First Century on the Trice Monster

Yesterday I completed the Sweet Onion Century in Vidalia, Georgia. I had planned to ride the Bacchetta Carbon Aero, but since rain was forecast I decided that the trike was a better choice. While it rained heavily the night before the ride, so much so that the electricity went out in my motel room, there was no rain during the ride. We started just before 7 a.m. and the weather looked threatening, but as we rode throughout the day the clouds disappeared and it actually became very hot and humid about noon.

I rode along with an acquaintance, Roger Zoul, who I met on BentRiderOnline. Roger is relatively new to recumbent cycling and he was aiming for his first full Century. We had a very pleasant time riding together. Roger rides a RANS Stratus dual 26. We had a very pleasant time riding together. We were engaged in interesting conversation most of the way and were able to help each other out at certain points of the ride. I had some fender problems, which cost us some time. Additionally, we were so engaged in our discussion that we missed a turn and went 3 miles out of our way. In all, that missed turn cost us about half an hour of time. Together with the fender issues, our finishing time was rather slow. Nevertheless, I did prove that riding a trike on a Century is a very pleasant experience.

Except for my perennial hotfoot problems and the heat in the afternoon, I was completely comfortable during the entire ride. I do lose a little speed on the trike, but if speed is not a major issue, riding long distances this way has some real advantages. Not having to unclip at stops, not having to be concerned about balance during climbing and being very fast and stable on descents offset some of the loss of pure speed.

I wish I could find a way to solve the hotfoot problems, which significantly detract from my comfort and speed during the latter parts of a long ride on a hot day. At the end of the ride, we were talking to two female riders who told Roger and me that they now ride without cycling socks and that seems to alleviate their problems with sore feet.

One of the really nice parts about this ride or the rest stops. Although we did not stop at every one, the people who staffed the rest stops were very pleasant. Our last rest stop was staffed by a Girl Scout troop and they were very attentive. My trike attracts a lot of attention, especially among children. At the end, as people were winding down, a couple of the race organizers took my trike for a spin around the parking lot.

If I ever do brevets in the future, trikes maybe the best way to go.

1500 Miles on the Carbon Aero

I will cross the 1500 mile mark on my Carbon Aero this week, so I thought I would update my impressions. First of all, I am very sad that the production of the Ti Aero has been suspended. That bike is a classic and hope we will see it back at some point. But, thanks to Bacchetta for bringing us the Carbon Aero. Without this wonderful bike, I would be sadly Aeroless.

Thus far, I am hard-pressed to find any significant flaws in this bike. I have had to fiddle a bit with the carbon seat to put extra padding in just the correct places to avoid "hot spots" on my tush. But, in fairness, the seat has an excellent pad and I am, for the most part, very comfortable on either short or long rides.

There have been some challenges getting sufficient carrying capacity. I like the Larry Graham headrest alot, especially for longer rides. The price I pay is that the Bacchetta Brainbox will not fit over the back of the seat, unless I fiddle with the seams of the bag, which I have not yet done. So I use a very good, but more limited capacity OFA bag. Since bladders are my preferred hydration approach, and I stuff a 70 oz bladder in the OFA, there isn't much more room to carry stuff. Now, I try to carry limited stuff because the bike is very light, and I want to keep it that way, but still I use tubulars and must carry at least one extra tire, two on Centuries and beyond. Unfortunately, my beloved FastBackSystem Norback will not fit over the belly that protrudes down from the main tube. The velcro holders are not long enough to fit around the belly. I have temporarily solved the problem with a plastic tie and can carry extra gear in the Norbak. Mike - we need a Norbak for the Carbon Aero!

Now that I am back in hill/mountain country and gone from the Florida flats, I have been able to test out the CA on hills. On my usual training ride around Stone Mountain Park there are plenty of short and longish steep climbs. The CA is a great climber with its stiff frame. I have Q-Rings on my FSA Carbon crank and the lowest chainring is a 30. The chainline on the CA prevents a 34tooth cog on the rear so my lowest in the back is 32. Rotor Cranks (Howie) claims, as I understand it, that given the extra climbing power provided by the Q-Rings a 30 works like a standard round 26 chainring. Thus far, I would say he is correct. I have plenty of low gear even for longish climbs in the 12 - 16 percent grade range. I have never gone Granny-Granny and think I can handle much steeper ascents with my current gearing. On my previous bikes I have used 53-39-26 and 11-34 in the back for Atlanta terrain. I am not a strong climber, and the CA gives me an extra mechanical advantage that I need.

