# I got my Hyperbike!



## Chamomile (May 27, 2007)

I got my Hyperbike on Friday and finally got to use it today! I LOVE it! It's such a neat ride, so comfortable and Cammy barely notices it behind her. We flew around the yard and out in the field. There is a small ditch out there and I know it's there, but we were trotting so fast that it snuck up on me. I wanted to slow down for it... no chance! I hit that in a fairly extended trot. Cammy trotted right over the ditch, the Hyperbike went down in the ditch and out we flew! We actually got air!!! It was awesome. The cart just flexed with the bump and didn't even make a noise, no squeaking or anything. Geesh, when I walk the easy entry cart through that ditch, it sounds like the axels are going to break




: So I would recommend this cart to anyone and everyone!! It's grrrreat! I'll post some better photos when I get my Camptown Harness, which should be *very* soon.



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A photo of the cart hitched without me in the seat...






A few pictures of me in the cart... excuse the pink sweats. My husband and I were in the truck for the last two days driving and I was sooo tired today, I couldn't imagine getting dressed



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Look at my grin...











Please excuse the shafts. I had just come to a screeching stop and Cammy is back a little in the cart. Also my traces are low, I didn't catch them in my britching straps like I usually do



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Leia!! What kind of whip do you use with this bike? My whip is so long when I'm sitting in the cart, it doesn't even touch the horse 

So the set up pictured is the Hyperbike, with a Silver Penny Harness, complete with britching. This is my little appy mare, Chamomile pulling. She has just learned to pull a cart this spring and is doing sooooo well!


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## hobbyhorse23 (May 27, 2007)

Yaaaayy! She looks super cute in it and you look like you're having a blast already! Bob is super-obsessive about the quiet thing, nothing of his is ever going to be allowed out of the shop with a squeak or a rattle. :bgrin

Lessons I've learned from Bob regarding using the 'Bike:

1) Snug the horse a little tighter between breeching and traces than you usually would. The minute one stops being snug, the other one should start coming into play just a moment later. This helps prevent the kind of thing you mention in the last photo.





2) Make sure your stirrups are short enough that you really have some available play in your legs for bracing around corners. Yours look fine but it's hard to tell from photos sometimes.

3) Shorten those reins, girl! Get used to having two loops of rein on your pinky because otherwise you won't be able to stop her if she decides to take off. Right now you have no way to pull back.

4) Sit UP and BACK no matter what. Bob says this to people trying out the 'Bike over and over and after long experimentation I've given up and realized he's right. Stick your butt deep into the back of the seat, push your heels down like you're riding, and pull your spine straight up with shoulders back and open like a book. This gives you more options for handling the reins, keeps the balance correct, and looks better too! The urge is to lean forward when they get going fast just like you're riding but you have to remember to lean back instead.

As for the whip, think riding crop! I got sick and tired of not being able to signal his barrel and practice dressage in the 'Bike when I wanted to so I asked the owner of the Ultralite Whip Company what she could do when I saw her in person at the Ram Tap CDE. She whipped me up a special Hyperbike whip overnight and then gave it to me free of charge! :new_shocked: :aktion033: It's just like my Ultralite dressage whip, only about the length of a crop plus a lash and popper so I can signal his barrel. Kody was rudely surprised the first time I used it and now minds his manners as well in the Hyperbike as he does in the regular carts.



: I highly recommend you talk to her and get her to make one for you. Please tell her Leia sent you if you contact her. (I think I'll nickname my whip the "HyperLite Whip!")

Leia


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## Chamomile (May 28, 2007)

Oh Holy Cow Leia! I had a heck of a time with my reins  Cammy did so great with me fumbling around back there. I can't believe how short my reins are in that cart. I'm seriously thinking about having some shorter reins made for myself



: I will remember to sit up straighter. When we were bombing around the hay field I found myself really leaning back against the back rest. And when I hit that ditch I was SOOOOO thankful for those stirrups



:

I was really playing with my traces and as you say I do need to shorten them up. I also did not have my britchin tight enough as I wasn't completely sure when I was harnessing how the cart was going to pull. But I can see that I do need to tighten them both up considerably. Thanks for that info!! That clears up my questions, about that part anyway... :bgrin

I went to the website for a whip. I will definately buy one of both a show type whip and a Hyperbike whip. Can you measure both of yours for me and I'll do my own measurements as well. That way I can be sure that I'm getting the right size. The whip I'm using now is a cheapo from the feed store and I HATE it. I usually use a dressage whip, but it has gotten misplaced somewhere... Bummer! I'm sure I loaned it out at some function and then forgot to get it back. When I buy one from the Ultralite Whip website, you can bet that it won't ever leave my hand or my locked tack compartment of my trailer



:

Thanks for all the help Leia! I really appreciate it. Be ready for some more photos coming soon!!


