Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.Bruce in Texas
08-29-05, 03:17 PM
Sorry it took me a few days to get this up and running.
Here is the link to the pictures. You should be able to see them in any size you want. The carbon fiber is most nice.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/97352176@N00/
Here is previous write up and impression:
This write up is for the Hurricane SL. This is basically the same bike that was featured in Velovision’s last issue. I ended up with it due to some conversations with Paul Voermann of Challenge.
First, let me say that while the bike is 10 lbs. lighter than my standard Hurricane Sport, it feels more like 15 or 20. Even with the water bladder and tool kit on the bike it still feels like a featherweight. What I have found is not so much that removing 10 lbs makes you faster on your cruising speed but it does make you faster overall because you get up hills quicker. I could actually accelerate up hills, something I have not done on bents in the last 4 years. I believe I may be inspired to actually lose 10 or 15 lbs myself. It really does make a difference.
The SL put together is a beauty. Quite stunning really, just looking at it makes me believe it is begging for some carbon wheels. Something like Novosport, M5, or Aerospoke make. The wheels that come with the bike are very nice. American Classic Hubs that lose very little speed when you coast. Spokes are 36 count front and rear. You could easily put some lighter wheels on for even less weight if you wanted. Tires are Stelvio.
Drive train-Paul sent a Ultegra triple with Octalink bottom bracket. After thinking about it I did not feel a valid test of the bike would occur with that set up so I put my 165 Rotorcranks on. That is what I have been riding and I did not want any performance issues clouded by a different crank. Rear derailleur is a Deore LX that worked just fine. Cassette is an 11-32. Chaintubes on power and return. The new idlers that Challenge has made really go a long way toward quieting any chain noise. The work perfectly and are quiet. Shifterts are Sram Attack’s.
Brakes-very pretty brakes that work well. The rear is a bit finicky and has to be adjusted just so to enable the Stelvio to miss the brake arms. The Stelvio is just about too tall for the rear brake. A lower Profile tire like the Conti Sport Contact would work better and give more room for brake adjustment.
Front brake was flawless and provided plenty of stopping power.
Front fork-what a beautiful piece of carbon fiber. This was the first Carbon Fiber fork I have ever ridden on of any kind and I am sold. I could not feel any give while riding but the bumps in the road magically disappeared. Plenty of feedback so there is nothing spongy, it just makes bumps go away. Pretty much like having suspension that does not move.
Rear fork-bike was delivered with a damaged box from Fedex. There was a cosmetic hairline crack on the exterior of the cover on the fork’s left side. After notifying Paul, he called and we discussed it. He said it was not a problem to ride as it had nothing to do with the structure of the fork itself. He was right. The rear of the bike manages bumps just as well as the front. The airshock combined with the Carbon Fiber rear fork just makes bumps disappear. Really a neat set up.
Seat-Challenge is on to something with their new seat. The curvature fit me well as did the spinal cut out. Nice and comfy. The seat back angle may be a little too much for some with neck problems. If so, get the neckrest, this bike has one and it made the difference for me of being able to ride it or not.
Steering-this bike has the Titanium steerer. It is a solid piece so you have to swing it out of the way when you mount/dismount. A word of caution here. If you are under 5’10” I would suggest you opt out of this steerer and go with optional flip up steering system. Due to laid back seat angle, the titanium version handlebar set up will be in your line of vision or above it. No big deal if you don’t care but I like to see a clear road in front of me. I am 5’10” so it is not a problem. The handlebars themselves are very short. If you have large hands you will have to move all of the hardware inward a bit. Small hands, no problem. There is a small amount of fore and aft movement you can a utilize for reach, one set screw handles it.
This is a fine bike, handles pretty much like my old Hurricane, that is to say, quick but not twitchy. It is light years better than my Hurricane in evey area, finish, detail, craftsmanship. Above all it is a Challenge and it is LIGHT. Hopefully, after some of these bikes have some miles Challenge will up the weight limit to make them more accessible to more people. The bike is easy to ride. You will need to figure out something for hydration and tools. My suggestion is to go here and pick up the Solo Aero. I have the solo Classic and it would not work as it hit the rear tire.
http://www.radicaldesign.nl/en/prod...a_top_bags.html
If you get a chance to try one of the SL's do, you won’t regret it and you will have bike lust for the lightweight Challenge series.
