Learning the hard way ....

I rode my new XP a little over 300 miles so far and I like it more and more. The only thing that I can't seem to get used to, is the chopper bars. Not that they are bad (they offer a lot of positions and adjustments), but I miss the C-bar from my previous Stratus. So yesterday I decided to switch bars: I removed the chopper bar from the XP and the C-bar from my other Stratus. Compared to the C-bar on my old Stratus, the chopper bars are very easy to remove. The reason for this is that you can open up the handlebar stem from the XP, where as the stem on the old Stratus cannot be opened. After trying to open up the C-bar itself ( which allows you to remove the brake levers and the shifters ), you have to slide the handlebar through the stem.
Anyway, it took me about 20 minutes to remove both handlebars, so I could swap them. Turned out to be a bad idea : the C-bar with fairing did not work on the XP. Since the XP has a bigger front wheel, the bar ends up higher than with the 20" front wheel. I ended up looking straight into the C-bar fairing and could not look over it. It looked better than the chopper bar in my opinion, but it did not work. Damn !

It looks good, but it doesn't work ....

Well, the stem of the XP was already in its lowest position, but is a rather long stem, so why not cut off some of it, that would make the C-bar come down a bit. I took some measurements and concluded that if I cut off some of the stem, the C-bar could be lowered a few inches, probably enough to look over it once installed. Well, I was wrong ! After cutting the stem ( and the riser ) short, the C-bar still ended up too high and I was still looking straight into it ! It also turned out that I cut off too much of the riser, so the stem could not be attached firmly anymore ! So far for trying to fix somehting by myself (I should have known better, you're absolutely right !) ....

This is how short I cut the handlebar stem/riser .... too short !

I sent Rans an e-mail yesterday asking to send me a new stem and headtube pipe, so it'll take some time before I can ride the XP again...
And oh yes, somehting else I learned the hard way : now I understand why the XP's chopper bar fairing is so much smaller than the fairing on the C-bar, it allows you to look OVER the fairing while riding your bike !!!

Rear light

Yesterday, I took a ride across the border to the Netherlands, to visit a Profile bicycle shop ( which is a major chain of bicycle shops all across the Netherlands and some here in Belgium ) to try to buy a LED rear light with a safe stop function (meaning the light keeps burning for a couple of minutes after you stop riding). Unfortunately, they did not have any. It's weird, 'cause a lot of Dutch manufacturers such as AXA and SPANNINGA offer rear LED lights with a safe stop function, but I can't seem to find them in any bicycle shop anywhere ! Out of options, I ordered one through the internet (on a Dutch bicycle shop retailer!), that'll cost me more but at least I will have one by the end of this week.

I rode my new XP for only a couple of times so far (mainly because of the rain -don't wanna expose my brand new XP to the elements right away !), but I got the impression that the 8-speeds which I have right now, are adequate ( I live in a flat area and every ride I take starts at home ). Once up to speed I ride in 6th gear, meaning I ride at a speed of 15,5 -17 mph. I only rode in 7th gear once, at that time my speed was around 19 mph, which is more than fast enough for me, since the XP is not supposed to be a racing bike. I have not checked the rear cog yet, but I can change that one easily (range is from 16 cogs up to 23 cogs).

Starting after stopping is gettig a little bit better, but is still not as fluent as with my other Stratus. Practice makes perfect, I guess ....

Building up the XP

Main goal for building up the XP was to outfit it with reliable and maintenance free parts. The Stratus is a bike I use for almost anything : mostly touring, but also commuting, doing groceries, cycling holidays ... This means that the way I outfitted the XP will not make it the lightest or the fastest, but it is a bike that hardly needs any maintance and is trouble free. Therefore I chose to have a hub dynamo (Shimano DH-3D70) instead of battery powered lights, so no worries about running out of power. The hub dynamo might cause a little bit of friction, but the comfort of having light anytime and anywhere is more important to me.
For the same reason I chose the Shimano Nexus Premium 8-speed hub instead of a classic drivetrain. I have the same hub in my velomobile which I rode over 6000 miles so far, without any problems. I know the ROHLOFF hub has a wider gear, but I think it is simply too expensive. To make sure that my gear is wide enough, I put a double chainring in front. I put a short cage Shimano 105 rear derailleur on the rear hub, to allow switching chainrings in front.


On the front I put a new Shimano 105 road crank, simply because it is a beautiful one. On the steering I put 2 Shimano twist shifters. I use Shimano SPD-pedals on all my bikes, so the XP is no exception.


I chose Shimano rollerbrakes for my braking system, simply because they are more than powerfull enough and almost maintenance free. Only once a year you just squeeze some grease in them and that's it. In front I have a Shimano BR-IM70F rollerbrake combined with the dynamo hub. The front fork of the XP allows the mounting of disc brakes, but has no pat on it to mount the brake arm of the BR-IM70F propperly. Stopping power right now on the front wheel is not powerful enough, so I have ordered the BR-IM75F rollerbrake instead, which uses a small adapter so it can be mounted using the disk brake braze-ons.


I have SCHWALBE's Big Apples on both wheels, both size 26x2.00. They're big but comfortable and are supposed to be puncture proof. They ride light and I have the same tires on most of my other bikes.
For fenders I chose SKS. I did not know whether to choose the silver or the black ones, but since the XP already had a silver front fork and steering, I decided to go for the silver ones.

Problems so far is mainly the twist shifter for the front derailleur : it does not twist far enough to allow the derailleur to stay in place on the biggest chainring. I cannot ride the XP using the biggest chainring in front, unless I keep the twist chifter in place by gripping it firmly (not comfortable ). This means that now I "only" have 8 speeds instead of 16 available, so there's still some work to be done !

Why a Stratus ?

I own and ride Stratus since 2000, which is a LWB (Long Wheel Base) recumbent from RANS. This is a American company that has been making sports aeroplanes and recumbents for years now, so they do have a long time of experience. I think the Stratus was one of their first designes and goes way back to 1979. It took me several years before I ordered a Stratus frame in 1999 through the German dealer, mainly because I did not have the opportunity to testride one. I already knew that I wanted that kind of seat on a recumbent (I don't like hard shell seats at all!) and what convinced me most to go for a Stratus were reviews I read in Recumbent Cyclist News (a very fine American publication). So I ordered and bought a frame set in 1999 and had it built up to my specifications (SRAM Dual Drive drivetrain, MAGURA HS-33 brakes and a SHIMANO hub dynamo for lightning). What I had read before, seemed to be true : it is a remarkable and very comfy bike ! I rode it over 17.000 miles in 3,5 years, which says something about how much I like it !

Last year, Rans came up with a dual 26" Stratus, the XP. Everything I read about this new bike was very positive and some even claimed that it is the best Stratus so far. I had to find out myself, so I ordered a frame set at the end of last year, directly from RANS. I had to wait a long time until the bike was completed, but today I could finally pick it up from my friends' place. I just rode it from his place to mine, which is only about 10 miles. My first impression of the XP is that it is a HUGE bike ! Both my old Stratus as my new one are size XL, but still the XP feels longer and bigger. The steering seems to be a bit further away, so I had to reach a bit more forward. I also had the impression that the bike rides a little less nervous, which might be because of the 26" front wheel. I can't tell anything about speed yet, 'cause I still have to put bicycle computer on it , that will be somehting for tomorrow. To be continued !