Hi,
I recently bought a very old P-38 at an estate sale,
and it has an unusual 17" front wheel (ISO 369),
likely from a Moulton bike. I'm thinking about
ordering a new 20" fork from Lightning, in order
to be able to use a 406/451 tire, like my
wife's newer P-38 does. Does anyone have
an opinion on the switch? I've not seen that
the front shock on the current fork really does much,
when riding my wife's bike - other thoughts?
thanks,
Tom
I have a 369 wheel on mine
Schwalbe makes a Stelvio in 369-30. Good tire. Balances well with a 700x28 rear. And a standard 16" 349 tube works.
Trick is lining up the brakes. The old, rear-mounted, Suntour cantis with the trick pivot were awful but a Bacchetta front caliper fits perfect.
Paul has a BMX V-brake that should accommodate both 16" and 17".
FWIW, RANS makes a 20" fork for the V-Rex that seems right.
If the 369 wheel is in decent shape, pass it on to me. Good luck.
dosduros-at-yahoo-dot-com
Life's short. So's my x-seam.
17" front wheel to 20" conversion
I thought about changing the front fork on my Lightning Voyager with a 369mm front wheel with shock to a 20" (406) fork to match my Phantom and share wheels. I've seen comments about faster speeds with the larger 20" front wheel, but after riding the bike for four weeks, I'm going to stick with the original. I do notice some improvement in ride quality with the front shock, but mainly I don't think the time and money involved in switching is worth it.
Shock fork or rigid? 17" wheel or 20"?
The ISO 369 (so-called 17") wheel is an oddball, even by recumbent standards. Not so easy to find tires in this size. They were used on the British Moulton bikes in years past. The slightly smaller ISO 349 16" size is more popular, and the 20" ISO 406 is MUCH more common. 20" tires are available everywhere, since they are used on BMX bikes.
If you are not height-challenged, the 20" ISO 406 fork and wheel are a good choice. Lots of tires and tubes to choose from, and many of them readily available. The larger front wheel also gives you a little smoother ride on real-world imperfect road surfaces. And the smoother ride lets you crank harder and go a bit faster.
If you are of smaller stature, the 16" or 17" front wheel has an advantage: it lets you plant your feet flat on the ground when you stop. Nice when you are very tired. So the front wheel size choice should really depend on your leg length.
Since your wife already has a P-38 with the bigger front wheel, I would try riding her bike - with the boom adjusted as well as possible for you - and see how it feels. Even if her bike cannot fit you properly for riding, you could get some idea of how the larger front wheel affects your ability to put your feet down.
If a Lightning shock fork seems ineffective, it probably needs to be adjusted. There are instructions on the Lightning website on how to do this. If you are not a do-it-yourself person, you could take the bike to a recumbent-friendly shop and direct the bike mechanic to the web pages devoted to the shock fork.
If you want to experiment with a different fork and front wheel on your older P-38, I would go with a rigid 20" fork and wheel. A new shock fork will be pricey.
Safe riding,
Joel
Thanks for the comments...
Yes, I've tried my wife's medium frame P-38, it's a little
small for me, but I don't notice much difference in the ride.
Tim at Lightning says a new 20" fork is $220, including shipping -
not exactly cheap, but not too bad for an upgrade.
I'm leaning towards going for it, and getting a nice 20"
front wheel for the rebuild of this older P-38 I'm doing.
I've been unable to locate any ISO 369 tires locally
(Harris Cyclery claims to have them), and would be concerned
about getting stranded while touring with an oddball tire...