Ride a prone bicycle
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Topic: Ride a prone bicycle
Posted By: formydad
Subject: Ride a prone bicycle
Date Posted: 07 April 2015 at 7:08pm
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Hi. I've not posted here before. Just saw Tim Elsdale's prone recumbent in encycleopedia and found BHPC through web search. It's my dad's 60th birthday on the 15th this month. He's always talked about making a prone bicycle, so I thought it'd be fun for his birthday if he could ride one! I'm wondering if there are any prone bicycle owners anywhere near Kegworth (where we live), or in the East Midlands. We would travel to you, of course, and I'm sure we could even come to some arrangement if you'd like! Anyway, hope to hear from you. Will
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Replies:
Posted By: AlanGoodman
Date Posted: 07 April 2015 at 11:52pm
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I don't know of anybody with a prone (head-first) recumbent... Never seen one at a BHPC event as far as I can remember. If he just wanted to try a recumbent I'm sure we would have a good chance of finding something for him to play on. If he wants to see loads in action then our first round at Hillingdon on Sunday would be well worth the trip. Happy Birthday!! Alan ------------- |
Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 08 April 2015 at 8:45am
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The last person I saw in the flesh riding prone (and, as far as I can recall, the only one) was Tim Elsdale himself, at a BHPC meeting, in about 2002 or 2003. Thee Records would show which. Graeme Obree's Beastie is the only machine I've seen reference to recently. ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: Andrew S
Date Posted: 08 April 2015 at 9:25am
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I too know of no other prones apart from Obree's and Tim Elsdale's (which presumably still exists somewhere). However I do pass through Kegworth most Sunday mornings on my 'normal' recumbent and would be glad to drop in for a show'n'tell sometime - I'm 59 too! If your dad does go ahead with his prone I can strongly recommend Long Lane as a test track. You probably know it well - the long, single-track road to Sawley over the A453. PS: Are you the Will who told me about the broken links on the website? |
Posted By: AlanGoodman
Date Posted: 08 April 2015 at 11:26am
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Prone machines just look scary to me!!! Are you sure you aren't just looking to take advantage of the proposed changes to inheritance tax Will??  ------------- |
Posted By: russellbridge
Date Posted: 08 April 2015 at 12:47pm
| I'm sure Jonathon Woolrich's blog mentioned a (very unstable) prone he'd built and ridden in the dim and distant past, based on a standard upright racing bike - maybe it's still lurking in a shed? |
Posted By: formydad
Date Posted: 08 April 2015 at 1:37pm
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Hi Andrew. Yes, that was me. It'd be great to meet you one Sunday morning, yes. I had this idea about making a tandem from a normal and a recumbent bike, to try to get the best of both. But my dad's interest is only in prone bikes. I'd like to try to make contact with Tim Elsdale, because I know he used to sell or at least make prone bicycles, so perhaps we could hire one from him for the day or weekend?
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Posted By: legs_larry
Date Posted: 08 April 2015 at 3:29pm
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I did once see one of Tim's machines parked outside Condor in the Grays Inn Road, which suggests that someone must have been barking enough to ride one in That London traffic. ------------- ==================== a bit ov a lyv wyr by slof standirds |
Posted By: AlanGoodman
Date Posted: 08 April 2015 at 3:49pm
The possibility of them still being alive enough to loan the machine to anyone is pretty slim I would think... ------------- |
legs_larry wrote:Posted By: GeoffBird
Date Posted: 08 April 2015 at 8:14pm
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At least 10 years ago, there was an Italian guy who built prone bikes and supposedly used them for dispatch riding - obv. bonkers in the head (maybe as a result of a collision on his machine?) Below, a combination of conventional bike and recumbent, thereby forming a tandem:  ------------- Right Time - Right Place - Wrong Speed |
Posted By: formydad
Date Posted: 08 April 2015 at 8:40pm
| Yes I saw that, but it cost £5000. I might look for one second hand, but I expect it will be much cheaper to make it. I don't know how expensive secondhand recumbents are though. |
Posted By: russellbridge
Date Posted: 09 April 2015 at 12:38pm
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There was a half recumbent / half upright tandem on ebay in the last few weeks - I'll see if I can find it Russ nope, can't find it sorry, either searching 'recumbent' or 'tandem' under completed listings
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Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 14 April 2015 at 12:44pm
The http://www.circecycles.com/products/morpheus/" rel="nofollow - Circe Morpheus is a similar design and in the region of half the price.  ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: AlanGoodman
Date Posted: 14 April 2015 at 3:00pm
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There is one on Ebay right now, currently the bidding is at £1500... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hase-Pino-Semi-Recumbent-Tandem-bicycle-Rare-opportunity-to-buy-/331524470637?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4d3065f76d" rel="nofollow - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hase-Pino-Semi-Recumbent-Tandem-bicycle-Rare-opportunity-to-buy-/331524470637?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4d3065f76d ------------- |