Lightning P-38

[AM7]

That’s a Lovely bike nobrakes

Did you get it from Steamer on BROL by any chance? If so, I saw his YT video about the bike. It was interesting in one of his BROL posts, he said P38s are pretty easy to find used stateside. I guess Lightning never had a UK importer which is why so few made it over here.

[nobrakes]

Yes, it was steamer's old bike that he moved on when he got his more modern green one. There's always a few for sale on BROL classifieds, always in the US though as you say.

I know of a couple of people in Scotland that have them - both near Edinburgh. I think they were direct imports from the US as well although many years ago so probably not so expensive.

Maybe the pound will one day climb out of the gutter and it will become a more reasonable proposition to buy new.

[deejayen]

I'm a sucker for bicycles which were designed in a bygone age!

I bought a new recumbent frameset from the USA a few years ago when the exchange rate was almost 2:1. I think shipping was only $60. The last time looked into buying a recumbent it was around $1,000 for shipping, and the exchange rate had tanked.

If the right P-38 turned up, it might be worth it, though.

[Blondie]

Paint looks in good condition. Have you now added bottle cages in their assigned position?

[AM7]

As an aside, if you no longer need the Bacchetta tweener bars that you took off the P38, I would be interested in buying them!

[nobrakes]

Paint looks in good condition. Have you now added bottle cages in their assigned position?

Not yet, I need to order some. In the meantime I zip tied a retractable badge holder to the seat frame on the left hand side and am putting a hydration bladder in the seat bag. Maybe you could answer a question - how easy is access to bottles if you use a forward facing cage as opposed to a side load one? I haven't tested that yet but was thinking the front of the seat might get in the way a bit with a forward facing cage?

[nobrakes]

As an aside, if you no longer need the Bacchetta tweener bars that you took off the P38, I would be interested in buying them!

I'll probably hold on to them - they may come in handy on another bike at some point. Sorry!

[AM7]

I'll probably hold on to them - they may come in handy on another bike at some point. Sorry!

No worries!

[Blondie]

Maybe you could answer a question - how easy is access to bottles if you use a forward facing cage as opposed to a side load one?

No problem at all. But you need a stiff bottle cage to stop bottles dropping out on rough roads. I use Tacx Deva cages to keep bottles secure.

[nobrakes]

Thanks.

[nobrakes]

Did a lumpy 100 miler today. Apparently my long distance bent legs are not yet properly back, it was a hard day! 6000 feet of ascent, lots of really steep short climbs that I found myself slightly under geared for, I might have to get a wider range cassette after all.

https://www.strava.com/activities/16109355897

Bike was brilliant - road surfaces were varied and in some places absolutely terrible, very easy to shimmy through stuff as the bike is so nimble. Lots of right angled bends and junctions in East Lothian farm country, some on steep hills. So much easier than on the high racer. Being able to almost come to a standstill while still clipped in makes junctions much less faff too.

Only niggle was the onset of some recumbutt in the last hour. Might need to do some seat tweaking. Hard to know if it's that or just the fact I haven't ridden a century on a recumbent for about 5 years, might just be the muscles complaining!

Really happy with the bike though, now I've given it a proper test. It's probably quite close to my idea of a perfect long distance bike.

[deejayen]

Sounds really good! I was wondering how you would get on.

I think there's a lot to be said for a bike which has good control, especially on those steep singletrack lanes and awkward junctions etc. It will obviously get even better after you have more experience on the bike.

I'd become disenchanted with recumbents, but will now be looking out for a P-38 or similar.

I can't see the Strava link, although that's probably because I don't have a Strava account.

Recumbutt should clear up after you have plenty of miles on the bike. 100 miles is a tough ask for a first ride on a recumbent with a different riding position.

[Blondie]

Brilliant stuff. Indeed the handling, nimbleness and slow speed handling just bring a smile every time. It’s a delight to ride, I like to think its handling is like I’d imagine a spitfire must be, whilst many recumbents handling like Lancaster bombers.

I doubt you’ll need lower gears, just more time to develop your power on it. Something I did do when I first got my P38 is go out and tackle every hill type I could think of, including the steepest around. No hill, holds any fear these days.

The other delight is that it fits in the vertical train cupboards for trips away.

[nobrakes]

Recumbutt should clear up after you have plenty of miles on the bike. 100 miles is a tough ask for a first ride on a recumbent with a different riding position.

Yes I am hoping so too. I had nearly 3 years of basically no recumbent riding and lots of upright time including some pretty long audax rides, then just started getting back into it this year. So I'm still playing catchup and most of the recumbent time I've had this year has been on a reclined hardshell seat.

[nobrakes]

I doubt you’ll need lower gears, just more time to develop your power on it. Something I did do when I first got my P38 is go out and tackle every hill type I could think of, including the steepest around. No hill, holds any fear these days.

I've never quite understood why hills feel like more strain on a recumbent. I can quite happily winch my way up the steepest hills the Borders has on a 34/34 bottom gear on my upright bike, but a 28/34 on the recumbent is still putting a lot more strain on the quads. I think it's probably mostly neuromuscular and can be trained out with more practice, as you have just proven yourself