Kind of.  These are actually new takes on current bikes that work better in our lineup and give you more variety.  If you’re wondering where the new, whiz bang designs are, just for the sake of saying we designed something new, you’ve come to the wrong place.  We build bikes that stand the test of time and our current designs already work.  Really work.  That they happen to be the coolest looking recumbents on the planet, is gravy. 

2010 Giro 26- $1499

Giro 26- Our first dual 26 bike under $1500!  The MSRP on the Giro 26 is $1499 and will feature the original steel frame, a new steel fork, X-5 drivetrain and v-brakes.  As with our other SWB models, you can opt for stock Re-Curve seat or the EuroMesh seat, at no extra charge.  This bike will be available around the first of March.

2010 Bella- $1599

Bella- This will replace the Bellandare in our lineup, but you get quite a bit more in the trade, namely in the frame.  The Bella will feature the same, aluminum frame as the Bella ATT, X-5 drivetrain and v-brakes.  MSRP on the new Bella is $1599.  This bike will be available around the first of May.

We will also have a few more small, but important running changes to some of our other models.  Keep an eye out for them here, as the year goes on.

We will be closed from Tuesday, December 22nd through January 4th, 2010 when we will re-open to regular winter hours.

If you have basic questions during this time, we recommend contacting your dealer or asking the question on our forum, which we will continue to monitor during this period.

In the context of a bad year, we’ve had a pretty damn good one.  We credit this to our customers who keep spreading the word and our dealers, who stuck with us through the good times and bad.  In other words, we love you guys!

And last, but far from least, to all of our friends and family who are serving or have served in the Armed Forces, we say Thank You, for everything.  It’s hardly enough, but know it means everything.

Below is the Bella, built up and ready to ride.  For the sake of this article, let’s say it’s a short frame, which is 4″ shorter than the large frame.  As is, it sits at about 88″ wheel tip to wheel tip and stands around 42″ high at the top of the seat back.  That’s a pretty good sized bike to transport.

Bella, Ready to Ride

But because of our B-Pivot adjustable stem and easy to remove seat- due to our improved seat clamp that came out this year and is stock on our bikes- we can take quite a bit of length and height out of the equation and  do it in record time.  All it takes is to loosen off the seat bottom and pull it forward, remove the front wheel and spin the h-bars around and lay them down.  A visual example is below.

Bella, Ready to Transport

In the ready to transport version, this bike has a length of 73″ and a height to the top of the handlebars (highest point) of 32″.  That means we’ve eliminated 15″ off the length and, 10″ from the height.  We could probably get rid of another 6-10″, by rotating the handlebars down, but I wanted the re-assembly to be as smooth as possible, by not having to waste time finding your old h-bar position.  

Now for the big question: how long did this take?  At an extremely casual pace, this took me 42 seconds!  The only tool I used, was a long handled, 5mm allen wrench.  And if you wanted to completely remove the seat, for transporting on a roof rack, it would probably take you another 5-10 seconds, depending on if you have pull pins or velo clamps.  Yet, you’re seat bottom position will always remain the same, due to our seat clamp design.  

Simple, right?  So what about re-assembly?  That must have taken a bit more time.  It did.  It took me 68 seconds to re-assemble it to the ready to ride setup, including forgetting to put in the front wheel first (highly recommended).  If you completely removed the seat and needed to re-install, maybe add 20-30 seconds to this time.  Either way, you’re at less than 1 minute to get it broken down and way less than 2 minutes, to set it back up.  Below are those numbers again.

Small/Large Bella (ready to ride, wheel tip to wheel tip): 88″/94″

Small/Large Bella (ready for transport wheel tip to fork tip): 73″ long, 32″ high/77″ long, 32″ high

Time to dis-assmble: 42 seconds (right at a minute, if you remove the seat)

Time to re-assemble: 68 seconds (around 1 minute 45 seconds if you need to add the seat)

So there you have it, a LWB recumbent that rides great, has the best component package compared to price and is easy to transport.  Enjoy!

Just a couple of items I want to keep everyone abreast of…

New Winter Hours- Starting this week, our office will be open Monday-Thursday, 9:30 am till 5:30 pm, ET.  We will be closed on Fridays, until phone and email traffic pick up again- hopefully early next year.  We’ll also be taking these Friday’s to work on finalizing new product and begin work on completely revamping our website (I’m talkin’ BIG baby!).