I have also been pleased with the versatility of the bike. It goes anywhere --no problems at all in heavy Atlanta traffic. As a matter of fact, I feel very much in control on this bike, even at very low bumper-to-bumper speeds. I still do struggle a bit getting started when I get caught at a stop going uphill. Thanks to Terracycle mounts I can mount lights on derailleur post and off the back of my headrest, so I am also good to go at night. I haven't yet given the CA a good run on rough roads yet, but I am not expecting any surprises.

One bit of advice to other CA owners....check the torque on the seat bolts regularly. I carry my bike around in a pickup truck and the seat bolts gradually loosen over time due to the vibration. I tighten them before every 4th or 5th ride and they always need an extra 1/2 turn or so. The seat likes these bolts to be tight. I assume this is an issue with the Ti Aero as well.

I am hoping that Bacchetta can pick up production of the Carbon Aero, bring down the price, and get as many out there as its late Ti Aero brother. This is a great bike for performance-oriented riders to enjoy. I am looking foward to Bicycle Ride Across Georgia on the CA this year.

Cross Training with Weights

I am about halfway through reading Bike for Life by Roy M. Wallack and Bill Katovsky. Wallack is a world bike tourer and Katovsky is a former Ironman Triathlete. The theme of the book is about being able to ride a Century at 100 years of age. Sounds good to me.

The best advice given is that cyclists should NOT do only cycling. For longevity on the bike, they highly recommend weight training and yoga to maintain all the body's muscles and joints. To them it is not controversial, serious cyclists must weight train.....no debate. That is good enough for me, so I have started up weight training again, as cross training with cycling.

I used to be an avid strength trainer. Unfortunately, I gravitated away from weights when I became an avid recumbent cyclist. Although I have hit the gym intermittently, I have not observed any organized training program for about 2 years. That changed last week. I have committed myself to at least two sessions in the weight room per week in addition to cycling 3-4 days per week. I am aiming for 150-200 miles per week on the bike.

I did my first return to weights workout late last week and the next day I rode the Carbon Aero 47 miles. Boy, was I sore. The long steep climbs were torture because my legs were stiff and sore from the weight workout. I assume that after my legs get acclimated to the strength training I'll be okay, but I should probably avoid a session in the gym the day before important rides.

Wallack and Katovsky advise a program that concentrates on three groups of muscles: Those that are used by cycling, those that are ignored by cycling, and those that are damaged by cycling. The routine that I will follow is shown below. I have done two sessions and it feels very good. I have modified the routine a little but from the authors' recommendations, but what follows is essentially their program.


On-Bike Benefits of Strength Training

Strengthen the Core (Abs, hips, lower back)
Improve power
Maintain reaction time and balance


Off-the-Bike Benefits of Strength Training

Corrects imbalances
Adds stability
Strengthens unstressed muscles
Keeps you younger

The Program


Cycling specific exercises

Decline situp
Bench leg raises - lower abs
Stretches
Barbell dead lift
Leg curls
Calf raises
Zane squat
Single leg presses
Bench press
Single arm cable rows

Muscles that don't get worked by cycling

Leg presses with heel for Glutes
Upright rows
Pec flys
Tricepts
Seated rows
Deltoids

Exercises that undo cycling's damage

Back extension
Hip flexor lunge stretch
Row
Scorpion tail raises

Carbon Aero and VK2 - My Thoughts

I really hesitate to comment about speed because there are so many factors involved and it is impossible to be entirely factual. That having been said, here goes. You can take my experiences for what they are...my experiences.

I am a middle of the pack (MOTP) rider who has ridden a ti Aero for three years, a VK2 for one year, and a Carbon Aero for 1.5 months. My conclusion: they are all wonderful bikes. Unless you are a serious racer, I wouldn't worry about the speed differences.

The only real speed comparison I can give is between the Ti Aero and the VK2 because I have ridden those two bikes over and over again on exactly the same route under the same varying conditions. The route is an approximately five mile loop at Stone Mountain Park near Atlanta with about 360 feet of climbing per loop. There are some longish climbs reaching 10 % grade and some sections that you can build up optimal speed on downhills and rollers. For 3 loops I was consistently about 1.5-2.5 minutes faster on the VK2.

