Hi, everybody. This is my first post to the Silvio board. I'd been just about set to buy a Sofrider V2, until yesterday, when I test drove the Silvio. Wanted to offer my impressions. My main bike is a RANS Stratus, which I ride all the time. I also own a road bike, which I never ride any more for all the usual reasons a 50+ guy might have. But I continue to love that bike for its lightness, nimbleness, "elegance", compactness and small turning circle.
Nanda's Silvio was equipped with an Ultegra triple and bar-end shifters, and 700x28 (I think) tires. Don't recall too much else of the spec.
Getting into the Silvio's cockpit, I found the seat firm but quite comfortable; the angle was even easier on the lumbar spine than the Stratus, and I could feel the weight nicely distributed across my spine. First take-off was, of course, a little scary, especially since I misunderstood Nanda's directions and pulled on the *opposite* handlebar to the one receiving pedal force. Once I realized I had that part wrong, I was off and running laps around the storage facility that houses Nanda's "Spinshed". Basic competence (and by that I mean the ability for my face to avoid walls and pavement) came quickly. Within minutes, I could ride straight and pedal into and out of turns. After a few more minutes, I began shifting and applying harder pressure to the pedals.
Overall first impression: This Is A Road Bike. Tight, light, and nimble.
The hardest part--and this isn't so easy to describe--appeared to come when I had to make a correction while sprinting. I can't describe exactly what my body did, but a couple of times it tried to do the opposite of what was required to straighten out a wobble, increasing the oscillation instead of decreasing it.
But I consider this first ride a great success. Having been forewarned of the learning curve, my only goal first time out was to take off and ride a straight line. I got a lot farther than that. I think I'd need another hour or so before I felt "street-worthy". And significantly longer before I used clips and handled high speeds. And even longer to react automatically and correctly in emergency maneuvers. But the body learns.
As far as general ergonomics, the only glitch was that my knees were lightly hitting the handlebars as I rode. Important to note, though, that we didn't dial in the Silvio AT ALL before I tested it: We just rolled it out of the shed and I jumped on. So I assume that the handlebar issue is strictly a matter of fine-tuning rather than body/bike incompatibility. This means that I can probably successfully run a triple on a Silvio. (FYI, I'm 5'10", w/ a ~42" x-seam.)
Nanda also had an '06 RANS F5 (dual 650 high-racer) available, and it was a great opportunity to compare a high-racer after riding the Silvio. In comparison, the F5:
- had a less severe seat angle than the Silvio, yet a noticeably higher BB. I preferred the seat angle on the Silvio and much preferred the lower BB (not surprising, given my LWB, low-BB background). Somewhere between the two models, you pass that invisible fulcrum separating "sitting" from "reclining"; for me the Silvio's recline was nearly perfect.
- for obvious reasons, provided a higher initial confidence level
- A MUCH higher (perceived? actual?) turning circle. Running the F5 around a tight corner, I nearly mated with a garage door, so much greater was the F5's arc than that of the Silvio, on which I'd just made the same turn with meters to spare. And yet the F5's wheelbase is only 3-4 inches longer than the Silvio's.
I finished my morning by jumping back on the Silvio. Ha, my body had "forgotten" some of what it had just learned. Switching to a "conventional" 'bent had "confused" my body. Certainly not a criticism, just a testament to the different body mechanics involved in riding the two. But as I said, the body will learn.
In closing: Clearly the Silvio achieves its design goal of wedding roadbike component compatibility and maneuverability with recumbent comfort. And, AFAICT (admittedly based on very little ride time), it does so more effectively than the high-racer concept. I can't comment on the Silvio's speed performance, since I didn't ride it enough.
Since I have a donor bike, I may well decide on the Silvio over the Sofrider. But I won't rule out the F5 until I've spent more time getting to know the Silvio. Like a lot of folks, I'd probably swap out my road bike bars for something wider, but other than that, I think I'd transfer everything else. Thank you to Nanda at http://www.spincyclz.com/!
Questions:
1) I hear much about the Silvio's climbing ability. True, you can force yourself against the seatback and pull on the bars, but doesn't this still leave the knee as the weakest point? From a bike design and human physiology standpoint, isn't it possible (as with a lot of 'bents) to generate more power by engaging the arms and back than can be borne by the knees? And doesn't this imply the need for lower gearing (a particular obsession of mine)?
2) Has anyone been hindered much by the absence of seat adjustability? As I said, I thought the seat was excellent. Still, I want to spend a full hour in it before drawing a final conclusion.
