ActionBent Seats

I've just moved from my EZ1 to an ActionBent Jetstream with USS. After riding the Jetstream for a few days, I've made most of the adjustments to have it fit me and I love riding it. The seat is a lot different from my EZ, but is still quite comfortable.

I bought the Jetstream used so I don't have the assembly or operating instructions. I noticed my seat was loose in the brackets, so I tightened them, soon after the bike fell over and the seat cracked. I have a couple of questions, first - is the seat supposed to be loose in the brackets to allow for movement? second - for repairing a crack in this seat pan, does anyone have suggestions. The seat pan is made out of fiberglass reinforced plastic.

My current thought is to use CA glue to patch the cracks and then use light fiberglass cloth and some epoxy to attempt to strengthen these areas. Does anyone have other ideas?

 

I have a bike made by Performer, one of the suppliers to Actionbent, with the FRP hardshell. No, the brackets are not supposed to be loose.

Are the cracks in the outer (back) plastic or in the actual fiberglass? Are the cracks deep or superficial? Is there any tearing of the glass fibers?

My seat has cracks in the seat pan area that do not extend down into the glass fibers. Also, some peeling off of the outer epoxy. These cracks do not appear to be structural. When chips of the epoxy flake off, there are no further cracks underneath.

If the fiberglass is indeed damaged, a boat repair business may be able to help you.

Edit: Another though is to contact Actionbent. It's worth a shot.

Discretely asking...you're not a Clydesdale, by chance?

 

Hi Paul,

If I'm understanding the last question above, no, I'm not a Clydesdale. I'm 190 LBS and the gentleman I bought the bike from was probably around 200 lbs. What happened to the seat was during a ride this past week I was making adjustments to get the bike set up properly for me. I made a very silly mistake of getting ready to take off, put 1 foot up on the crank and then brought the other foot up, but without pushing the crank. So, I ended up simply falling onto my side. A silly beginner's error, which is rather wild since I've had my EZ for several yeras.

After reading what was posted, I went and looked at the seat more closely, it appears that the plastic pan cracked and delaminated in spots from the actual fiberglass pan. So, it appears that the damage is mostly cosmetic.

I'm going to inject some epoxy or CA glue into the delaminated area to connect the plastic back to the fiberglass and then I'll simply keep an eye open for any further cracking or delaminating.

I'm already thinking about contacting Actionbent to see about a thicker seat cover, when I do, I'll ask them if the cracking I've picked up is normal. From your post, it appears it is not abnormal.

Thanks for giving me some info, my friend rides a SWB with USS, but his seat appears to be a carbon fiber pan, so we weren't able to directly compare. Taking the time to join Recumbent Riders has already given me some peace of mind, as I was concerned I might have to replace the seat after only have the bike for a few days, as I did check the price for a replacement.

 

Sorry, I did not intend to offend with the term Clydesdale. In DF parlance, it denotes a large AND strond rider . Anyway, from what I've read on the Yahoo! Actionbent group, FRP seat failures seem to be rare, so I had to ask...

The black plastic outer layer on the back indeed appears to be mostly cosmetic. The fiberglass and the stiffening ribs is what is supposed to support the weight. I think what must have happened is, with the loose brackets, when you fell the seat twisted on impact. Be sure to check around the mounting holes to verify that there is no actual damage to the fiberglass. With my seat, the surface layer of clear epoxy that encases the fiberglass is delaminating and flaking off (an indication of flexing?), but the internal structure seems fine.


P.S. If it turns out you must replace the seat, getting another one from Actionbent is not such a bargain MSRP. Power On Cycling and the Hostel Shoppe offer similar or better seats at a comparable price.

 

Was not offended. I've seen some of the riders out there, and can understand. Unfortunately, I'm not a strong rider, although providing I'm not too high altitude wise, I can usually crank up a hill (at least on my EZ I was able to, will have to wait and see on the ActionBent).

After I had read your previous note, I went and rechecked my seat. After a good review, it showed as the plastic appeared to have released from the fiberglass seat pan. I'm in process of injecting CA glue to put it back into place. The fiberglass pan looked good, no cracks, nothing out of the ordinary. So I think I'm good to go there. (rechecking after a few days is a carry over from my RC flying, never through away something until several days later, no matter how bad it looks!)

Thanks for the potential sites for getting parts. I'm thinking about getting a thicker seat. The one that is currently on there, although comfortable, does tend to get a bit too hard after being on the bike for a while. Then again, it could be that I'm just not used to it yet.

I appreciate the assist, and in fact the Clydesdale was pretty tackful, at least from my point of view.

 

Hey Curtis, I got that, the RC part that is. I've flown RC
since 1961. Several of my Scamp camper friends ride
recumbents too. It has been said personality types are
attracted to the same kind of activities. Just wondering,
do you camp also?

AS far as weight goes, a 3 lb airplane flyes better than a
6 pounder when everything else is the same. A 25 pound
recumbent rides better than a 45 pounder, and a 190 lb
recumbent engine works better than a 215 lb engine. How
do I know? I've been there and know. Weight matters.

I know how to remove weight from model airplanes, recumbent
bikes and recumbent engines. My recumbent engine went from
215 to 175 with 25 to go and it will. People in America don't
want to hear it because it takes discipline and that's a dirty word
in a free country. Freedom is not free.

Flew my airplanes in Lompoc, Santa Maria, and Bakersfield. Where
do you fly out there? Where do you ride your bent? Camped in
the orchards of Stockton and Lodi, 1953. Camped in Sierra Mountains
1968-1976 when living in Bakersfield.

Don't get around much anymore.

 

Amazing. I flew a friends planes when I was in highschool, he just liked to build them, but he wasn't much of a pilot. I've been mostly involved in R/C cars for the last 20 or so years. Common intrests abound it seems.

 

Try reclining the seat as much as possible. Also, the thin pad that comes stock with AB seats is garbage. Two-inch open cell foam is much more comfortable.

 

Let's see if I can answer some questions:
Buddy Bishop - Yes, I camp also, done it from tents, to tent trailers, to motorhome and I'm back to a tent (upgraded to a new 10x16 Coleman that has a hinged door). I've camped a lot in the Sierra's and in the San Bernardino mountains. Several years ago, we used our tent trailer to visit most of the western US, didn't really consider this camping as we were staying in RV parks.
I've flown RC power and sailplanes in addition to attempting to not crash a few helicpoters. I've flown power in verious Las Vegas locations and at Legg Lake in Rosemead, CA. Sailplanes have been flown at local schools in Downey, El Dorado Park in Long Beach, the Bluffs in Long Beach and a few sites in Guam.
I too understand the weight issue, I was at 230 and currently about 190, want to work down to 170 - 180. The lighter I go, the easier it is to peddle.

Cotharyus - I too have messed around with RC cars, electric and gas. I've also had a sailboat for a while.

Knoxvelo - I hadn't thought about seeing if I could recline the seat more. However, I did 23 miles on Sunday, and I was quite comfortable. I rode with some friends on their uprights and was able to nicely keep up with them. This was good as they are strong riders and consideer a 30 mile ride just a warm up. Part of the reason for moving from my EZ was to get a larger rear wheel to make it easier to travel faster.
I'm going to do a few more rides with the current pad, if I continue to be as comfortable as I was yesterday, I'll stay with what I've got. If I don't, it sounds like getting a thicker pad will be in order.

 

Hey Curtiss,Just arrived Palm Springs from Tennessee,will be in Temecula area in a few days and then maybe back up to Joshua Tree area..Will be cruizing around San Berdo Riverside North o.C. and parts of east L.A. for a couple of weeks checking up on old friends maybe we can get together for a ride and a good meal...