But, I have not done this comparison yet with the Carbon Aero, which I will do when I return to Atlanta (I am now in flatland Florida). The Carbon Aero is stiffer and I will not be surprised if my speeds on the CA compared to the VK2 are very close.

There is a school of thought out there, that I cannot yet prove, that highracers are better climbers than lowracers when you hit mountainous terrain. Seems logical, but, to me, the VK2 climbs very well. It feels about the same to me on steep climbs as compared to the Ti Aero. Again, when I hit the steep grades in Atlanta with the CA I'll get a better feel for it.

It is my "guess" based on nonscientific experience that the Carbon Aero and the VK2 are very, very close. Both are beautiful bikes and it depends upon whether one likes the high or the low racer configuration.

I will chime in on some other issues as well. The Carbon Aero is better engineered and more user-friendly than the VK2. I had a bit of a struggle getting my VK2 dialed in and working properly. For example, getting the boom length correct was a major event on the VK2. Adjusting the seat and dialing in the CA is a piece of cake. But once set up properly, the VK2 bike really flies and is very, very comfortable. The VK2 is a bit harder to transport because the front forks don't mount on a traditional bike rack. The chainline runs right next to the wheel and rubs against the wheel in sharp turns - a minor issue that rarely affected riding conditions. I am more confident riding the CA in almost any circumstance whereas I was a little hesitant to ride the VK2 in heavy traffic (I know, all in my head). Having ridden both, I feel a bit more at home on the highracer. The VK2 tended to freak out my local bike mechanics more than the Aero. If one is mechanically gifted, this is a non-issue. One drawback of the CA for those living in very mountainous terrain is that it will not handle a 34 tooth rear cog. The chainline likes a 32, but not, I discovered yesterday, a 34.

Finally, I am not a conformist, but the CA fits in better with other bent riders and DF riders. I wouldn't make too much of this, but there are a lot more highracers out there than lowracers. This does impact a bit on the social aspect of riding. When I ride with my buddies on their Corsas, we can converse more easily. There is a large contigent of Bacchetta riders in Atlanta and hardly another lowracer to be found.

This is more than you wanted, but I think the VK2 with all its strengths is a bit more tempremental than the CA. But, for lowracer lovers, it is probably hard to beat the VK2. The highracer design works better given the circumstances in which I ride.

New Bacchetta Giro 20

I picked up my new Giro20 from Power On Cycling in Plant City, Fla. this afternoon. Power On's owner, Mark Powers is an excellent recumbent dealer. His service is outstanding. He carries a wide selection of bents, and best of all, he is a bent rider who is very familiar with all the peculiarities of my favorite bikes. He is especially experienced with Bacchetta bikes.

This is my second recumbent purchase this year and it is only April. Well, I decided to complete my inventory of bents with a city assault bike to be used mainly in Atlanta and Sarasota for running chores and visiting family and friends. I am committed to spending less time in the car and more time on the bike, not just for training, but for activities of daily living. My Aero and Monster will undoubtedly get many more miles, but the Giro will be my functional bike.

Atlanta, and Sarasota in the high season, have lots of aggressive traffic and I needed a bike that would withstand the rigors of urban life. So I set up the Giro with wider tires (Kenda Qwest), fenders, front (Light and Motion Vega) and rear (Dinotte Taillight) lights mounted on two Terracycle accessories mounts, a Hostelshoppe seat bag and a kickstand. I have not had a bike with a kickstand in several years and I will welcome not having to find a post to lean the bike against. The lights will be used in flashing mode during daily rides as an extra safety feature. I have installed a Garmin 305 mount so I can keep track of my mileage even when piddling around and not training.

I suppose I could use either the Aero or the Monster for city riding, but decided that a more upright bike would be a bit safer, at least in my head. The Aero runs tubular tires and flats are very expensive, so using the Aero for daily runs to the store or visiting my mother, while doable, is not ideal. And I tend to employ the Monster as an alternative training bike used for country and trail rides. I ride the Monster in heavy traffic, but I'll feel more comfortable on the Giro for that purpose.

This is my last bike purchase for a long time (yeh, right). My stable is complete and barring any unforeseen circumstances I will be happy with this bike group for several years to come.

I haven't had a chance to get any mileage on the Giro20, except for a short test ride. As I get more experience I'll post my impressions. It is certainly a good looking bike and my impression thus far is that it will be ideal for its urban assault duties.

