71st Birthday Current Arrived – BionicOldGuy

I obtained a brand new recumbent bike for my 71st birthday which simply arrived a few days in the past. My recumbent was over 10 years previous as a result of I purchased it used, and a few of the elements like gears and brakes have been getting slightly out of date and laborious to tune. I might have simply changed it with the most recent model of the identical mannequin (the Bacchetta Giro A20). However the Giro is a touring mannequin, and I noticed that for a similar value I might get a lighter weight efficiency mannequin, the Bacchetta Corsa. This was interesting as a result of I prefer to go after Strava age group information. I used to be involved that the extra aggressive place on the Corsa won’t be as snug because the Giro, and luxury to me is extra vital general than efficiency. Nonetheless, I noticed that if the bike has disk brakes, it’s straightforward to make wheel adjustments, and the Corsa may very well be made as snug because the Giro for day after day driving. Then with a wheel and seat swap I might put it again in efficiency mode every time I needed. I’d been toying with the concept of doing this someday sooner or later, however Dana Lieberman, who owns Bacchetta bikes, placed on a killer “black friday” sale earlier than Christmas that I couldn’t resist. So I ordered the bike a number of weeks in the past and it simply arrived.

My first rides confirmed it’s fairly a bit faster than the Giro, and I’m wanting ahead to going after some Strava 70+ information with it. Sadly my current chilly intervened in order that obtained postponed until I recuperate. For longer rides the Giro does appear a bit extra snug now, however which may be a matter of getting used to the brand new seat (additionally the brand new seat is extra snug in a extra reclined place, which is sweet for aerodynamics however could require a headrest). And I can over time look into swapping out wheels and seats for consolation vs. efficiency as mentioned beneath. Thankfully, by donating my non-electric upright bike I made room to retailer the brand new Corsa, so I can preserve each bikes at the least for now whereas I type this out. This type of experimenting is enjoyable for me as a retired engineer.