Thanks! It was a memorable ride for sure. Back when I made the switch to 700c on the bike, I wanted fast ~32mm tires which weren't really available in 26" and were only vaporware in 650b. Great idea with magnetic bottle for the recumbent seat! Which model do you use?

Thanks! Yeah, i swapped in a 700c wheel. It can fit up to a 32mm tire, but I had to grind down the mud guard mount to allow that to fit.

Haha, in fairness I can't do a wheelie on my road bike either. Only my hardtail. Not being able to bunny hop obstacles means careful piloting is needed. Some recumbents feel more vulnerable feeling than others. Mine is high, so my head is the same height as on a road bike. I feel uncomfortable and lacking visibility on low recumbents and don't recommend them.

Excellent choice! How do you like it? The Brevet was near the top of my list for my next bent but just got edged out. My old Carbent Raven was very light and fast, but still climbed slower than a cheap diamond frame road bike.

Ha! It's out there somewhere trying to find relevance. I wish them luck, but won't hold my breath.

It's a lovely area and great ice cream! I've heard so much about it, and my first visit there this summer lived up to the expectations. 5 stars.

Cheers! Chapter 2 don't offer an endurance bike from what I can tell, and don't seem to be doing much in the way of complete bikes. The 'all road' bike has clearance for 28c tires which was laughable 5 years ago. Pricing is way off for a brand with so little reputation and no real differentiating qualities in their products. Their about us page mentions 'boutique spirit', which just translates to 'needlessly expensive with few resources available for design and engineering' to me. I don't see how they are competitive in any space based on their offerings.

I have on previous bikes, but this one is padded by 3" thick dual density foam. It's highly effective, but also a very heavy solution. Kind of a theme with this bike.

@@jaredlash5002 🤣🤣🤣

You are absolutely correct, thank you. 1.2V, not 3.7. Should be ~11.5-12 watt hours total, given the voltage curve of NiMH. Sorry for the mistake. My next video is another light review (Magicshine EVO 1700) and it more correctly addresses battery capacity at different voltages.

I've found recumbents have a reputation for climbing poorly for several compounding reasons. First, power production at a given feeling of exertion has been reported at 10-20% lower on a bent even after time on the bike. It can be even bigger a gap at first. Bents tend to weigh more too. 4kg is a reasonable gap between similarly equipped versions of each platform, and a LWB matches the vibe of your Electra Townie pretty well. Another part is mental. Better aerodynamics on the flats leads riders to feel they match strength with riders who are actually stronger. This can result in getting dropped on climbs in dramatic fashion. That said, you'll get to the top eventually. Equip really low gears, leave the ego at home, and enjoy yourself. No shame in walking sometimes too. The LWB recumbents are said to ride like a dream.

DID IT AT 50 YEARS OF AGE RIDING FROM FLORENCE OREGON TO DILLON COLORADO ON A SHORT WHEELBASE RECUMBENT. 30 DAYS, 1800 MILES, 46368 FEET OF CLIMBING ON THE BIKCENTENIAL ROUTE...IT CAN BE DONE!

Let me know when you get that tire and tube delivered! I can't stand to be defeated by mechanical problems.

Good question! With the same tires and wheels, groupset quality, equal training adaptation, and with the seat reclined to reflect a flat course, I think this recumbent would be the same or slightly faster on a flat course (~500m climbing / 100km) riding solo. A recumbent built for purpose would be noticeably faster and would require more climbing (800-1000m/ 100km) for the Polygon to match it. Years ago, I did a test like this with a recumbent and a road bike with aero bars that weighed the same (high end carbon recumbent with bling components vs alloy 105 road bike). I used the same wheels and power meter and rode a 200km course that had about 2000m climbing targeting the same RPE. Weather was similar. The finishing times and perceived exertion ended up quite similar. 5 climbs with strava segments had the alloy road bike gain 5 minutes, so likely 8-10 minutes gap including non-segment climbs. The recumbent made it back up on the flats. Total energy expenditure, average wattage, and heart rate were less on the recumbent despite the same RPE. Lots of inferences to make from that, which match with my general experience over the years. I hope to replicate the experiment with a proper Overbiked recumbent next year. I have a flat and a hilly 200k course that I'm aching to compare platforms.

