[Whirl] So I've rejoined the list to see who is still around!

Sun Apr 12 15:11:01 CDT 2020

Mark,

With regard to when you bought your Pursuit I can guarantee you had it before the fall of 1998 because that’s when I saw it at the Washington Sailing Marina and was inspired to purchase my first of several bents.

As to turning radius my experience was that it was quite large, partly in view  of the long wheelbase, but also because of the low center of gravity and the long tiller effect, both of which made low speed handling more difficult than on most bents.  Despite the low-speed handling problems the Pursuit is still my favorite bent of all the ones I have owned.  The combination of comfort and speed(with a fairing), without having to resort to a very laid-back seating position, is superior to that of any other bent I have ridden.  I have no  doubt that the Pursuit, with the factory fairing and tailbox, is faster on the level and downhill, but not climbing, than a Gold Rush Replica with the zipped-up closed cloth fairing.  I’m sure I would get a lot of flack on this, but the lower frontal area of the Pursuit is too much for the Gold Rush to compete with.

It’s sad that so many of the companies that promoted the emergence of recumbents in the 1990s and 2000s are no longer with us.  I also find it sad that so much of the recumbent market is dominated by trikes.  I’m a huge fan of trikes, having owned two, but the greater speed, reduced weight, easier transportability and stowage, as well as lesser cost, should make two-wheel bents at least as popular as trikes.

Enjoy riding your cycles as a way of dealing with this pandemic, and thank you Kathy for keeping this forum going.

Len Thunberg

> On Apr 12, 2020, at 5:45 AM, William Cannon Warren <cannonwarren at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Heyo,
> 
> I'm new to the group, signed up a year or two ago looking for some bent riding mates, but have now moved on to Frankfurt, Germany. I left my bent bikes in the US for the moment. A bacchetta ti aero, and a barcroft Columbia tandem.
> 
> Last year the tandem's steel chain stay snapped close to the frame. I had some local dude, Bruce the welder, weld it back together, but sadly the other stays were bent out of shape so now it's all screwed up. I'm trying to get it fixed and considering just replacing all the chain and seat stays at this point. They seem a little under-engineered for a touring couple. 
> 
> Does anyone have recommendations for someone who can work on a steel recumbent frame with this kind of problem? Obviously, I'm not in any hurry...
> 
> Thanks and hope I can ride with y'all soon, and feel free to drop a line if anyone comes to Germany.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Cannon 
> 
> 
> On Sun, Apr 12, 2020, 7:09 AM Mark Matarella <Mark at matarella.com <mailto:Mark at matarella.com>> wrote:
> Howdy. I didn’t realize they’d done frames for Bill. Or didn’t remember at least. I was able to turn it OK. But I am used to LWB. It does have a large tiller factor but that does not really bug me in a bike since I only notice it in a U turn usually.
> 
>  
> 
> Well Longbikes is still around I know, making the Slipstream their updated version of the Ryan Vanguard. I believe Linear is still going. Others will have to chime in now. I’ve been fixating on bikes from a few years back as you can tell and honestly not up to date on what is current.
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks re my sell date I’ve been trying to figure it out. I remember who I sold it to but for the life of me I don’t remember who I got it from! Larry at the store? A private party? I don’t have a clue! I know I had it in 2000 since I am on it in a pic of the 2000 Big Ride. I’m going to have to dig out some photo albums of some rides to see what I had and when. Now that I think of it I sold my Linear to a friend who rode it for several years. Then gave it back to me when he bought a SWB. I seem to have a habit of selling bikes and getting them back. LOL. I hope that monstrous Russian HPV doesn’t come back to roost!
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> From: WHIRL [mailto:whirl-bounces at bilton.us <mailto:whirl-bounces at bilton.us>] On Behalf Of Butler, Michael (AU3653)
> Sent: Sunday, April 12, 2020 12:51 AM
> To: WHIRL <whirl at bilton.us <mailto:whirl at bilton.us>>
> Subject: Re: [Whirl] So I've rejoined the list to see who is still around!
> 
>  
> 
> I hadn’t realized Rotator was out of business till the tone of these conversations got me wondering why not just buy a new.  Is see they went out of business in
> 
> They used to fabricate the frames for Barcroft before Bill retired from that activity and sold it to Dana out west.  Is Barcroft also out of business or did Dana find alternatives?
> 
>  As long as the Pursuit was, was wondering did that bent need above average space to turn around?
> 
> Is anyone building a very long wheelbase bent these days?
> 
> I remember riding the Halloween parade with Bikes at Vienna-Whirl back in 04.  Is that bent appearance still going on each fall?
> 
>  
> 
> Mark- I remember you selling that bent-I came on board here about 02, so I think it was a little less than 20, maybe 02 or 03.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
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>  
> 
>  
> 
> From: WHIRL <whirl-bounces at bilton.us <mailto:whirl-bounces at bilton.us>> On Behalf Of Bob Simonds
> Sent: Saturday, April 11, 2020 1:04 PM
> To: Mark Matarella <Mark at matarella.com <mailto:Mark at matarella.com>>
> Cc: WHIRL <whirl at bilton.us <mailto:whirl at bilton.us>>
> Subject: Re: [Whirl] So I've rejoined the list to see who is still around!
> 
>  
> 
> I rode with you guys a few times in the late 90s, although not as often as I would have liked as I live 4 or 5 hours away. It's good to see the list pop up again.
> 
>  
> 
> I still ride a P38 I bought from Larry Black in 1994 -- the bike now has well over 40k miles on it, although the frame has been out to Tim Brummer a couple times for repairs. It's been to Europe as well as across the US. Most of its miles were as my daily commuter for many years.
> 
>  
> 
> Mark, are you the one that gave a tour of your sailboat during one of the big rides?
> 
>  
> 
> Bob Simonds,
> 
> Blacksburg, VA
> 
>  
> 
> On Sat, Apr 11, 2020 at 12:28 PM Mark Matarella <Mark at matarella.com <mailto:Mark at matarella.com>> wrote:
> 
> 
>  HI Kathy. I thought I'd be the only one to still have the shirts! I have
> that one and the one from 1999. I thought I had three but if so it got mixed
> in with other stuff. 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: WHIRL [mailto:whirl-bounces at bilton.us <mailto:whirl-bounces at bilton.us>] On Behalf Of KATHY BILTON
> Sent: Saturday, April 11, 2020 11:38 AM
> To: 'WHIRL' <whirl at bilton.us <mailto:whirl at bilton.us>>
> Subject: Re: [Whirl] So I've rejoined the list to see who is still around!
> Hi all as well!
> 
> That was such a great event, Mark!
> 
> More later but I just got my Big Ride T-shirt out in honor of the (at least
> for now) resuscitation of the list and thought I would post a pic:
> 
> https://drive.google.com/open?id=1KE4nQUwxfcA9TZ9LyCTlwiY2RzAZ2mrw <https://gcc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdrive.google.com%2Fopen%3Fid%3D1KE4nQUwxfcA9TZ9LyCTlwiY2RzAZ2mrw&data=02%7C01%7Cmichael.butler%40uspto.gov%7C71b5415fbec54c8be54908d7de3a6ce2%7Cff4abfe983b540268b8ffa69a1cad0b8%7C1%7C0%7C637222214830552375&sdata=pu1n%2Bw1YL3xEHIkJMneQtU6dippWObbXHdEF%2BFKl0Eo%3D&reserved=0>
> 
> --Kathy
> in Sharpsburg MD
> 
> 
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