Believe it or not, we actually just had our best November, since we started shipping bikes in 2002.  Matter of fact, our sales for this November were better than 2008’s November and December combined.  This, coupled with an excellent August, September and October, hopefully means there are brighter days ahead for all of us. 

New Shop Items- We have a lot of customers, who are nowhere near a good dealer.  To that end, we’ve added a few, necessary items to our shop and you can check them out here: New Bacchetta Shop Items. 

That’s it for now.

Greg Raven on his Giro 26

 

I’ve had my Bacchetta Giro 26 for about two weeks, now, and I’m really starting to enjoy it.  

I had ridden another recumbent since July 1996, after a bad accident on a diamond frame. This event convinced me to get something lower to the ground. After riding various SWB and LWB recumbents, eventually I settled on Bill Mason’s beautiful FWD Tricumbent Raven. At that time, I was riding on the Santa Ana bike path almost exclusively, so vehicle width and visibility to cars were of little concern.

In 2004, though, I moved to an area with no bike paths and few bike lanes. I tried riding my trike once or twice, but I never felt secure. I bought a nice diamond frame (2010 Trek 7.3 FX), thinking I might get used to it, but I was soon reminded why they’re called “wedgies.” Also, my wrists were killing me due to the lingering effects of my previous accident. So, I started shopping for a two-wheel recumbent, preferably one with USS.

USS is difficult to come by these days, though, so I decided to check out the Rans Stratus XP, with its dual 700 wheels. It felt as fast as they said it would be, but in an hour of riding I couldn’t get used to the steering tiller, and I didn’t really feel as though I would ever get accustomed. I also checked out the Longbikes Slipstream, which has USS as does my trike, but it looked to be a lot of bike and it costs a lot of money.

While I was riding around on the Stratus, I passed a guy on a Carbent Raven high racer. I hadn’t tried a high racer because they have OSS and the seating position seemed so improbable — I didn’t think I’d ever be able to get my balance on one.

I then came across the Cruzbike, which immediately struck a chord. Cruzbikes are full-suspension high racers with front wheel drive. Perfect … except that the largest frame is still a bit small, and the gearing is pure mountain bike: I’d never be able to keep up with the lycra crowd.

The Cruzbike did lead me further into investigating high racers. After winnowing out the various options, there seemed one clear choice: Bacchetta. Both the Strada and the Giro 26 are available for my “XXL” outseam/x-seam measurement, and each is rated to handle loads well above my weight. I sought out every account of first-time rides on Bacchettas and other high racers, including some videos on YouTube. It didn’t hurt that Bacchetta has a great looking website. I also remembered that when I got my new Trek, it took a couple of weeks before I felt as competent as I thought I should be, even though I did feel “at home” right away as one does on diamond frames. I figured that if I could get even close to confident riding a high racer during a test ride, a little seat time would take care of the rough edges. Other people seemed to be able to cope, after all, so I decided to give it a try. I made arrangements with Bent Up Cycles in Van Nuys, CA, for a test ride.

Within moments of my first takeoff, I felt that this was a bike on which I could get comfortable with a little experience. At first I was attracted to the Bacchetta Strada because of the lighter weight and reputation for being speedier than the Giro 26. However, the Giro’s disc brakes, slightly larger 26-inch tires, and room in the frame to upgrade to 700 size wheels and tires got me rethinking my choice. When I noticed that the Giro gearing was slightly more to my liking than that of the Strada, I went with the Giro 26.

I first tried the Recurve seat, which is very comfortable, but eventually went with the Euromesh, more than anything else because it looked and felt more similar to the seat on my Tricumbent Raven than did the Recurve.

Kate and Dana at Bent Up Cycles did a great job of getting the Giro 26 set up for me, so I’ve had to make only minor adjustments (that is, no tools required) since the initial set-up.

Since buying my Giro 26, I’ve been out nearly every day — even if only for a short ride — to get more acclimated to the balance differences between my diamond frame and my high racer. As hoped, each day brings new confidence and abilities in terms of balance, comfort, speed, turning, object avoidance, etc. In another week or two, I feel that I’ll be ready to ride in a pack without causing a pile-up. As an aside, given the quality of the road surfaces where I live, I thought the “wide” tires on the Giro might be better suited than the narrow tires on the Strada. As it turns out, the “wide” tires on my Giro are virtually the same width as the tires on my Trek 7.3 FX, which is to say that they seem just fine.

