New Bachetta Giro 20 frame ordered

[Shaun]

Looks good, and well done for putting it together (I'm not mechanically minded at all, but admire people who aren't afraid to get stuck in with projects like this).

Shame about the wrong fork - will the correct fork bring the nose down a few inches/degrees and maybe add a bit more stability?

 

[fatjel]

@Shaun I enjoy putting bikes together. Is one of the reasons I enjoy bikes
and also why I have too many.
Perhaps when the correct forks are here it may improve the handling
As I've never ridden a recumbent I've no idea how it should feel
The wobbliness may be my incompetence
I shall ride it for a month or two then start tinkering
5.45 am and the the roads are empty so I'm off for a longer test ride

 

[Skyblot]

Good choice on the Euromesh seat, comfy....
Re bags, spring for one of the Bacchetta bags. The Brain Box fits and matches the EM seat, and carries heaps. Not the worlds cheapest bags but you only need to buy it once!

 

[fatjel]

Did another 20k this morning and found it much better after tightening the headset down a bit
Needs two 36mm spanners ,my mole grips and adjustable spanner method don't really cut it
Ordered some spanners
Next job is the gears.. I generally find 34 - 11 adequate on my road bikes
36 - 11 is way too low on the Bacchetta
Otherwise all good
As the forks are quite capacious thought I'd try some 700s
The wobbles returned but feels way way lighter and that's with the wheels off my tourer

 

[PaulM]

Very brave of you!

 

[fatjel]

Tightened the headset down a touch.
Swapped the cranks for 165mm and put a 26" wheel on the front.
Such a difference, it feels more stable now.
Starting is a bit sketchy , needs to be in low low gear as it's a heavy lump of bike (15kg)
I usually take two or three go's to get on the move.
Practice will help there I hope

I can see nicer wheels , skinnier tyres , v brakes and carbon forks in the near future.

 

[fatjel]

Couple of changes yesterday and feels very nice now.
Tried every kind of wheel and 26 / 26 seems best
700 / 700 didn't feel much different but the clearance for mudguards and chunky tyres is limited
26 / 20 seems wobbly and the pedals are way too low for me. Perhaps cos the trike has low seat high pedals
Lowered the bars as far as they would go which seemed to make an enormous stability improvement
Can ride no hands now !
Tyres are new schwalbe city jet 1.5s.. My goto tyres as an mtb riding Londoner in a previous life
And seem pretty good now
Incidentally front wheel with 1.75 marathon plus is 1.5 kg heavier than the Dura ace wheel / tyre on my audax bike !!!
Did my first 20 mile ride this morning was very nice , would have been longer but was getting thirsty
Need bottle cages

 

[PaulM]

Looks very nice. Strange it handles best as 26/26 when frame geometry/headtube angle is meant to be for 20/26. The problem with derailleurs on 2-wheeled bents is not being able to change to a lower gear when stationary to help with starting off again. I'm quite paranoid on the Paseo about changing down to 2nd before stopping which is fine on the open road but challenging with traffic in urban areas. Hence the utility of dual-drives etc but these add weight and complicate rear wheel removal. I've been contemplating an Alfine 8 IGH but the ratios are a bit gappy compare to the 9-speed 11-32 cassettes that I generally favour.

 

[fatjel]

Fully agree on the starting off issues, I've been going early (like 4 or 5 am ) to avoid traffic
First corner for me is right hander and uphill .. Walked that bit a few times
I have 11 - 36 10 spd cassette which has serious gaps..
Alfine sounds heavy and fairly expensive to me but never tried it so be interested to find out
I use sturmey archer 3 speeds on a couple of bikes and they do the job so an 8 speed oughta be luxery
I'm wondering if I like 26/26 because the seat/pedal angle is similar to my trike
I've just about done 100k now and think I'll try and leave it as is for a bit now

 

[PaulM]

Alfine 8 is reliable and not expensive. Shimano seem to favour it for pairing with their electric-assist systems. The Alfine 11 is more expensive and finicky.

 

[fatjel]

Went out in the traffic today , am getting more confident and planning a club ride in the morning
Will be interesting to see how I keep up and will be my longest ride yet
Seem to average about the same speed as my road bikes ie slow. so should be good
Fitted mudguards and bottle cages last night so it's now officially finished...
Those foam seat pads .. How do they react to rain , If I leave it outside the cafe and it rains ?

 

[fatjel]

Total cost so far £1389 which seems quite reasonable


frame , forks £750
seat ,stand ,bfc £375
tyres £24
mudguards £20
bottlecages £14
chains £33
crankset £85
mech £35
cassette £25
shifter £20


Wheels and brakes I had already so calling them free . and didn;t include the cost of the unused 20" front wheel

 

[PaulM]

Seems reasonable. When I looked at framekits (complete with seats and steering parts unlike your bacchetta "framekit") the best value seemed to be with Nazca. The Nazca Gaucho Tour is currently 1595 euros (plus shipping) though that includes rear suspension and a luggage rack. EDIT: Gosh, the Fuego framekit is only 1495 euros. And these frames are handmade in the Netherlands.

 

[fatjel]

The number one reason I bought the bacchetta was cos I thought it looked a bit like a raleigh chopper.
It did seem to offer good value too. I am happy with it for now
I see it as a toe in the water thing,
I'm suffering significant pains in my hands ,neck, nether regions and shoulders on long rides these days
Which hopefully will be a thing of the past
Did 49 miles today on the club run and only got dropped on two hills
225 km now and I think I'm getting the hang of it

 

[PaulM]

Sounds like you are mastering it. The Bacchetta is much lighter of course than suspended SWBs. I think 26/26 wheels and the more laid back position does give a speed advantage compared to a 20/26 more upright Giro. Unfortunately my leg length and balance issues mean that a 26/26 dual SWB is beyond me. It was neck issues that led me to riding bents in the first place.