Here’s my new bike, a BikeE recumbent 27-speed I bought yesterday at a religious cult charity thrift store here in Roseville, California. Place called Acres of Hope.

It might sound surprising I’d buy another recumbent bike after my 2011 unhappy experience with them.

But the condition is pretty good and it does not look abused or worn out. And at $72.88 usd the price was most definitely right.

The kindly religious cult volunteers price every item to end with 88 cents for unknown reasons. But maybe as an homage to the mighty 88 millimeter German Nazi anti-aircraft and anti-tank cannon of WWII.

I got the shop volunteers to unlock it so I could tool around the parking lot before I bought it.

The gears, all of which are vital on a recumbent, worked stiffly at first and then quit shifting altogether.

But I took a little risk and bought it anyhow, figuring the problem was lack of lubrication or out of adjustment, judging by the dust and dry chain.

Reading up on the the company (the ‘E’ having nothing to do with electric power), now defunct since the early 2000s, I took a bigger risk than I thought since the shifters and derailleurs are out of production and scarce on the ground.

I’m not a very good bicycle gear mechanic either. There’s a good reason most of my bikes are fixie/single-speeds that require zero shifter and derailleur maintenance, having no shifters or derailleurs.

And it also turned more nimbly and is lighter than my first expensive, clumsy, wobbly RANS recumbent I was so very happy to sell off, at a $100 loss, in 2011.

The rear (and only) suspension seemed rather soft on my parking lot test ride. But doing web search I found out the shock is air adjusted so I can pump up the pressure to match my 185 lb weight. Assuming it is still functional.

Judging by the very good external condition I should be able to get it rolling right without too much work.

Per Duck Duck Go links the brand was a very popular best seller until safety recalls (seat supports and front fork) and lawsuits brought the company down.

And since I paid so little for it I won’t lose money even if I end up hating it and selling it on like I did my first RANS recumbent. Assuming I can get the gears working again, a weak aspect of my bike mechanic skill set.

Unless noted, all images and text by todgermanica.com.