About to purchase my first recumbent - Bacchetta Strada
 

Well after doing some research I've settled on a Bacchetta Strada. Today I rode the Bacch Corsa. I'm buying the Strada w/o having ridden it but the corsa is very similar.

Although the Corsa large fit me a little better, I'm getting the Strada medium. I'm 6' tall with an xseam of 46". The only issue with the medium Corsa was the height of the handlebars. On the strada, you can adjust the handlebar neck to your liking. Also the medium and large Strada have the same adjustable neck.

So here's my question - If I change the tires from 23c to 25c or even 28c will it soften the ride up a little bit? I'm a very casual rider - 20-30 mile rides and a relaxed pace.

I can't give you any advise regarding the handle bars, I've only ridden Giros.

About the tires... Yes, widening up the tires will soften up your ride a bit. It won't be dramatic by any means and you will take a speed penalty, but if you're a casual rider the pros of widening the tires will outweight the cons. I use my Giro for commuting so I go even wider than that and I'm still suprisingly fast for having only a 20" front wheel and wide tires.

I've a Bacchetta Strada, it's a good bike. I've made my bars so that they are fixed. I prefer them that way. If you want a smoother ride, have you considered the Giro? If your a casual rider, it may be worth a second look. Going for slightly fatter tires I don't think will smooth out your ride all that much. The ride of a Strada is quite comfortable as it is for me in any case.

Did you have to change the fork? I called Bacchetta and they said I'd have to change the fork to put the Corsa stem / neck on there.

No I didn't. I just installed a few washers in back of the adjustment screw, it worked well.

Great idea! How do you transport it? Do you have a pricey hitch rack? The bike shop wants me to get a trailer hitch put on my car and then spend $400 for a hitch rack that works w/ recumbents.

I was hoping I could strap it to my trunk rack (saris bones).

I've a small truck that I use to transport it in. I made my own cheap rack for it. I looked up the saris bones you said is on your trunk. It looks like a solid mount, so maybe it would work out ok. One thing you need to be careful of is that our bents are a bit longer than DF bikes, so be aware that it may protrude beyond the side of your car.:eek:

looks like the bike protrudes a little bit. lol.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...mmer/bones.jpg

I asked the wife if we should get a Rav4 for our next vehicle. W/ a factory roof rack and one of these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...153#vi-content
it should be nice and safe. As long as I don't forget and go through a drive through or low hanging trees.

There's been tons of threads on tire width. In general, assuming everything is equal, wider tires will allow you to run slightly lower air pressures which will soften the ride while maintaining the same rolling resistance.

I asked the wife if we should get a Rav4 for our next vehicle. W/ a factory roof rack and one of these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...153#vi-content
it should be nice and safe. As long as I don't forget and go through a drive through or low hanging trees.[/QUOTE]

We in the past had a roof rack for a couple of DF bikes. When ever we loaded our bikes on it, I alway made it a point to leave the garage door remote away from our car, so that I did not absent mindedly drive on in.:D

The wider tires are a plus to my way of thinking. They are less likely to get snake bite flats, may roll over some cracks that a narrow tire may get caught in, and with more air may get you home with a small leak.

Bummer - the guy I was going to buy from sold it to someone local. I was willing to pay more but he didn't want the hassle of shipping.

Well if someone knows of a large corsa or strada please let me know.

Don't settle for a medium, you should get a large frame. It will fit you better. I am 6' My first Strada was a med. I could fit on it and it was ok until I got a carbon seat and started to ride more reclined. Front wheel was very light and would actually lift a bit when I would power up short steep hills. I sold it and got a large. Fits much better

Also if you want to use wider tires you should get an older Strada or a Giro26. A Corsa will not take tires much larger than 23 and with 650c wheels, it is difficult to find wider tires. I have read of one 650X25 tire out there but cant remember the brand

Thanks for the heads up. When I called Bacchetta they recommended a large for me for balance purposes. Now I understand what they meant.
Maybe it was good that I didn't get the last Strada b/c I'm looking to purchase another one that's large and is located closer to me. Actually he said the bike is XL. Did they make an XL - maybe he means Large? Regardless, I'm sure it will fit b/c even though I'm 6' tall I have a 46" xseam. I have a friend who is 6'4 and I can reach almost as high as he can.

