More Praise, and Another Aptera Review

Here are a few more gracious testimonials to add to our ever-growing collection.

The first comes from Jerry. He set out to cross the country on his EZ-1 a couple of months ago. About a quarter of the way through his journey he found the EZ-1 simply wasn’t going to be enough bike, so he had is wife arrange for us to ship a new Ti-Rush to him at one of his checkpoints. Having made it to the coast aboard his new bike, Jerry is now riding all the way back to California. Here’s what he has to say (from the road, no less):

Hi. I'm in Kansas and headed west toward home. I can't tell you how many good comments I've gotten on the bike. Old folks, kids, teens with Mohawks, even Harley riders all wave to me. In western Kentucky a pickup with three locals, the driver missing all of his front teeth, said, "Hot dog, I never seen one of those before.” I had to change the front chain rings in Lexington, Kentucky to mountain bike gearing to better match the engine. I tell people the bike is new but the motor is 70 years old.

In the hills of the Ozarks I had a speed contest with two 21 year old riders. One hit around 48 MPH, and then I hit 50.1 MPH. The other 21 year old heard about this and squeezed out 50.2 MPH. Now we will have to wait until the downhill parts in the mountains [to do it again]. I have to depend on gravity and aerodynamics. I've lost 20 pounds, so that doesn't help.

Your loyal fan,
Jerry

Thanks, Jerry. It seems like no matter where you go you'll still find someone who has never seen a recumbent bicycle before. I have a strong suspicion that this too shall pass, and thanks to all of our riders' roaming efforts, it shouldn't take long!

This next testimonial comes from one of our newest Aptera owner. However, not surprisingly, he is a former Easy Racers owner:

Well, I have about 200 miles on the new Aptera by Easy Racers. The longest ride was 50 miles. I am pleased.

I am no expert on recumbents, but I have a lot of recumbent miles on my life odometer, so I can write with more than mere opinion on the subject. Most of those miles were on a Gold Rush. After the GRR, I tried a high racer for a couple of years but never really liked that bike. The GRR was faired and was a great touring machine. I really don’t know why I sold that bike but I did. After the high wheel, I went back to a traditional Trek touring bike. That bike is a good climber here in the mountains, but my head begins to sink after about 100 miles and my hands hurt. A century on that bike just about kills me. I once rode over 100 miles a day, for 10 days straight on the GRR and was tired, but not hurting.

So, I started to look at a short wheelbase recumbents with closed positions so that I could climb. Easy Racers had just come out with the Aptera. I had had such a good experience with the company in the past that I called and put in an order for them to build me one. I talked at length with Denton who helped me spec it. In three weeks, Fed Ex showed up with two big corrugated boxes.

I had it together in about 3 hours. It was typical Easy Racer iron. Well-built, nice paint, good welds, correct components and all the bolts and nuts I needed.

The Aptera has about every adjustment feature you can think of. The crank slides forward and backwards on the boom. The handlebars tilt in or out and up and down. The seat will slide forward and rearward and it will tilt easily to any angle to support the sit bones. The seat back can be brought up to a very closed position or leaned way back for aerodynamic improvement.

I ordered my bike as an Expedition model with XT components. All of the adjustments were spot on with the brakes and gears. I have not touched a single barrel adjuster yet. It shifts like silk. With the 11-34 rear cassette and the XT crank I can pull stumps. I already know that I need to change the 44 tooth big ring to the 48 because I run out of crank on good descents. I have a front fender and a rear rack. Easy Racers built the wheels for me on XT hubs and I had them do a 3 cross 36 rear, which should give me plenty of strength on a tour.

The short wheelbase is surprisingly tame. It is not twitchy or harsh. It climbs really nicely. I don’t seem to have start up problems on steep hills, but nothing is as easy to start on a hill as a GRR with its low bottom bracket.

Like the Lightening P38, it prefers a slow mashers cadence around 50 to 55 RPM. That is slow, but that seems to be the natural range for me. You can really put your foot into the crank because of the closed position. All in all, I think I am going to really like this bike. Great service, fair price, good quality, great design. I am looking forward to thousands of miles riding with my head up looking at the world. Oh yeah, and I don’t have to wear those tight, hot, black shorts now!

