Anybody own a Volae

Thinking about getting a Volae sport any feedback?
Terry

On Thu, 26 Jan 2006 14:06:39 -0800, terrygar wrote:

Thinking about getting a Volae sport any feedback?
Terry

A high quality product. You will be pleased.

"swamprun" wrote in message
news
On Thu, 26 Jan 2006 14:06:39 -0800, terrygar wrote:

Thinking about getting a Volae sport any feedback?
Terry

A high quality product. You will be pleased.



And if you're not, with a new one, you have a couple of weeks to try it out.
If it's not the bike of your dreams, you can send it back to Hostel Shoppe
for a refund. The 411 is that the person who takes the order gets some
dimensions from the buyer, and the bike comes pretty much ready to ride out
of the box.

I attended a couple of the ralleys that they sponsor and in real life the
shop people are easy to do business with. They know how to deal with
obsessive, neurotic bent owners, too.




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"terrygar" wrote
Thinking about getting a Volae sport any feedback?

I've had a Volae Sport since February. I bought it used
and it has the Velocity Uriel wheelset upgrade and the
large seatbag. It is the third recumbent in my stable
and I like it a lot.

The Volae seems perhaps 10% faster for the same effort on
smooth roads than my Tour Easy (fenders, fairing, medium
tires). Up hills, the weight advantage probably makes it
more than 10% faster. It doesn't "cruise" at speed quite
like the Tour Easy LWB and in cold weather, isn't as
warm (TE fairing helps a lot).

The idler wheels in the chain line make the Volae drive system
noisier than my Tour Easy or BikeE. And there is heel strike,
so low-speed tight turns require some care. You'll definitely
want clipless pedals. Choices and availability of 650c tires
are more limited than 700c or 26", if that matters.

I also wish there were a place to put a water bottle
more easy to reach while riding. The seat bag can hold
a hydration-system bag, but sometimes I simply want to
use a water bottle. The bottle pockets on the seatbag
are difficult to access while riding. I've seen bottle
mounts for under the seat that might work.

What sort of bike are you riding currently and what
expectations do you have for the Volae?

Jon Meinecke

THANKS FOR ALL THE FEEDBACK!!!
Not riding a bent, this will be the first.

(The idler wheels in the chain line make the Volae drive system
noisier than my Tour Easy or BikeE. And there is heel strike,
so low-speed tight turns require some care.)
I hope these aren't large issues. Can the idler wheels be greased? And
I have never ridden the sport so I don't know about the heel strike.
I've ridden the Corsa and Force le with no problem!!!
Terry

"terrygar" wrote

(The idler wheels in the chain line make the Volae drive system
noisier than my Tour Easy or BikeE. And there is heel strike,
so low-speed tight turns require some care.)
I hope these aren't large issues. Can the idler wheels be greased? And

I do lubricate the idler wheels on my Volae. It's still noisier
drivetrain than my other recumbents. It's not a major issue.

I have never ridden the sport so I don't know about the heel strike.
I've ridden the Corsa and Force le with no problem!!!

Heel strike on the Volae is quite manageable. I have relatively
small feet (US 9). It is really only slow-speed tight turns where
it comes into play. I test rode a Strada and didn't notice heel
strike, but then I only rode it a few minutes and didn't ride with
clipless pedals. I suspect the issue is similar for all these
"high racers." YMMV.

I like the Volae handlebar feel better than the Bacchetta. On
my test ride, I noticed that the Strada handlebars had a certain
"springiness",-- not bad, but noticeable. My Volae doesn't
have that attribute. It wouldn't have been a deciding factor
for me, however. I simply found a good deal on the Volae,
used.

Jon Meinecke