Would these tires work?

650x25
http://bontrager.com/model/00442

650x28
http://www.terrybicycles.com/Accesso...s-pt-tire-x-c-

We used a roof rack for over 10 years. I used to just move the garage door opener from the sun visor to the glove box. All you need is a reminder.

Picked up a slightly used (2010) Strada Large today. First thing I noticed while trying to adjust the seat was that either my legs are extending too far or my knees are coming up too high. Should I get shorter cranks?

What exactly is happening? If you move the seat forward so that your legs are at the right extension, do your knees hit the handlebars? Have you tried raising the riser or adjusting the bars? Adjusting the stem angle is another option for getting things right. Shorter cranks shouldn't be required.
Reclining the seat more would also have the effect of lowering your knees. More upright is usually better for learning to ride a 'bent, though.

Set up on high racers takes a little experience. Not a lot, but a little. I recommend you post a side shot of yourself on your bike on the bacchetta forum and ask for feedback. or do the same here. Check out the set up info on the bacchetta website too.

No, shorter cranks are not likely necessary for purposes of getting a good set up. Glad to hear you got the large frame. The medium would have definitely been too small for you.

I wasn't following this thread closely, but I'm glad that you took corsarider's advice and got the large. There is a page or two on the Bacchetta site about proper fit, here. Hopefully you can use it to figure out what you need to change on yours.

+1 good info there about getting things set up just right for you.

Great link! Thanks everyone for posting advice. I'm really glad I didn't get a medium. I can't wait to ride the bike tomorrow morning!

I discovered that I can easily transport the bike on my saris bones bike rack. I don't even have to remove the rear wheel. The rear wheel protrudes about a foot when I mount the bike rack a little further to the right. I'll add some pics later. This is a huge bonus for me b/c I was considering adding a trailer hitch and purchasing a hitch rack. All I needed was a few bungee cords to tie down the handlebars and the front wheel.

I might not even change the tires. Previous owner put on a set of schwalbe ultremo r.1's on the bike. He claimed the original tires gave him too many flats. Any thoughts on those schwalbe tires? I need to go on a good long ride before I decide whether or not to go wider.

Also came with some Look pedals that I'm going to take off as soon as I get around to it. I'm still a little wobbly on the bike.

This is totally unrelated to this thread but everyone has been so helpful... what do you guys / girls think about a low carb diet? I just biked a short 5 mile ride. Lots of it was uphill and I was really pushing (of course I can't kick anymore). I came home and I got light headed. I've never felt light headed after biking. Even when I'm out of breath trying to keep up with a really fit friend, I don't get light headed. Note: I just started limiting my carb intake a few days ago.

I had 3 eggs and hummus and water for breakfast (no carbs). I'm not really overweight I'm 6' tall and about 178lbs. However I wouldn't mind going back to a 32" waist (currently about a 35"). Should I increase my carb intake if I'm exercising?

A big thank you to everyone who has posted. I love this bike.

Low-carb *might* help you lose weight if that's your goal. It would be better to follow a few rules.

1. ride on an empty stomach
2. cut out useless calories such as soda (that's my weakness.)
3. long 2+ hr rides in the 'fat-burning' (easy pace) zone

Remember, sugar fuels your muscles. Without it, the body has to convert fat to sugar. Fat is energy-dense, but the body can't convert it quickly. Hence the long easy rides. Ride too hard on an empty stomach and you'll bonk. Then, after the ride, I like to drink an energy drink that has some carbs and protein. That way the body doesn't go into 'starvation' mode and cannibalize muscle tissue.