Bacchetta Carbon Aero



(Click on picture to enlarge)

I just reached 500 miles on the Carbon Aero. Here are my impressions.The bike rode flawlessly from the get go. I had to dial in the seat and headrest, but aside from that I was good to go right from the factory.

I ordered the CA with Terracycle Accessories Mount on the front derrailleur post and the back of the Larry Graham headrest, perfect for Dinotte headlight and taillight. Also requested were two water bottle cages affixed under each side of the Bacchetta carbon seat. I mounted an OFA seat back bag, which doesn't interfere with the headrest. I have plenty of carrying capacity. With a little extra padding under the shoulders, the riding position is supremely comfortable. The headrest is a plus for long rides when fatigue sets in. My longest ride has been 80 miles. That was actually the first ride. I had a little trouble readjusting to the higher bb, but that took about 15 minutes. It has been a year since I've ridden a highracer. By the way, Bacchetta has redesigned the seat struts and seat mounting plate making a more solid seat setup with less flex. It is an improvement over my previous ti Aero.

The bike rides solid and smooth. Rough roads are no problem. The frame absorbs shock very well. I had some Nimble Crosswinds 650c tubulars from a previous bike that I put on the CA. I love the ride of tubulars combined with the CA.

I have done several rides in heavy seasonal Florida stop and go traffic. The bike handles very well under these conditions. Visibility from the riding position is good. I feel as if I can ride this bike anywhere without concern. Being in Florida, I have done zero climbing on the bike, but from the feel of the solid frame thus far, I predict this will be an excellent climber, as Larry Graham has stated in his review.

The engineering is amazing in its simplicity. Bike shop mechanics shouldn't freak out when I bring it in for service. The frame has a "belly" under the main tube and I haven't yet figured out how to mount the CA on a traditional bike repair stand.

There are only three potential drawbacks that I can see to this high performance bike. First is the price. My feeling is that the CA is well worth it. But, others might see the Corsa or the Ti Aero so close....why spend the extra money? Second, the high bb is not for everyone. I love the reclined reclined seat, high bb combination. The foot position relative to the ground in stop and go traffic is not an issue for me. I can see where it wouldn't be for everyone though. Third, although the carbon frame seems very tough, it is vulnerable to being damaged in crashes and rough handling. I would probably be very reluctant to pack this bike up for shipping or carrying on a plane, although I might find an easy way to do this that would satisfy me.

Bacchetta produces wonderful recumbents and their customer service is outstanding.

Email from Francesco Volpi endorsing the Monster as a brevet machine

Ciao Howard

On my Monster = i have on rear XT hub with Mavic 317 32 holes and tire Specialized Pro 26x1 . On f= ront Ice disc hubs Alex rims 32 holes and Stelvio tires 26x1.

Yes Monster is= a great randonneur , fast and comfortable . I pedal also with great satisfact= ion my Baron but believe me there is not so much difference on long ride about = the finish time . In mountain there is a great difference between the two : mor= e relax with Monster ! When you stay on bike many many hours you need relax more th= en speed . For this reason i have decided to go to the next PBP 2007 with Mons= ter.

Ciao Francesco=

-----Messaggio originale-----

Da: Howard Vei= t @ 'BentRider Online Forums [mailto:ve= ithr@bellsouth.net]

Inviato: sabat= o 29 luglio 2006 17.14

A: Volpi F.

Oggetto: Monst= ers setup

Volpi,

I hope that yo= u are doing well and doing lots of riding. I am considering doing some long-dista= nce riding this year on my Monster and wonder whether you might share some information. I bought my Monster used, and it came with very lightweight wh= eels (Sun Rims) and Titanium spokes. The titanium spokes are quite fragile and I have already broken three. I am thinking about either getting a new set of front wheels. ICE sent me a set of hubs. What wheels do you run on your Monster? What tires? I read your post on the recent ultramarathon event that you did on your Monster. Congratulations! Do you use your Monster on all yo= ur ultra events? Generally, do you consider the Monster to be a good randonneur bike? Others have argued that a two wheel recumbent would be more efficient= and faster on such a ride. I agree, but there are trade-offs. The longest ride = that I have done on my Monster is about 100 miles. I finished comfortably but was about 45 minutes slower than my normal Century time.

Thanks in adva= nce for any insights.

