CUSTOMER COMMENTARY:
Mark Twain once said “I’ve suffered a great many tragedies in my life, most of them never happened.”
I have ridden the Xstream that you built up two times, each for an hour or two and the experience brought the above quote to mind.
Here are some thoughts:
Concern One: clipping in and unclipping and the start and stop actions would be hard with the bottom bracket 5 inches higher than the seat when the only recumbent that I have ever ridden is an Easy Racer.
Reality: By the end of the first ride I was close to my performance with the ER on these motions; by the end of the second I was equal or better. Perhaps the ability to see one’s foot easily helps in quickly learning the foot position needed. Even a gain of an inch or so in a higher BB would not be a big problem.
Concern Two: The ride quality with an aluminum frame would be harsh compared to the ER.
Reality: Mostly due to the larger front wheel (I suspect) the ride is slightly better on the well known, flawed roads in my neighborhood.
Concern Three: I may feel uneasy on a fast descent with my feet so much higher.
Reality: I coasted down a short but fairly steep hill at an estimated 30 mph (no speedometer yet) and it was just fine.
Concern Four: The handlebar would interfere with my knees on sharp turns, creating a learning problem.
Reality: Fairly sharp right angle turns do not cause an interference problem. Only very sharp turns which are at very low speed create a small issue.
Concern Five: Would this bike require a whole new set of handling skills?
Reality: The steering is lighter and faster than the ER but not a big change. The tiller steering is almost unnoticed.
Concern Six: Would a greatly reclined seat be a difficult problem?
Reality: As per your suggestion, I lowered it a notch or two from maximum upright prior to my first ride. Slowly dropping down it over a few weeks seems doable.
Concern Seven: “Not for the timid.” This is a line from a recumbent bike store website about the Xstream. Does this bike require the nerves of a ski jumper?
Reality: There is no significant issue in riding this bike.
Overall, I am delighted with this bike and how easy it is for me to ride. I see the jump from the ER as only one of small changes; perhaps the eight years on the ER was all of the training that I needed. I can spend the time that I thought that I would need for a “learning curve” simply riding and enjoying the bike without problems.
This bike solves the two problems I have with the ER: front wheel size and the fairing. Although 20 inch wheels could be as fast or faster on perfect pavement, they are troublesome on real roads with imperfections. The fairing is needed on the ER if one wants to cruise over 20 mph and it should be used on most ER bikes but it blocks rider cooling. It also adds weight, wind sensitivity, noise, and transport problems.
The Xstream solves these problems and, of course, this bike is very fast.
The problem that I see is how to convince all of the critics that have not ridden it that it really is quite an innovative design.
I love the high racer performance, the long wheelbase stability, and the moderate seat height.
Thanks,
Dean of Dearborn, Michigan |
A HAMMERHEAD'S PERSPECTIVE:
Ray's comments after spending time with the final prototype before ordering the Xstream featured with the HED wheels up higher on this page:
I've had the opportunity to ride approximately 300 miles on the XSTREAM, and would like to offer my unique analysis from a "higher racer" perspective. Currently I have the following recumbents: Bacchetta Ti Aero with approx. 10,000 miles, and recently purchased a V3 Ti, which my wife has adopted as her primary bike!
As baseline data I am:
5'9" tall
180 pounds
42" X-Seam
Everything I absolutely love about the bike:
1. The stiff aluminum frame rode well on rough Texas chip seal. It has 125 psi 650x23 tires. As a LWB, it rode as smooth, if not slightly better, than my Ti Aero. I would ride this bike in 200k plus Rando events!
2. The bottom bracket to seat height seems optiumum to produce the perceived highest power output possible. I like it much better than my Aero.
3. Even though I couldn't recline the bike as much as I'd like, on a 100k group ride yesterday (labor day), I was always with the lead group.
4. The most amazing aspect that absolutely blew me away was how much more efficiently I could climb at a given perceived output level compared to my Aero.
On hills averaging 6-8% I would have to work extremely hard to keep pace with the hammer heads. On today's ride, with the same group, averaging the same speeds (20 plus), I could keep on their wheels while climbing.
5. My average HR for the 100k was a paltry 129, avg speed 19.4, A PERSONAL BEST. In looking at historical data (I have a Garmin Edge 305), my fastest over this same 100k course was 18.1 with an avg. HR of 137. Thus, on the XSTREAM I averaged 1.3 mph faster while my average HR was 8 beats less. Again, this is a relative comparison to my Ti Aero which I have 10,000 miles on. With more miles on the XTREME I could achieve even greater success.
6. Lastly, and I almost forgot. I have an M5 seat on my Aero, as well as the V3 Ti. The XTREME has the hoagie seat, which rode great. I've only ridden an M5, and I'm convinced that all my bikes should be converted to the more comfortable mesh seat. It has a very slight flex, which compliments the stiff Aluminum frame well.
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