Re***bent Comfort

Edward Dolan wrote ON TOPIC:
> "Tom Sherman" <sunsetss0003@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message 
> news:g5n4mj$m84$1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> [...]
>> The late BikeE cor****ation made re***bents similar in concept to the 
>> Spirit [1], but made the (deliberate?) mistake of marketing them as
high 
>> performance (i.e. faster than upright road bicycles) machines. A lot of

>> buyers were disappointed in the real world not matching the hype.
> 
> The main number one problem with the BikeE is that they never got the
seat 
> the least bit comfortable, thereby defeating the whole purpose of a 
> re***bent.
> 
For what it is worth, I was told by a couple of dealers that most of 
their customers that found the BikeE comfortable for longer distances 
were women.

Of course, the BikeE seat was plush and comfortable compared to the 
original (pre Cobra) Easy Racers seat.

> Almost all re***bents will go fast enough (except uphill) for the
general 
> user, but they MUST be comfortable. Otherwise, why bother? A re***bent 
> manufacturer who can't get the seat comfortable isn't worth a tinker's
damn! 
> Such manufacturers deserve to burn in everlasting hellfire; purgatory is
too 
> good for them. RANS was as successful as it has been because they got
the 
> seat comfortable right from the beginning.
> 
The original RANS seat was a molded fiberglass bucket: 
<http://www.ransbikes.com/about%20rans/aboutstratus.jpg>.

The molded bottom with foam pad and mesh back that came later and is 
still in production is certainly a comfortable seat for most, but varies 
with the quality of the foam pad (the 1999 yellow foam is the least 
desirable).

The sling mesh with pad used by Lighting Cycle Dynamics and Earth Cycles 
among others is also very comfortable, but it not well suited for urban 
used with higher seats and/or riders with shorter legs, since the frame 
makes putting a foot down more difficult.

-- 
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
"People who had no mercy will find none." - Anon.