Easy Racers, letting you keep your comfortable wardrobe since day one.
And on that note!

-Buck

Captured Moments

Our friend Bill, a Gold Rush owner and long-time Easy Racers rider, recently sent us this video which shows him flying down the scenic Ojai Trail in Southern California. Bill puts plenty of miles on his bike every year. After he mentioned that he was eager to use video to document more of his riding experiences, I recommended that he check out one of the GoPro cameras that we carry:

These are great! They are fun to use, durable, make capturing your most exciting adventures a cinch, and are quite affordable to boot. We're looking forward to seeing more of Bill's cinematography in the future, and we'd love to see your Easy Racers related videos as well. Show us your bike, your favorite descent, introduce us to your riding partners, whatever you want. If we like what we see, you may earn a spot as the next featured video on this very blog.

Dann, a New Hampshire Easy Racers owner, recently sent us this great photo of himself alongside his well-outfitted Tour Easy:

Dann has been been racking up some serious miles lately. You can tell riding long distances is definitely his thing, as he's equipped to carry all of the essential gear. Keep an eye out for this bike next time you're in the New England area, and be sure to say hello!

Send those videos and pictures our way. We can't wait to see how creative you guys can get!

-Buck

Staying Healthy

Any cyclist that rides a fair amount of miles knows the value of being prepared. You will never run into a experienced touring or commuting cyclist who doesn't have at least a few tubes, tools, and spare parts in their bag, especially if they own an Easy Racer. However, preparation doesn't end with items that you bring along on a ride. In fact, it starts before you even throw a leg over your bike.

Many of the most common and aches and pains that may hinder a cyclist while they ride can be nearly eliminated by a solid stretching routine. In fact, stretching before a ride puts you in the best possible position to save yourself should anything unexpected occur. Stretching allows your muscles to react faster and makes them less likely to over-fatigue and build up painful acids. Try some of these examples before your next ride (assume the demonstrated position and hold for 30 seconds, rest, then switch to the opposite side, or preform the stretch a second time):
Check with your doctor to see what stretches will work best for you. Certain exercises will better target any problem areas you may have, so don't be afraid to experiment and see what benefits you the most.

Keep the rubber on the road and, of course, stay healthy.

-Buck

2010 Medium Tour Easy Speed & Sport

For riders with x-seams between 39" and 42"

Originally built strictly for our showroom floor, this Tour Easy has accumulated less than 100 miles and plenty of admiration, but what it really needs is a new home. Shimano 105 and SRAM X.9 derailleurs. A lightweight, smooth shifting, practically brand new bicycle.

Included Accessories:

• Single Leg Kickstand

This bike is available for pick-up at our factory, we will also ship it anywhere in the world.

Asking for $1,950

Call or Email Us With Questions or to Purchase

2001 Medium/Large Tour Easy Expedition

For riders with x-seams between 40.5" and 43.5"

This Tour Easy is set-up as a Expedition with a 406 front wheel and v-brakes. It's in nearly perfect shape with low miles and plenty of impressive upgrades, including a set of DT Swiss Hügi hubs, a Velocity (front) and deep-section Mavic (rear) rims, Shimano XT and XTR derailleurs, and a Cook Bros. MTN crank set.

Included Accessories:

• Blackburn Rear Rack
  
• Super Zzipper Fairing
  
• Double Kickstand
  

This bike is available for pick-up at our factory, we will also ship it anywhere in the world.

Asking for $2,300

Call or Email Us With Questions or to Purchase

John's Ti-Rush Testimonial

We just received this letter from our customer, John, who bought a Ti-Rush from us in March. We love to get testimonials from our riders that reinforce the things we say about our bike regularly. After all, we're not just making things up! Here is what John has to say about his riding experience so far:

Where to start? As you already know I love the Ti-Rush, it is easily the best bike I have ever owned. From the first time I sat on it and rode it around the neighborhood near your factory, I knew this is one GREAT RIDE. After I got it home and started to tweak it to my measurements, it got even better. You and I have talked on the phone to try to figure out why this bike is so wonderful and even though we came up with some answers, I’m not sure we have the final answer. So, I’ve decided to leave it as the “perfect storm”. Looks as though everything that we chose to do worked and even better than we hoped. Or maybe it’s just good Karma. Who knows?

