I alway like to stretch definitions and blur boundries whenever I can.
I've been building a lot of recumbents with the small front wheel and a large rear wheel. From a design point of view, the small front wheel is the lightest, best handling choice. But I'm just not comfortable with
the looks of a 20 inch front wheel on an adult bike.
.
I much prefer the larger wheels for larger riders. One of my first
submissions to Bikerodnkustom was a long wheel based recumbent with 26 x 1.5 tires that I called "The Queen Mary" (because she was so long). On that bike I used a girls bike for the front part of the frame. I always wanted to build a beach cruiser based long wheel based recumbent with big fat tires and a man's cantelever frame for the front.
.
Here's my first long wheel based recumbent using the 24x3 tires for both the front and rear of a bike.
.
Using the fat tires as a starting place, I decided to make everything on the bike oversized. I found a men's 26 inch Huffy beach cruiser that used oversized frame tubes. The biggest seat I could find was a
tractor-sized seat from a trike. I used 25 inch ape hanger handlebars
from J&B Imports.
.
The frame fits my leg length perfectly, and the pull back handlebars
feel comfortable. I tried many different back rests before I found the
most comfortable one. The best one came off an office chair. All I had to do was drill one hole and it fit perfectly. I even used the big
over-sized black knob that came with the chair.
.
Please note the super cheap custom part I used to cover the empty bottom bracket hole. It's a $1.19 blind spot mirror from the auto parts store.
.
With the single speed hub and coaster brake, this bike couldn't be any simpler. I like how clean it looks with no brake or gear cables. It
rides very smoothly and is surprisingly fast. The seat height is only 22
inches. The wheel base is 69 inches. It handles so well, that I can do a riding U-turn on a two lane street. It's so low I can reach down and pick up newspapers while riding. Overall, I enjoy riding it very much.
.
I like having the small backrest to push against when pedalling.
.
I like the grey primer color. It looks home made, not store bought.
Plus, I don't have to be too fussy about scratches- they spray right out. Cheers, Keith

Keith Moss: Fat Rat
I alway like to stretch definitions and blur boundries whenever I can.
I've been building a lot of recumbents with the small front wheel and a large rear wheel. From a design point of view, the small front wheel is the lightest, best handling choice. But I'm just not comfortable with
the looks of a 20 inch front wheel on an adult bike.
.
I much prefer the larger wheels for larger riders. One of my first
submissions to Bikerodnkustom was a long wheel based recumbent with 26 x 1.5 tires that I called "The Queen Mary" (because she was so long). On that bike I used a girls bike for the front part of the frame. I always wanted to build a beach cruiser based long wheel based recumbent with big fat tires and a man's cantelever frame for the front.
.
Here's my first long wheel based recumbent using the 24x3 tires for both the front and rear of a bike.
.
Using the fat tires as a starting place, I decided to make everything on the bike oversized. I found a men's 26 inch Huffy beach cruiser that used oversized frame tubes. The biggest seat I could find was a
tractor-sized seat from a trike. I used 25 inch ape hanger handlebars
from J&B Imports.
.
The frame fits my leg length perfectly, and the pull back handlebars
feel comfortable. I tried many different back rests before I found the
most comfortable one. The best one came off an office chair. All I had to do was drill one hole and it fit perfectly. I even used the big
over-sized black knob that came with the chair.
.
Please note the super cheap custom part I used to cover the empty bottom bracket hole. It's a $1.19 blind spot mirror from the auto parts store.
.
With the single speed hub and coaster brake, this bike couldn't be any simpler. I like how clean it looks with no brake or gear cables. It
rides very smoothly and is surprisingly fast. The seat height is only 22
inches. The wheel base is 69 inches. It handles so well, that I can do a riding U-turn on a two lane street. It's so low I can reach down and pick up newspapers while riding. Overall, I enjoy riding it very much.
.
I like having the small backrest to push against when pedalling.
.
I like the grey primer color. It looks home made, not store bought.
Plus, I don't have to be too fussy about scratches- they spray right out. Cheers, Keith

.