3) If I were to tweak the seat, seems I would do something to add a little more lumbar support. Has anyone else found that they needed to make this tweak?
Nanda's Silvio was equipped with an Ultegra triple and bar-end shifters, and 700x28 (I think) tires. Don't recall too much else of the spec.
Getting into the Silvio's cockpit, I found the seat firm but quite comfortable; the angle was even easier on the lumbar spine than the Stratus, and I could feel the weight nicely distributed across my spine. First take-off was, of course, a little scary, especially since I misunderstood Nanda's directions and pulled on the *opposite* handlebar to the one receiving pedal force. Once I realized I had that part wrong, I was off and running laps around the storage facility that houses Nanda's "Spinshed". Basic competence (and by that I mean the ability for my face to avoid walls and pavement) came quickly. Within minutes, I could ride straight and pedal into and out of turns. After a few more minutes, I began shifting and applying harder pressure to the pedals.
Overall first impression: This Is A Road Bike. Tight, light, and nimble.
The hardest part--and this isn't so easy to describe--appeared to come when I had to make a correction while sprinting. I can't describe exactly what my body did, but a couple of times it tried to do the opposite of what was required to straighten out a wobble, increasing the oscillation instead of decreasing it.
But I consider this first ride a great success. Having been forewarned of the learning curve, my only goal first time out was to take off and ride a straight line. I got a lot farther than that. I think I'd need another hour or so before I felt "street-worthy". And significantly longer before I used clips and handled high speeds. And even longer to react automatically and correctly in emergency maneuvers. But the body learns.
As far as general ergonomics, the only glitch was that my knees were lightly hitting the handlebars as I rode. Important to note, though, that we didn't dial in the Silvio AT ALL before I tested it: We just rolled it out of the shed and I jumped on. So I assume that the handlebar issue is strictly a matter of fine-tuning rather than body/bike incompatibility. This means that I can probably successfully run a triple on a Silvio. (FYI, I'm 5'10", w/ a ~42" x-seam.)
Nanda also had an '06 RANS F5 (dual 650 high-racer) available, and it was a great opportunity to compare a high-racer after riding the Silvio. In comparison, the F5:
- had a less severe seat angle than the Silvio, yet a noticeably higher BB. I preferred the seat angle on the Silvio and much preferred the lower BB (not surprising, given my LWB, low-BB background). Somewhere between the two models, you pass that invisible fulcrum separating "sitting" from "reclining"; for me the Silvio's recline was nearly perfect.
- for obvious reasons, provided a higher initial confidence level
- A MUCH higher (perceived? actual?) turning circle. Running the F5 around a tight corner, I nearly mated with a garage door, so much greater was the F5's arc than that of the Silvio, on which I'd just made the same turn with meters to spare. And yet the F5's wheelbase is only 3-4 inches longer than the Silvio's.
I finished my morning by jumping back on the Silvio. Ha, my body had "forgotten" some of what it had just learned. Switching to a "conventional" 'bent had "confused" my body. Certainly not a criticism, just a testament to the different body mechanics involved in riding the two. But as I said, the body will learn.
In closing: Clearly the Silvio achieves its design goal of wedding roadbike component compatibility and maneuverability with recumbent comfort. And, AFAICT (admittedly based on very little ride time), it does so more effectively than the high-racer concept. I can't comment on the Silvio's speed performance, since I didn't ride it enough.
Since I have a donor bike, I may well decide on the Silvio over the Sofrider. But I won't rule out the F5 until I've spent more time getting to know the Silvio. Like a lot of folks, I'd probably swap out my road bike bars for something wider, but other than that, I think I'd transfer everything else. Thank you to Nanda at http://www.spincyclz.com/!
Questions:
1) I hear much about the Silvio's climbing ability. True, you can force yourself against the seatback and pull on the bars, but doesn't this still leave the knee as the weakest point? From a bike design and human physiology standpoint, isn't it possible (as with a lot of 'bents) to generate more power by engaging the arms and back than can be borne by the knees? And doesn't this imply the need for lower gearing (a particular obsession of mine)?
2) Has anyone been hindered much by the absence of seat adjustability? As I said, I thought the seat was excellent. Still, I want to spend a full hour in it before drawing a final conclusion.
3) If I were to tweak the seat, seems I would do something to add a little more lumbar support. Has anyone else found that they needed to make this tweak?