Cheers, Howard=

--------------= ------------------------------------------

Le informazioni contenute in questo messaggio di posta elettronica sono riservate e confidenziali e ne e' vietata la diffusione in qualunque modo eseguita. Qua= lora Lei non fosse la persona a cui il presente messaggio e' destinato, La invit= iamo gentilmente ad eliminarlo dopo averne dato tempestiva comunicazione al mitt= ente e a non utilizzare in alcun caso il suo contenuto. Qualsivoglia utilizzo non autorizzato di questo messaggio e dei suoi eventuali allegati espone il responsabile alle relative conseguenze civili e penali.

My Next Bent - Bacchetta Carbon Aero

Several weeks ago while riding the Silver Comet Trail in Atlanta, John Schlitter, Bacchetta RAAM team member and co-founder of Bacchetta Bikes rolled up next to me. What a pleasant surprise. John was in town riding with the Atlanta Bacchetta group. We spent the next 15 miles or so riding together and chatting about his Carbon Aero and my VK2. The Carbon Aero is a very impressive looking bike and I learned plenty about it from John. Following the ride, we had an exchange of emails which resulted in my visit to Bacchetta Bikes in St. Petersburgh in mid-January. We spent a pleasant couple of hours discussing potential setup issues and I returned to my home in Sarasota with visions of Carbon Aeros dancing around my lustful brain. A couple of days later I pulled the plug and ordered one.

I am hoping for delivery in mid-February. Some of the special features will be:

• Nimble Crosswind 650c tubular wheels with Tufo S3 lite tires
• A custom headrest
• A light mount with a Dinotte taillight attached to the back of the headrest. We are still trying to figure out how to do this
• A Terracycle accessories mount for a Light and Motion headlight attached to the front derailleur post
• A FSA carbon crankset with 53-40-30 Q-Rings. I bought this crankset for my VK2, but due to the steep angle of the VK2 front derraileur post, shifting onto the ovalized Q-Rings does not work properly. So I am putting this FSA/Q-Rings setup on the Carbon Aero.
• Water bottle holders attached under the Bacchetta seat.
• Shimano Durace bar end shifters

I plan on spending lots of time in Florida during the next few years. I received my Medicare card today as my 65th birthday approaches. The Carbon Aero is my birthday present to myself. Afterall, if we have to get old, we might as well go in style.

Monster December 27, 2006

BlueCoyote Monster Dinotte Taillight Mount

Finally, I was able to mount a Dinotte Taillight on the rear of my Monster. Based upon the brilliant inspiration of my fellow BROLer, BlueCoyote, I removed two of the small bolts that secure the carbon fiber headrest to the back of my hardshell seat. Trice sends this interesting little all purpose mount with the custom trikes. The Dinotte taillight rests nicely on this mount. I was able to insert the two headrest screws through the holes of the Trice mount and then through the headrest and into the back of the hardshell seat. With the help of a couple of plastice zip ties (what would we do without them?) I further secured the Trice mount to the back of my seat. The taillight is in exactly the right position for optimal visibility. I was also able to secure the battery pack pouch to the back of the headrest using plastic zip ties. Worked out perfectly.

VK2 Water Bottle Cages

I don't like water bladders and after changing the Terracycle idler for a Velokraft idler was able to mount water bottle holders on both sides of the underseat. Works great. I can still carry a bladder in the pouch of my seat bag, but seldom will have to. The Terracycle idler ran the chain too close to the underside of the seat thus preventing a water bottle cage installation. The cages are positioned so that I can easily reach the water bottles on either side while riding the VK2.

I am selling my Bike Pro Tandem case. I have used it twice to transport my Rans Velocity Squared recumbent. It worked beautifully and was accepted by Delta Airlines.
This is the 2 x oversized model with these dimensions.... 38x72x10

Monster Alterations

I made some final changes to the Monster and have it just right now. I uninstalled the FSA Cranks with Q-Rings and installed Rotor Cranks. The Q-Rings led to poor shifting, especially from middle to large chain ring. The chain was jumping over the big ring and I couldn't adjust the problem away without making the middle-large shift too difficult. I think the steep angle of the derailleur post on the Monster contributed to the problem, but who knows. At any rate, the Rotor Cranks are much better. I get a 26 tooth small ring, rather than the 30 toother on the Q-Rings. I need the lower gears for our hills. The Rotor Cranks shift much smoother and the extra power in climbing is noticeable.

