Why ride RANS Crank Forward Bikes?

one answer is below...

For the past six months, I have been riding a RANS Citi for a daily commute of 30 miles total back and forth across Washington DC. I start on gravel roads on the Anacostia river, go across Capitol Hill, around the Capitol building on sidewalks, down the National Mall on roads and sidewalks and grass to avoid tourists, and then on sidewalks and a paved bike trail for the remaining 8 miles or so. I ride it down a steep mountain bike trail on the way home.

Before I got the RANS Citi, I commuted all over the country, in Hawaii, and even in Japan since 1982, in various military posts. I bought the RANS because I was starting to get a little carpel tunnel and was exacerbating an old snow board injury that left my left shoulder bone-on-bone. The thinking was, that I would ride it two days a week, between rides on my two $5,000 each Trek Boone carbon cyclecross and Trek 9.8 carbon mountain bikes.

That idea lasted about a week. The other two bikes have been parked, and I'm even trying to sell them on Craigslist. The RANS crank forward experience--with my set up of clipless mountain bike pedals and the taller wider V-handlebars for the mountainbike/motorcross feel--was a revolution in my biking. I love being upright without sacrificing speed. That's right, the RANS Citi is surprisingly fast. Not a week goes by when my Citi is not passing guys 20 years younger (I'm a fit 57) on their road bikes with 23mm road slicks. It really flusters them to see what looks a bit like an old-lady bike, and an older guy riding it, slowly nudge by them on a long stretch of paved trail.

The RANS Citi fits in the back of my Toyota RAV4 with about an inch to spare. I assembled it from the box from RANS in a half day, and have had not the first problem with it. I wrecked it once in the dark on the sidewalk going around the nation's capital building, and would have been much worse off had I been on either of my other bikes. Because the RANS Citi sits so low, the fall wasn't as far, and because I sit far back and upright, I didn't go over the handlebars.

Oh, I almost forgot. This bike is FUN, especially when on curves or going down hill. And, don't believe the nonsense that crank forward bikes can't climb because you can't get off of the seat. I sit in that seat and have kept up with guys off their seats on shorter steep climbs of a few hundred yards.

Bottom line: I will never ride another bike.

-David B.
Annapolis, Maryland