Orbit crystal fork orientation

Hi
I’ve just picked up my first recumbent bike, and nicely refurbished orbit crystal.

one oddity I have noticed is that the front brakes are positioned behind the crown. This looks a little odd and there seems to be a negative fork rake.

Looking at pictures of the crystal online, there seem to be some with front brake ahead of the crown and some behind. to my mind, turning the fork so that the V brakes are ahead of the crown would mean That the brake cable noodle will interfere with the chain.

Any advice most welcome

 

It’s a mystery!

I received the bike identical to the purple example. Turned forks so caliper and fork rakes forward. Pretty twitchy!

May turn back and evaluate

 

Looks like it would give you better low speed handling with the forks putting the axle further back.
You're smart to experiment to find what works best for you.

 

Mystery solved.

the bike came with the forks backwards and brake behind the crown. I was informed that this was the way it should be.

not believing this, I turned the forks without trying it.

just tried turning them backwards again and the machine is unrideable.

Have managed to fettle the vee brake noddle so it misses the chain

one happy ride to the pub

 

It looks like a Bacchetta-type under/over idler would be a good match on that bike, with the power side of the chain toward the frame. Then, the V-Brake cable could be routed behind the fork and around to the left side of the bike. That routing works well on my V-Rex.

 

Thanks! There has been some chain grabbing the derailleur in some gears. Will try routing it that way