Building a Recumbent Mountain Bike

[BlueSeaWendy]

Nice work. I'm stuck mountain biking with my long normal recumbant bike. It's a no go for me riding up up steep climbs. I have back problems and can't ride mountain bikes. So I jog/push my bike up where I can't ride and wear a good bra. LOL!

[rrlj97]

i like what you did to the bike it looks nice

[TK42138]

I've been told that once you've ridden a recumbent bike you don't want to go back to a normal bike.

[menamiketrx]

@TK42138 Actually I would change back to traditional Mountain Bike if I were able. I ride this off-road on some pretty challenging trails, and it is very limited in being able to handle technical stuff. But as I cannot ride the traditional postion due to neck injuries, this does serve me well. I am able to get out and ride the trails, just at a different pace.

[TaufanDermawan]

This bike more  comfortable for cross country. :D

[MrHobiecat]

Nice job on the bike. Its always easier to look back on someone else's work and one-up them, but I have to ask, why didnt you leave the back wheel assembly alone and simply add the crank to the front, and attach the seat? Your back wheel assembly doesnt look any better than the original configuration, and you lost the rear shock. I have a SWB recumbent I ride on crushed limestone paths, and the vibration of the back wheel into your spine is a problem. This is not a mountain bike, by any means.

[menamiketrx]

@MrHobiecat My original efforts retained the original configuration on the Rear Suspension. Problem was that with the new chain angle, I got extreme pogo, and when pedaling hard in a sharp ascending turn, I would suck the wheel all the way up against the seat rail. Was stealing a lot of power and cause many falls as the bike would come to a sudden stop. The fix would be an idler pulley at the original chain line. I may consider that as a winter project.

[menamiketrx]

@menamiketrx Indeed the bike is very limited in what i can do. Does not climb well, descends pretty well, it is stable at high speed, cannot pop front wheel off the ground to clear objects and it is pretty heavy. So, I learn what the bike can and can't do. Main thing is I am able to get back out on the trails. I ride all the trails in Arkansas that I used to, just slower with more dismounts. I even enter a few of the races if the trail suits the bike. People crack up when they see me.

[menamiketrx]

@MrHobiecat Hey! Where do you sail. I have 2 very old 16 foot Hobies that I sail on the local lakes of Arkansas and Oklahoma.

[MrHobiecat]

@menamiketrx Nice! The last 'bent I made from a 700C hybrid with a very low seat post (seat post 2" lower than the top of the back wheel) and added the crank to the front of the steering head. lucked out with the chain feed on the power side, only needed idler gears on the return side (2) made from chopped up rear wheel derailers. It looks very much like a Ranns Vrex, 700C x 35 back, and 20" x 1.0 front. I sail mostly in lake Ontario, sometimes on the finger lakes if ontario is kicked up.

[MrHobiecat]

@MrHobiecat In fact a friend of mine has a Ranns Vrex, and we parked side by side once, and all the key dimensions on our bikes are identical. Purely by luck on my part.

[primomachino]

and the award for the longest chain goes to .. thisguy

[menamiketrx]

@primomachino Some would ask, "what length would you go so that your could still ride your bike" Well, I would answer "3 chains". Actually only required 2 and three quarter chains. Amazing, it does not throw off of the gears even on rough terrain.

[BANGERS68]

dam i am trying to build one of these, but dude that music sucks

[menamiketrx]

@BANGERS68 You are correct about the music. I have done an audio swap and have less annoying music for ya. I hope you have success with your project. Let me know if you have any questions.

Mike

[sihanss]

good job man! after seeing your action, i build my first a Recumbent Mountain Bike too, thanks for inspiring me.

[wordreet]

As an off road rider, I can appreciate your desire to get out on the trails. But the centre of gravity on your bike would scare me half to death! :¬)

Congrats for the build (even though it was 2 yrs ago) and I'm glad you are enjoying it.

Have you considered making a simple rubber bush type of rear suspension?

[menamiketrx]

@wordreet Although the center of gravity is a bit high, I have grown comfortable with it. That actually is the least of the concerns for this ride. Main downside is it simply does not do anything quite as well as if it were in normal configuration. So learn what it can and can't do and ride within that best that I can. I can go surprisingly fast on non technical single track, but throw in some technicality and I am usually having to dismount more frequently than if I were on a normal ride.