I also took off the front fenders with mirrors attached and installed two Mirrcycle mirrors on the handlebars. Not running the front fenders makes the trike a bit more aero.

I took off the Aerospoke wheel and reinstalled the original Mavic wheel with ti spokes. The Aerospoke, which I have liked on two wheeled bents, didn't seem right on the trike after putting in many miles. The extra pound or so of weight was really noticeable on the trike. I have concluded that the lightest, most durable wheel is right for the trike. The Mavic wheel runs quieter than the Aerospoke also. This is of some importance since my head is so close to the rear wheel.

Finally, I switched out the pedals from Time Atac mtb pedals to Speedplay "lollipop" road pedals. I like the extra float of the Speedplays and I don't have to twist so hard to disengage.

Think I am finished fiddling with the Monster, at least for awhile.

Boom Adjustments

When my VK2 is good...it is very, very good. When it's bad, I'm not a happy camper. This is one of the smoothest riding, comfortable and fastest bents I've had. But I have had a devil of a time getting it dialed in correctly. After I replace the broken boom...see below...and installed a FSA crank things were going very well. I changed to a Rotor Crank within the last month or so and have concluded that I need to bring the boom in a hair to give me the correct pedal stroke position. I was extending too much and feeling some strain in my legs.

I put the bike in a trainer and removed the screws that secure the boom in the boom socket. After putting some protective tape on the nose of the boom, with a rubber mallet, I tapped the boom smartly in an attempt to shorten it about 1/4". I arrived at the 1/4" figure by doing some measurements, with the help of my local bike mechanic, who is expert at fitting bikes. He concluded that 1/4" shorter boom would be about right. I tapped and tapped and the boom wouldn't budge. So, I tapped the other way on the crank arm spindles and was easily able to remove the boom.

I took a flashlight and peered inside the boom socket. Ahhh sooo, there was a large piece of boom material (resin?) adhering to the side of the socket just at the point were the end of my boom used to be. It was that piece of resin that was preventing me from tapping the boom further into the socket. Now this was a big obstruction. Filing it out of existence or knocking it off didn't seem feasible.

So, I decided to hack saw off about 1/4" of the boom. I dared not take any more of the boom off because I am approaching the point where the end of the boom is getting too close to the inside most clamp screw. When I did the original fitting, I sawed off 2". I figure I need to be past the clamp at least 70 mm to keep the boom securely enscounced inside the socket. I was able to take the quarter inch off the boom and easily tap it inside the socket. After tightening the clamp I discovered that my pedaling now felt perfect. I haven't gone for a long ride yet, but my short test ride indicates that I am now dialed in to the sweet spot.

A friend, actually one of my fellow BROLers, said to me that the VK2 is like a fine sports car. You have to have fun fiddling with it to get it just right, and then fiddle again. Well, I have done more than my share of fiddling, and it hasn't exactly been fun. But, I do love riding this bad boy and I guess that 's what counts. Whew!!!!! I just finished what felt like delicate brain surgery.

Tubular wheel for the Monster

I am considering adding this wheel to my Monster. Trikes usually don't have composite wheels because of the side forces, but David from Nimble assures me that he can build it strong enough. I love tubular wheels, so maybe I'll give it a shot.

With winter weather settling in, I decided to add some accessories to my Monster. When the days get shorter and colder, I do much more riding around my house, which is located in an urban setting. There is lots of traffic and I like to train and run errands on my trike.

The best upgrade was the addition of a Dinotte tailight. I have been mounting this taillight on my helmet, but prefer lights affixed to the frame. Using a trice accessories bracket attached to the left dropout, I mounted the taillight and secured it with a velcro strip and strong plastic ties. I used the bracket in order to raise the taillight as high as possible. The Dinotte is exceptionally bright. When I run it in flash mode, I get 10-12 hours runtime before replacing the four AA batteries. I will use the light in traffic during daylight and nighttime hours. I also sometimes train at night a Stone Mountain Park with other bent riders. This makes me super-visible under all night riding conditions.

