C y c l i s t Recumbent - Steve Briggs

An EZ Rider on the dirt — photo courtesy of Easy Racersadds significantly to the EZ Rider’s weight.DRIVETRAINComponents: The Sun components aregenerally pretty good for the price ranges.Our CX chromoly model has a Shimano 8/24-speed drivetrain shifted by SRAM 4.0twist grip shifters. The SX uses a SRAM 3.0mix. The CX’s 4.0’s are low-line, but theyshifted smoothly and quietly. However, neitheris adequate for use by serious daily commuters.Our AX had up-line SRAM X.9 9/27 speed derailleurs and shifters which are adefinite improvement — though we had notrouble with either the CX or AX drivetrainsduring our testing.Our biggest concern about the EZ-Riderdrivetrain is the long cage derailleur. On bothour CX and AX the derailleur hangs very lowwith about three inches of ground clearance.The derailleur also comes fairly close to theside walls of the fat tires that are standard onthese bikes. I had to pick weeds out of thederailleur pulleys several times while offroading.A shorter cage derailleur would bea better choice, particularly for riders whoplan to use the EZ-Rider off-road. However,switching to a short or medium cage derailleurwon’t work with the 11-32 cassette,and may also require a change in the frontcrankset gearing to make up for the smallerrange of rear gears. Make careful choiceshere, because these types of upgrades can beexpensive. Aside from pulling some weeds,I never even came close to tearing off therear derailleur on either of the test bikes.Chain management: The EZ-Rider drivetrainruns smoothly and is relatively quiet.There seems to be a bit more idler vibrationin some gears than we’ve noticed on the EZ-1and EZ-Sport models. Like the EZ-Sport, theEZ-Rider has a lower chain idler that the chainrolls over (versus the spring-loaded rear derailleurstyle that comes on Easy Racer models).An upper chain idler routes the chainthrough the swing arm area near the pivotpoint. About 500 miles into the AX test oneof the idlers fell off the bike and both bikesbecame noisier over time, thanks to rainy seasongrit and grime. Cleaning both bikes definitelyhelped. If you plan to ride an EZ-Riderhard or use it for commuting, I suggest youorder a spare set of idlers — and you’ll needto spend some extra time keeping your drivetrainparts clean.Gearing: The 18-90 gear-inch range isnearly perfect for this bike and comes on allthree models (though the AX is a 9/27 speed).The 18-inch low gear is good for climbing. The90-inch high gear spins out fast on the road —but you’ll need the low gears more than thehigh gears. I was surprised at the 18-inch lowgear because the gear did not feel this low,probably due to the weight of the bike.Brakes: The EZ-Rider CX comes withPromax disc brakes. These brakes have a limitedadjustment range and are a bit noisy whenthey get hot (think fingernails on a chalkboard). The brakes performed adequately, butI would have preferred the SX’s Tektro V-brakes or, better yet, the AX’s Avid mechanicaldisc brakes.Wheels: The EZ-Rider has black alloy hubs,rims and spokes. The wheels are quick release,and the rear hub is Shimano. The wheels onthe AX were not as dependable as on our SunEZ-Sport Limited. We had to true them a fewtimes and I eventually broke a spoke on therear wheel. Finding a black 20” spoke wasnext to impossible, so our local bike shophad to cut one special. I’m a bit concernedfor serious commuters riding on the EZ Riderstock wheels (see RCN 085’s article on Componentsand wheels in particular).Tires: The tires are Kenda Kwick 20” x1.75” 100 psi tires. They are a scaled downversion of a 700c Cyclocross tire. They havea relatively smooth patch down the centerwith knobs on the side. The Kwicks humdown the road. If you ride mostly on the road,or on trails where you don’t need much traction,I’d suggest a different tire to suit yourneeds. The 20” Kwicks felt sluggish on theroad. I swapped them out for the new PrimoComet 1.95” 110 psi tires, and I kept ridingon varied road and off-road terrain. The onlytime I got into trouble was when the trail waswet. (What a mess).Retrofitting the bike with Primo Comet1.95 110 psi tires transformed it into a fastrolling urban assault vehicle. These tires arestriking to look at (imagine a Comet at twoto three times the size). The tires are hardand roll FAST. I regularly spin this bike out.It’s no slouch, but slows down fast on hills.Forgettable parts: I don’t have good luckwith low-line SRAM shifters. I’ve replacedtwo front shifters on two different bikes inthe last year. These were relatively low mileagebikes, less than two years old. Theseshifters work great when they are new. Theonly other mediocre component was thePromax discs. A disc upgrade on either testmodel would cost a few hundred bucks. Ifyou plan to do this, just order the AX — andyou’ll get a lighter frame to boot.SEAT/COMFORTSeat Back: The Sun seat comes in twoversions. One has an aluminum seat backframe, the other has a steel seat back frame.Both the CX and AX have the lighter version.The Sun seat was updated with a newseat base shell made of plastic to replace thewood.Seat Base: Sun’s seat base is reasonablycomfortable, but doesn’t offer the support ofan Easy Racers or Cycle Genius seat base.Lighter riders (under about 175 pounds)should not experience any difference. Onefeature I do like is the ability to repositionthe seat base in relation to the seat back.The seat mounts on the EZ-Rider areunique. There are additional set-up steps includinga bolted-in wedge that needs to bepositioned (by trial and error); the rear quickrelease goes below the frame’s angled seattube, and the front quick release goes aboveit. The seat base should be completely level(while the frame’s seat tube slants at an upwardangle). This set-up note is not addressedin print anywhere that I saw. Easy Racers12 Recumbent Cyclist News