Recumbent bike seat at an affordable price

[}SkOrPn--7]

Just to let those who may want a more reasonable priced recumbent seat this has been one of my pruchases you can then cut is down and reshape to better suit your needs or width..........

Recumbent bike seat size Small 150-175 cm tall

Recumbent bike seat size Medium NEW DESIGN 175-183 cm tall

Recumbent bike Tail box NEW DESIGN

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/marcin5753/m.htm ... rom=&_ipg=

[william]

Hmmm! That seems awfully , er reasonable with cheap shipping rate for the size.
I contacted the seller for further information regarding width in the seat pan and accross the shoulder area along with total seated length.
The reply I got seemed a little mixed. I may speak a different language, like, ossie, ozzy, aussy or something like that.
Let us know how you go and if its suitable.

william.

[}SkOrPn--7]

I will let you know what made me chance it I read the reviews by all the others that have brought one and no one has a bad comment to make or bad experience so I'm willing to also take a plunge at that price and see for myself. Most of them your paying upwards of 250-450 clams and this being a blank canvas I can custom make my brackets and position them that best suits me so when I get it I will give my feed back but you will have to understand I'm a nub at recumbents so any one using my opinion will have to take caution but what I will say will be honest and no BS attached.

[william]

Hello S,
I'm sure things will be ok. I have some reservations about internet buying but since its not coming from China it may be a different story.
Marcin may well be a master at what he's doing but not an entrepreneur when it comes to marketing. What I tried asking was the dimensions and I got a reply that didn't make sense to me. The only one was a total length of 76 cm which seems a tad short especially when my Corsa seat is 88 on the seated area unless he was measuring in a straight line for shipping purposes.
Be aware also that this is a resin impregnated glass fibre composition, not carbon fibre. Will still be as strong i feel and easier to work with than carbon.
Depending what bike its going on it may be ok and if the fit is good, bewdy. Others have said they get a little power boost from a hard shell seat too.

william.

[}SkOrPn--7]

William yeah his web site purchase clearly states it's GRP Glass reinforced plastic and I'm happy with that because the price reflects it but time will tell if it fits right. Bit weird if you asked a question and he doesn't give a detailed answer or how he did measure it. Still no one has complained and I purchased the "M" because I'm so close to 183cm fit and just a hunch I reckon he measure it in a straight line like you said. That was one thing that appealed to me is that I can cut it down and narrow the bum area to suit my needs where as CF is a little tricky doing that. Thanks for the tip on a little more power coming from a hard shell I didn't know that but it makes sense when you think about it. My BB and headset along with the hard shell should be lobbing on the door Monday along with my forks. Most of the other bike parts will be ordered from TerraCycle plus RANS Bicycle but I'm yet to confirm my selection on those sites as I'm going to build the frame then measure up and purchase the correct lengths of bars,stems along with seat braces etc.

[william]

Hi Ricky,
just another tip if you're purchasing from the US sites is to ask for shipping options. For some reason they tend to choose the expensive method first and if you don't ask you won't get the cheaper option.
The Volae seats (carbon) have a deliberately built seat with a longer seat pan so that customers can trim to suit their own proportions. Depending on the seat angle a longer pan can tend to dig into the back of the legs but is perfectly ok if its more upright.
Good luck (not the right word) will like to know of the progress.

william.

[John Lewis]

One of the guys over on Atomiczombie has bought one of these ebay seats and seems to be satisfied with it. I'll go ask some questions.

John Lewis

[}SkOrPn--7]

Hi Ricky,
just another tip if you're purchasing from the US sites is to ask for shipping options. For some reason they tend to choose the expensive method first and if you don't ask you won't get the cheaper option.
The Volae seats (carbon) have a deliberately built seat with a longer seat pan so that customers can trim to suit their own proportions. Depending on the seat angle a longer pan can tend to dig into the back of the legs but is perfectly ok if its more upright.
Good luck (not the right word) will like to know of the progress.

william.

Thanks for the tip again William while I do know they seem to be in favour of the speedy more expensive means of shipping and I assume from my dealings with yanks they have to have it yesterday when ordering today. With all my internet purchases I have et to be caught out with shipping rates as all the stores I have shopped with give the options but buying from these recumbent store this might be tested as I don't know there shipping methods just yet.(Do you have any inside info on the stores I listed about shipping?) Still that's a way of yet I have to get the frame built but I needed the forks and seat to begin my build to ensure the perfect fit would be obtained. I have never cut carbon so a carbon seat at those prices and have me screw it up if I was to lop the nose or trim it down is daunting but a GRP seat is a cinch. I'm going to run with the seat I purchased and ride the bike for a while and then start the trimming process to get a feel for what has to be removed. I'm looking forward to the build it's been a long time coming and something that has played on my mind since I first started asking questions back with Graeme.

