Great review! I have been riding my Speedmachine for 8 years / 7k kilometers and love it! I run Marathon Racers, a Sram 3 speed hub with 8 gears, but changed #1 to a larger sprocket. The brakes are Sram hydraulic: not much bite nor feel, but they stop. The lights run off a dynamo and there is a battery to keep the lights on at traffic lights : a complicated solution, with drag from the dynamo, with not much benefit compared to clip on lights. I had an issue with a front wheel bearing which Velotechnik kindly repaired. I clean the chain with WD40 and relube with brand name lubricant and this has worked fine, but needs to be done regularly. I find the front fork is sometimes noisy, so this may need some service. All in all a great ride and impressed with Velotechnik as a company! 😎

@dndrich

Жыл бұрын

I considered the dynamo, but kept it simpler.

The back of your front fender comes closer to the ground than any front fender I have ever seen which gives you and your bike full protection from water and debris streaming off the front wheel.

I just upgraded to a used Speedmachine (yesterday) from an old 200X-year Burley Hepcat recumbent I had bought used 2 years ago. I enjoyed seeing your videos while I was window-shopping different FS recumbent options - you have a great set-up and all of your specs seem practical but also offering great performance. As a long-time mountain biker, I did want to give one suggestion w/ your brakes: you've mentioned a few times how they are the lowest spec Shimano hydraulic brakes, and I've run similar sets (M-3XX) on some of my hardtails over the years (one set I bought for $55 in 2017, pre-bled and everything...). Like you, I've found that even these low-end, 2-piston calipers are excellent and more than enough for "normal" (not racing downhill...) riding. That said, Shimano makes several different levers that all work with their same 2-pot calipers. You have the "2-finger" style lever, where the blade kind of resembles an old cable v-brake lever: very large to allow for multiple fingers to grip and bear down on it. Most of Shimano's line-up is now the "1-finger" style lever - from Deore up through XTR - which most regard as a better design for hydraulic brakes since the actual force you need to apply is so minimal. If you haven't tried these, I would suggest you check them out as a small upgrade for your rig. I upgraded to them on my bikes (I have Deore, SLX, and XT) and for me there's a big ergonomic improvement - you can more easily keep 3 fingers on the bars even during the most intense braking. The master cylinder feels like it provides better action, too, with a nice bite and smooth modulation. I believe you can buy just the "Deore" levers for about $30 per side, and you ought to be able to swap your existing hydraulic lines on with only a top off bleed required. If you haven't bled your brakes in a while (or ever?) you could also take the opportunity to do a full bleed while you've already got the funnel and the mineral oil out (or your mechanic does). No pressure, but I think you'd really enjoy the nicer levers!

@dndrich

2 жыл бұрын

Interesting! I will take a look at those. 4 years in I haven't needed to bleed the brakes once, but looks like an easy install.

I've waited for this, now I'm saving it to be able to look forward to watch it :).

@jonabub

2 жыл бұрын

Okay, whom am I kidding, i couldn't wait, had to see it and show it off to my GF. We both have Speedmachines too, bought them second hand, hers is an older model and has been ridden more than 60.000 k so far, still is running great, mine hasn't been through that much but still is an awesome machine. We love them even though we don't get to ride them very much and still need to get used to them. We outfitted them with ebike motors in the bottom bracket for hills (i know, spare me the comments ;) ), even though hp wouldn't like to hear that it is working great and we did spend less than on their motorkit for the rear hub.Even though they don't have much resistance and are great so far we might get rid of them as soon as we feel comfortable starting up hill etc. but until then we will just enjoy the bikes as is. Thank you for sharing your experience with us, we're actually getting motivated to keep at it and get our recumbent skills up to the task :). What we're very curious about is your camera-light-set. Do you record the backperspective too? Is it actually looping all the time? Can you push a button to save certain instances? Thank you very much for sharing again and i hope you will go a long way on your Speedmachine still :). We will be watching your channel :). Greetings and till then from germany.

@dndrich

2 жыл бұрын

@@jonabub Thanks! Love my SpeedMachine!

@dndrich

2 жыл бұрын

@@jonabub Ah I missed the camera question. Yes, it loops. With the card I have in there I get around 3 hours of HD video. It defaults to 5 minutes segments. You can push a button to save that segment at any time. I view the video on my computer with a USB C connection, and can download and save anything I want. Very high quality video too.

@dndrich

2 жыл бұрын

@@jonabub Oh, and they make a rear camera too that I do not have. I have radar back there instead.

I was wondering whether you were still riding, having not found your videos in my YT algorithm for a couple years. Glad to see you're still at it (a lot of people think they'll take to a 'bent only to find it's not what they'd hoped). I finally got my first recumbent a few weeks ago, a used StreetMachine a guy in Sebastopol had sort of mothballed in his garage for a few years and wanted it to have a good home (bought an old used one in case I too couldn't adapt to it). It's an old steel frame GT from early 2000s (I see the number 02 on the seat, so I think 2002). It's needed some work, but the bones are fine. And, really, that's what you're buying: the rest is just parts. The best "part" is the Rohloff hub, worth what I paid for the SM alone. I was wondering, since I also ride in Sonoma County, do you post your routes anywhere, such as on Komoot or similar? I'm mostly doing west county rides as I get my 'bent legs (or, tbh, summer cycling legs and weight back). The challenge in SoCo is to find routes that don't have vertical walls on them: few and far between. Anyplace you're posting your ride routes that I could reference?