Getting a recumbent for me is all about comfort. Compared to the Trek, my head is about two feet lower on the Giro, so I don’t get the feeling that my center of gravity is hovering above the front axle. I also love the feeling of security from the feet-first position. When I ride, my head is naturally pointing slightly skyward, which makes it easier to monitor what’s going on around me and to sight-see: There’s a lot to be said for watching the scenery as you cycle, instead of the rotation of the front tire.

I don’t know about speed compared to my diamond frame, but I am typically in a higher (sometimes much higher) gear over the same sections of road, and it feels as if I am really cutting through the wind better — which you would expect. The first couple days out, it was exhausting having to monitor my pedaling, steering, balance, speed, etc. By the third day, I reached a point where I would be pedaling along and suddenly realize that I’d just gone the better part of a mile without paying attention to any of those things. The more I ride, the less I have to focus on the mechanics of riding, and the more I enjoy the ride itself. It’s really wonderful.

The Giro 26 does have “fast” steering — not only compared to a trike or a LWB recumbent but also to my diamond frame. However, after the first hour on the bike this becomes a neglible factor, and the steering now seems very well mated to the rest of the Giro’s responsiveness. I can’t (yet?) ride hands off on the Giro, but then, I can’t on my diamond frame, either. Another aside: Unlike my trike, there is little to no pedal steer with the Giro 26.

Differences in seating position and leg motion gave me some minor discomfort in my low back, knees, and shoulders at first, but a small seat adjustment, relaxing more during rides, and getting in better shape have all but eliminated these. Even better, when I do get discomfort, standing up for a couple of minutes is enough to banish it, compared to the hours of agony after getting off my diamond frame.

The Bacchetta Giro 26 is very eye-catching, judging by the reactions of the people I pass. I also purchased a Bent Up Cycles Aero Bag, in yellow to match the Giro frame, and it integrates so well that it appears to have been part of the cycle to begin with.

Thanks to Dana and Kate for spending the time and getting me into such a wonderful bike.

P.S. My Trek 7.3 FX is for sale, if you’re interested.

 

Our offices will be closed the week of November 1st and will reopen again, on November 9th.  If you have any questions during this period, please contact your Bacchetta dealer.

Tom and his Giro 20 ATT

I just wanted to take a moment to say hello and again thank you for your excellent service and support as I have made my return back to the world of recumbent riding.  You may recall that back in the 90’s and early 2000 time frame I owned both a Ryan Vanguard as well as a P-38 Lighting.  In all about 8 years of recumbent riding.  I then made the decision to go back to diamond frames and rode a Cannondale Synapse and a System Six for about 7 years until purchasing the Giro 20 ATT, shown in the picture.  I’ve owned this bike now for almost 2 months and have logged about 1,500 miles and can tell you this bike is a winner for a number of reasons: 

• Slightly upright position- is very pleasing to me because the position is similar to the P-38. My transition back was virtually painless after only a few rides. There is something about the seat and pedal position that really makes that transition very seamless.
• Simplicity- unlike other bikes that have multiple idlers, this bike has a single fairly heavy duty idler.  This makes for fewer parts and fewer noises. The drive train is one of the quietest I’ve ever ridden.
• Comfort- what can I say, this bike is tremendous. Certainly more comfortable than the Vanguard seat and I think a tad better than the Lighting.  I belong to a group call the Ultramilers.  We like to do distance.  175 miles is normal in a weekend. We also have a few double centuries planned each year. No upright can ever compare.
• Adjustability- also tremendous. No booms to mess with and you can dial this bike in to the inth degree.
• Speed- I slowly lowered the seat angle over the first month. Every time I notched it back, my speed seemed to go up just a bit.  I ride two mornings a week with three buddies with lights on a 24 mile route.  On my System Six my best average speed over time was about 18.2 mph.  Just last week we averaged 19.4 with me pulling a good bit of the way.  

This past weekend I rode the New Orleans MS150 from Hammond La. to Macomb Mississippi and back.  On day two I purposely hooked up with two riders that appeared to be pretty strong. Both were also much younger than me.  For 40 miles I hung on in the hills behind them and then pulled in front to blast down the down hills.  Average speed was 20 mph for the first 40 miles in the hills.  What a kick.  You have a winner in this bike. 

