The Sat R Day
A Beta Test of the Bike Friday Recumbent
I have been testing a Beta version of the new recumbent from the folks at Green Gear Cycling. Named the "Sat R Day," the short (38") wheelbase bike uses dual 16" 349 mm wheels and fits into a suitcase for travel mode. This is a trademark of all Green Gear bicycles.
FRAME & SEAT The main frame section is an ovalized CroMo monotube while the rear stays and front boom are made from smaller, twin ovalized tube members. The twin tubes up front really stiffen the bottom bracket area, something that is usually lacking on monotube booms. Seat height works out to about 28" on my bike when adjusted for my 5' 11" frame, a little higher than a suspended BikeE, and the bottom bracket sits 21" off the pavement. Green Gear wanted a bike that offered good visibility in traffic.
The seat is a Bike Friday original with a flat, foam base pad and low mesh back. The entire seat can be flipped forward and to the side with one quick release, or pulled off the bike with one more release pin. Instead of mounting the seat directly to the main frame, it clamps to an upward sloping round tube that pivots about a point near the headset. The rear of this beam has a vertical member that is isolated from the main beam by an elastomer giving the seat some suspension. Sliding the seat forward along the beam also lowers the seat height for shorter riders.
DRIVETRAINThere are two chainlines (two chain drive system), the front having a single chainring and ending at a step-up cassette located near the rear swing arm pivot point. The step-up mid-drive has two cogs to bring the gear inch range up a bit. The rear drive chain mates to an 8 speed cassette/Sachs 3 speed hub, thus a 24 speed drivetrain. The bike has a 25" low and 114" high as it sits. Right now all the test bikes have Shimano Ultegra STI shifting and cranks, V-brakes, and your choice of upright or under-seat steering.
Since I was accustomed to underseat steering, my Beta Sat R Day had this setup. The bars are pretty unique in that they are adjustable for both tilt and width with one simple quick release. They can also be slid along the seat beam after loosening the connecting rod to the front fork to match the sliding seat position.
To quick fold the bike, the front boom is flipped up and rotated back so the crank is located over the seat pad. With the main chain tension released like this, picking the bike up allows the rear swingarm to drop down and then pivot forward so the rear wheel lies next to the front (the pivot axis is set at an angle so the wheels don't hit each other).
In practice this "Z" fold move happens very quickly since there are no latches or levers to deal with. I can fold the bike to fit in a car trunk in a few seconds. This is the one feature that always causes people to say "Wow, do that again, I missed something!"
To pack the bike in its suitcase, a little disassembly is required. In addition to the folding operation, the wheels, bars, and right front crankarm (self extracting bolts require only one allen wrench) come off. The seat splits into a lower and upper half by loosening two bolts and sliding the sections apart. The bottom half of the seat goes into the case first, folded frame (with rear wheel slipped forward in the rear stays) next, the bars with cables still attached can be slipped along the sides, and the front wheel and seat back nest on top. The folded dimensions are about 20" x 28." Appropriate padding is provided with the case.
After two weeks, I decided to convert the bike to above-seat steering. The ASS upright stem simply clamps around a tube extending up from the fork steerer (kind of like an Aheadset). A second stem piece slides down into the first allowing bar height adjustment. The bars are Bike Friday custom units and are split in the middle. They insert into a tee fitting and are clamped down with a single bolt. The old under-seat steering mechanism unclamps from the seat beam, and the linkage is removed from a boss on the fork.
With ASS the steering effort is decreased and has a more direct feel. The stem flips forward like that found on many SWB bikes for easy access and safety in the event of a collision. My first hinge joint couldn't be tightened enough to keep the bars from flopping forward too easily, but a fix had already been developed and several days later I received a new, stronger clamp by special delivery.
THE RIDEThe low speed balance is among the best I've experienced on a recumbent. With practice I've been able to pull a U-turn within a 6' path width. On several downhill runs at 40 mph it was stable. I still like the unencumbered view and look of USS and may eventually switch back. The handlebar pivot needs a real bearing for smoother action, and the linkage geometry could be tweaked a little.
VERDICTI think the bike is very promising. The handling is great, quality is good, and the compact folding can't be beat. My test bike has a number of bugs that need to be worked out and I've been giving feedback to the Green Gear folks at regular intervals. I'd like to see a quieter chain management system, a lower seat with more recline adjustment, and a different component choice. Ultegra is a real hot group for road racers, but I don't like it that much. STI shifters are very expensive and not serviceable. The related components (narrow chain, cogs etc.) are more expensive to replace, and there is no visual gear indicator (you can't see the rear cogs while riding). I'd just as soon have something simple like Gripshift and mountain brake levers (New World Tourist spec) rather than STI. A lower spec'd model will appear later in 1999.
WHEEL SIZE RANTOne final issue I should discuss is the wheel size. There are darn few choices in 349 mm. Fortunately, the Primo Comet 85 psi tire is a really good choice, but the 20 inchers offer more than a dozen decent tires plus the emergency Kmart /Walmart tour offerings. The combination of 20 inch wheels and the seat volume won't fit into the hard shell case however. I received a lot of feedback on my trip indicating that many people would rather have the larger wheels and either didn't care about suitcase traveling or would pack the wheels in a separate bag. No word yet as to whether this option will be available, but I think it would expand the sales potential of the bike considerably.
At the end of the testing period, all Beta bikes will be recalled and replaced with production versions. Stay tuned for my long term test report!
Rick Pope is a lifelong bicycle nut and has been involved with recumbents one way or the other since 1985. Past bikes include a Counterpoint Opus, Presto, BikeE Air Tech and too many wedgies to mention. He was one of the first Bike Friday customers back in 1992 and has served as one of their test pilots on several occasions. A relentless tinkerer, he has dreamed up several hundred bike inventions. Two of them actually worked. Chief officer of Oregon Human Powered Vehicles, he resides in the Portland, Oregon area sharing his house with a current stable of four bikes.