As you can see, this is no ordinary bicycle. It is a recumbent, and it is made by a German company HP Velotechnik (http://www.hpvelotechnik.com/). At first glance it looks like if would be a challenge to ride. It is. Until you get used to it. Or so they say. Hopefully the bike should arrive this week (today is the 26th of Feb), so I will be writing up my findings later on.
2006/04/13 update: It has now been about a month since I first turned the pedals on this bike, and I can say that everything I read about it is true. An absolute joy to ride. Read all my comments on the bike in the recumbent category of my blog.
Everything I read about these bikes that eventually lead me to buying one made perfect logical sense.
The heralded merits of recumbents are as follows.
- Less pressure points to irritate. Your body weight is suported by a large seat, meaning that on long rides bottoms, backs, hands, wrists and necks do not get sore. Makes sense.
- Lots of space to store luggage. And the luggage is stored lower than an diamond-framed bike, meaning that handling is barely affected, even when fully loaded (apparently).
- With a fully loaded bike, I doubt this will make much difference, but they have a smaller frontal area, therefore are more aerodynamic than a diamond-frame bike. This could have at least a psychological affect when spending a day or so biking into a head wind accross the deserts of Turkmenistan.
2006/04/13 update: All true.
The 14degrees bike:
| ‘05 HPVelotechnik Street Machine GTe | (ref) | (comment) |
| Aluminium frame | (comment) | |
| Shimano 105/XT drivetrain | ||
| Avid BB7 Mechanical disc brakes | (ref) | (comment) |
| Schwalbe Marathon Plus and Marathon XR tyres | (ref) | (comment) |
| Alex DA-16 rims | (ref) | (comment) |
| DT-Swiss rear suspension | (ref) | (comment) |
| HPVelotechnik aluminium tube racks | (ref) | (comment) |
(the detailed version)
| Part | Piece |
| Frame | HPV GTe Aluminium 7005-T6 |
| Forks | MEKS Carbon AC (ref) |
| Rear shock | DT Swiss SSD 225 (ref) (review) |
| Front derailleur | Shimano 105 (ref) (review) |
| Rear derailleur | Shimano XT (ref) (review) |
| Crankset | Shimano 105 triple 170mm (review) |
| Bottom bracket | Shimano 105 BB-5500 (review) |
| Cassette | Shimano XT 11-34/9 (ref) (review) |
| Rear hub | Shimano XT disc 36 hole (ref) (review) |
| Front hub | Shimano XT disc 36 hole (ref) (review) |
| Rear rim | Alex DA16 26inch 36 hole (ref) |
| Front rim | Alex DA16 20inch (ref) |
| Spokes | DT Swiss 2.0/1.8 (ref) (review) |
| Headset | Ritchey Logic (ref) |
| Chain | SRAM PC 59 9-speed (ref) (review) |
| Shifters | Shimano Dura-Ace bar end (review) |
| Brakes | Avid BB7 mech. disk (ref) (review) |
| Brake levers | Avid FR5 disc (ref) (review) |
| Headset | Ritchey Logic (ref) |
| Seat | HPV Bodylink adjustable (ref) |
| Seat cushion | HPV Airflow cushion |
| Rear rack | HPV hollow alloy rear rack (ref) |
| Underseat rack | HPV hollow alloy lowrider rack (ref) |
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I have been looking at recumbents lately. I am at the point where I want to view summer trip with my head upright, able to take in all of the scenry yet be aerodynamic. This recumbent would fit the bill after Several weeks of training and stabilizing myself where I felt comfortable. What is the normal speed unloaded? Otherwise I was looking in the direction of a Giro Bacchetta. Can you give me some advise between the two?
Hi John. I’ve never ridden a Giro Bacchetta before…but by the looks of things, the Giro Bacchetta would be faster on smooth, well-paved roads (because it is lighter). However, if you want to explore gravel roads and a little off-road, the HP Velotechnik GTe would possibly be better. The GTe is heavier (due to the double suspension), but it is amazing for heavy touring on all roads (due to the double suspension).