves are filled with huge deer that are somewhat tame, so at night you see their eyes staring back at you close to the path as you ride along. While mesmerized by their glowing eyes staring at me, I didn't watch where I was going and hit a 4 inch high metal base to a cone-like barrier (cone removed) going about 12 mph. The impact completely rocked my world and caused me to go down on my side. I was worried that I might have damaged the bike (380 lbs of man/bike/gear moving at 12 mph and hitting a 4 inch high barrier and wiping out), but there was absolutely nothing wrong with it! I suffered a pinch flat and a dented front rim (not the original stock rim), but the bike was fine. That tells me that my Tour Easy is a very well made, solid bike, sturdy enough for just about any sized person to ride under all kinds of conditions.

Oh, and people just love it! I'd ride into a parking lot with bikers sitting on Harleys and the kids would call out to me "cool bike" while ignoring the Harley dudes.

Last edited by Gladescat on 02-24-2010 at 10:48 AM

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Registered: Jan 2003
Location: Dubuque, IA
Posts: 76

I have both GRR & Stratus. Have 20 k miles on the GRR & 4 k miles on the Rans. I like them both but I'm partial to the GRR. Mainly because that's the one I have all the bells & whistles on. For long rides I prefer the GRR.

My daily commute from work is 17 mi. but on nice days I'll stretch it out to at least double that. I switch bikes every week for commuting & find that the change is worth the added cost of the Rans (or, for that matter, having the ability to switch). Each week it's like starting anew on recumbents - I look foreward to the switch every Sunday.

So for the short hall I think they're both advantagious in their own way. The rans accelerates faster & is lighter (probably because of the lack of accessories) but the GRR is more comfortable for longer hauls. It all depends on the kind of riding you expect to do.

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Fat Boy

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Registered: Nov 2008
Location: Barrow and Anchorage
Posts: 2

I'm 6'4" and 250 as well. I bought the large frame TE in 83 and rode it a lot of miles but with the old style foam back seat I was always pushing the seat back into the rear wheel so I bought an XL frame which has worked out well. Later I changed the seat on my first TE to a mesh back and that gave me the additional 1" or so that made me comfortable on the large frame. That bike has over 50,000 miles now and is still going strong here in Anchorage where I ride it daily. The XL frame doesn't get ridden as much as I leave it in Oregon and it has the old style foam seat. About 15 years ago I also bought a Gold Rush large frame that gets most of the miles these days when I'm in Oregon as it has the mesh back seat as well which I like. Like one of the earlier posters stated...I don't go into a bike shop looking for something more comfortable or better handling...I already have it! Maybe that is why the bike industry has never converted to recumbents whole hog because people would quit looking for that elusive diamond frame that would actually be comfortable!!

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