Having crested 40, the old saddle on my mountain bike (a very good Trek) wasn't treating my rump and back quite as kindly as in years past. I have been using a Schwinn HRC-235i recumbent exercise bike for the last several years (you can look up my review), but I did not know recumbent road bikes were available. I saw an ad in the American Airlines magazine a couple of months ago and decided to go looking for a BikeE.
First off, there is nothing more comfortable to ride than a recumbent. The seat on the AT is large, gel-based, and well-formed. There is also a web seatback mounted on a welded aluminum frame. The riders legs stretch out before him in a semi sitting position. One rides heads up--the view of scenery--and possible hazards--is unparalleled.
The main difference between the BikeE AT and the lower level CT is the rear suspension. The AT also has a better seat, but the suspension is what you pay for. Cutting to the chase, it's worth the bucks. The suspension is based on two swing arms supported by a Cane Creek AD-5 dampened (no pogo-ing) air shock. Because of the geometry of a recumbent bike, almost all of the jolts to the rider's body come from the back wheel. The AD-5 is air-adjustable. Pump it up to your body weight and take off. The ride is incredibly smooth.
The running gear is all middle level (SRAM and Shimano) with everything working together nicely. My only beef here is the gearing. BikeE chooses to outfit the AT with a 7-speed gear cassette coupled with a 3-speed internal hub. I think a 9-speed cassette would be a welcome change. I have ordered a smaller front chain ring to lower the overall gear ratio. The gearing is OK for most rides, but if you do any serious hills, you should plan on tweaking the gearing.
The BikeE handles well, but it takes some getting used to. Because the front fork is sort of "chopper" style, steering is very quick. A BikeE is very stable at high speed.
The only other drawback to a BikeE is that many standard accessories don't work on it, i.e., a frame-mounted pump. You must put that in the nicely designed bag which fits behind the seat. Probably the biggest accessory headache is finding a rack for your car. Don't fear--it is available, if a little hard to find. Sportworks offers a modular hitch-mounted rack for BikeE. It's about $180 at REI, and yes, you can mix and match BikeE modules with regular bike modules.
I plan to ride this bike across Montana this summer. I have no doubt its ability will surpass mine.
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