Second I installed a Light&Motion headlight to the Trice bracket on the derrailleur post and secured a 6.5 hour battery under the front boom. The L&M headlight is also exceptionally bright and will serve nicely during night riding and as a safety daytime light. I have used L&M lights for a couple of years and am very happy with them. Also note the Mirrcycle mirrors mounted on the top of the mudguards and the bracket for my garmin 76csx GPS. For day runs in the country and city when I am headed to unknown territory, the GPS is invaluable. It greatly expands my geographic range and also acts as an excellent bike computer.

One thing that has worked out nicely is the rear Aerospoke wheel. The conventional wisdom is that composite/carbon wheels don't work on a trike because of the unusual side forces. After a couple of discussions with Bill Micol at Aerospoke he agreed that one of their wheels would be appropriate for the rear of the trike, but not the front. I have tested this wheel under all sorts of conditions, including long fast descents. The wheel runs quiet and smooth and I sense not disadvantage during steep climbs. The wheel is a bit heavier than most high performance wheels, but it makes up for more weight in outstanding performance and durability.

I now have about a month of riding time with the Q-Rings on my FSA Carbon cranks. I am very pleased with the addional power in climbing and the smoothness of the pedal stroke. I can't prove it, but seems like the Q-Rings add a bit to speed in addition to pedalling comfort.

I have the Monster pretty much all set up as planned. I plan on putting in many miles during the next year. My goal is 8,000-9,000 miles combined on the Monster and VK2.

Terracycle Accessories Mount on my VK2

I have been looking for a good place to mount my front headlight/safety flasher, a Light & Motion Vega, onto my VK2. The Terracycle Accessories Mount shown in the pictures accomplishes the job perfectly.

I had to fiddle a bit to adapt the mounting brackets to the extra large daimeter derrailleur post of the VK2. I ordered Terracycle's largest diameter mounting brackets, but they still were not large enough for the post. I was able to install the brackets around the post by going to my local hardware store and buying longer (1.5 " bolts.) I also had to build up the mounting post with velcros (I only had white velco) and a rubber spacer.

My BoB trailer is for sale. Here are some photos.

Velokraft 2 issues

It has taken awhile, but I finally have the Velokraft 2 fully repaired, and tuned to ride. I unpacked the bike in early March and it is just this week ( August 14) that I've finally gotten it to where I want it.
This is really one very sweet recumbent low racer. This bike is fast, quiet, and very comfortable. An added bonus is that it is a good climber. I hate to start arguments between devotees of high racers and low racers. But, I believe I am a bit faster on the Velokraft 2 than I was on my Bacchetta Aero. This is a very individual thing and I suspect that some riders would prefer the high racer while others seem to adapt better to the low racer format. I tend to ride more confidently on a low racer. This is especially true on long fast descents were being lower to the ground seems to provide a sense of security. I also have found that riding this quasi-low racer is quite comfortable in traffic, even though I have to be constantly aware of my positioning relative to cars so that I am always visible.

I have my Velokraft 2 equipped and tuned just right now. I have, however, had to take a scenic route rather than an expressway to get to this point from the time that I unpacked the bike. This has been a rough road and I will describe the steps I've taken to bring this bike to where it achieves its full potential.

The original assembly of the Velokraft 2 went well. The only glitch was a bent rear derailer cage. The derailer was damaged during shipment. After I was able to get the bike tuned I spent a week riding and everything seemed to be working fine. The only problem was a very noisy drivetrain, including some annoying chain rub on the bottom of the Velokraft seat. I did some fine tuning including moving the Terracycle idler to the forward most of the three idler holes. During the first few weeks, however, despite my fiddling, I was not able to eliminate the noise in the drivetrain. For several weeks from about the middle of March until the end of April I had a bad case of the flu and did not get to ride very much. When I resumed riding in May I began to identify other problems with the bike.

On one long ride of about 75 miles I started to have severe shifting problems. I could not keep the front derailer properly shifted. The chain was rubbing on the inside of the chain rings and occasionally during steep climbs the chain ring would jump, without my touching the shift lever, from the middle chain ring to the large chain ring. I was also having trouble keeping up the rear derailer properly aligned. This strange front derailer behavior and general drivetrain problems plagued me for the next couple of weeks. I tried doing adjustments myself, but to no avail. I finally discovered that the front boom was cracked. This crack caused the front boom to flex as much as 4 or 5° off-center and was causing the shifting problems and the strange chain behavior on the chain rings.

