Welcome

Most likely you're visiting to check out Finer Recliner CURVE neck rests, side mount handlebar bag kits, embroidery, tail lights and other recumbent accessories.

I make neck rests mainly but not exclusively for recumbent trikes. Each is 2" thick memory foam fill on a gently curved PVC base. The covers are breathable and water-resistant. Embroidery options are nearly limitless and allow you to truly personalize this part of your trike.

If you're interested in more information about Finer Recliner accessories, pictures, prices and how to order, you can reach me at stevesussman@earthlink.net.

Thanks for visiting.

Monday, August 29, 2011

I just got a nice note and some pictures from Al deMoya.  Thanks to his collaboration we can now add Bacchetta's with recurve seats to the list of bikes we can fit with Finer Recliner CURVE neck rests.  Great job, Al!
















And then there's the news from Catrike that they're stopping production of the Musashi.  That means anyone who has one or gets one soon will have a true American classic.  While I'm sure I'm not that influential, I do hope the Musashi's demise didn't have anything to do with the art I posted last week.  So if any Musashi owner would like one, here's what's available especially for these great bikes.

Finally, John posted this picture on BROL to show his new embroidered CURVE...it matches the tattoo on his leg.  Scots on trikes!!!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Here's a new embroidery image for Musashi owners.  

We'll gladly personalize it to match your frame color.  Neat, isn't it?  Maybe I should add flames.



Sunday, August 21, 2011


We seem to be in an embroidery cycle lately.  It's funny - we go along for a while with people ordering un-embroidered covers, and then all of a sudden folks want to add a bit of personal bling.  The process can be fun...like when I wrote to Robert Crumb for permission to embroider Mr. Natural, and the results are really nice.  Here are some of the latest.

Here's the famous Mr. Natural, courtesy of Robert Crumb, and now off with the rest of a CURVE kit to Soldatna, Alaska.


You can get just about any image you want because if we can't find it somewhere amongst the thousands of embroidery stock images we can always digitize your original art.


This lighthouse cover and CURVE neck rest kit is a gift from Russell (Mt_Top), John (enumclaw) and me in Thomas' memory to Denise, the person with the winning bid for ROA...Thomas' Catrike Road.  Lighthouses were a Thomas favorite.


This pair is a "his and hers."












 




This cover's for dragon lovers.  The photograph doesn't do it justice...the colors are vibrant.


I'm not sure why this looks gold because it's really a brilliant candy red.  It was chosen to match a tattoo, and it's a near-perfect match.












I like this image so much that it's now a permanent part of our library.  Now anyone can have it, and we'll match the trike color to yours.
It's about 80 degrees on a perfect sunny and cloudless summer afternoon.  Travis is lying in the shade under a tree with a ball in his mouth just in case someone wants to come out and play.  I'm gonna go turn on the hose and soak us both down.








Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Training wheels begone!  I've always believed that training wheels are one of the first really bad bits of advice adults give to kids.  Ever seen a child turn a corner on a bike with training wheels?  S/he's always leaning the wrong way!  When Josh and Noah were little we built 2 wheelers without pedals out of wood.  So long as they could put their feet flat on the ground they could learn to balance in just a matter of minutes. 

I took the cranks off a Granny's Attic recycle bike to see how long it would take my grandson Henry to learn to ride on 2 wheels.  I don't think I've ever laughed so hard...but I didn't laugh long.  In about 10 minutes he was riding.

It's all in the concentration.
Okay, the helmet's not a perfect fit, but it's a helmet.


We're off!!!



Uh oh...something's caught.
Good thing it's just his tee shirt (no laughing.)
 
Without the damn helmet this is easy!

 
Success!
And here's my last bit of evidence...Maya, my 2-year old granddaughter having her first Laufrad experience.  

Why couldn't bike shops use these pedal-less 2 wheelers as loaners?  You put down $50 to borrow the bike, and as soon as your child can balance on two wheels the shop puts the $50 towards the purchase of a new bike.  And training wheels can go the way of Edsels.

Last tidbit for today...the embroidery learning curve continues.  Turns out that blending is one of the most difficult challenges for embroidery, and it's expensive.  The Flaming Trike art looks great, but it's really hard to get the color blend to work and it takes thousands of stitches, meaning it's expensive.  So I re-did the art, and I hope you agree that the finished product looks terrific.  And for only half as much.
I'm taking Travis and we're going riding.



  









Tuesday, August 16, 2011

First an order update.  All orders I have as of yesterday - all CURVE kits, Catrike replacements and side mount kits have either been shipped today or are made up and waiting to ship as soon as two things occur.
  1. Shims.  All the kits (neck rest and side mount) use a 1 1/8" to 1" shim that are in notorious short supply.  I bought just about all the stock my supplier had about 6 weeks ago and am down to just a couple left.  Today they got a new supply and I just ordered 20 more.  They should arrive here Monday or Tuesday.
  2. Zubin has finished all the embroidered covers and mailed them to me yesterday from San Francisco.  They should arrive here on Wednesday.
So, if you've ordered a CURVE to use on your Catrike with the original hardware, and the cover is embroidered, it'll ship from here on Thursday.  If you ordered a CURVE kit or side mount kit I'll ship the minute the shims arrive...that is unless your order has already been shipped.

It's pretty clear that while my customers just want their stuff, they've unwittingly (and possibly unwillingly) signed up for this micro-enterprise experiment.  Don't get me wrong, I love doing this, am having a great time and am learning more every day.  My biggest challenges all relate to production and delivery, not (I'm sure hoping) product quality...that is since I stopped using the adhesive that put people into orbit and dissolved about 20% of my brain cells.  

Two major goals for next year (to keep me from going nuts) are, first, to be able to order from the source and in quantity for more savings, and to be able to manage inventory and production better so I can fill orders more quickly.  Trying to manage parts inventory, make all the pieces, oversee my friends who weld, sew or embroider, respond to inquiries, then do the accounting, work with the companies who fabricate the brackets, powdercoat parts, digitize original art and supply images, do the accounting, design new accessories and develop new mounts for more manufacturers...and respond to special requests all seems like a lot for one person who's also trying to keep three relationships alive (Penni, Travis and Gomez), make time for my kids and grandkids, keep my consulting practice going, and make sure there's time to play. 

The other day someone posted on a Catrike forum thread that they were having a problem keeping the stock neck rest hardware adjusted and free from movement.  I posted pictures of Jim's Catrike kit.  It's adjustable up and down, fore and aft, side to side...and the CURVE's face can be tilted as well.  And when it's set to your sweet spot it will stay put.