Meridian Design vs TourMaster

[dpeterson]

Can one tell me the design differences between these 2 LWB bikes? I have an interest in building a recumbent but curious as to advantages of each. Is one an updated version of the other?

[Odd Man Out]

Here is my zwei pfennigs:

Similarities:
Both designs are LWB in nature that puts the rider in the same general position as the LWB design Easyracers TourEasy which is considered the best LWB design so far. This indicates that both mounts will be superb designs.

Differences;
TourMaster has two 26 inch wheels, Meridian has 26 on the back and 20 inch on the front. It is said that having two larger wheels reduces rolling resistance and so can result in greater speed. I have seen no scientific evidence of this but a lot of people believe this. What is a benefit if you ride long distances is the fact that with the TM, you only have to carry 1 type of tube and tire to change or replace. With the M you need two different types.

The TM has more tubing to it so by inference can be said to wiegh more than the M. Having more tubing means two things; 1. it takes more welding to complete the project and 2. The TM will probably be the more reliable of the two mounts for long distance touring. The TM has a triangulated frame just like tried and true DF's and is much stronger than the Meridian's. For long distance touring this is a critical factor. For fun personal riding not so much.

The TM frame can be utilized much easier for electrification. The Meridian's aesthetics would have to be altered to electrify it.

It depends on what you want and how you want to use it. I would choose the TM for any long disctance jaunt and the Meridian for around town puttin around. Again just my zwei pfennigs. Hope this helped.

[GregLWB]

OddMan gave a pretty good rundown.:) I don't have a Meridian but for the past year I commuted on a very similar design (except mine had tiller steering) and it ran 26/20 tires. My commute is 53 miles round trip and I have a gas assist motor on the bike.

I just finished my TourMaster and stripped all the parts I could off of my old LWB bike. So the parts are the same except for the frame and a suspension fork and a 26" tire on the front. Today was my first day commuting on the TourMaster.

My ride in was much more comfortable and relaxed. I did not feel as tired after the ride. I felt far less road vibration. The bike easier to balance at low speed due to the seating to crank angle and the remote steer. My average speed was about 2 mph slower than on the previous LWB bike (26-28 instead of 28-29).

So my 2 cents is this. The TourMaster is a more comfortable design for longer distances and is much easier to adapt to power assist (either gas or electric) but I'm not sure you really lose any speed overall because I had a small fairing on my previous bike and have not yet done so on the TourMaster.

Here are pics of both bikes. The first one had a total of over 2000 miles commuting on it, over 1600 with a motor.
http://i694.photobucket.com/albums/vv301/gdfran0/LaBent1.jpg

And here is a pic of my TourMaster
http://i694.photobucket.com/albums/vv301/gdfran0/TourMasterBike/Picture082.jpg