Recumbent - Just bought a new Volae, now the hard part...

Waiting for it to get here so I can ride it! :( :eek: :(

http://www.volaerecumbents.com/2005/volae_century.php

Hard part? It's as easy as falling off a bike ;)
Grass is good!

Grampy, you are going to love it. Volaes are gorgeous bents.

Don't forget to check out the Volae owners group on the Yahoo lists.

You are going to like your bike! I have around 800 miles on mine. It is my 3rd recumbent, 1st was a Rotator Pursuit, 2nd was a Challenge Hurricane. I like the Volae the best and it is a faster ride for me than the other two.
The bike should come close to your needed set up out of the box. Most likely you will only need to mess with seating position which is infinitely adjustable. Great bike.
Some have reported the idlers were noisy. I can't say mine were noisy enough to bother me but they were loud. A couple of weeks ago and windy cold day, I took both idlers apart and filled the bearings with Phil Woods grease. Presto, no more noise.
If it is your first recumbent just relax, don't grip the bars in a death grip, focus on a fixed point a hundred yards in front of you and ride. Don't look at your feet, just pedal, it is is easy.
Bruce

It will be worth the wait! When you receive your bike, set-up should take less than 15 minutes - I was VERY pleased with the packaging on my Volae Expedition - the seat was pre-set to my measurements and everything went together with no problems at all.

My first recumbent, so learning how to ride it did take a while - very different from my old "cross" bike.

I nearly went with the Century - looks like a great bike! Enjoy. Customer service from Hostel Shoppe has been excellent - don't hesitate to call them.

Thanks for all the encouraging words... the wait is almost over, it's suppose to be here Monday and I'll pick it up from the LBS on Wed. I'm kinda disappointed that Volae wouldn't work with my LBS....

I still worked out a deal with my LBS to keep them in the loop. I'm having it shipped to them and they are going to "go over" the bike and "set it up". (I've built bikes up from a frame several times, but like I said I really want to keep my LBS in the mix, they've been pretty good to me, but don't sell any bents.)

I still worked out a deal with my LBS to keep them in the loop. I'm having it shipped to them and they are going to "go over" the bike and "set it up". (I've built bikes up from a frame several times, but like I said I really want to keep my LBS in the mix, they've been pretty good to me, but don't sell any bents.)

I've heard that setup is a piece of cake. I bought mine in Hostel Shoppe but a guy in my club bought one mailorder and said they do an incredible job making it easy to put together. Still, it's always nice to keep your LBS happy.

Enjoy yourself and wipe that silly grin off of your face!

I like your idea of keeping your LBS in the loop! That said, assembly of my Expedition was a snap - I'm not a mechanical engineer (I'm a Chemical engineer!) but I had the bike together in about 15 minutes, including pauses to take pictures! The bike will be very nearly completely assembled and should fit you quite well right out of the box.

If this is your first recumbent, be prepared to spend 60-90 minutes in a no-traffic location like a parking lot practicing starting and turning, especially at low speed. Do this initially with regular pedals - not clip ins. Take some time in particular to practice starting at intersections (try it 10-15 times with NO traffic at all), and starting uphill. It isn't really hard, just very different from a DF. I mildly freaked my first time on the bike because I couldn't figure out how to turn! Embarrassing at age 53! After this initial practice and a short trail ride, I installed my Speedplay Frog pedals and spent a few more minutes practicing clipping in and out.

I've learned to unclip well in advance of stopping at lights, etc. Typically will keep my stonger (right) leg in position at "1:00 O'Clock" to facilitate a quick restart. Proper gearing is important if you are stopped up-hill - being too high makes it hard to get moving, and too low means your initial stroke doesn't do much to get your started and you might flail a little. You very quickly learn to downshift when stopping so you are good to go! Climbing slowly also takes some practice, as it seems to be a bit harder to balance at low speed on a recumbent and you have to teach your feet to automatically adjust to avoid heal strike problems if you are turning at low speed - although, again, this comes naturally with time on the bike. That said, I managed my local "killer" hill on Saturday with no problem - probably a 12% grade with a sharp left turn midway - ground right up it!

Volaes are astounding once up to speed. Smooth, responsive, and fast! You get a lot of interesting reaction from pedestrians on paths! Kids love to see a recumbent go by, and other 'bent riders are very interested in your ride. It's fun to hear people shouting "cool bike"! as you go by at 20+ mph!

Have fun - I'll be interested in hearing about your experience on your new bike!