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

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 -

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 -

"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

"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

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 -

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 -

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

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

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