I have read many of the comments by some of the posters such as BP and chris evans on this site and have concluded that it is a lowracer formum when it comes to speed bikes. No on seems interested in the real facts about everyday speed bikes such as the Bacchetta Aero.
Please continue to live in your lowracer fantasy world of Speeds beyond the dreaded DF bike. I have news for you the DF types are much faster because they employ a novel concept called training in there daily speed regimane something few bent riders will ever do.
Please read the formus at bentrideronline or the Bacchetta company site or Easyracers company site for more perspectives before you purchase a lowracer for speed.
Just one humble opinion out there in bent land.

Magilla Gorilla

Ya ok. Apparently cat 2, 3 , 4 , 5 and a few of the cat 1's don't train either seeing as FRank and I beat all their times at the michigan state time trials this season. The only guys that beat us were some top cat1 elite riders.

so if 8 out of 200 riders can beat you and they have to drive a couple hundred miles to do it, then hey I'm ok with that. I don't think an Aero classifies as a speed bike though. Nice ride, fast but not quite fast enough. Yes they did a fine job at raam this year on the aeros.

As I read down the subject lines in the forum, I don't see any that say, "no highracers allowed." I see posts from riders of all abilities, sharing an enthusiasm of recumbents of all styles. The only reason there's not more highracer go-fast posts is because there's none of your caliber who are posting. I suggest taking it as an opportunity! I for one would like to hear more of your ride reports. I'm sure you have more than a few good ones.

Troll alert!

yes you are right on that one, but they let him back in here. He had been banished for quite some time but has been allowed back I suppose if he behaves himself. This post here already seems to be heading in the direction that will lead nowhere but him gaining steam towards the derogatory posts.
There haven't been any posts for quite some time about lowracers. Here he chimes in with this post so as to stir up some trouble I'm guessing.

You should come and bring your bikes to the land of Lance. Where Trek headquarters are Chris.
You guys ride fast no doubt but come on now we have 50 year old guys up here doing low 50 minute 40 K TT with all the lance gear on there DF bikes. I can't ride that fast on any recumbent and I can't ride that fast on a DF bike. You did 58 minutes on a 40 K good for you but that is not a fast time in the DF Time trial world for your age.
my point is that a DF bike set up for time trials is not as slow as you make them out to be and I think that maybe more power can be generated in the Aerobar position. Who knows? No tests have ever been done and probably never will be done on the subject.
I have rode with my share of lowracer guys in the midwest and can tell you the Aero is no slower than a Baron or jestor or a Razz Fazz. The NoCom I think is a little faster and maybe chalenges cool new front wheel drive lowracer. But these are not road bikes but TT track bikes.

Magilla

Chris,

No disrespect but I do think that I can beat you on a hilly course on my Aero. I am in the worst shape of my life right now so here's your chance. I would be happy to suggest a few forums for a competition but you will have to drive to Wisconsin. We have superb riders where I live and lots of climbs and I doubt you can hang with the fast Guys on any serious ride.
No derogatory posts. You guys just want to ban people when you don't have it your way chris.
So I am sure if anything real materilizes even team Bacchetta would come for a show down in the hills of Wisconsin against you and Mr. Foltz on your lowracers.
This is what it boils down to Chris. Should I start training?
And how is any of this troublesome chris?
Put up or shut up. This is my last post on the subject since others might not want to read this stuff.

BP,

Thanks for the civility here.
Ride reports? I ride alone on the 'bent. They are not accepted in Wisconsin fast pacelines so I ride the Diamond frame bike on such rides out of respect for there traditions. Rich Pinto refers to this quite humorously as bike tribalism. I tend to agree but yet I need a social life on a bicycle. So I mountain bike and road bike on the DF in social situations and for fast solo rides I am on my Aero. Really, the bent is more fun faster and much more comfortable than any DF bike invented. So ride whatever turns your crank.
The low vs high thing is a matter of about ten inches more or less and a small front wheel vs a large front wheel. I see no big deal here one way or another. But you have to give credit to Bacchetta for the design of the Aero and take it very seriously. Obviously team NoCom underestimated there enemy in a big time way at the team RAAM race. According to them victory was a piece of cake and "B"would go down big time. RAAM is proof of Bacchetta and the Aero design like it or not.

