Recumbent Showcase: Rans Vivo

Greetings!
I have some very cool, unique recumbents which are interesting designs and very clean. The first of these to share is the RANS VIVO, a " long short wheelbase" mountain bike recumbent. Yes, you read that right, a mountain bike recumbent! Fully suspended front and rear, composed of a mixture of mountain bike and BMX parts - crazy cool! mine is the last model year of production, a 2007. I'm the original owner and have done several upgrades to improve the bike.

A few points:
- the Vivo is a full redesign of the original 20/20 Rans Rocket SWB. The SWB configuration is "stretched" about 6 inches to improve stability over rough terrain (hence the "long/short wheelbase"). My Vivo also has the 2 inch main tube for strength, Banana Yellow. The rear is a classic swing arm setup which accommodates a standard shock from the time. Standard full frame Rans seat but old school seat mount. Small/ older 1 inch threadless headset.
- 20/20 406mm wheelset, super strong BMX size.

The Vivo came from the factory with excellent design, but a completely messed up configuration. Here's the list of mods I made:
- The factory gearing was all wrong, unusably high gearing - I brought it down to mountain bike specs. I found a beautiful custom downhill top chain ring which allowed me to set up the front rings as 58/ 46/ 34 teeth (Odd but right for 20 inch wheels). I replaced the rear cassette with a rare 8 speed Shimano 34-11. It now has 20 gear inches on the low end. It climbs like a mountain goat if needed! The SRAM 7 group was nice and I kept it.
- The rear factory shock was garbage and I replaced it with a Cane Creek AD-4 air unit. This transformed the bike to a "Magic Carpet Ride"! Silky, smooth Cadillac rides which never bottoms out. The front suspension is a sleeper killer unit they selected for the last model year, an RST AET Sprite dual element, adjustable unit. It's coil over polymer on one side, air on the other, an exotic unit that works incredibly well. I run 150psi on the front and back.
- the OEM tires were Maxxis Hookworms, indestructible but poor rolling, heavy, uncomfortable little trolls. I have used dozens of tire configurations, but have settled on 20x1.95 Kenda K-Rads, a terrific all around tire. Really fast, quiet dirt/ street low rolling resistance, they do it all for this bike.
- I had a custom set of wheels made, 36 spoke XTR hubs, Alex DA16 wheels, Marwi spokes. The hubs are "the only Titanium I own!" Strong, light, great bearings, just Cool and fast.
- Because it's dual purpose use, I have mtb fenders on this guy, customized to fit.
- the bag is a matching yellow Bachetta BrainBox, looks and functions great.
- I use long spike BMX pedals, as I got tired of falling from being clipped in. They bite hard, and allow regular shoes ( my bike shoes of choice are now Fila Trail Runners. )
- I ride this bike in a lot of situations, including wearing "real clothes!" The long chain is a "greasy accident waiting to happen" so I took a tip from the Euros, and added a short Teflon chain tube to cover the exposed chain. Perhaps the smartest upgrade of all, as it simply keeps me from getting dirty.

At the end of the day, the Vivo is a charming, fast, comfortable, crazy bike which does everything well. Not to mention it's super-rare. It's at it's best on fire roads, trails and multiple terrains, but with a set of slicks, it's a legit road speed bike. plus, it's a total kid magnet! Kids can't stop looking at it, and waive impulsively, good stuff...

 

Is this still forsale?

 

Hi! Well, er, it's NOT for sale! I'm just showing you what a cool bike it is. I don't think I'd ever sell it - my wife bought it for me as a Christmas present, and she literally found the last one for sale on the West Coast!

However, as you mention it, I am ready to sell one of my other bikes - the one in my profile picture - my Rans Status 700. Phenomenal bike but I simply don't get to ride it much.

Tell you what, I'll do my next Showcase on that bike and you can have a better look at it...

 

Vivo update: I am moving the XTR wheelset to my new Rans Rocket, so I'm reconfiguring the Vivo with some new Shoes! Turns out I got a killer - but large! - rear wheel from my BikeE E2 tandem. It's a SUN BFR ("Big Fat Rim") 20 inch, 36 spoke aluminum rim over a Vuelta racing hub with an 11-30 SRAM 9.0 cassette. All it needed was a matching tire.
I found a Tioga SPECTR 20x2.25 BMX racing tire, which runs 100psi and fits this wheel perfectly. Plus it looks great. I also have a wide Deore front wheel with a Schwalbe Big Apple 20x2.0 tire.
So the Vivo will be getting a big bad pair of hiking boots soon, pictures to follow...

 

Done! Here's the new Vivo Bad Boy configuration, as per above:
Oh and the rims are matching Sun - BFR rear, CR-18 front.

 

Bummer. I immediately found that the Tioga Spectr is a little too big - it's so wide that it rubs out against the derailleur and chain on the small front chainring, plus the biggest rear ring with the second front chainring. Huge! Too bad as it's a pretty bitchin' tire. Looks cool, super low rolling resistance for it's size and weight. But I must find a smaller width tire. I just ordered a Kenda Kikzumbut 20x1.95, 100psi. Will let y'all know how it goes...

3/9: New tire, new cassette (I decided I needed a St. Paddy's Day present) SRAM 11-34 8spd for max mountain bike gearing - looks good! I think this guy's done for a while, lots of spiffy new upgrades! Kenda does have a nack for making good looking tires.

 

I liked the 20x1.95 Kenda Kikzumbut so much I bought a second for the front - now they match (of course it has absolutely nothing to do with the name) seriously, these are really nice all arounders - gravel, hardpack, dirt, fire roads, and of course clean smooth pavement. Urban guerilla tires. They run 40-100psi which makes them particularly good on pavement, fast, smooth and quiet. Probably not optimal mudders but they do just about everything else well. And they look like a million bucks, especially on my new Sun wheelset. .

 

I tell my students that engineers are the only folks who get paid to fix their own mistakes!

 

Very nice bike indeed. Glad to see people still out riding two wheels. I have an original dark green Rans in storage. It's loaded with all sorts of accessories.

 

Two Wheels! So glad you said that - one of my inspirations was my old neighbor, who was riding his two wheeler until he was 96! That's my goal - to keep riding on two wheels until I make it to 96! He said (and I believe) that it was one of the secrets to his old age - no fear, and retaining one's balance... I just turned 60 - got another 36 years to go!

So, which green Rans do you have in storage? (I've got four)