First test ride

While Marian stitched up the rip in the seat cover, I worked on finishing details: computer, bottle cages, getting the brakes and shifters into the right position, and the fairing. Here's progress.

Here's the cockpit. In a change from my previous practice I put the computer at the bottom of the handlebar instead of the upper crossbar.

The left dial is the computer, the right is a watch that reads out heart rate and altitude. I wasn't sure if it would pick up the heart belt from this distance, but it did. The cadence sensor wire for the Cateye computer is too short to reach down to the pedals, but I used the same trick that I published in the ERRC magazine last year: putting the cadence magnet on the small chainring.

That lets me put the cadence sensor on the main downtube, just a short distance from the computer.

One big disappointment: the new fairing from ZZipper is the wrong size, at least 6 inches too long. It would fit more like a spinnaker than a mainsail.

Marian handed over the repaired seat cover, I put it on, adjusted the cleats on the new shoes, and was ready for a test ride.

Not a very challenging ride, but then I'm in pathetic condition. Three miles, up to Fry's and back. Everything worked pretty well. The seat back slipped a little and needs to be straightened and the stays cinched down hard. The SPD pedals are too tight, they need to be loosened a bunch to make entry and exit smooth. But that's all. In general, the bike feels light'n'tight.

Mentioned below, the chain rings are all three about 10% smaller than before, and this change is very noticeable. I'll be spending a lot more time in the big ring than before.

Oh! and the double kickstand that Easy Racers sells: great! I wish I'd gotten one years ago. It is so nice to have the bike sit solidly upright, with the rear wheel (or the front if you want) clear of the ground. You can sit on it, or work on it, or walk away from it without worrying whether a gust of wind will knock it over. If you have a recumbent with a single kickstand, get the double. Note that as sold, the legs are too long. But they have centimeter marks molded in. I cut off four centimeters with an old hacksaw, and the back wheel still sits a couple inches clear of the ground.