I got a new handcycle

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I got a new handcycle. It’s a Greenspeed hand Magnum.

Long story short, my old handcycle broke, no new parts available. Due to the pandemic, that took several weeks to resolve. Ordering the new bike and waiting for accessories took a few more weeks and I’m still waiting for the luggage rack. (I asked to have the trike shipped without the rack, it’ll be sent when it comes in.)


Good points:

Foldable.

Quick release front wheels.

Mesh seat allows far better ventilation (it gets hot here).

Seat height and angle are adjustable.

Crank height, reach and width are adjustable.

Trailer hitch mounts where it belongs under the rear axle rather than the kludged together setup I had on the old bike.

Luggage rack allows use of saddlebags and rack bags. No more hooking up the trailer and making a special trip for even small items.

I have fenders over all three wheels. No more road spray in the rain.

The Mountain Drive and rear hub can be shifted while sitting still.

Bad points: Steering is very sensitive, “muscling” the cranks like on the old bike results in unwanted input. Lower gear/higher rpm should reduce it but I don’t know yet if it will be eliminated.

Despite being the same weight as the old bike, it has a heavy, cumbersome feel overall. I suspect that like with the steering, I need to spin higher rpms.

It’s more awkward to get in/out. Folding the crank tower helps.

The internal hub means a more complicated removal of the rear wheel.

The hand pedals are very small in diameter. I’ll need to get something along the lines of pipe insulation to thicken the grip.

The front fenders(optional, the rear fender came with the trike) are flimsy. Disappointing considering the cost.

Techie stuff:

42t on crank

9 speed cassette 11-32

Sturmey-Archer 3 speed internal gear hub low is 25% lower, middle is direct drive, high is 33% higher

(non-techie note, this takes the place of the 3 chainrings on a regular bike)

2 speed Schlumpf Mountain Drive on crank high is direct drive, 2.5:1 reduction in low.

http://www.schlumpfdrive.com/index.php/mountain-drive.html

“54 gears”, actually two separate 27 gear ranges

Gear inches

17-95

7-38(low)

Front wheels have 90mm drum brakes with parking button on lever.

Sturmey Archer twist grip for rear hub

Bar end shifter for cassette.

Single brake lever links to both front brakes

2

Cool. 7 gear inches? I suppose that is goo if you ever need to pull some tree stumps out of the ground :wink:

Brian

3

I’ve always wanted to scale walls.

4

Nice!
Congratulations. How many months out of the year can you use it?

5

Year round. I’ve been without a car for 9 years. The previous bike had no way to mount fenders so I would get soaked from road spray off the back tires.

6

Cool!

7

Congrats. I’ve looked at their recumbents for quite a while but I can’t quite justify it yet. I hope you have many happy miles of riding!

8

Thanks! Any particular model you’re eyeing?

9

We will expect an updated avatar from you!

10

Way ahead of you. I changed it right after posting the thread topic.
:smiley:

11

I thought it looked shinier!

12

I tried washing my old avatar a couple of times and shorted out the monitor each time.

13

How fast is it?

14

I’m curious how hilly is the terrain where you ride out there.

15

Top speed is 28mph @100 rpm. Ain’t happening in real life except on a downhill.

The nearest hills are 15-20 miles away. All flat around here. The hills themselves are moderate to a bit of a challenge (for experienced cyclists). Not severe like riding over the Rockies.

16

I was looking at the Magnum BW or the GT26 but I’ve also drawn up plans for a really funky two wheeled dual suspension high racer 26 inch tired recumbent. It would be a hand built carbon fiber frame, Under seat steering, and use a mid drive that the owners of Maxarya Cycles sent out to me from one of their prototype bikes. My plan originally was to use a MTB 27 spd setup but now I’m reconsidering and using something like a SRAM XX1 so I don’t need a front derailleur.

17

I could imagine even twenty mph to feel fast as hell. My motorctcles have never felt particularly safe in traffic and they’re a bit faster than that. How does being in traffic feel from a personal safety aspect? Are there a lot of bike lanes where you are?

18

That sound like quite the project. And scoring free stuff.

19

The only bike lanes are on roads wide enough to not need 'em. Go figure.
I actually have less trouble with drivers than when I rode a regular bike. Plus I go the hi-viz route-bright shirt/helmet and gloves and daylight visible lights-front and back.

20

Hey @running_coach, how’s the new handcycle working out?