Gear for us non-lycra bikers, Part 2.   Return to "The finer recliner."

This blog isn't a good place for lots of pictures...the columns are just too narrow.  So for anyone wanting to check out "Finer recliner" gear, this site is really impossible.  The long term solution is to create a website.  Because I'm really excited about the gear (it looks even better in person than in pictures!) and I'm a web design cretin I've come up with an interim plan by posting everything in a Picasa album.  http://picasaweb.google.com/shag1941/TheFinerReclinerRecumbentGear#  Everything's there - all the gear, sizes, colors, prices, and how to order.

What is "The finer recliner" gear? It's a growing collection of personalizable wickable riding jerseys, tee shirts, caps and other cool gear for us non-lycra recumbent cyclists who like comfortable clothes for riding or just hanging out with friends, and who like to share our enthusiasm with others for our own rides and recumbent trikes in general.

How's it special?  For starters, everything is personalized.  It's gear that's uniquely yours, or it makes a very special gift.  Choose your gear from a rainbow of colors.  Then choose your logo - tadpole or delta trike.  We'll embroider the logo in the frame color of your choice so you can match your trike.  I think the embroidered logos look terrific.  Then add the name or nickname you want to create a comfortable garment you'll love to wear or give to someone special.

These clothes look great, perform well, are comfortable, AND they're not skin tight.  And we're offering unique clothing for women including a cap sleeve riding jersey that Penni loves.  Even the ball caps are cut differently for men and women. It's a growing

It was a great holiday season and I'm excited about the new year.  One of the best and most unexpected gifts from this little enterprise has been the way its brought so many nice folks into my life from all over the US, Canada and even overseas.  Email exchanges that began about neck rests evolved into much more, and I feel so enriched by the many delightful people I've met because of this small item.  Thanks.

I posted Kirk's feedback about the new curved prototype neck rest on BROL and the Catrike forum so I won't repeat it here.  He said he's not gonna return it, and that's endorsement enough so I'm tooling up to offer this curved version along with the current model.  I've heard from Dave about the "half-wrap" neck rest we made him that will hopefully help with his arthritis.  He said he hasn't tried it out on the road yet because of 12 degree weather and snow...a cheesy excuse, but according to Dave, the "Garage test is dreamy comfortable."  If nothing else it should make a comfy recliner in front of the fire.

I got an email from Paul saying he'd noticed that the glue binding the latex to the base hadn't held in several places around the edges on his new neck rest, wondered whether the extreme cold in my shop had played havoc with the binding, and asked about a fix.  The hallucinations from the fumes alone should have been enough to get me to switch adhesives.  Paul's feedback was the clincher.  I bag each neck rest in plastic and bind it tightly with tape for at least 12 hours after gluing the fill to the base, so the binding should be secure.  So I've switched adhesives to one recommended by my foam supplier and it seems to working just fine.  I'm kinda missing the visions though.  

As for Paul's neck rest, I offered to replace it immediately.  He decided to try his own fix first.  And here's what else he had to say.  "That being said, I mounted it and took it for a spin to see if it was worth considering some sort of remedy, and must say it is light years more comfortable than the catrike version!  I love it and hope you can offer some suggestions on what to do about the glue situation."  Anyone else with this or any other issue, please let me know so I can make it right.  The world's a complicated place, and in most instances there's little over which any of us has total control.  Making you happy with your neck rest is about as close to total control as I can ever have.  We just began making these toward the end of last summer, so each new batch has been an opportunity to learn, and to find ways to make what we think is a good product even better. 

Things in the works for the coming months include the new curved neck rests, and new brackets so our neck rests will fit on older Catrike models and other models with horizontal bars.  And since Msafiri (my Expedition) is still fitted with prototype #1, I think it's time I made myself a new neck rest.

Have a wonderful new year, and stay tuned.

This one's really exciting.  Sure the jury's still out because this won't be shipped until tomorrow, but still this is the neck rest I'm most proud of so far.  A few months ago someone who'd bought one of my standard neck rests asked if I could make him a special one.  Because of arthritis in his neck he needs a rest that stabilizes his neck side-to-side as well as fore and aft.  Once I had the measurements from his chiropractor the real challenge was finding something to use as a curved base.  That 8" PVC high pressure coupling I showed in an earlier post turned out to be the perfect dimension and it's rigid enough not to flex.

The inside diameter of the base is 8", and it's lined with 2" latex.  The support brackets have 5 mounting adjustments so it can be tilted up and down, and then secured.  Zubin did a great job of tailoring a cover for this uniquely shaped neck rest.  We are both really proud of our product and hope it exceeds our patient customer's expectations.

Last post of the day.  It seems like this has become a clothing store lately.  It's true I'm really excited about the gear and logos, and I'm hoping people will like it enough so we can add more choices when we come across something interesting.  But this began as a neck rest blog, or at least a trike parts blog, and there's a bunch of interesting stuff happening with these as well. 


Tomorrow the new curved neck rest prototype goes off to Kirk.  I mounted it on Msafiri this morning intending to go for a ride and try it before mailing it off.  The sun was out and it was in the 50's...until I was ready to leave.  Then the temperature dropped and it rained the rest of the day.  So I'm sending the neck rest to Kirk completely untried.  Frankly I have no idea how this will turn out.  Will he like it?  Will it be better or worse...a toss-up?  I guess I'll see.  I think I may make another one for me to try as well.  After all, I'm still riding with the first prototype on Msafiri.  I ought to at least try one made with latex.