Some things I do know:

-The ride quality is superb. I think titanium is the best frame material by far (I have ridden on carbon fiber, steel, and 25,000 miles or so on my aluminum Gold Rush).

-The power transference from me to the pedals is phenomenal. There is no lag or loss in the frame, just pedal harder and the bike goes faster, NOW. It is also easier to maintain speed. Also, when I’m just riding and enjoying the ride, I’m going faster, same pedal pressure as on other bikes, just faster. [You] write on your website that you estimate 5% better power transference, for me (a 65 year old) it is at least 12%, and maybe as much as 15%.

-When I ride with my regular buddies they remark that I’m going much faster. Truthfully, I’m trying to throttle the bike back!

-The new [Sprinter] seat is wonderful! It took a while for me to get the distance from the pedals and seat angle perfect, but once I did, the comfort increased and riding enjoyment went to new levels. The lengths of my rides have increased and I find myself looking for ways to add just a few more miles to the ride. And, I cannot wait to get back on this bike!

-This is a beautiful bike. The finish is beautiful. Many people have commented on the construction quality. Roberto is an artist as a welder. It is a joy to own and use such a fabulous machine.

-The idea of using the bigger tubing was brilliant. They added to the frame stiffness and allowed us to use the S and S couplers.

Ah, the S and S couplers. We chose them so that my wife and I could travel and take the bike with us. Even though it added to the weight (and the cost) they were well worth it. I think it added to the stiffness and power transference, on top of the travel considerations.

The other choices we made also worked out well. The Paul brakes, the ceramic bearings, the drive train, the wheel set, just added to the quality of the whole bike and made it even better.

I am a better rider on this bike. I feel like I am using my power to better advantage. I even find myself pushing up the pace when some young, aggressive rider tries to go by me. (Just to make him work a little harder to get by this old dude on the “funny” bike!)

And most wonderfully, I am not as tired the next day after a 35 mile ride. I actually rode seven straight days and was sad that that I had to go back to work and could not ride another seven.

The best compliment I can give: This bike eats miles! Thank you all again for building me my dream bike.

We’d like to thank John for his kind words. Stories like his are not difficult for us to come across though, so if anyone else out there has a testimonial that they’d like to have shared on this blog, just email it to us.

-Buck

Carbon Fiber Forks

When it comes to carbon fiber forks, you have to admit, there are few topics that are more hotly debated in the world of the utilitarian bicycle. Note the clear distinction that I'm trying to draw there between practical bicycles (like ours) and those that are designed to simply go fast. For your average exotic metal or carbon road bike, there's no question, a carbon fiber fork provides the most forgiving ride and weighs less than any alternative. But for a bike that has to hold up to the beating that everyday use in the modern world dishes out, a durable steel fork, even with it's added weight and stiffer feel, can prove to be the more worthy investment. This past decade, however, has seen carbon forks become more durable through design innovations, and subsequently, more common on bikes of all kinds.
This increase in the popularity of carbon forks hasn't been completely without it's set backs. Many of you have probably seen the recalls that some major and up-and-coming bike companies have had to issue recently. It is no doubt issues like these that come to mind when the most skeptical cyclists contemplate the move to the, admittedly, more efficient design and material. After all, a carbon fork, even one that takes an occasional bump or chip, should be able to provide many years of effective service without putting the users health at risk. That concept is something that we here at Easy Racers kept at the forefront of our minds as we worked on the design of our carbon fork.
Tested to withstand weights in excess of 500 lbs., our carbon fiber fork is nearly as strong as our steel fork. It is because we're so confident in the design on this product that we never hesitate to recommend it to a touring or commuting rider. The ride quality is also outstanding. A carbon fiber fork greatly reduces the road vibrations transferred to the rider and thus, fatigues the hands, wrists, arms, and upper body much slower. Weighing in at just 270 grams, we know that everyone who gives this design a try will fall head-over-heels for it. That's why we're offering it for the greatly reduced price of just $295 this month.

Get your hands on an Easy Racers carbon fiber fork at our EasyShop

-Buck