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Bacchetta Giro Test Ride Report, Mini Review
Made my semi-annual pilgrimage to The Bike Rack in St. Charles, IL over
Christmas. I was there to check out the sale-priced Greenspeed trikes, among other things; but decided they're still too pricey at $2,995 ($1,500 off the list price). They didn't have any Euro bents in stock, unfortunately (had several on my last visit). Lots of Bacchetta's though! They must have had 8 or 9 Bacchettas sitting in the rack (no Aeros; but several sweet-looking Corsas) The helpful guys at the Bike Rack let me have a test ride on a sky-blue 2004 Bacchetta Giro. First impression: I love this bike. The seating position is near perfect, allowing my feet to be flat on the ground in a stop. The seat is very comfortable, with room inside for a Camelback. (!) The tweener handlebars feel natural and comfortable. BB isn't too high (seems about the same as my RANS Rocket.) Steering is very sporty - some might say twitchy. The bike wasn't setup perfectly when I started out. The seat immediately slid back about 6" under power, and the gears weren't indexing correctly. I hopped off, cinched up the seat QR, tightened up the right shifter cable about 3 turns, and off I went, everything working fine. It required less fiddling than my Rocket does to get the seat cinched securely. Bravo Bacchetta! I had the "tweener" handlebars set back pretty close to my body, as opposed to the "superman" position, which makes me nervous. Even so, I could see that the Giro has, um, very sporty handling. I bombed down the test hill out back of Bike Rack, and felt a little nervous at high speeds. I accidentally snagged my coat sleeve on the handlebars and almost wrecked. Yikes! That never happened on my Rocket... The Giro scampered back up the steep test hill like a champ, with no hint of low-speed wobbling at all. I tried some sharp turns, and noticed the "tweener" handlebars interfering with my knees; but there was no heel overlap with the front wheel whatsoever. Another plus for Bacchetta. The test Giro had the Kenda high-pressure narrow tires fore and aft. They're sweet looking tires, and felt very fast. The sales guy said he had many people calling the shop looking for the 20"/406mm Kenda's; but they don't have any sources for them yet. BTW: Unless I miss my guess, the Giro fork will accept a 451mm front wheel. The 2003 and 2004 Giro models were sitting side-by-side in the rack - mere inches apart - and I could easily see that the 2004 has a shorter head tube and a longer fork than the 2003 model. I'm assuming that Bacchetta changed the geometry to allow a taller 451mm fork, should you desire to go that route. Nice work Bacchetta! I'll bet the Challenge Katana stainless monoblade and a front disc brake would be a nice upgrade for the Giro. How about a 451mm carbon fork from Velokraft? A big minus on the Giro were the super-stiff SRAM Attack 9-speed shifters. They were so stiff that I kept overshifting by accident because I couldn't feel the index points. I'd replace those crappy Grip Shifters with some Shimano Rapidfires. Anything would be better than the stock shifters. I had been considering the RANS V-Rex as a natural upgrade from the RANS Rocket; but I think I'm leaning toward the Giro now. I really like the comfortable riding position, stiff frame, stable ride, flat-footed stops, tweener handlebars and fast Kenda tires. The knee/handlebar overlap in sharp turns is a problem; but probably not a show-stopper. The $1,550 price tag seems reasonable. I'd like a few longer test rides before I decide; but let's just say that unless than 20/26 Challenge Taifun is amazingly sweet, there is some heavy competition for my next recumbent, with the Giro out in front. I must admit, the other contender was the beautiful silver RANS Rocket with the new RANS seat design. The Rocket just keeps getting better, doesn't it? Rocketman |
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Bacchetta Giro Test Ride Report, Mini Review
In article iX7Ib.169002$8y1.512034@attbi_s52, says...
I had been considering the RANS V-Rex as a natural upgrade from the RANS Rocket; but I think I'm leaning toward the Giro now... Rocketman And then, what becomes of the 'Rocketman' handle? -- Cletus D. Lee Bacchetta Giro Lightning Voyager http://www.clee.org - Bellaire, TX USA - |
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Bacchetta Giro Test Ride Report, Mini Review
In article iX7Ib.169002$8y1.512034@attbi_s52, says...
I had been considering the RANS V-Rex as a natural upgrade from the RANS Rocket; but I think I'm leaning toward the Giro now... Rocketman And then, what becomes of the 'Rocketman' handle? -- Cletus D. Lee Bacchetta Giro Lightning Voyager http://www.clee.org - Bellaire, TX USA - |
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Bacchetta Giro Test Ride Report, Mini Review
"Cletus Lee" wrote in message ... In article iX7Ib.169002$8y1.512034@attbi_s52, says... I had been considering the RANS V-Rex as a natural upgrade from the RANS Rocket; but I think I'm leaning toward the Giro now... Rocketman And then, what becomes of the 'Rocketman' handle? Hmmmm.... good question. Giroman? Bacchetta Boy? Rocketman |
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Bacchetta Giro Test Ride Report, Mini Review
"Cletus Lee" wrote in message ... In article iX7Ib.169002$8y1.512034@attbi_s52, says... I had been considering the RANS V-Rex as a natural upgrade from the RANS Rocket; but I think I'm leaning toward the Giro now... Rocketman And then, what becomes of the 'Rocketman' handle? Hmmmm.... good question. Giroman? Bacchetta Boy? Rocketman |
#6
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Bacchetta Giro Test Ride Report, Mini Review
In article zZkIb.9704$I07.17127@attbi_s53, says...
