Unexpectedly Awesome Highboy Racer

Greetings!
I own five recumbents, but occasionally miss my 'Highboy Racer" of old, my Vision R64. Lovely bike but very "petite" - I was 240lbs at the time, and I felt like I was going to break the frame every time I got on it. Still, the "speed position" on top of that bike felt like the essence of SPEED. like taking an F22 jet fighter for a quick sortie.

Since then I acquired a Burley Canto, with a lifetime warranty on the frame for up to 325lbs, massively overbuilt. I ran it in LWB configuration for the 10 years I've owned it. Another beautiful, quality bike, but the word SPEED never really came to mind...

This weekend, I took a gamble and decided to change all that. I had read an article that said a Canto could accept a 26 inch front wheel in SWB configuration if you chose carefully. I purchased a 26 inch speed wheel, and used an old but nice mountain bike suspension fork. The key to minimizing heel strike is the right tires - I have a set of super speedy 26 inch Michelin Run'rs 26x1.4 (35x559) slicks.

Wow. What a performance transformation. The bike feels SILKY and FAST, sort of like a Viper and a Cadillac had a baby. The riding position is not quite as aggressive as most Highboy Racers, but still incredibly sporty. The crank is 6 inches higher, but the Canto was fairly low to begin with so it's not unmanageable.

Three cautions: (1) this baby sits HIGH. I'm 6'1" and I don't think anyone shorter could pull this off, it requires longer legs. (2) Heel Strike. I'm a very experienced recumbent rider and it takes all of that on turning maneuvers and starting. (3) be careful to route the front brake cable AROUND the front forks and not over them; otherwise the chain will hit the cable or, worse it'll bind and you'll fall, like I did on the test ride. Easy fix: zip tie the brake cable to the fork, problem solved.

But once you get this F22 in the air, you'll forget about everything but the silky ride and the SPEED. Burley created the seat with Corbin (Corbin is to motorcycles what Recaro is to cars) and it is SUPERB and supportive. And with the Canto monocoque frame I never think twice about the frame - stout and incredibly well engineered. The Michelins fit the bikes character perfectly, and honestly the suspension fork is MAGIC. It smooths the ride like a magic carpet

And it looks like a million bucks. (I'm not allowed to post a picture yet, but will as soon as I can)

Highly recommended IF you heed the above cautions seriously. Ride On!

 

Really nice looking machine for sure, enjoy the RIDE!!

 

Thanks for the info and enjoy the speed...

 

We'll keep that conversion i mind. My husband is getting close to retiring and is looking at getting back in to manufacturing recumbents one more time.
(we'll see)

 

That's great! The world needs more recumbents - they're just "a better mousetrap!" I retired a few years ago, then "un-retired" to become an engineering instructor - now every student in my classes does a two day project on recumbents, and what makes them special! Plus I ride my recumbents all the time now...
Tell your husband there's Light at the other end of the Rainbow!!!

 

FYE (for your enjoyment) here are a few more shots of the F22 to show some of the detail work...

For example, it turns out I have a very rare Burley option - they are called "speed struts" and they connect the high seat back to the rear passive suspension, to reduce seat flex and increase the pedal energy transfer to the rear wheel... They are finely machined and look pretty cool, almost unnoticeable.

 

This is cool! I have had several Burleys (although I don't have one at the moment), and have always felt they are undervalued in the marketplace...but then just about all inline recumbents are nowadays.
I'm on the other end of the size scale, and could just barely ride the Canto in its stock configuration safely. But it was always so well balanced and s well behaved, I could take it up hills, down hills, gravel roads, whatever with great confidence. But since my seat was way forward, the speed struts -when I had them - were most definitely noticeable!
Most of the Burleys I owned had the early leather covered Corbin seat, which I think some people were unhappy with. But it is one of the few recumbent seats I have experienced that let you adjust base angle separate from the back incline angle. I found that if I got the nose tilt right, slightly up in the front, it was perfect!!!! I wish I could get the seat on my Bacchetta Bella to do that....

 

Very nice setup!

 

Thanks Rocketmantn! I see from your thumbnail that you also frequent a high racer - tell me a bit about yours...

 

Thanks mobilemail - yes, Burley frames are exquisitely designed and massively overbuilt! The LWB Canto setup was so perfect, I was loathe to mess with it. But now I'm glad I did.
Also you are correct about the Corbin saddle - it adjusts for and aft independently of the seatback, super helpful.

Mine is the Corbin leather saddle but I didn't mention one of my sneaky upgrades:I added a RANS memory foam pad and cover to the Corbin (which is why it is black in the pictures) it's like a supportive Barcalounger now! And it contributes to the "Cadillac" smoothness...

 

Sweet ride…..

 

Well, if Willie G really does plan on getting back in to manufacturing we can definitely make many of the former Burley frames again as we still have all the jigs/dies for manuf. all the bikes SWB & LWB. So we'll see what happens... only time will tell.

 

Nice Conversion.

 

Just a few updates:
(1) the Michelin Wild Run'rs are fast and smooth, but I picked up FOUR rear flats in the first month! So I performed a v2.0 tire upgrade: on the rear, I switched to a fast, absolutely bulletproof Continental Sport Contact, 26x1.6, significantly larger than the Michelins. I was still getting a bit more front heel strike than I would like, so on the front I opted for a smaller Schwalbe Kojak 26x1.35 (noticeably smaller outer diameter). Beware the Kojak, though, as it was one of the most difficult tires to mount on a 26" rim (the bead is much smaller and tighter than any other 26 inch tire I've come across). It's got the Schwalbe Performance Line Kevlar belts - I sure hope they work! I'd say this configuration is slightly faster, and a bit more of a plush ride. My students thought this bike was the Cat's Meow...