Issue No. 73 Recumbent January/February 2003 CyclistNews © 2002 Randy H. Goodman The Bacchetta Ti Aero What’s Inside 2 Editorial License: 18 RCN Interview: Rich Pinto Recumbent Road Bike Rant 22 My Dream BIke: 3 Recumbent News The Bacchetta Ti Aero 8 Road Test: The Bacchetta Giro: 27 Rotator Ti Pursuit 700/20 Nexus Kudos for the new kid on the block 29 CatEye LED Light Review 12 Road test: Bacchetta Strada Open-Road High Roller Editorial License Recumbent CyclistNews Recumbent Subscribe A newsletter by recumbent bicycle enthusiasts, Road Bike Rant for recumbent bicycle enthusiasts, since 1990. By Bob Bryant Recumbent Cyclist News is published eight times per year. US subscription rates are: $32 1 year, 8 issues* Are you ready for a total anti-roadie recum- their mock- Italian $45 1 year first class mail** bent rant? Well, you’re not going to get it from heritage. Yeah, imag- $60 2 years, 12 issues $80 3 years, 18 issues* me. I have to say that these new Euro-inspired ine me zooming down $60 International Airmail highracer recumbent road bikes are the single Blue Diamond Road most exciting thing going in our cycling niche outside Las Vegas on * 3rd class mail is NOT forwarded by the USPS. If you move, there will be an today. Surprised you, didn’t I? a screaming yellow Corsa. This was my additional charge to resend issues. Interest in recumbent road bikes really favorite ride of the show (see RCN 74). ** Recommended for those who've had seemed to catch fire this season with the Another item of note is the passion this com- trouble with their mail, move often, or Bacchetta Strada (dual-26 SWB ASS), the pany has to do it their way. Hey, I scoffed at have two seasonal addresses. Corsa, and now the slick new 21-pound tita- these ideas a few years back. I just didn’t buy Contact nium Aero. I haven’t seen a bigger buzz for a into it. I was kind of cranky and thinking old RCN new recumbent in years. Everybody seems to school. I, for one, am certainly glad that they PO Box 2048 Port Townsend, WA 98368 love it—and they’ve already sold out the first built this line of bikes based on their exper- E-mail: [email protected] batch of the $3,900 Aeros! Though there are tise, not asking a bunch of other people to help Web: www.recumbentcyclistnews.com other recumbent road bikes, and Bacchetta design a new bike by committee. Passion oozes If you need a personal reply, please send a let- ter and SASE or write us an e-mail. didn’t actually invent the concept (nor did they from these new bikes. have the first one on the market—Vision did), We all know that many roadies don’t seem Schedule the Bacchettas have become the hot buzz bikes to care much for recumbents. They expect us Expect RCN to arrive every other month. Issues should arrive by the end of the first week of the this season and we feel they deserve kudos. to be slow, or they see a fairing or a body stock- 2nd month of the issue’s date. E-mail us to check I thought it was just a bunch of roadie con- ing and think “cheater.” These new recumbent if we are late. verts who were buying these things—and road bikes are a bit different. The wedgie racer Address Changes maybe some are—but the majority of people rides up alongside the roadie recumbent, looks Don’t forget to send us your new address when buying these bikes might be riding a well-used over, and sees a full-size wheelset (and no you intend to move. Please allow 60 days’ no- V-Rex, Lightning, or Vision and looking to geeky tiny front wheel), road componentry, tice for address changes. take the next step. And we can thank three of roadlike tires, and maybe even a carbon fiber When to Renew our own—seasoned recumbent enthusiasts fork or aero-type wheel. All of a sudden the Please renew 60 days in advance if you can. By John Schlitter, Mark Colliton, and Rich Pinto riders have something in common, they speak the time you read this issue, the next issue and (and all the folks at Bacchetta—for bringing the same language. With the titanium versions database have gone to the printer. these excellent bikes to us. of these bikes, road bike-like weights are even Your Mailing Label Nothing Bacchetta has done is really all that achieved (the Aero is 21-22 pounds). Perhaps “72 LAST ISSUE” means that RCN 72 is the last new. Some have argued that M5, Ross, some they’re not so different after all. issue of your current subscription. of the other Euro designers, and others have