Tom and Friend on MS 150 ride

If I were to suggest any changes it would simply be to offer this bike in a race version.  Come up with carbon forks. Use the lighter bar system. Use carbon cranks. Offer performance wheels and performance cog set. (I know the price will go up….but what a bike this would be.) 

Again, thanks for all your support. I’ll be talking to you again soon. 

Regards

Tom Standley

This was a question asked on our forum and we thought we’d respond here so we could share some pictures.

The Giro and the Café have about the same speed potential because they share the same wheel set and their seat to bottom bracket differential are virtually the same. Overall speed for both bikes can be improved by upgrading the tires/wheels and reclining the seat a bit more but neither design is optimized for speed like our dual 650c bikes are. That said, the seat to BB relationship on both the Giro-20 and Café are very similar to bikes with reputations for being very fast, such as the P-38 and X-stream. (pictured below with their BB’s lined up) Granted, this one design characteristic alone does not make a speed bike but it does show that the Giro-20 and Cafe have, at their core, the potential for higher performance. Don’t be fooled by the fact that they are great recreational bikes as well.

Hope this helps!

Mark

Bacchetta Bicycles

Bill Bumgarner, a new Bacchetta Giro 20 rider, recently wrote an article on his blog, entitled: Learning to Ride a Bicycle All Over Again.  This is a straightforward, well written article that I think is a good read, especially for those who are new to Bacchetta or recumbents in general.  Bill also does a good job, of patiently answering questions, from people who just aren’t in the recumbent “know”. 

Check it out!

I would like to thank, from the bottom of my heart, those of you who have been kind, thoughtful and generous enough to donate to the Multiple Sclerosis Society through this fundraiser.

For those of you that need a reminder (and I am usually one of those people!), this email is meant to do just that.
I know that the emails are going out to anyone and any “entity” that my email program has ever received an email from, or who has been part of a forwarded letter, etc. I apologize to those of you for whom this email is an annoyance. However, for those of you who have an interest in donating, or considering a donation, below is the original request. Thank you all for your well wishes, contributions and patience as we go through this process.

Appreciatively yours,
Norm

Every hour of every day, someone is diagnosed with MS. That’s why I registered for the 2009 bikeMS© Ride on September 12, and why I’m asking you to support my fund raising efforts with a tax-deductible donation.

Why I Ride

My wonderful wife Laura has MS. I am selfish. I want her to get better and be her old-self (well, don’t tell her I said “old”!). However, if that won’t happen for us, then we want to see that future generations don’t have to worry about this debilitating disease. Today, there is no cure for multiple sclerosis, and with the diagnosis occurring most frequently between the ages of 20 and 50, many individuals face a lifetime filled with unpredictability. There have been advances, and certain forms of MS can be slowed in their effects, but not in Laura’s type. Laura’s aunt also has this form of MS. This ride and effort is for them and for all others that have MS. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society is dedicated to ending the devastating effects of MS but they can’t do it without our help. It’s faster and easier than ever to support this cause that’s so important to me. Simply click on the link at the bottom of this message. If you prefer, you can send your contribution to the address listed below.

Any amount, great or small, helps to make a difference in the lives of people with MS. I appreciate your support and look forward to letting you know how I do. You have been included in this emailing because you are either a friend or family member or you have been in a mutual group emailing and as Outlook works, have automatically been included in my address book. I appreciate your understanding.

Questions about the Ride? Email Michael Ferrara at mferrara@nmssli.org.

P.S. If you would like more information about the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, how proceeds from the bikeMS© Ride are used, or the other ways you can get involved in the fight against MS, please visit nationalmssociety.org.

 

Click here to visit my personal page.
If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:
http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Bike/NYHBikeEvents?px=6974532&pg=personal&fr_id=11001&s_tafId=137562

Early and ongoing treatment with an FDA-approved therapy can make a difference for people with multiple sclerosis. Learn about your options by talking to your health care professional and contacting the National MS Society at http://www.nationalMSsociety.org/ or 1-800-FIGHT-MS (344-4867).

Our postal address is:
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
733 Third Avenue
New York, New York 10017