Just got one at a garage sale. I have a semirecumbent Revive but this bike is even more of a recumbent appearance.. I'm going to clean it up a little, then find someplace quiet to practice riding it.

It is a real recumbent by a company that is still in business. You can see the current version here https://www.bacchettabikes.com/bike/giro-20s/. MSRP was $1,800 but Bachetta is selling them right now for $1,400. $100 more for disc brakes. Most recumbent riders find that short wheelbase recumbents have a bit more of a learning curve. Watch out for "heel strike" where your shoe contacts the front wheel in a turn. After a while it gets to be second nature for you to keep your feet out of the way while turning. This one came in two frame sizes - small and large. You should be able to reach the ground with your feet planted flat at a full stop if you got the right size. It's like a regular bike in that your leg should be nearly fully extended at the further most point. It has a moveable seat to adjust for your height.


Took a look on CL to see what they were selling for and some sellers are outright liars about the MSRP. Of three that came up, only one had an honest MSRP. The one in Portland Oregon for $500 looked like a good deal. One of the three is at the actual sale price for the bike brand new from Bachetta.

Maybe I overpaid because I don't know how old it is, I don't know but I was on a bit of a bike budget, I sold a nice bike a few weeks back intending to use the $ toward a recumbent, but as I wrote elsewhere here, someone stole and cashed the money order and my budget was blown. I saw this garage sale bike advertised, the guy had bought the bike some years back because he had back problems but he said he no longer has them. No disc brakes. Needs to be cleaned up, and the tires aired up, but otherwise it is fine. His wife was running the garage sale and she wanted $150 but the problem is that the sale was the next day, she wouldn't hold it and I don't drive. Plus apparently there were a zillion people asking her about the bike. They live about 7 minutes away so I offered $150 plus $100 to deliver which they accepted. So I have it, and I think it will be fine to start off with, it is very pretty. Even if I paid too much it is a nice bike to start on. Thank you for telling me about the heel strike issue.

A functional Giro 20 for $250 including delivery sounds like a deal! Great 'bent bike. Very similar to the RANS V-Rex that I have had since 2008. To make a u-turn on a narrow street, I drop my left foot off the pedal and mostly coast until I'm headed in the other direction.

Thank you Jan for the uturn info.

I'm looking for a place to put a bag, do people attach one to the back of the seat or how do they do it? There doesn't seem to be room to attach a rack that one can put a bag or pannier on?

Bacchetta sells a rear rack that should work on your bike.
https://www.bacchettabikes.com/produ...ssories/racks/

Jan do you think it would be OK to attach a pannier to the metal seat frame top? I saw that in a picture of someone riding a Bacchetta.

I had one of those one time, it is a universal rear rack available from most sellers for around $25 and I remember it being quite a pain to install. I think what I am going to do is attach a bag to the seat frame, and find a front pack for the chihuahua.

Sounds good. I have attached various bags on the backs of RANS seat frames.
I sometimes use a Lone Peak recumbent seat bag like this: https://www.modernbike.com/product-2...QaAu55EALw_wcB

The mystery is solved but I don't know that I am any more comfortable although I do have my money. The credit union received the money order, which was was endorsed with my account number which was not correct and also altered, and the money was placed in another account.

My North Face backpack actually fits well and looks good, so I found a North Face padded shoulder side bag for Dutchess.

That is the first thing my son said. I'm thinking it over, since I plan to never use another money order, the saying 'better the devil you know than the devil you don't' keeps popping up. It is a possibility that this might be a little cottage industry for a few employees (or maybe just a badly handled transaction) , but I don't see how in general electronic deposits and debits (unlike paper money orders) can be altered. Maybe I will do a little research on that.

That didn't last long. Don't think that 2 wheel recumbents are for me, I think age has turned me into a trike person. So I'm getting rid of it. But the bag I bought for Duchess is awesome amnd will fit on a trike.

There is a bit of a learning curve, especially with SWB (I ride a SWB 20 front/26 rear bent). I fell over about 10 times in the first 10 miles. Then it clicked, and I only fall over now when I forget to unclip, or hit a road hazard.

I'm still getting a velo soon, though, for all kinds of good reasons.

That's what I was thinking too. If I didn't know the bike initially had a $150.00 price tag, I would have thought $250.00 was an outstanding deal. Congratulations.

Once you get over the anxiety of clipping your push off foot into the pedal as you start out, you'll be fine, Too high of a gear and you can't get launched, too low of a gear and you won't go fast enough to balance as you get clipped in.

Sold

Have you got a trike already, or looking to purchase one soon?

With my velomobile coming (I should have it before the end of May), I'll have my bent 2 wheeler for nice weather, and the velo for more inclement weather.

Even the 'low end' trikes out there are pretty good quality and will likely last a long time. (And I have to admit, trikes are just plain fun to ride.)

Turned out to be a win/win situation. I sold it for onlt a little more thatn I bought it to a guy who already had one recumbent bicycle and was delighted to get this one. He test rode it and was zipping around in it and haing a grand time. I bought an Amtryke 1420, a special needs upright (not recumbent) tricycle, that is *exactly* what I want and it is a lot of fun to ride. So everyone came out of this happy.

Have been using my tricycle and exercising, and decided to try a two wheel recumbent one more time. I found another not too expensive one local to me and had it delivered. This one is going to need some work, a new chain and maybe some other stuff, but it is a real nice looking recumbent.

After being rapidly overtaken by a Bacchetta while riding on my Roubaix, I'm sorta looking for one of these myself. I've found a few (Giro 20s) on Craigslist, but the sellers are asking double blue-book value. I don't think I want to stick my neck out that far until I at least try one out.

Blue-book for bikes is so far off it's not even good as a starting point. I usually figure about a third to half of new price for a bent that's well-maintained, regardless of age. Working components are worth something regardless of what bike they're on.

Keep in mind that a Giro 20 is a touring bike, not a speed machine.

Okay, The one that blew my mind was an Aero CA 3.0. For me though, a touring bike would be suitable I think.
How is the Giro for climbing?