In November, I picked up a Rans Status, and I really love this bike. It has a low BB, and I have found it benificial in traffic (I commute to and from work). I found the high BB did not allow me to stop and start the way I needed to in traffic, especially on a slight hill. I rode the Stratus for many test rides, and finally decided to get it when I realized I had never had a bad ride from it. I decided on a recumbant for safety reasons, after several accidents on diamond frames.

Today, on a ride with a friend who rides an EZ-1, we saw the reason for a recumbant. Some other riders in a group had suffered a series of falls. One rider, who was leading the pack, hit a pot hole in the road, and went down. Two other riders hit him and went down, one hard. The result, they were waiting for a ride from their team mate back so one (possibly two) could get to the hospital. He had suffered what appeared to be a serious muscle injury to the shoulder. They had three broken helmets, by the way, which shows the value of helmets--no head injuries at all.

John