[6F00T4TV]

Good job, but I think you still need the rear suspension. You're back looks like it might suffer in the long run. Also, you're at the mercy of the bumps - I guess it's something you get used to. :oD

[menamiketrx]

@6F00T4TV I ride the bike fairly conservatively, as it does not handle technical stuff very well. Thus so far I am managing ok with the rigid rear end. This winter, I may pursue getting the rear suspension back in place with the appropriate pivot point to avoid the pogo. Thank you for you comment.

[vivitar45]

nice bike i think the weel base is to small your waight is to far to the front weel did you ever fall off going over the front of it you just be better to buy a new bike like a comfert or beach cruser that you sit up straight on it

[menamiketrx]

@vivitar45 I left the wheel base as it was, thus yes.... probably a pretty short wheel base for a recumbent. With me in riding position, I have a 50/50 weight distribution between the wheels. Longer wheelbase would have meant a longer turning radius. Have not ever felt like it want to put me over the front wheel, and I have ridden off drop-offs of 1 foot and less. I have surprisingly become fairly good riding this thing on our trails of Arkansas. Just have to know the bikes limits.

[duck4035]

Hey great job looks like great fun. I am thinking of makeing one myself  well done.

[ETERNALTEXAN]

I hear ya man. I was just being contrary. I'm in the process off building one myself. I love to see other people putting their ingenuity on display. It's amazing what some people come up with. Keep up the good work!

[ETERNALTEXAN]

Umm, actually, I wasn't going to ask if it was for sale or headed for production. Just wanted to know where the jumps and steep downhills were. This thing is still supposed to be a mountain bike, right?

[menamiketrx]

@ETERNALTEXAN I do ride this bike on all the trails of Arkansas, including the Womble and the Ouachita Trail. So I would call it a mountain bike. It is very limited though in what it can do as I am simply dead weight on the bike. Cannot un-weight the front, so I have to know it's limits in technical sections. On fairly non technical and even steep downhill that has no jumps, I can go pretty fast. Would not want to hit any jumps. Only reason I ride this way is due to neck injuries.

[daUntitled]

hey, nice video ;D I was thinking about making recumbent too, and I had this question... Is it some kind of special hose on the chain? or just regular, for example gardening hose etc? again, great video 5*

[menamiketrx]

@daUntitled I got the hose from an auto parts. It is kind of a hard plastic, very thin wall and very resilient. Sorry about the late reply.

[battlestroke7]

Very nice bike man, No bike like the one you make yourself . It just feels good to ride your own,dont you think so ? 5 stars.

[menamiketrx]

Appreciate you commet. Indeed you are correct. This is my first bike project and was a very satisfying endeavor.

[battlestroke7]

@menamiketrx Please feel free to check out the bike i just made ,my first.Its a recumbent also.

[bburns1001]

man, that's pretty cool. it'd be fun to have one of these. how do you make a sudden stop and not fall over? to me, it seems that if you had to stop quickly, it'd be hard to put your feet down because of the position your body is in.

[menamiketrx]

Without a doubt, there have been a few embarrasing fall-overs, but I am getting better at knowing with this ride can and cannot do. Just like any machine, we learn it's capabilities and try to stay within the envelope.

[nolanpoepoe]

the pogo effect was probably the chain pulling on the suspension while you pushed on the pedals. to get rid of it, you should make the tensioned side of the chain pass directly through the axis of the suspension pivot. that way, the "pogo" force will be pointed directly at the pivot, causing no torque on the suspension arm. i know it's probably too late to make that change though.... nice bike! :)

[menamiketrx]

Thanks for you input.... I somewhat understood this principal and understood why it was pogoing. Maybe this winter I will make the mod to position of the pivot point. There are times, such as drop-offs on trails that I would appreciate having the suspension back.

[bentstrider]

So, let me get this straight, did you cut off the lengthen the section of frame going past where the seattube used to be, and also took the rear triangle and folded it out into a semi-squarish shape?

I'm actually wanting to try this myself in lieu of actually purchasing a new recumbent.