Magilla

I'm still trying to figure out the point of the original post. Are you trying to put down other bent riders? Are you trying to justify owning an Aero? Did someone make fun of you/your bike at some point in time? Yeesh, so much for comraderie.

The point,abviously, is to troll, the same goal as last time when he got kicked off. So let's just not feed them, yes?

But if we feed him enough, then he may get himself kicked off again, right?

So what's your opinion on trikes, Magilla? I think they're super.

"I don't think an Aero classifies as a speed bike though. Nice ride, fast but not quite fast enough. Yes they did a fine job at raam this year on the aeros."


Statements like this one need a reply, lest some on this forum take them for gospel.

Here are som facts about recumbent speeds from race results on real roads...

This years RAAM race featured two all star teams, including two of the fastest (30MPH TT and track times) lowracer riders, and two RAAM division record holders to complete the JDRF VK team. They had two different lowracers for different parts of the course, as John Williams commented on BROL he "had verified the Nocom was 2MPH slower uphill than the VK2)

The ALS Bacchetta Aero team also had a strong team, but with two riders with less that 2,800 miles of adaption between them in the previous 6 months.

Team AlSB won 45 of 56 stages against JDRFVK. The also had the first, second, and fourth fastest stages against the VK team, and won the flat stages of Kansas with a 24.99MPH average, after all the "experts" had them being overtaken there.

ALSB overall margin of victory over the VK lowracer team was 12 hours and 20 minutes.

UMCA Record for the fastest bent, unfaired drafting illegal, sanctioned 12 and 24 hour events- Jim Kern at Sebring 12/24 hour, 486.3 miles officially, 490 miles actual.

Fastest 12 hours unfaired drafting illegal (Jims 12 Sebring hour split still under consideration) and on a TOUGH course- Larry Graham, 8 and 10% sustained hills, 8,500 feet climbing, 240 miles Saratoga 12 hour TT.


Race across Florida overall record (recumbents and uprights combined) 6:34 for 167 miles, John Schlitter.

Race and ride what YOU like (!!) upright, lowracer, highracer, faired etc. , but please keep it real and non religious when posting about real world bike speeds.


Rich

I forgot to mention that all of the above record performances were done on stock Bacchetta Aero recumbents, all except Larry Grahams 12 hour Saratoga performance (on stock wheels) with HED/ZIpp discs, and deep section front wheels.

Rich

Thanks for the reality check, Rich. I don't want to speak for Kev, but I think this forum seems to get a lot of "I blasted by this pack of roadies on my Baron..." type posts. We all know that blasting roadies doesn't mean anything; I do it all the time and I'm old and fat. RAAM, RAF and the like are proving grounds that go beyond bike forum racing.

-Dennis

I seriously doubt this is your last post on this subject. I have already suggested meeting at the hilly hundred in indiana in october. If this doesn't give you enough time to train, then forget about it. It would be december before I have the time to travel to cheddarhead land. If you can't even meet me half way, then there is no point. Why would I want to travel that kind of distance just to prove a point. I think the hilly hundred is a very good place and time to have a bike showdown. This is on a hilly course with plenty of arrows and directions so niether of us can have the excuse......" well I missed a turn." What do you think?

Interesting that the nocoms were slower. I know nothing about nocoms, but I wouldn't have expected such a difference.

I think if Kevin were to come down to Hilly Hundred, we should ride TOGETHER. It'd be good for both of you, I think. I hate these challenges, because they're really about ego. I don't see them on any other forum, including DF forums. Maybe because I don't hang out on the racing forums? At any rate, a showdown will only prove who's the faster rider, not who has the fastest bike. Remember when Johnny whosits was baiting you, Chris? Now you're doing it to Kevin. Let's call a truce to the bickering and get back to talking about the joys of recumbents.