"Fast" bike options

DIscuss anything relating to non-standard cycles and their equipment.
belgiangoth
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Re: "Fast" bike options

Post by belgiangoth »

Mystique or Daemon? And why?
If I had a baby elephant, I would put it on a recumbent trike so that it would become invisible.
UpWrong
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Re: "Fast" bike options

Post by UpWrong »

The Daemon looks to be a standard high racer. The Mystique has a truss frame and a lower seat. The former has tiller steering, the latter tweener bars.
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: "Fast" bike options

Post by [XAP]Bob »

I know you said you didn't like tiller steering...

I absolutely loved the raptobike - tiller steering and a low position rule it out from your initial post, but it used to be a full 5mph average faster than the trike (averaged 17mph vs 22mph over my 15 mile commute, including traffic lights etc).
At least some of that was the sense of urgency it encouraged the pedalling action - the response made pushing hard really fun.
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
Blondie
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Re: "Fast" bike options

Post by Blondie »

UpWrong wrote: 24 May 2021, 8:07pm
Blondie wrote: 24 May 2021, 5:40pm Getting feet down on p38 is straight forward. Sometimes when arriving home I’ll unclip both feet in final few feet of braking and go straight into standing up as I come to a stop.
Thanks. I'm very close to pulling the trigger, just have to decide what colour :lol:
Pound at three year high so not a bad time to pull trigger. :D
belgiangoth
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Re: "Fast" bike options

Post by belgiangoth »

Seems to me that the rapto is almost perfect for what it wants to do, but it seems to me that a cruzbike style fwd drive would probably have been more efficient.
(this is very much an armchair view of the matter).
If I had a baby elephant, I would put it on a recumbent trike so that it would become invisible.
yostumpy
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Re: "Fast" bike options

Post by yostumpy »

There is a Rapto on eBay BIN £900, also an Optima Baron low racer.
UpWrong
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Re: "Fast" bike options

Post by UpWrong »

I can't see me getting on with a Raptobike or Barron. Discussion on BROL about a large P-38 with my physical difficulties suggests that I'd be better off with the medium size frame, which comes with a 16" front wheel, and a longer crank tube in order to more easily get my feet down in a stable positon when stopping. I'll have to speak to Tim about it. I think it's choice between that and a Carbon Basso.
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: "Fast" bike options

Post by [XAP]Bob »

belgiangoth wrote: 25 May 2021, 8:59pm Seems to me that the rapto is almost perfect for what it wants to do, but it seems to me that a cruzbike style fwd drive would probably have been more efficient.
(this is very much an armchair view of the matter).
Might be marginally more efficient, but it becomes a totally different beast (I’ve never ridden a moving bottom bracket machine) - the front wheel steering of the rapto is independent of the front wheel drive.
The oversized drive side idler never felt like it was sapping power, and its position meant that applying power didn’t significantly affect steering - after a short while you stop thinking about it at all.
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
UpWrong
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Re: "Fast" bike options

Post by UpWrong »

Blondie wrote: 23 May 2021, 5:30pm Any questions, do ask.
Can I ask about stopping and getting a foot down? I think you said you put a leg out to one side when you stop? I'm not sure I can manage that reliably (balance issues) but because the seat is relatively upright I guess sitting up and putting the balls of both feet down when stopping is easy enough? Can I ask what your X-seam measurement is using Lightning's method, sat on the floor with shoes on etc? Mine is 42.5". I'd rather have the 20" front wheel and 700c rear wheel if I can manage it. I like the green colour. :wink:
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: "Fast" bike options

Post by [XAP]Bob »

I used to be able to put either or both feet down from the rapto. I actually could also put a hand down as well if I wanted. So I used to unclip, stop, put a foot down, put the hand down, clip in and then take off from a clipped in start.

To be honest I didn't do it often - it was a a bit tricky.
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
Blondie
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Re: "Fast" bike options

Post by Blondie »

UpWrong wrote: 28 May 2021, 3:01pm
Blondie wrote: 23 May 2021, 5:30pm Any questions, do ask.
Can I ask about stopping and getting a foot down? I think you said you put a leg out to one side when you stop? I'm not sure I can manage that reliably (balance issues) but because the seat is relatively upright I guess sitting up and putting the balls of both feet down when stopping is easy enough? Can I ask what your X-seam measurement is using Lightning's method, sat on the floor with shoes on etc? Mine is 42.5". I'd rather have the 20" front wheel and 700c rear wheel if I can manage it. I like the green colour. :wink:
I can put both feet fully down if I want. For instance longer snack stop without getting off bike. But if stopped at traffic lights I usually just unclip and put left foot down. I’d have to double check x seam but 45-46 I think. I have the extended bottom bracket and large frame.

Did you measure x seam with your cycling shoes on?
UpWrong
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Re: "Fast" bike options

Post by UpWrong »

Blondie wrote: 1 Jun 2021, 7:07pm I can put both feet fully down if I want. For instance longer snack stop without getting off bike. But if stopped at traffic lights I usually just unclip and put left foot down. I’d have to double check x seam but 45-46 I think. I have the extended bottom bracket and large frame.

Did you measure x seam with your cycling shoes on?
Thanks. Yes, I measured with my cycling shoes on. I can see that one advantage of the extended BB tube would be less heel/wheel interference. With short cranks I'd be in the middle of the range for the Large frame. I might be ok with the medium frame and an extended BB tube but it could be risking it, and I expect I'd prefer to have the longer wheelbase of the large frame. I have sent my measurements to Lightning Bikes and asked their opinion on the large frame for me. Waiting on a reply.
Blondie
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Re: "Fast" bike options

Post by Blondie »

Extended BB wasn’t so much for heel clearance. It just that I have relatively long legs and a light frame (fairly skinny). So extended BB and large frame better than XL frame and standard BB.
UpWrong
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Re: "Fast" bike options

Post by UpWrong »

I have ordered a P-38 frameset. I emailed Lightning to query fit and colour options and got no reply even after I emailed a prompt a few days later. The message on their home page does ask customers to be patient because of COVID and staff shortages. I had second thoughts and sent a query to Bacchetta about a carbon Basso. No reply from them either. After further consideration, I had reservations about the leg length adjustment on the Basso becuase it's stepped. The boom is fixed and the seat bolts to a rail with numerous holes, a stepped arrangement.

After staring at photos I found the aesthetics of the P-38 appealed to me more and I hope to run it in 406/622 configuration whereas the Basso would be 406/559 (avoding the 451 front wheel because of limited tyre choices). Also I'm becoming convinced of the utility of a more upright seat. Whilst browsing the Lightning web site I found that I could do an on-liine purchase of what I wanted, including delivery to the UK and I could pay by credit card. I was thinking I would need to arrange an international money transfer. My hesitation and delay has cost me a bit because the exchange rate has dipped. The delivery charge is eye-watering. I had read some comments elsewhere that some delivery charges had tripled. What's galling is that you pay customs and VAT on the delivery charge in a compounded form, increasing it by about 33%. I did wonder about waiting another 6 months or even a year but there are no guarantees it would improve much.

I expect it will take some time to make. I guess it's the peak season. In the meantime I can think about gearing options, wheels etc.
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n0ct0
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Joined: 27 Apr 2020, 2:11pm

Re: "Fast" bike options

Post by n0ct0 »

That’s awesome. Sometimes you just have to go for it. Here’s hoping it shows up sooner rather than later.
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