[menamiketrx]

Exactly! This frame had rear suspension and I tried it in that configuration for quite a while, but the new chainline created significant pogo effect with pedal stroke, so I eliminated the rear shock and rotated the seattubes back to better support the seat rail, as it was simply an extension and I was concerned that over time it may weaken. Rides much better without the rear suspension.

[menamiketrx]

As far as the tube added to the headset for the crankset, this was taken from an old frameset. It failed after one season as it simply was too thin of wall.  I then welded on a way to thick wall, to kind of overkill and prevent future failure of the pedal tube. Going on my third season of off-road riding on the rugged trails of the Ouachita Mountains or Arkansas.

[MewFushisDad]

That is very sweet. Good Job!

That really is very cool.

[dregerclock]

Wish I had the welding skills and tools to do that to my mountain bike! Very cool video and good job on the bike conversion!

[kyryan03]

is that trail any good?

Im from Russellville but live in ky now..

[menamiketrx]

Excellent trail. Fast with lots of twisty turns. No huge hills, which is rare for Arkansas.

[Jayneflakes]

Great bike, I am building my self a recumbent due to health problems stopping me riding my mountain bike. Wish I had your courage to chop my MTB, but it is too expensive to get wrong so am starting with a couple of old wrecks I got from a skip! Even us girls can build too. Might have to get my partner to video my progress too.

Happy riding. xxx

[menamiketrx]

Jayne: Would love to see your finished project. No need to video the whole process.  Do some still shots of the process, along with some motion picture and then put it all together.

[RC4x4z]

disk brakes!!!!!

try them!!!!!!!

[menamiketrx]

May be changing to disk brakes this winter.

[tbaryon]

Very cool! Not being very patient or skilled working in physical materials (I'm a software developer), I have gone ahead and spent the bucks for a couple of used 'bents. Don't think mine would do very well off road, though.

[bentstrider]

Nice conversion.

I've currently got an EZ-1, but I'm thinking of chopping the rear triangle and replacing it with a larger one.

That 20" rear wheel isn't cutting it for my daily commutes anymore.

I basically ride these things due to the low-profile they offer in windy conditions, the rest of the time I ride my Montague Paratrooper.

[BANGERS68]

dude, i have a fucked back and have never ridden a recumbent.are they as comfatable as they look.also i am going to build one myself this year...any tips.i noticed your wheels are both the same size,all the ones i have seen have a smaller front wheel.does she steer ok...

thank you.

good job

j

[menamiketrx]

Both wheels are the original 26 inch. Handles well. I have done very high speed runs on and off road with the bike.

[CDickFly]

Mike, This is a great conversion you did. I really like the simplicity and you might be better off with the guide tubes on the chain as oppose to an idler pulley since the chain angle has a very smooth angle to it..

I've rebuilt one tadpole recumbent trike and built another from bike parts, hanglider tubing and some idlers and seats from my experienced recumbent friends.

Now I want to build one like you did. Thanks for posting. Now I know a few pilots who are recumbent enthusiasts!

Rich

[menamiketrx]

Would love to see your recumbents that you built.

Thanks for the comment!

[menamiketrx]

Cool. Take pictures of the project in process. Or videos. Would love to see your finished product. Indeed I would love to try building a long wheel base for off-road. Some I have seen that are pretty successful have a pretty relaxed angle on the suspension compared to the very upright suspension of a traditional ride.

Good Luck!

[dw807]

Just remember, the longer the wheelbase the wider the turn and the less weight on the front wheel. My longbike tends to break traction on the dirt with a 16" wheel in front and a 7' wheelbase.

[jickers2]

nice, man you live in a pretty area

[ChrisLuxembourg]

Salut! Good Idea & a excellent Construction.

I finished same Bike, but I cannot drive with it. Before 1year finished a LowRacer recumbent, that works!

For a offroad ride I create another Bike with 6 wheels.

Take a look: "LOWRACER - the Creation"  "Enforcer 6x2inox"

Greetings, Chris

[menamiketrx]

Chris:

Checked out your creations, and I was blown away. You state that you finished a bike similar to mine, but could not drive it. Please expound on that and what was the difficulty if you don't mind. I am having pretty good success riding mine on pretty challenging single track trails. Granted it does not perform nearly as well as a standard mountain bike, but this riding position grants me access to the trails where traditional position cannot be tolerated any longer.

[chumpychumpychump]

"...traditional position cannot be tolerated any longer."