So, have I become a roadie recumbent Missed Issues done most of this before. The trick was to in- convert? Perhaps I’m headed in that direction. You should receive RCN every two months— tegrate all of it into a new line of readily avail- I haven’t been riding my recumbent offroad within the calendar months on the cover. Stan- dard mail moves at a slower rate than does first able high-performance recumbent bicycles for lately. Does that count? I still like fat tires (the class mail. It can take 2-6 weeks to cross the John or Jane Average Recumbent Rider. Giro’s and Strada tires are fat enough for me). country (RCN is mailed from New York State). So I’m trying to figure out what it is about I still need to carry some cargo. John Schlitter Standard mail is not forwarded, and issues are these bikes. I didn’t get it. So after a phone showed me a great little bag by Radical that not returned to us. conversation with John Schlitter, I decided that caps over the Euro seat, and Angletech offers If you miss an issue due to an RCN or USPS I need to get my hiney down to Las Vegas and a cool aero trunk for larger loads. We have one error, we will send a free replacement. Other check this stuff out. here now. So, am I selling out my urban replacements are $4. Please send us a card or e-mail. Like many of you, I went through the cyclist ethos? Well, maybe I’m trading them Bacchetta demo ride process. Lucky me, I had in for a faster model. Perhaps I just got bitten RCN Database John Schlitter, Mark Colliton, and Rich Pinto by the recumbent performance bug after riding We DO NOT release, sell or, give out the per- sonal information of our subscribers for any rea- helping me get set up on each of the bikes. I the Strada and Corsa (and a long dry spell for son. If you need to contact an RCN subscriber, rode the Giro first, then the Strada, then the my performance riding). I can undoubtedly say send us an SASE letter to the person, place in- Corsa (no Aero ride yet). Each bike is a bit that there’s a room for a bike like this in my side another envelope and send it to RCN. more extreme than the other, and each one felt stable. There’s something to be said in being Fine Print a bit faster than the previous model. When I able to use the roadie and triathalete parts, and RCN is copyright © 2002/3 by RCN. Contents rode the Corsa, I even stopped on the test route especially those very fast Vredstein Fortezza may not be reproduced in whole or part unless expressly authorized in writing by the editorial to lay the seat back a bit farther. When these superlight 145 psi 650c tires. Hey, everyone office. Although we make every effort to pro- bikes are set up correctly, there’s nothing like needs a good sunny-day bike, right? I surren- vide useful and accurate information, we do not them. They’re aggressive, stable, and stiff, but der. Rich Pinto and the Bacchetta gang have claim to have definitive answers particularly with ◆ they ride nice and seem fairly versatile given won me over. ◆ regard to safety, technique and equipment. 2 Recumbent Cyclist News 73 Recumbent News David Lawson with medal (WizWheelz) WizWheelz Trike sets Distance The new Angletech AeroTrunk Record in comfort! Middleville, MI—June 15-16, 2002—A WizWheelz recumbent trike Angletech Introduces established a new distance record in the National 24 Hour Challenge AeroTrunk Tailbox (N24HC). The record of 253 miles was set by first-time Challenge rider David Lawson of Santa Barbara, CA, riding an aluminum version of The objective has been to create an aerodynamic tailbox that adds speed the WizWheelz TerraTrike 3.3. He overcame numerous obstacles along (2-3 mph according to our 2 real-world testers of our last prototype), the way, but finished strong and refreshed. has considerable utility, requires no additional support structure, am- The TerraTrike 3.3 is the latest version of the high-performance re- plifies sound less than the coroplast or fiberglass examples, and has a cumbent trike made by WizWheelz, Inc. of Hastings, MI. The TerraTrike high-quality finish and level of materials. was designed to provide a really fun way to ride and exercise in com- The tailbox is made of slick urethane-coated nylon pack cloth on top fort. and perimeter, ABS and nylon internal stiffeners, ballistic nylon bot- The N24HC brings riders from all over the US and the globe to con- tom and front panel (at seat end), with mesh mounting pocket.