November 18, 2017
Rider position is important. Was mine correct?
It has been mentioned several times by good friends who are P-38 riders, that I should consider my arm position and the handlebars. It was strongly suggested that the stock Lightning bars are not as stable as the wider Bacchetta or RANS bars. I asked Tim. Twice. Both times he said that he has tried other bars on the bike and didn't feel they were any more stable than the bars he designs and sells. I felt that Tim was working with me with this problem and had my best interests in mind. I made no changes to my bar set up.
If you look at the three photos below, you will see the two men have their elbows at their sides. I have my arms more extended. That felt comfortable to me. It is similar to the position I've used on the Stratus all of these years (on which I've never had an instant of stability issues).
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https://www.bacchettabikes.com/support/recumbent-bike-fitting/ - Bacchetta has this informative and detailed article on how to set up their bikes. Admittedly, it's from Bacchetta, but it stands to reason that SWB bikes should be similar in set up. Note that my arms are positioned exactly like their 'beginner error'. Sigh. I'm afraid that I'm too far gone mentally to give this bike another try. It may be that arm position is the fix I was needing and I was just too stubborn to try it because the suggestion didn't come from Lightning and wasn't endorsed by Lightning when it was suggested. Now I"m just afraid of the bike.
My friend did underline that these are starting points and everyone needs to fine tune to their liking. There is no 'this is the right way' or 'you did it wrong' in these set ups. Everyone has different length arms and torsos and legs and then there is the persons weight and riding style. Some people are very stationary while riding others move their shoulders while pedaling. So many factors, get it to the suggested starting point and then make small adjustment that work for you.
I hope this information might help someone else who is struggling with their bike set up.
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