After riding the trike and liking it I called City Cyclist and said I was ready for the next step. Mike ordered a Stratus XP XXL to fit me. It is in and they are putting it together and getting it ready for my first ride. Hopefully Saturday as I go on vacation the next week and will be out of town.
I talked to Mike today and he said it would be ready for me Saturday to see for the first time and ride around. I am cleaning out the garage to be able to put it next to the others. I am as excited as a kid at Christmas.
I went by CC and got to see the Stratus for the first time. WHOW very impressive. I then took it out back and decided to see if I could ride it without make a fool out of myself. No one was back there so a gave a hard push on the right peddle and I was off like a shot. I could believe how easy it was to ride. Everything was so smooth and rolling was not an effort. Now to see if I could turn this thing around without stopping. It just went into the turn without any trouble and rolled through with no effort. I little bigger turning radus than my hybrid but smoother I think. Then I headed for the other end of the alley picking up speed and trying out some of the rougher parts of the drive. Tires and bike did there job I just sat and enjoyed the ride. Now to pay for it and take it back east.
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I just finished my first ride at home. I picked a route that was about 8 miles turned out to be 8.5 miles. Starting with my grandson 11 years old and we headed out. We got about 2 miles and he need a break and water. We stopped and I adjusted the seat angle. We got started again and after about 5.1 miles he ran out of gas. Of course we had been in a strong head wind that really slowed things down. I called my daughter to come and pick him up and waited for her. Then I got back on and took off. I noticed that even in the head wind and climbing hills I had no trouble just sit back and relax and spin. I had a 2 mile streach of road about as bad as it gets with holes gravel and steep down hill drop into a rough bridge and sharp corner. No problem keeping the bike under control and a lot easier than I though. I had it in my mind to get off and walk if needed but after I started it was almost smooth. Bike is easy to control and ride around the really rought parts and pot holes.
Top speed was just over 24 miles an hour. I am just getting use to it and will probably go out alone in the morning to see what I can average and how far I can go. I think right now on level ground I can average 15 MPH without any problems and maybe travel 20 miles or more.
I know compaired to what most of you are doing that is really slow. But watch out give this old man about 6 months on that Stratus and I will be moving on out. Wonderful bike I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a LWB Recumbent that is easy to ride and fast. I also recommend City Cyclist a top rate bike shop willing to go the extra mile.
Even though City cyclist is 91 miles one way my next bike will also come from them. I have purchased 6 new bikes since the first of the year for myself and family. I have tried several different bike shops and was not always treated as nicely as CC. I wish I had found them first.
I've tossed around the idea of giving a recumbent a try.
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