Nazca Fiero new buy

Joined
Feb 7, 2008
Messages
4,575
Location
Nottinghamshire England
Hi all

So bought this commercial recumbent for the right price however it is not suitable for me as bought and the type of riding I do ?

Against my Oke-Ka :-



It is very low and the seat is much to laided back for me maybe 35' rather than 45' ?

So I built a front pivot mount and a pair of rear mounts that allow adjustment of the seat angle :-



So the seat is now 45' and the brackets have raised it [ not a bad thing ] the boom is out another 1/2" and the bars are raised again about another 1/2" on the stop [ which controls the tilt of the stem ] still about 1/2" to go. So what is it like now ?

Well the leg length is much better and I can see forward now without needing a neck rest to hold my head up.

Can you see that the seats are about the same position but the pedals on the yellow one are further forward that is because there is no adjustment on the red bikes handle bars so I cannot move the red bike seat further back as I can't reach the handle bars and they are not adjustable.

It is also nice to have 2 x 20" wheels the 16" on the red bike makes it a little tricky when it is wet or slippery.

The problem now with the yellow bike is that I can't get the bars fully vertical as they obstruct my knees which would also happen if I moved the seat further back ?

So now to ride it and see what it is like , I want a 100 mile in a day bike the red one hurts after 60+ but is easier to ride ?

regards Paul
 
Joined
May 31, 2013
Messages
3,981
Location
South Benfleet, Essex, England, UK
100 miles in a day!!! Eeek.
If 60 is the Maximum Distance before pain sets in on the Red bike and you are asking your body for 66% more distance (two-thirds as much again) that's a really big stretch target. :eek:
Is the distance barrier muscle-fatigue/pain or plain old "bone-ache"/pain on the Red?

Assuming that a "day" consists of 10 hours with 2 hours out of the saddle refueling, that's 100/8 or an average of 12MPH constantly. Ouch.
I doff my cap to you for even thinking about it Paul. When are you attempting the 100 dash?
 

SirJoey

Super Moderator
Joined
Feb 8, 2008
Messages
4,781
Location
My cozy little nook in the corner!
Man, that's a sweet little ride, at least for a commercial model.
Personally, I'd love to have it, cuz it's small enough to keep in the apartment I now reside in.
Too bad you're on the other side of the "pond". :)
***
 
Joined
Feb 7, 2008
Messages
4,575
Location
Nottinghamshire England
100 miles in a day!!! Eeek
Done it a couple years ago on a borrowed one of these :-



If 60 is the Maximum Distance before pain sets in on the Red bike and you are asking your body for 66% more distance (two-thirds as much again) that's a really big stretch target. :eek:
Is the distance barrier muscle-fatigue/pain or plain old "bone-ache"/pain on the Red?
Don't forget this is without camping gear/trailer and I have done 60-70 in Holland with the trailer ?

Only poor position :-
  • legs not extended enough = knee pain
  • pedals not high enough = lack of power
  • lent to much forward = back pain
Assuming that a "day" consists of 10 hours with 2 hours out of the saddle refueling, that's 100/8 or an average of 12MPH constantly. Ouch.
I doff my cap to you for even thinking about it Paul.
Started @ 7:00 and ended about 18:00 plenty of fuel stops [ as you know my style :) ] did the 100 miles with 8 hours of saddle time rest of time was spent eating.

When are you attempting the 100 dash?
Tricky as I have cycling companions who work , so making it hard to get a convenient date - we failed to find one last year [ when we wanted to try for 120 miles ] these distances are dictated by suitable routes with plenty of fuel stops and it needs to be in the summer for longer days.
 
Joined
Feb 7, 2008
Messages
4,575
Location
Nottinghamshire England
Man, that's a sweet little ride, at least for a commercial model.
Personally, I'd love to have it, cuz it's small enough to keep in the apartment I now reside in.
Too bad you're on the other side of the "pond". :)
***
Great to see you back SirJoey hope you are in good health.

It is Dutch and so quite rare in the UK and the USA well ' rocking horse' droppings springs to mind ...