Bruce
Here is the link to the pictures. You should be able to see them in any size you want. The carbon fiber is most nice.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/97352176@N00/
Here is previous write up and impression:
This write up is for the Hurricane SL. This is basically the same bike that was featured in Velovision’s last issue. I ended up with it due to some conversations with Paul Voermann of Challenge.
First, let me say that while the bike is 10 lbs. lighter than my standard Hurricane Sport, it feels more like 15 or 20. Even with the water bladder and tool kit on the bike it still feels like a featherweight. What I have found is not so much that removing 10 lbs makes you faster on your cruising speed but it does make you faster overall because you get up hills quicker. I could actually accelerate up hills, something I have not done on bents in the last 4 years. I believe I may be inspired to actually lose 10 or 15 lbs myself. It really does make a difference.
The SL put together is a beauty. Quite stunning really, just looking at it makes me believe it is begging for some carbon wheels. Something like Novosport, M5, or Aerospoke make. The wheels that come with the bike are very nice. American Classic Hubs that lose very little speed when you coast. Spokes are 36 count front and rear. You could easily put some lighter wheels on for even less weight if you wanted. Tires are Stelvio.
Drive train-Paul sent a Ultegra triple with Octalink bottom bracket. After thinking about it I did not feel a valid test of the bike would occur with that set up so I put my 165 Rotorcranks on. That is what I have been riding and I did not want any performance issues clouded by a different crank. Rear derailleur is a Deore LX that worked just fine. Cassette is an 11-32. Chaintubes on power and return. The new idlers that Challenge has made really go a long way toward quieting any chain noise. The work perfectly and are quiet. Shifterts are Sram Attack’s.
Brakes-very pretty brakes that work well. The rear is a bit finicky and has to be adjusted just so to enable the Stelvio to miss the brake arms. The Stelvio is just about too tall for the rear brake. A lower Profile tire like the Conti Sport Contact would work better and give more room for brake adjustment.
Front brake was flawless and provided plenty of stopping power.
Front fork-what a beautiful piece of carbon fiber. This was the first Carbon Fiber fork I have ever ridden on of any kind and I am sold. I could not feel any give while riding but the bumps in the road magically disappeared. Plenty of feedback so there is nothing spongy, it just makes bumps go away. Pretty much like having suspension that does not move.
Rear fork-bike was delivered with a damaged box from Fedex. There was a cosmetic hairline crack on the exterior of the cover on the fork’s left side. After notifying Paul, he called and we discussed it. He said it was not a problem to ride as it had nothing to do with the structure of the fork itself. He was right. The rear of the bike manages bumps just as well as the front. The airshock combined with the Carbon Fiber rear fork just makes bumps disappear. Really a neat set up.
Seat-Challenge is on to something with their new seat. The curvature fit me well as did the spinal cut out. Nice and comfy. The seat back angle may be a little too much for some with neck problems. If so, get the neckrest, this bike has one and it made the difference for me of being able to ride it or not.
Steering-this bike has the Titanium steerer. It is a solid piece so you have to swing it out of the way when you mount/dismount. A word of caution here. If you are under 5’10” I would suggest you opt out of this steerer and go with optional flip up steering system. Due to laid back seat angle, the titanium version handlebar set up will be in your line of vision or above it. No big deal if you don’t care but I like to see a clear road in front of me. I am 5’10” so it is not a problem. The handlebars themselves are very short. If you have large hands you will have to move all of the hardware inward a bit. Small hands, no problem. There is a small amount of fore and aft movement you can a utilize for reach, one set screw handles it.
This is a fine bike, handles pretty much like my old Hurricane, that is to say, quick but not twitchy. It is light years better than my Hurricane in evey area, finish, detail, craftsmanship. Above all it is a Challenge and it is LIGHT. Hopefully, after some of these bikes have some miles Challenge will up the weight limit to make them more accessible to more people. The bike is easy to ride. You will need to figure out something for hydration and tools. My suggestion is to go here and pick up the Solo Aero. I have the solo Classic and it would not work as it hit the rear tire.
http://www.radicaldesign.nl/en/prod...a_top_bags.html
If you get a chance to try one of the SL's do, you won’t regret it and you will have bike lust for the lightweight Challenge series.
Bruce