Prostate surgery? Mental anguish? Or something else yet?

[menamiketrx]

Injuries to my cervical spine as well as ligement damage to my thoracic spine area. Some of the damage from crashes, but some just related to the abuse from years of mountain bike racing.

[chumpychumpychump]

Sorry to hear that, but glad you figured out a solution that works for you.

[purplepeopledesign]

Interesting. Was there no way to save the rear suspension?

:)ensen

[menamiketrx]

Road it for quite a while with the rear suspension. Because of the steeper chain angle, it was creating an unacceptable amount of pogo with pedal stroke. Created many falls due to the shock taking up all my energy when trying to pedal hard in a corner or in technical terrain. Without the shock, it is much better.

[purplepeopledesign]

I realize that it may be too late now, but at some point, if you get another frame, you may want to try mounting a rear suspension where the shock normally bolts. A pivot point there would be very close to your drive chain and minimize the "pogo" effect. All-in-all... excellent work!

[menamiketrx]

I took a look at your trike and have subscribed to your videos. Very cool ride! As far as the rear suspension, I probably will pursue as you have prescribed. I will probably wait to see how the bike holds together. If it makes it through a season, I will have my weilder pursue a solution for the rear suspension. Do you have a web site up for your trike?

[gannman51]

hey. i saw you up on the (Rich) mountatin a while back. i see you ridin this one and another grey one around town. thats awesome.

[menamiketrx]

The grey bike you see me on is this bike. I broke it during the Race on Earthquake Ridge. After the repair, I stripped all the paint off, and going with the bare aluminum look.

[menamiketrx]

For the return chain, it goes through two short sections of plastic tubes that help to guide and minimize chain slap. Small amount of drag there, but not noticable.  Adding idler wheels at those two locations is a future project. The power side of the chain has a long section of plastic tube that controls the chain and protects the frame from slap. Frame geometry did not change at all, so no front end shake. Have done 45 mph paved decents, and fairly fast offroad stuff as well.

[jackel44]

would it have been cheaper to sell your bike and just buy a Recumbent bike?

[menamiketrx]

Recumbents can be expesive. Very few MTB recumbents being manufactured. Only expenses was the Seat and Stem and the weilding. Only in the few hundred dollars. Compare that to several thousand let's say for an AZUB mtb. Plus, it was a fun project. I was willing to ruin a perfectly good Diamond Back mtb. Even if the project had failed, I still would have enjoyed the effort.

[jackel44]

This bike you made looks like it came from 3 bikes 1 your donor bike, 2 the red one you used for the back wheel, and 3 the one to house the new bottom bracket.

[menamiketrx]

The Photo at the start of the vid was simply a file photo from the Diamondback site. My Diamond bike mtb indeed was red rear end, yellow frame, and blue shock. Had the extra frame from which I was able to rob from.

[jackel44]

You still have to put the chain pulleys on. How did you keep the chain from slapping and skipping? I would think that with the change in geometry that when you went flying down a single track that their would be a lot of front end shake

[menamiketrx]

I have ridden the bike at highspeed both on and off-road. Very stable at speed. It is basically the same configuration as the original as far as wheelbase, and my weight on the bike is 50/50. Chain does not jump off and minimal slapping as it is controlled by the guide tubes.

[mbiraside]

What size are your wheels??

[menamiketrx]

Standard 26 inch wheels.

[Ssuzanne0307]

Looks like fun....Ed is ready for some blood and gore now.

Sue

[BaganJermal]

Why can't you no longer could ride upright mountain bike? Back pain?

[menamiketrx]

Some cronic pain related to some injuries to neck and back. Minor injuries, (compressed disks, and some torn ligaments) in cervical and thoracic area from a couple bike wrecks. Quit riding for about 5 years, and this has allowed me to return. It is great to be out on the trails again.

[fendrstr22]

Were you riding this out on AR-88 east on Memorial Day around 10:30 AM? I saw someone riding a yellow recumbant near Mena, AR with a yellow cargo box that said "SUV" on it. Wild.

[menamiketrx]

That was a buddy of mine that "inspired" me to go recumbent. He has three recumbent bikes, and provided a wealth of knowledge to get me going on my recumbent quest. I do ride the Mena, Arkansas area.