@John Lewis that would be great look forward to hearing your report and glad to hear you mutter the words satisfied with it makes me feel better but if all fails then I loose 115 pennies and a learning curve notched up. The money I'm saving building this is huge so one major cluster (AT)#$%&^ at the start is acceptable I can live with that

[william]

I've purchased parts from Rans and Hostel shoppe. Both are excellent to deal with and very informative. Bent up Cycles are also very informative and are willing to help with advice even though you won't be buying a bike from them. Sometimes its easier to buy parts from the US dealers than the manufacturers dealers.
Don't forget also that there are plenty of successful builders here in Australia too. Just ask.

william.

[}SkOrPn--7]

Thanks William for the "Hostel shoppe" & "Bent up Cycles" names there 2 I hadn't yet discovered and have been a great read along with drawling over parts etc. I did a test run with purchasing from Hostel shoppe but to find out shipping costs they want all your details first (credit cards etc) and because it was just a test run I quit unable to find out shipping costs do you have a rough price they have been charging you for goods? BY all means please list the Ozzie Building sites so I can check them out. One thing I have found with Ozzie online stores is there items being listed is some what poor compared to OS online stores they have great descriptions and images making choosing such a simple process without the worry of hit and miss if you get the right item.

BTW........The only Ozzie builders web site I have is Tri-sled

Thanks Ricky

[william]

Yeah!

Ben at Tri-Sled will talk your ears off if he's not so busy. Very knowledgeable and loves speed.
Mick at Greenspeed is also helpful but being so busy he's hard to catch up on. They also have a lot more stock on hand than their web site shows. He can also be helpful with engineering work if you need it.
For other parts, bit and pieces some eBay sites can give you reasonable prices and shipping. Just a matter of looking and searching.

william.

[}SkOrPn--7]

Thanks William I might give them a tingle on the dog and bone and see what they have for parts that way at least I know then and from that make my purchases from where ever.

[John Lewis]

Here is the reply to my queryfrom OMO on the atomiczombie forum .
Hope this helps.
John Lewis

The seats arrived from England. I was apprehensive because I live on the west coast of the U.S. and our postal system is not known for being gentle...
Image: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3464/391 ... 8b7af1.jpg
I should not have worried. They were packed extremely well. The photo above shows the smaller of the two seats. They put cardboard all around it in actual contact with the seat, then wrap it completely in high strength tape. The seat itself is so rigid and strong that the only way something could hurt it would be to pierce the cardboard. Also all the edges that were in contact with the cardboard were wrappped in masking tape. Nice touch.

I am building two trikes, one for my wife and myself so got one in the small and one in the medium.
Image: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2507/391 ... 7fc023.jpg
I am 5' 11" and tried the small seat. It was tight feeling but in a pinch I could use it. The medium fit like a glove. This is the first time I am trying a hard shelled seat (I am used to the RANS seats so am totally spoiled) so it felt a bit "different" at first. I put it on an outdoor chair at different angles and sat in it while reading a book. Final verdict; it fits like a glove!
Image: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3436/391 ... 1277a4.jpg
The medium is on the left -- notice the rounded edge at the base. I pretended to pedal at various angles and never noticed any "bite" on the back of my thighs. One thing I did notice though...
Image: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2527/391 ... e518c7.jpg
Is how slippery this seat is. I had to prop it against something to take the above pict or else it would slide away. This will certainly need padding or else I will be ejected like a rocket on the first hard corner!
Image: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3508/391 ... 641a84.jpg
You can see what I mean - that gloss black gelcoat is slick!!!

The bottom line for me is that these seats are da bomb! At about $85.00 delivered from England, it is a heck of a deal. They are only 1000 grams = about 2.2 pounds. They feel lighter than that though. Hope this helps John.

[}SkOrPn--7]

John thank you so much for chasing that up it just confirms that the punt I took will more than likely work out just fine and reading everyone else's praise for them was what made me go ahead and get one. Now after seeing your images this is even better and one would have to believe all will be ok. The guy on eBay should have images like you supplied because his are lets just say god awful............. Well I thought I might have had it today but it didn't arrive so maybe tomorrow. My BB,Headset,forks,rear shock arrived today along with headset spacers so once I get the seat I can commence the cutting/welding and making the frame. Once again John thanks so much for that info it really is appreciated and the darn thing looks so good.

[John Lewis]

He has it up on AZ now.
Here is the link with Pictures. Pretty much what I posted earlier. They look good.
http://forum.atomiczombie.com/showthrea ... #post30896

John Lewis