The other problem was that my Rotor Cranks were not properly positioned. In order to achieve the appropriate chain line with the chain rings I needed to move the Rotor Crank over about 3 or 4 mm. Not wanting to take this job on myself, I took the bike into REI. They tried to making various adjustments and when they removed the Rotor Cranks the mechanic discovered that some of the threads on the main body of the Rotor Cranks were stripped. I'm not sure whether this thread damage occurred during assembly or when the mechanic attempted to remove the Rotor Cranks from the boom.

I reported the problems to Dana at BentUp Cycles. Dana has been very responsive in helping me work through all the problems. He has replaced the front boom under warranty. I have also sent the Rotor Cranks back to him for repair. The new boom arrived last week and it is now installed. I had Dana put in a FSA SLK crankset and will sell the Rotor Cranks after they are repaired. In the future, I may add Q-Rings. As I said, the bike is now set up the way I want and functioning very, very well. For the benefit of those who may consider buying a Velokraft 2 (or Velokraft High racer), here is a summation of my lessons learned:

- When you order the Velokraft make sure that it comes equipped with the latest iteration of the boom. This boom has gone through two or three changes in order to strengthen the side walls to prevent cracking. The new boom that I have installed seems very sturdy with no flex at all even during steep climbs.

- For some reason, getting a proper chain alignment with the chain rings was a problem for me. I have found that an Ultegra triple nine speed front derailer works better than a DurAce front derailer. The latter is designed for a 10 speed set up and has a narrower cage. The wider cage of the Ultegra (even though it is only very slightly wider) helps me fine tune my shifting much better thus preventing chain rub on the inside of the derailer cage.

- I changed over the Terracycle idler to the original Velokraft idler. The Terracycle over/under idler had the chain running too close to the bottom of the seat causing chain rub on the bottom of the seat when there was a lot of tension on the chain (when climbing). The Velokraft idler is much taller and is an under/under configuration keeping the chain well away from the bottom of the seat. The drivetrain now runs considerably quieter.

- The Rotor Cranks did not seem to work particularly well on the Velokraft 2. Others may have a different experience, but I found it hard to line up the Rotor Cranks to get a straight on chain alignment with the chain rings. I also found that the inside of the Rotor Crank chain rings had guide pins that were very uneven causing the chain, when placed on the middle chain ring, to rub against the inside of a large chain ring sometimes catching on the irregular part of the guide pins and causing a chain hop. The FSA crankset seems much better built, installs in a fixed position, and produces a quieter and smoother shifting situation on the front derailer. As I said earlier, I may add Q-Rings at some later date. The combination of the cracked boom and Rotor Crank misalignment caused shifting problems. It is possible that replacing the boom and aligning the Rotor Cranks would have solved the problem without resorting to a new crankset.

- When I was installing the new boom, I inadvertently stripped the forward most built-in aluminum threads on the inside of the clamp that holds the boom in place. These threads are very delicate and, as I discovered, easily stripped. I was able to fix the problem by getting (from Dana)a longer bolt and a locknut to tighten down the front end of th clamp. It is important to treat all of the built-in threads very gingerly.

- The only shifting problem that I continue to have is that it requires too much effort to shift from the middle to the large chain ring. The cable line running through the frame has a very sharp bend as the cable rises to the front derailer. This sharp band produces too much friction on the cable. I had my bike mechanic remove the cable line from inside the frame and run it outside producing a bigger loop of the cable into the front derailer. This seems to help the situation somewhat, but I also have removed the Paul's Thumbies and installed SRAM Rocket grip shifters. The shifting to the large chain ring is still not perfect, but much better.

- - The Radical Low Racer Bags work very well on my Velokraft 2. These fit comfortably out of the way on the back of the Velokraft seat holding tools, spare tires, etc. as well as up to a 50 ounce bladder. They are also lightweight and seem very durable. You can see the Radical Bag set up on the accompanying pictures.


The Velokraft 2 is now set up beautifully and I'm very happy with it. It is the fastest bent I have owned, and well worth the effort that I've put into it.

I have just about completed the Monster setup. This week I added an Aerospoke 26" rear wheel and installed front mudguard mounted Mirrcycle mirrors with the help of an email fellow California trikester, Erskien Lenier. I have mounted a Light and Motion headlamp to my helmet with both a 3 and 6 hour battery and am ready to go 24 hours. I am waiting for XTR Q-rings, which will be the finishing touch to this beauty. Also check out the Radical Solo Low Racer Bag, perfect for this rig.