BO15 Ratcumbent

[johnp.smith]

Greetings, I had to make a frame change since I gave my first bike away and Im going to use this recumbent frame. It is an Easy Racer EZ Sport that I acquired a while ago. It had been left out in the rain for many years and restoring it to original condition would have cost too much. So it was stripped and some of its parts were used to complete a different bike. The frame and fork have been sitting in the back of my garage and I have had some crazy ideas for it.
So now Im going to try something wild with it. Having three months should be plenty of time

 

[johnp.smith]

This is how I got it and put it together. It rode but not well. Needed cables, chain, brakepads and more

 

[johnp.smith]

This is it at the moment. I plan to use the original Frame, fork, headset, seat bottom but redoing the back, and thats about it.

 

[johnp.smith]

My inspiration and plan for it come from this picture. This belongs to a local guy that builds a lot of crazy rides. Im going for a cross between an adult muscle bike and a T Bucket. Longest apes possible on a short stem, and im limited for choices of forks with the long head tube. Im going with cruiser truss rods because a triple tree tube fork would be too overpowering. And Im going with whitewalls. Ive never had a bike with whitewalls so in contrast with the color scheme I want to do, whitewalls will be awesome.

 

[OddJob]

I like your vision. And the name. "Ratcumbent", rolls off the tongue so easily.
RaT (cumbent) oN~!

 

[johnp.smith]

I cant believe I hit the age to think about Rat Rodding a recumbent, but I have. I did a little shopping today. I found the stem in my stash, bought new 25 inch apes and new whitewall tires. I was hoping to go fatter but it turns out that the 26 by 2.125 is the biggest that will fit. 2.4 Might not have fit. But thats ok, Im sure this is the biggest rear tire to ever be on an easy racer. Different wheels will come when money allows but Dam I love the stance and the look. I have a different color planned for the bike and the whitewalls are gonna be the bomb with it

 

[OddJob]

Sweet look , John! Those monster apes and the ww tires are begging for a diamond tucked plush seat / saddle of some kind!
RaT oN~!

 

[johnp.smith]

Sweet look , John! Those monster apes and the ww tires are begging for a diamond tucked plush seat / saddle of some kind!
RaT oN~!

Im working on a long owed favor from someone who does upholstery. I have to see whats available to me

 

[johnp.smith]

This is pretty much where the seat was when I rode it around the block. I just set on the seat and grips I had to get an idea with color and its a no go. Im a little nervous about cutting the fabric off the frame because its the only seat I have to fit this bike at the moment. Seat and grips are going to have to be white...I wanted to set it on the ground just to feel the fit with the bars but the tube I had saved from a walmart bike is already flat, I dont want to mark up that back tire so I can wait

Im thinking a light green like the Rat Fink bikes, chrome cruiser repop truss rods, chrome front lowrider wheel with a star lace Spoke pattern, front brake mounts removed, a chrome single chain ring, mooneyes rear wheel disc covers, and seat and grips in white. Not sure if I want single speed or multiple gears yet, if I go multi gears, then a boxcar stickshift. Headlight maybe, speedometer no, I would need binoculars to see it.

and then show up on a recumbent ride in a tshirt, cargo shorts, and flip flops

 

[SkyknightJohn]

I cant believe I hit the age to think about Rat Rodding a recumbent, but I have.

I have NO idea what you’re talking about!

 

[kingfish254]

I like the direction you are taking. You should consider a wide super tall sissy bar (to hang the fluorescent flags that may recumbent riders use) .

 

[johnp.smith]

I like the direction you are taking. You should consider a wide super tall sissy bar (to hang the fluorescent flags that may recumbent riders use) .

Im trying to figure out what to do with the seat still since there is no seat post. Either recovering this or making some kind of adapter for a banana seat. However it needs to have a back to push against. The geometry is all leg power with these. I have several ideas Im looking deeper into

 

[johnp.smith]

I found a different tube for the back wheel for now and I was able to put it on the ground. I put it next to my smaller Easy Racer EZ-1 for comparison. This ez sport uses a 20 inch front and 26 in the rear, while the EZ-1 uses a 16 in the front and 20 in the rear but bikes are basically the same. Anyways, I really like the difference of a short stem and all handlebar opposed to the long reversed stem And then a long bar. I lowered the back rest on my smaller one and went for a little ride. The seat back is a must and im playing with various ideas. I do have an extra seat pan like what is on my Volae but no mounting brackets. So Im still figuring out what to do for the seat

 

[johnp.smith]

After much research, I ordered this seat. I need back support on this bike and when it comes, I will experiment with recovering it and repainting the framework. It will also allow a cleaner look on the back of the bike without the original seat frame tubes I have a nice chrome rack I want to use and put a wood deck on

 

[GuitarlCarl]

There's another way to put a seat back on. Have you ever seen my Harlequin T?

I believe any rear rack would work. It looks uncomfortable but it is fine.

GC.

 

[johnp.smith]

I found and ordered some affordable chrome wheels tonight. I have a small budget for this build so the lowrider chrome wheels are out and so is the powder coating. Looks like its gonna be a rustoleum paint job. Im good with that since its gonna be a beach cruiser and not a show piece

 

[johnp.smith]

Also ordered another part tonight that Ive wanted to put on a bike for a long time. This is the first build Ive done in years that Can use one. The Pie Plate. Did a screen shot but it shows too big to load. Have to wait for it to show up

 

[johnp.smith]

The color combo and cool factor Im going to try to represent. I loved the custom cars of this period

 

[Chad T]

Nice project! When I saw the first pic with the whitewalls I envisioned a scaled-down version of something like this for a seat.

Looking good...

 

[Wildcat]

I looked through the selection of rustoleum colors, there's a ton of choices other than the enamels they used to have.