@dndrich

2 жыл бұрын

You bet!! I am on vacation in Hawaii right now, but when I get back I will try to post some links. I track my rides on Ridewithgps, so they are all there. I live in the west county, so it is very hilly as you say. I just do the hills. I ride rollers such as Martinelli road etc. Also down into northern Marin, such as Gericke and Carmody. Nice score on the Rohloff hub. Very nice. When I go up hill, depending on the ride, old men pushing walkers are passing me…Sometimes I am at 3 mph.

@dndrich

2 жыл бұрын

Here is a nice rolling ride without many hills. ridewithgps.com/trips/90231272

@johnhowardnardine6815

2 жыл бұрын

​@@dndrich Thanks!!! I ride out Roblar often, and just rode out Spring Hill Rd. to Two Rock a couple of days ago, and am planning to ride Chilleno Valley tomorrow, so Carmody looks like it could be looped into a route very easily! When you ride out Martinelli, do you continue onto Westside or Old Russian River? Gentle rollers is just what I'm after! My balance and compulsive over-steering climbing are improving so now the issue to resolve is the gearing I inherited from the previous owner: 42t chainring/14t sprocket, which is way to tall for anything over about 6% grade. I will look for your routes on RidewithGPS. Thanks for that! Same callsign you use here?

@dndrich

2 жыл бұрын

@@johnhowardnardine6815 I usually go the other way, and am coming down Westside over the Hacienda bridge and then the side streets from River to Martinelli. From there 116 to Forestville, the trail, and home. Yes, same handle on RGPS.

@dndrich

2 жыл бұрын

@@johnhowardnardine6815 Oh, also, looks like you need to gear way down! I have a triple on the front, 44/32/22, and rear is 11/36, so I have a 22 front 36 rear, which is around 15 gear inches with my short cranks and small wheels.

Hello, I've tried to put front deraileur on mine speedmachine, but there is some collision with the chain. I will be very thankfull if you Could tell the model of yours FD.

@dndrich

Жыл бұрын

I have an 8 speed Shimano on the front. That works well with the 10 speed chain and triple chain rings. I have it toed in about 5 degrees to allow good shifting without running the chain off the big chain ring.

I recently installed the 406 Schwalbe G-One speed on my trike running tubeless. I’m happy to hear you’ve gotten high mileage. I’ll be curious if I can match it. They are non directional so I may rotate them. I like how quickly and easily they jump up on the bead. I also had some leakage out if the sidewall but it resolved with the Orange Sealant. I’ve wondered if one can successfully use tubeless tires on a rim not specifically designed for them. My guess is you did just that. I also use the Molten Speedwax and second your endorsement.

@dndrich

2 жыл бұрын

Yup, that is exactly what I did. I converted the rims using 1 inch Gorilla tape. Flawless. Not every rim will do this, but the HP rims do. Oh yeah, Molten Speedwax!!!

Do you find there is a lot of drag from all the chain tube?

@dndrich

2 жыл бұрын

Not at all. Very smooth. I think others with power meters might measure it at around 5 watts. Not an issue for me.

FYI, I had a Cycliq Fly6 on the rear of my velomobile when I crashed and rolled the velomobile. The Fly6 didn't record any video. Cycliq's response was very poor IMO, sorta blew it off as "oh you must have used the wrong media card" (it was the Cycliq branded card that came with the unit). Don't expect it to work... my Garmin 360 camera did record the crash, if you're interested: kzread.info/dash/bejne/Z5WpzNyFj8K5iqg.html

@dndrich

2 жыл бұрын

Unfortunate. My camera has worked flawlessly so far. I look at the video and it is really good. I hope I don't crash. I will take a look at your nasty roll. Bummer. I hope you came through OK

How reliable is the suspension fork?

@dndrich

2 жыл бұрын

It is a "Concept" suspension fork integrated into the steering tube. So far it has been perfect. The schematics look really robust.

@Finnv893

2 жыл бұрын

@@dndrichThanks, does it use a proprietary headtube ? I want to adapt it to my future grasshopper.

@dndrich

2 жыл бұрын

@@Finnv893 I'm not sure. It may be made for HP Velotechnik. Zach Kaplan of Zach Kaplan recumbents would probably know the answer to that one. Or, post on the forum Bentrideronline.com. Lots of knowledgeable folks there. I have never seen such a fork before. It is pretty amazing really.

@Finnv893

2 жыл бұрын

@@dndrich Thanks, tired of telescopic forks becoming rigid forks on long jaunts.

@dsaxton84

2 жыл бұрын

@@Finnv893 I just went up to Zach's shop a few days ago to look at one of these bikes and he shared some info with me about the fork and headset. This "Concept" fork uses a non-standard 1.5 inch straight steerer tube, so the head tube and headset need to match that. To my knowledge, this will not fit bikes designed for telescopic forks. Telescopic forks are usually straight 1-1/8th inch (old MTB standard) or 1-1/8th" top / 1.5" bottom (new "tapered" MTB standard). There are some really old telescopic forks that use a 1 inch straight steerer tube. Anyway, you can usually only convert from bigger down to smaller (w/ a reducing headset) so expanding an existing head tube upwards to 1.5" would probably not work.