Hi Karl,
well, gravel tracks are never easy on a recumbent bike, especially
downhill. I ride a lot of dirt tracks including a flat 7 km gravel road
every week. The front wheel drive does a good job by pulling you out of
dangerous spots if you just keep on pedalling. But downhills everything
is more complicated.
Is there an actual picture of your bike available?
If the bike itself is fine it is just a matter of time and practice
until you feel save while riding. So don't give up too early ;-)
Cheers,
Jürgen.
On 21.09.2018 08:26, Karl McCracken wrote:
I'm now up at about 150km experience on my Python. In the last month or
so I'd done lots of the finishing on the build, adding a permanent front
wheel guard, lights, padding on the seat, rear mudguard, luggage rack, etc.
On a ride last Sunday, I was on a short gently downhill section on a
gravel track. I wasn't going fast, but the Python seemed very unstable,
and I started to lose control. Normally under such circumstances, I've
just applied a little back brake drag to load the pivot & this damps the
wobbles.
Unfortunately this time I was on a rough gravel surface, so almost as
soon as I touched the brake lever, the rear wheel locked. The Python
ended up sideways on the path before tipping me off & sliding to a halt.
The results were: snapped the left hand side off the seat base (ride
home carrying this slowly!), ripped the front wheel guard off, and put
some nice holes in my elbow.
So the Python needs repairs. Buy I'm feeling really frustrated, and have
even gone as far as having a test ride on a "professionally" built
recumbent. After a couple of minutes figuring out the tiller steer, I
was fine on this.
I need some encouragement, and a realistic understanding of the Python's
stability & safety!
I hope you can help.
Karl.
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