"Cletus Lee" wrote in message ... In article iX7Ib.169002$8y1.512034@attbi_s52, says... I had been considering the RANS V-Rex as a natural upgrade from the RANS Rocket; but I think I'm leaning toward the Giro now... Rocketman And then, what becomes of the 'Rocketman' handle? Hmmmm.... good question. Giroman? Bacchetta Boy? How about Gironimo (Geronimo)? `:-| -- Cletus D. Lee Bacchetta Giro Lightning Voyager http://www.clee.org - Bellaire, TX USA - |
#7
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Bacchetta Giro Test Ride Report, Mini Review
In article zZkIb.9704$I07.17127@attbi_s53, says...
"Cletus Lee" wrote in message ... In article iX7Ib.169002$8y1.512034@attbi_s52, says... I had been considering the RANS V-Rex as a natural upgrade from the RANS Rocket; but I think I'm leaning toward the Giro now... Rocketman And then, what becomes of the 'Rocketman' handle? Hmmmm.... good question. Giroman? Bacchetta Boy? How about Gironimo (Geronimo)? `:-| -- Cletus D. Lee Bacchetta Giro Lightning Voyager http://www.clee.org - Bellaire, TX USA - |
#8
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Bacchetta Giro Test Ride Report, Mini Review
Cletus Lee wrote in message ET...
In article zZkIb.9704$I07.17127@attbi_s53, says... "Cletus Lee" wrote in message ... In article iX7Ib.169002$8y1.512034@attbi_s52, says... I had been considering the RANS V-Rex as a natural upgrade from the RANS Rocket; but I think I'm leaning toward the Giro now... Rocketman And then, what becomes of the 'Rocketman' handle? Hmmmm.... good question. Giroman? Bacchetta Boy? How about Gironimo (Geronimo)? `:-| Thanks Rocketman, Taifunfan, Giroman, or whatever for the report. The difference for me between the V-Rex and the Giro always came down to (a) the handlebar set up and (b) the color. Maybe with the change in color it comes down to just one thing. I never have gotten used to the tweener bar set up. I keep testriding the Bacchettas and Volaes but that is a handlebar bar/stem position which just isn't comfortable to me. But, having a Rocket as a commuter, I agree that either bike is a step up from the Rocket (which isn't a bad bike, just not as refined). Want to take the Rocket, V-Rex, Giro to another level? How about becoming Barcroftboy with a new Virginia? Same design pedigree. IMHO just a nicer bike. And, for a sportier, faster handling dual 20 inch bike, you can also change your name to RotatorRider or TigerTitan. The Tiger has the tweener bars, a stiff frame, a higher bottom bracket and is a very fast unit. Good luck on your selection when and if you decide to change your name. Isn't it great (albeit mind-boggling) that we have all these choices? Mike S. St. Louis, Mo Barcroft Virginia Barcroft Columbia RANS Rocket |
#9
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Bacchetta Giro Test Ride Report, Mini Review
Cletus Lee wrote in message ET...
In article zZkIb.9704$I07.17127@attbi_s53, says... "Cletus Lee" wrote in message ... In article iX7Ib.169002$8y1.512034@attbi_s52, says... I had been considering the RANS V-Rex as a natural upgrade from the RANS Rocket; but I think I'm leaning toward the Giro now... Rocketman And then, what becomes of the 'Rocketman' handle? Hmmmm.... good question. Giroman? Bacchetta Boy? How about Gironimo (Geronimo)? `:-| Thanks Rocketman, Taifunfan, Giroman, or whatever for the report. The difference for me between the V-Rex and the Giro always came down to (a) the handlebar set up and (b) the color. Maybe with the change in color it comes down to just one thing. I never have gotten used to the tweener bar set up. I keep testriding the Bacchettas and Volaes but that is a handlebar bar/stem position which just isn't comfortable to me. But, having a Rocket as a commuter, I agree that either bike is a step up from the Rocket (which isn't a bad bike, just not as refined). Want to take the Rocket, V-Rex, Giro to another level? How about becoming Barcroftboy with a new Virginia? Same design pedigree. IMHO just a nicer bike. And, for a sportier, faster handling dual 20 inch bike, you can also change your name to RotatorRider or TigerTitan. The Tiger has the tweener bars, a stiff frame, a higher bottom bracket and is a very fast unit. Good luck on your selection when and if you decide to change your name. Isn't it great (albeit mind-boggling) that we have all these choices? Mike S. St. Louis, Mo Barcroft Virginia Barcroft Columbia RANS Rocket |
#10
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Bacchetta Giro Test Ride Report, Mini Review
mike s wrote:
Thanks Rocketman, Taifunfan, Giroman, or whatever for the report. The difference for me between the V-Rex and the Giro always came down to (a) the handlebar set up and (b) the color. Maybe with the change in color it comes down to just one thing. I never have gotten used to the tweener bar set up. I keep testriding the Bacchettas and Volaes but that is a handlebar bar/stem position which just isn't comfortable to me. But, having a Rocket as a commuter, I agree that either bike is a step up from the Rocket (which isn't a bad bike, just not as refined). Want to take the Rocket, V-Rex, Giro to another level? How about becoming Barcroftboy with a new Virginia? Same design pedigree. IMHO just a nicer bike. And, for a sportier, faster handling dual 20 inch bike, you can also change your name to RotatorRider or TigerTitan. The Tiger has the tweener bars, a stiff frame, a higher bottom bracket and is a very fast unit. Good luck on your selection when and if you decide to change your name. Isn't it great (albeit mind-boggling) that we have all these choices? No. What we really need is a production ISO 305-mm/ISO 406-mm wheelset lowracer. Tom Sherman – Close to 41½ N, 90½ W |
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