All the best Paul
 

SirJoey

Super Moderator
Joined
Feb 8, 2008
Messages
4,781
Location
My cozy little nook in the corner!
Great to see you back SirJoey hope you are in good health.
Thanx a bunch, ol' friend, same to you! I'm well, albeit in a good bit of pain most days. (Might help if I could get out & ride once in awhile)
Unfortunately, the few HPVs I still have left are in storage. 😞

Glad to see you're still part of the team as well! 😁
***
 
Joined
Feb 7, 2008
Messages
4,575
Location
Nottinghamshire England
Hi all

Next on the list is to tackle the gearing it has a SRAM 3 x 9 so 3 speed internal hub coupled to a 9 speed cassette while most of that is working [ IIRC 9th is hard to get but I may have the stop down to tight ].

I was perfectly able to do the run to my parents [ with 3 good hills ]whilst only having the lowest of the 3 hub gears [ default when cable not working properly ] so the gearing is way to high.

Factory was either 38t or 42t I find it is fitted with a 52t , so either it has been racing in the past or someone much more powerful than me has been riding it ?

As direct drive is 2nd on the hub I need it to be in 2nd for most of my riding , on the Python that equates to a 38t from a MTB chain ring set for most of my riding. Sheldon's gear calculator shows with a 38t on the Fiero it is a good match with 1 lower gear and 2 upper gears more than the Python.

So I need to go routing around in the spares box and see what is about , a 42t would probably pass muster at a pinch.

all for now Paul
 
Joined
Feb 7, 2008
Messages
4,575
Location
Nottinghamshire England
So fitted a 32t and went for my usual run , now all my riding was in direct drive [ 2nd of the 3 speed ] and I got up the hills without having to use the 1st gear of the 3 speed.

I occasionally got into 3rd of the 3 speed however it became a bit to twitchy for comfort [ lack of experience I hope ] still quite a bit of tiller.

Seat is measured at 47' however it is very difficult to decide where to measure it as it has lot's of curves so I just selected a spot between the upper seat mount bolts and intend to measure it there every time.

I put the seat cushion on which is much to thick , well thicker than my Ventist seat pads , and had a couple of problems ?

1st - when applying the brakes , Magura hydraulic discs , the handle bars pivot upwards

2nd - at the same time I slide off the seat as the cover is very slippery

So this is very disconcerting when you are concentrating on getting through a barrier and not getting run over by motor traffic ;);)

Returning home I drilled some different holes and dropped the seat to approx 41' a short ride and I am not sure which is better yet.

More ridding needs doing ?

regards Paul
 
Joined
Feb 7, 2008
Messages
4,575
Location
Nottinghamshire England
Hi all

More tinkering ?

Decided to move the seat forward 2" - reason ?
Well the further forward I can get it the more vertical I can get the handlebar stem without my knees hitting the brake levers ?



So the bolty on bits beginning to look ' well bolty ' however this can all be tidied up when I have found the sweet spot ?



just a simple plate moved the frame mountings forward the 2 " that intern helped the rear mounts as they are now more vertical for about 45' of seat tilt ?



Tilt stop now almost fully wound up so NO tilt , hurrah I hear you say , no unexpected movement on the handle bars when relying on them to help you get the beast under control ?



Hopefully get a ' to mothers ' run tomorrow to she if there are any improvements ?

One think I cannot alter is the occasional foot trap !

Turn left with left foot level/low on the pedals heal goes in gap between wheel and frame , so straightening up to proceed forward does not happen usually accompanied with panic stop and right leg deployed to stay upright.
Thinks brain needs to learn something here (y)

All mods can be ' unbolted ' and bike returned to original configuration if needed.

regards Paul
 
Joined
May 31, 2013
Messages
3,981
Location
South Benfleet, Essex, England, UK
But......
You are having fun and learning a new steed.
All looking really good Paul.
 
Joined
Feb 7, 2008
Messages
4,575
Location
Nottinghamshire England
But......
You are having fun and learning a new steed.
All looking really good Paul.
hey even unwound spring tension 1.5 turns and I now have rear suspension !

regards Paul
 
Joined
May 31, 2013
Messages
3,981
Location
South Benfleet, Essex, England, UK
hey even unwound spring tension 1.5 turns and I now have rear suspension !

regards Paul
Great! Is the back noticing any difference? Is the ride better or worse for it in the mix?
 
Joined
Feb 7, 2008
Messages
4,575
Location
Nottinghamshire England
Great! Is the back noticing any difference? Is the ride better or worse for it in the mix?
Hard to tell as 75% of brain power needed to pilot the beast and not come a cropper and 30% of the brain power needed for flexing the sphincter muscles :LOL:

regards Paul

ps another ride today and getting better , I think I am getting back into the groove a little , now the bars don't tilt I can use them to lever myself up right in the seat improves low speed handling a treat ;)
 
Joined
Feb 7, 2008
Messages
4,575
Location
Nottinghamshire England
Hi all

So we started with this :-



and now we have this :-



So seat is now further forward and more upright , handlebars are now as much vertical as possible.