Last week, totally by surprise, I got an email, a gift, from Pat Franz, the owner of TerraCycle.  He packed it so full of helpful suggestions and resources I felt like a kid turned loose in a candy store.  His kindness epitomizes my experience with recumbent folks.   My very first experience with incredibly generous and knowledgeable recumbent people was more than 20 years ago.  I'd bought Gardner Martin's how-to book on how to build an Easy Racer and before long I had a bunch of first-timer questions that had me totally stuck.  So I called him.  I wasn't buying an Easy Racer.  Maybe he'd made a buck or two from the sale of the book I'd bought.  And yet he stayed on the phone with me until he was sure I had all my questions answered.  He even answered questions I wasn't smart enough to have asked.  I built that bike, named it the Load Warrior, and rode it first from Minneapolis to Seattle, the next summer from Minneapolis to Maine via Ottawa, and a couple of years later spent a month on it touring New Zealand.  I doubt I could have finished it without his help, and I've never forgotten his kindness. 


I had the same experience with Pat last week.  I've never met him, either in person or through the web, and his friendly email was totally out of the blue.  I know him just by the quality of what he makes.  Our Screamer has one of his stems and under-seat racks.  And Msafiri has a Terracycle idler. 

His taking the time to share some of his manufacturing knowledge and experience so perhaps I might move out of the production dark ages couldn't have come at a more perfect time for me.  No wonder TerraCycle makes such high quality goods.  Consider the source.  Thanks, Pat.

More nice "Finer recliner" wickable gear to ride in, or to wear just about anytime.  I found these two shirts doing some research for a special request.  Both the Polo and the Henley have "The finer recliner" embroidered logos, your choice of the tadpole or delta trike color-matched to your trike, and your name or nickname embroidered on the sleeve.  They both look great. 

The price for the Polo is $38 with the logo of your choice.  Add $3 if you'd like your name or nickname added.  The Henley is $36, also with the logo of your choice.  Add $3 for your name or nickname.


Now if I can just find a nice pair of riding knickers.

Gear for us non-lycra bikers.

In October, Penni and I spent two weeks in Germany and Prague visiting my son, daughter-in-law and new granddaughter.  Every day we saw hundreds of people on bicycles going to and from work, running errands and some just getting exercise.  Everyone person we saw was in street clothes.  We didn’t see anyone in lycra, and it got me thinking. 

Oh I like the jerseys with the brilliant colors and designs, but I feel kind of foolish dressing up like a peacock to run errands with my bike.  And frankly, being pretty snug, they reveal a bit more about my upper body shape than I’m interested in sharing.  And I’m always on the lookout for a t-shirt or jersey that lets me share my excitement for recumbents.  I’m guessing I may not be the only one. 

So this was our thinking when we were picking gear to offer to folks coming to TOT next June – choose a comfortable wickable short or long sleeve jersey to ride in, a good quality t-shirt to wear for fun, a nice cap to cover hat hair (or hat scalp in my case), and gear in womens’ as well as mens’ styles and colors. 

Since not everyone will be coming to TOT we decided to offer similar gear for everyone else, but with some really neat differences.  The gear’s called “The finer recliner.”  Andie has designed some great logos…with a velo on the way.  If folks like this gear we'll try to add to the selection over time.

Just like the TOT gear, the logos are embroidered, not screened, by Cara at embroidery central command.  And here’s what’s especially neat. 

• No minimum order.   
• Your choice of tadpole or delta logo.
• The tees, jerseys and caps all come in a rainbow of colors.  
• Your name or nickname embroidered on the sleeve or back of your cap. 
• You can match the trike logo with the color of your trike.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Here are the color choices, and the prices are at the bottom.  If you'd like to order something just email your choices to me at stevesussman@earthlink.net.  Don't forget to include:
  
  Your size, 
  
  Color choice (and a 2nd just in case), 
  
  Whether you want the delta or tadpole logo,
  
  The color of your trike, 
  
  And your name or nickname if you want that embroidered.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

A great day.  The sun's out, it has warmed up a bit, and on the island it's the first day in a while I didn't think about the moss growing under my arms...and people are out walking, and smiling!

 

Finally, almost all the back ordered neck rests got boxed, stamped and sent on their way, most to towns all over the US but also one to Ottawa and one to Singapore.  While I haven't yet started shopping for a sandy beach on a tropical island, this small venture has really turned out to be fun.  It's been a a great way to meet people all around the country and the world on line, and its been especially nice getting to work on the island with friends who own their own small businesses.

The large wrap-around rest for Dr Dave is just getting its cover finished and then it'll be off as well.  This one's been an especially interesting challenge because if it works, it should be a neck stabilizer as well as a rest.  Its taken much longer than I'd originally planned, and I'm really hoping he'll be pleased.

The new vertical curved prototype has had the latex pad installed and it's at Zubin's for a cover.  I honestly don't know whether it'll be as good as, better than or just different from the horizontally curved ones I'm making now.  Kirk Jones (Kirk511) in his benevolence has graciously agreed to serve as prototype tester, trying it on his new 700.  So I'm shipping it off to him as soon as the cover's done and will see what he says.  If he likes I'm thinking it'll be great to be able to offer folks a choice.  I just think it looks neat.

Along with the TOT shirts and caps we're also got some other gear for the non-lycra bika crowd like Pen and me.  They're called, "The finer recliner."  They're the same style T-shirts, long and short sleeve wickable riding jerseys and caps as the TOT stuff, and like the TOT items they're all embroidered.

 I love the logos that Andie has done.  What's especially nice about them is that there's no minimum order, the tees, jerseys and caps all come in a rainbow of colors, there's NO minimum order, you can put your name or nickname on the sleeve and you can order the trike logo to match the color of your trike. 

 

The prices for this gear are the same as for the TOT...no extra charge for coloring the trikes.  I'll post colors and prices. 

Have a great weekend.