READERS’ BIKES

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AN AERO SURPRISE

Chris Brown describes his Bacchetta Aero, a titanium high-racer from the USA.

Christmas 2005 for me at least will go down as being the best, present-wise, ever. I was blindfolded and led out to the shed. No it’s not what you’re thinking. My charming wife had secretly contacted Richard Loke and bought me a Bacchetta Aero. Richard is better known for his ‘Airnimal’ range of bikes. He has recently started importing the Bacchetta range of recumbents from America under the CycleCentric name. So there I was standing in the shed in front of a large box with ‘Bacchetta’ on the side. When I picked up the box I wondered if I was the victim of a cruel hoax. It felt SO light. Surely there couldn’t be a bike inside. Upon opening it

however I was very pleased to see that it wasn’t a joke. This wasn’t my fi rst encounter with the Aero. My wife and I had travelled down to Cambridge a couple of months earlier to visit Richard. He had kindly agreed to let me have a test ride. Test riding a recumbent is essential in my opinion. As soon as I rode the Aero for the fi rst time I knew that this was the bike for me. Instantly I felt relaxed and comfortable. I could ride round the small car park in front of Richard’s premises with only one hand on the handlebars. When I fi rst saw the bike I was worried that I would feel that my feet were way too high. My
fears were unfounded though: once on the move I became unaware of the height of the bottom bracket. The bike felt perfectly controllable, even at low speeds. Incidentally, whilst chatting to Richard he hinted that he may be developing a recumbent conversion for the Airnimal. Could that be the solution to most of your cycling needs? A lightweight, foldable and convertible bike – I think he could be on to a winner. Anyway, back to the Aero and that box. Lifting the bike from the box minus the wheels and the seat reminded me just how light it is. Unfeasibly light in fact. The titanium frame is quite chunky and looks as if it would be heavy. It’s anything but. Assembly was straightforward, wheels in, handlebars attached and finally the seat. The carbon fibre seat is attached to the frame by two bolts in the base. A bracket bonded to the frame has a series of holes along its length. This gives about four to five inches of adjustment. Different frame sizes are also available to accommodate different leg lengths. The seat angle is altered via the telescopic seat stays. A pin in each to pull out, move the seat until the correct angle is found and replace the pins. So all the necessary adjustments made and I was ready for the road. Then I remembered it was December. There followed several frustrating months of

ABOVE: Neil Selwood from trike makers ICE tries out Chris Brown’s Aero at the York Cycle Show in June.

typical British weather. With no mudguards I wasn’t about to go out on the country roads around here and get it all dirty! It’s now June and fi nally the weather has improved. So what’s the Aero like to live with? Well all in all it’s very user friendly. Brilliant for fast training rides but just as happy going for a steady ‘tootle’ to the shops. I’ve ridden in towns and cities which was fi ne, obviously it’s not meant to be a stop-start kind of bike but at least the seat is at a good height so one feels safe in traffi c and can look motorists in the eye. The verdict? Probably the best bike I’ve owned.

DEFINITELY the fastest. My average speed has increased by about 15-20% over my other bikes, in fact I’m averaging speeds I haven’t been able to sustain for about 20 years! Not many products can claim to knock 20 years off one’s age. I don’t know what it’s done for my ‘street cred’ (if indeed I ever had any). Can one even claim to have ‘street cred’ at 47? But out on the bike one gets the usual responses from passers-by ranging from, “Now that’s a cool bike!”, to fi ts of laughter. I never know if they’re laughing at me or the bike. Overall the build quality is excellent and the welding on the titanium is exquisite. One little niggle though: the Velcro holding the seat pad in place has come adrift. It appears to me that the sticky Velcro is stickier than the sticky stuff that sticks the Velcro to the seat. Oh and some paint would be nice but I suppose that would make it heavier. Neil Selwood from ICE had a ride on it at York Rally and said that he was, ‘sorely tempted to get one’. Praise indeed from the makers of the best recumbent trikes in the world. So my advice is to try before you buy. And then hope your wife, girlfriend, husband, mum or dad gets you one for Christmas instead of socks.

Chris Brown

Manufacturer: Bacchetta Bikes: Tel +1 727 498 4600 or see www.bacchettabikes.com UK importer: Cyclecentric: Tel 01223 438074 or seewww.cyclecentric.com The Aero’s weight is listed at 10kg (22lb) and prices are from £2699 in the UK.

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