Personal Cafe Recumbent Bicycle Setup By Bacchetta
For many people who are interested in what recumbents have to offer, speed is not the determining factor. Beginners are generally concerned with how easy to ride, safe, and affordable a recumbent bicycle is. The Cafe is the perfect option for many new bent riders. Designed from the ground up for comfort, ease of use and afordability, the Cafe gives a new rider the ability to go out and ride, day after day. Like all other Bacchetta Recumbent Bicycles, the Cafe is crafted to the highest standards and incorporates the same custom frame tubing as our higher end bikes.
Around the town or around the country, the Cafe may be the ultimate expression of cycling freedom. A great recumbent bike for everyday riding, the Cafe's horizontal seat adjustment and fine tuned handling, makes starts and stops a breeze for shorter folks and the stretched wheelbase inspires confidence in even the most novice bent rider. It's also just plain fun for riders with years of experience.
Café Riser Set-up
Our Café bike is designed with a very flexible steering system to accommodate a wide range of riders. The steering mast consists of our B-flex stem and a sliding riser that allows the rider to dial in their position in a number of ways. The bike comes from the factory with the riser pointed forward (curve faces away from the rider) and lowered to the base of the B-flex. This set-up will accommodate most riders with very little adjustment but should really only be considered a starting point for getting dialed into the bike.
Set-Up
Start by setting the seat in the proper position. The quickest way to find this position is to adjust your seat so your leg is completely straight when the pedal at its fullest extension with the heel of your foot on that pedal. When this distance is determined you will then move your foot down so the ball of your foot is in contact with the pedal, it is at this point that your leg should have produce a slight bend. (photo 1) Remember, seat recline affects your reach to the pedals. Reclining your seat even a little bit may require the seat base to be adjusted forward.
Next, set the reach. A good place to start this process is by adjusting the riser fore and aft (using the adjuster screw at the base of the B-flex) so that when your arms are fully extended your wrists can rest on top of the grips.
(photo 2) This should give you a slight bend in the elbow when your hands are on the grips (photo 3) and allow you make turns without having to over extend or lean forward. Rolling the handlebars up or down will affect the reach and overall ergonomics of the cockpit as well so keep that in mind. Also, the riser can be raised up to three inches if needed.
Extra short riders may need to have the riser cut down an inch or two to give them a clear line of sight. This is an easy modification for your dealer, or anyone that's good handy with a hack saw, to make. Remember, there is a little over three (3) inches of adjustment on the B-flex so don't worry about cutting the riser to an exact length to fit you. That said, we do recommend cutting in two (2) inch increments, or less, just to be safe.
Taller riders may want to consider turning the riser around (so that the curve in the riser is facing toward the rear of the bike) for an easier reach and to avoid introducing excess tiller into the system. (photo4)
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