Lower bracket was a right bitch ...



Tilting the seat back forward changed the relationship on the seat mount and the frame mount as did moving the whole seat forward so the two sets of holes were out of alignment in both height and angle ?

The holes in the bracket are where it was bolted together in a past life for test riding , however it is now welded to reduce the weight.

rear brackets are linked by some rectangular tubing [ after some Zombie pooh poohed my 3mm plate idea ? [ you know who you are ]]
I have left this bolted as I may have a use for the bolts or may redesign it to reach that storage area [ see below ]



The gap between seat and frame is unfortunate a consequence of moving the seat forward , although it may prove a big enough hole to carry something useful in like my stove ? if bike used for camping ?

So what does this mean to riding it ?

I can now see without wanting a head rest and being more upright makes it easier to balance.
Now the bars don't move I can use them to lever myself upright in the seat improving balance even more and making road junctions easier to negotiate.
It is noticeable that you can feel the bars kick with each pedal stroke ? to little/much trail me thinks ? the shocker can be moved [ 3 positions ] and currently is in the position giving the most height to the rear end ? so maybe moving it to the lowest position will change the trail for the good ?

So whats on the list now to be fixed or changed ?

a) shocker seems to do a lot of sticking before it moves , however I have a box full so something may fit ?
b) touring tyres need fitting 20 x 1.75 instead of 20 x 1.5 high pressure etc etc
c) mudguards front and back
d) new chain - then adjust rear 9 speed properly

all for now Paul
 
Joined
May 31, 2013
Messages
3,981
Location
South Benfleet, Essex, England, UK
Looking very snazzy there Paul.
A working shocker and some softer tyres may make it a really enjoyable ride.
 
Joined
Feb 7, 2008
Messages
4,575
Location
Nottinghamshire England
Is that an eBike hiding there behind it?
***
No a Oke-Ja commercial recumbent:-



Like your Bike-E , daily bike & shopper best I can do on it is about 60 miles which is why I bought the Nazca as I wanted a faster/longer distance bike.

Some of the people I cycle with are 20 and 40 years my junior and the Nazca is intended to level the playing field as they are DF riders 😁
 
Joined
May 31, 2013
Messages
3,981
Location
South Benfleet, Essex, England, UK
Playing with people 20 & 40 years your junior on 100 + mile rides?
No wonder then that you are our very own "Racing Snake" on that Python. :ROFLMAO:
 
Joined
Feb 7, 2008
Messages
4,575
Location
Nottinghamshire England
Playing with people 20 & 40 years your junior on 100 + mile rides?
No wonder then that you are our very own "Racing Snake" on that Python. :ROFLMAO:
There is a 74 yo I also ride with however I take it easy with him my CPR training is well rusty !

The other 2 thought it only fair I go out in front after the first 50+ miles as I was more streamlined than them ?

Unfortunately for them there is much less draft behind a 2 wheel recumbent.

I had some gear problems trying to get up a humped bridge and had to struggle in to high a gear, when I shouted it won't change down they laughed [ wrong response ] at the crest of the bridge I knew there was a straight 1.5 mile run to the next cafe so using the bridge as a head started I let it rip by the time they crested the bridge I was 1/4 mile away and pedaling furiously [ and offence in the UK I might add ! ]

I say them both briefly get out of the saddle and then give in , by the time they arrived I was sat down awating my tea and a piece of apple tart and the last piece of cheese cake both with ice cream and on the same plate , lovely.



Never knowingly under eaten !
 

SirJoey

Super Moderator
Joined
Feb 8, 2008
Messages
4,781
Location
My cozy little nook in the corner!
Man, that's great, & very inspiring! I'm coming up on 66 in 3 months, & I think you've got me beat, hands down.
In my own defense, however, I do have to deal with some physical disabilities, but still... :)

Oh, also, I asked about that bike being an "eBike", but I think Bike-E was what I actually meant. Looked like that same big boxie
main tube. Scoot Daddy had one, & he let me try it out. Although I didn't care for the looks of it, it handled like a DREAM!

***
 
Top