| (Paul Pancella's Volae continued from page 1) Volaes are made for, and sold only by the Hostel Shoppe of Stevens Point, Wis. They were originally made by ATP Vision, maker of its own line of Vision recumbents, which has gone out of business. Volaes are now being made for the Hostel Shoppe by Waterford Bicycles in Wisconsin, maker of "classic" steel diamond frame bicycles. Here are Paul's comments on his bike: The original tires were too fragile for the city streets I ride, but the ones I have on now seem to be doing much better. The original equipment tires were Continentals; I'm now running Vredestein Fortezzas (23-571). Still too skinny, but apparently tougher. I had about five flat tires in as many months with the Contis. Rolf Garthus at Hostel Shoppe was very accommodating to my desires for some custom specifications and I think the price was quite reasonable. Also, delivery was quick and assembly was very easy. (It came mostly assembled). It is hard to quantify, but to me even after nine months and several hundred miles, the handling does not feel as "comfortable" as the P-38.I am not as confident in fast turns or slow speed maneuvering. I think the high legs and the handlebar arrangement both contribute, so I regard it as an acceptable compromise for the best possible non-faired aerodynamics. Part of the problem with the handlebars is that the "open cockpit" setup requires a long reach and nearly straight arms when steering straight ahead. Since the bars are also fairly wide (hands outside the legs), any turn really stretches the outside arm. This makes it seem like you are on the edge, controlwise, in any significant turn. This would not be as bad if I didn't insist on being fully laid back. In the most aero position that I have chosen, cables and handlebars also interfere with the view of the road directly ahead. On smooth roads that is not a problem, but that's not what I ride on mostly. As of today (April 2, 2004), I have 580 miles on the Volae. When I went shopping last summer, Rolf was marketing four models of the Volae, two with smaller front wheels and two with same size wheels (650c) front and rear. Now he shows seven models! As I looked over the specs, it seemed like I wanted something in between the two big-wheeled models, the "Club" and the "Team", and with Rolf's help, that's what I got. Turns out that's what everyone else wanted, too, so he started marketing that hybrid as the "Club LX" later in 2003. In the current model year, the new Club model is pretty close to the old Club LX and my bike. Wheelbase: 47" (largest of three available frame sizes). Overall length : ~70". Seat height: 26". Bottom bracket height: 33". Weight 25.5 lbs by my bathroom scale, without accessories but ride-ready. Chromoly frame, carbon fiber fork, carbon fiber (M5) seat. Built by ATP Vision, RIP. I had to beg Rolf for longer cranks, and 175mm was the longest he would give me. Shifting is mostly SRAM, twist-grips, 3X9 speed standard derailleurs.The 30-42-52 front chainrings are paired with an 11-32 9-speed cassette,. All gears are useable, but five of the 27 ratios are essentially duplicates. The long chainline has two idlers. The drive side is almost straight but deflected slightly by a large (18 teeth) toothed idler pulley. The gear inch range is about 23-119. I don't have a real fast cadence, so I spin out the top at about 32 mph. The seat adjusts fully but the boom does not. I laid it way back, to match the body configuration of my M5 low racer. In fact, the orientation matches exactly. Neglecting the arms, my body is in exactly the same position and orientation as on the M5, only I'm about 15 inches higher off the ground. The seat mounting and adjusting system is quite good, secure but not heavy, and the whole bike feels stiff enough even at high power input. The price was right at $2500, delivered, with optional equipment (Blackburn rear rack, swapped crankset, handlebar-mounted mirror). The price doesn't include the pannier-sized bags I mentioned. (For more, see www.VolaeRecumbents.com) |