The bike shop here that specializes in recumbent bikes and trikes is actually right down the street from the local VA Hospital where I used to work ... I drove past it twice a day and never really gave it much of a second glance or paid much attention to it.
A week ago on Tuesday I went to pick up a few items for the EZ-3 HDs. Initially I was hesitant because, for some reason, I thought the salesperson (remember 'Leo' ?) would remember me and get pissed off that I found TWO trikes equal to what he wanted for one. I should not have worried, Leo only works on Friday and Saturday. That is how I met Kris.
Kris is the other 'recumbent specialist' at the shop. I kind of ran the story down to him about the EZ-3 HD, Leo, and finding the other two on Craigslist. He laughed and ensured me that Leo would be happy to know that he was able to get someone into recumbent trikes in the community.
So we wanted a few parts like mirrors that attach inside the handle bar ends, another T-Bar (-aka- light and computer mount) for the silver HD, pedal extensions, water bottle cages and some bottles, and a tube patch kit with the necessary tools. It was at this point where Kris stated that if you are out and about and get a flat you have to take the tire off the rim to get to the inner tube to patch it. Once patched it would probably be a good idea to replace the tube once you get back home ... meaning that you would have to take the tire off the bike again to replace the tube. It might just be simpler to just replace the entire tube when you get a flat instead. That way you are not sitting on the side of the road looking for the hole in the tube to patch. Tubes are small and compact anyway and one of our trikes came with a small tool bag that had a 'Red Zeppelin' C02 inflator with extra cartridges to fill the tires so we shouldn't need an air pump ... although we might regret that decision in the future. Buying tubes instead of a patch kit made sense, so I snagged two tubes and a set of Pedro's Tire Tool Levers.
All of the parts are now installed on the trikes ... it did require the purchase of a special, extra thin, $12 pedal wrench as the gap between the pedal and crank arm is so thin that a regular wrench or crescent just does not fit. But the pedal extensions have added an extra 27mm to the pedals which should help prevent my ankles from hitting the cranks.
Now we wait for the temperatures to go down a bit ... 100+ degrees (80+ at 6am) is not ideal for a beginner to go biking in the morning ... even with two or three water bottles.
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