red Reynolds Wishbone recumbent, assembled

Homebuilt Recumbents: The Building of Reynolds Wishbone #35

Felix Wong's avatar
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In October of 1999, I ordered a handcrafted recumbent from Reynolds Weld Lab of George Reynolds’ design which ultimately became Reynolds Wishbone #35. While George welded up the frame, I procured and built up the rest of the components.

George then shipped me the recumbent frame without paint as I requested, and I did the final prep work including “smoothing” out his welds using Bondo. Then I had a local automotive body shop paint it Porsche Guards Red. Finally, I modified other items like the seat assembly and assembled everything together.

I did ditch the green AstroTurf that George had included as seat padding and replaced it with black foam. The AstroTurf was an innovative idea with the rationale of it being airy while providing shock absorption, but it simply did not look right on such a sleek bicycle.

I rode some stages of the Vuelta virtually on my Reynolds wishbone recumbent. A Lasko blower fan kept me cool, the Wahoo Kickr Snap smart trainer simulated terrain by adjusting resistance, and an iPad Pro 12.9 showed where I was virtually riding.
I rode some stages of the Vuelta virtually on my Reynolds wishbone recumbent. A Lasko blower fan kept me cool, the Wahoo Kickr Snap smart trainer simulated terrain by adjusting resistance, and an iPad Pro 12.9 showed where I was virtually riding.
bare fork, braze ons, Reynolds Wishbone recumbent
The bare fork and braze-on detail of Felix Wong's Reynolds Wishbone recumbent.
bare frame, Reynolds Wishbone recumbent
The bare frame of Felix Wong's Reynolds Wishbone recumbent.
gussets, water bottle braze ons, Reynolds Wishbone recumbent
Gusset and water bottle braze-ons of Felix Wong's Reynolds Wishbone recumbent.
brake bosses, Reynolds Wishbone recumbent
Brazed-on nuts for V-brakes used on Felix Wong's Reynolds Wishbone recumbent.
steering assembly, AstroTurf seat, Reynolds Wishbone recumbent
The steering assembly and AstroTurf seat of the Reynolds Wishbone recumbent.
AstroTurf seat bottom, seat back, Reynolds Wishbone recumbent
The AstroTurf seat bottom and back of the Reynolds Wishbone recumbent.
steering assembly, Reynolds Wishbone recumbent
The steering assembly of the Reynolds Wishbone recumbent.
seat back and seat stays, Reynolds Wishbone recumbent
The seat back and seat stays of the Reynolds Wishbone recumbent.
Bondo, bare frame, Reynolds Wishbone recumbent
Applying Bondo to smooth out the welds on the bare frame of the Reynolds Wishbone recumbent.
red fork, Reynolds Wishbone recumbent
The fork of the Reynolds Wishbone recumbent was painted Porsche Guards Red by a local auto body shop.
red frame, Reynolds Wishbone recumbent
The frame of the Reynolds Wishbone recumbent was painted Porsche Guards Red by a local auto body shop.
drilling out seat assembly, Reynolds Wishbone recumbent
Drilling out the seat assembly of the Reynolds Wishbone recumbent.
building 26 inch wheel, Velocity rims, on Minoura truing stand
Building the rear 26" wheel using Velocity rims for the Reynolds Wishbone recumbent.
red Reynolds Wishbone recumbent, assembled
Assembling the painted Reynolds Wishbone recumbent. All ready to go for its first ride!