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## nootka (May 28, 2007)

As an 8-year Hyperbike owner and LOVER of this same vehicle, Leia's observations are great.

I have the feeling full-size horse riding reins might be better sized for driving than regular harness reins.

Also a small dressage whip is great, though I will have to see what Leia has and see about one, too. Hehe, Mouse won't know what hit him. A crop is too short and a driving whip is ridiculously long.

Anyway, I know the feeling you describe and I LOVE MINE, too!

Congratulations!!!!

Enjoy!!

Liz M.


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## hobbyhorse23 (May 28, 2007)

Chamomile said:


> I'm seriously thinking about having some shorter reins made for myself
> 
> 
> 
> :


Ditto! LOL. I've gotten used to hanging onto the extra but it sure would be nice not to have to. I've pondered the same thing as Nootka about trying long English riding reins. I bet it would work with a checked horse that couldn't possibly yank them out of your hand.



> I was really playing with my traces and as you say I do need to shorten them up. I also did not have my britchin tight enough as I wasn't completely sure when I was harnessing how the cart was going to pull. But I can see that I do need to tighten them both up considerably. Thanks for that info!! That clears up my questions, about that part anyway... :bgrin


Hey, I didn't say your traces were too long!



: I know what it's like to play around with a new cart and have to adjust everything a million times.



: When I first got my 'Bike Bob made a point of telling me he wanted the breeching and the breastcollar to have a little less play between them than normal so they can act immediately on those fast stops/starts/turns and I've found over the last year that things do indeed work better that way. I find it's more important to have the breeching snug than the traces on this particular cart. It rolls forward so easily that you end up worrying more about getting it to brake immediately.



> I went to the website for a whip. I will definately buy one of both a show type whip and a Hyperbike whip. Can you measure both of yours for me and I'll do my own measurements as well. That way I can be sure that I'm getting the right size. The whip I'm using now is a cheapo from the feed store and I HATE it. I usually use a dressage whip, but it has gotten misplaced somewhere... Bummer!


I've got a ridden dressage whip I used to use for driving until I got my Ultralite and when I tried to go back to it the other day with my new show cart I felt positively handicapped! Traditional or not, I think I'll be using the Ultralite at Pacific Crown this year. I do wish mine was a little shorter though, I measured it to the wither area instead of the saddle and two years later I wish I'd done it per the instructions on the website. It's just a tiny bit too long for most of my carts, I end up making noise on the saddle when I try to flick him to move on.

I found that in the Hyperbike I couldn't use the end of even my short graphite whip at all, only thump the horse's rump with the stock as a correction or reminder. The lash on the HyperLite whip is nearly as long as the stock but it works! I can flick it to either side and tap his barrel plus it makes such a great whistling sound that when he's flagging on marathon I can get his mind back on business without ever touching him.



: :risa_suelos:

I'll measure for you as soon as I can. Oh, be prepared to beef up the handle a little bit. My dressage whip is made by the previous owner of Ultralite Whips and it seems the new owner makes the handles a bit thinner than I personally found comfortable to grip with my thin leather reins. I just wrapped the HyperLite whip's stock with some of that black non-skid material I had handy in the trailer and then a layer of electrical tape before heading out on marathon. Given a less urgent situation I'd probably use some of that stuff they sell for golf clubs or tennis rackets. Easy, in any case!

Leia


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## hobbyhorse23 (May 28, 2007)

The ones on the website are the old version which did not have a backrest. All current Hyperbikes have the boat seats like Mindy's and mine.

Yes Mindy, more pictures! :aktion033:

Leia


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## Chamomile (May 28, 2007)

Well shoot guys! I went driving today for about an hour and half, but didn't take my camera! Darn it  I'll get some more photos either this week or this weekend.

Leia I tightened up my britching and my traces and Cammy seemed much happier. Plus I caught my traces in the britching like I usually do so it never sagged or anything. Cammy had a few tempertantrums today, about mud puddles



: and I felt so comfortable and snugged up in the cart. It was really no problem! This is such a fun vehicle!!


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