@@Garfie1d73 just checked my strava history, and I did have about 8 hours of zone 1-2 zwift in January and February when recovering from neck surgery in addition to my two outdoor rides the week before the 400. For context, two weeks before the 400 I set a PB by doing a 200km in under 8 hours on my polygon, but I just managed to finish the 400 on time. I've been riding recumbents for almost 15 years, but only have 1000km on my current recumbent in the last 4 years, including the 400k.

@@Garfie1d73 strava.app.link/1qnMht4MQNb

I have switched back and forth and done long recumbent rides with little recent training. And I once rode Rocky Mountain 1200 with someone who had just switched to a new recumbent a week or two before the event since he had neck pain and it was either try a Bachetta or DNS. He made it within the time limit, with some minor knee pain that ibuprofen kept in check.

The truth is recumbents are too cumbersome for city riding in many places, and they are not good for hills, so they often get pulled out of the stable for a specific event and used without much recent training …

@@davidlitt4246 Wow, really bold to try the Bacchetta with so little time to learn handling, get the fit set up, or even get used to grabbing the water bottles. Not to mention the lack of specific adaptation. Thanks for sharing. Cumbersome is perhaps the best word to describe them in urban environments. The open road calls to them though. I'll try to balance my training more moving forward.

Thank you! Brevets are a great environment for recumbent riding. The storage options tend to be quite pricey though. In the past, I've used large fanny packs from discount stores and bought a second hand Bacchetta Brain Box. Others have used backpacks designed for dogs where the bags rest on either side of the seat.

@@overbikedrandonneuring I just looked at backpacks for dogs and what a clever idea! I may go that route. The other thing I liked to see in your video was the hydraulic front brake set up. I’ve hesitated to make that modification because I wasn’t sure if the master cylinder could be mounted in a near vertical position like shown in your video. But obviously, it works.

Thank you for the kind words! I loved researching and making this video and am glad you found it helpful and enjoyable.

Didn't plan on writing an essay but... The non-Sprint Allez looks nearly identical to the Trek Domane AL in geometry, features, and pricing at a given spec (USA Prices). The Giant Contend AR is in a similar boat. All 3 are great looking frames with geometry and features I would happily recommend to any cyclist not actively racing. The Canyon Endurance AL is similar in fit and features, but appears to be more agile/less stable in handling which may or may not suit your preferences. Regional pricing and access to a nearby dealer may swing the choice. For example, here in Korea the Domane and Canyon all-in pricing roughly match the USA, but Specialized and Giant are $400-500 cheaper depending on sales tax. Giant and Specialized are well represented with shops, while Trek is more boutique, and Canyon doesn't service the country well or economically. Beyond that, at this price class there is a lot of value minimizing part swaps and maximizing ideal components. All 4 have tankish ~2kg wheels and mediocre tires, so that's a wash. Only Canyon got Tiagra spec correct. The Allez and Domane Tiagra gearing is too high, and Contend AR2 equipped cable disc brakes. All 12 speed 105 are nicely specced, but the Allez isn't offered in 105 yet. The Contend AR1 compromises with a heavier non series crank and Giant brand rotors. All said, I think the new 105 versions of these bikes are they way to go at this price class and you can't go wrong with any of them. 2 extra gears, lower gear options from stock, and likely superior access to replacement parts in the future are meaningful improvements over Tiagra. The Allez may be offered in 105 soon enough and will be great in that spec. Local pricing, shop support, and which color is pretty can make or break your choice from there. Cheers!

We can demand speed(efficiency), comfort, and stable but not sluggish handling from our machines, but they are all independent variables. If you scroll my video catalog, about 1/3 of them are specifically or tangentially focused on comfort for long distance cycling. This one directly addresses comfort as a goal: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-YqPXdcoDJpQ.html

Nice! Is it the Elfama Epoca road bike? I had a second hand one back in 2015 or so and loved it, but it was too small for me. Sold it to a friend who used it until quite recently, all without issue. They still make them, pretty much unchanged from that time. My wife had one for a few years too and it's in the thumbnail. Claris and Sora are underrated.

Wow, happy to hear the channel helped you get into randonneuring! I hope you enjoy progressing through the sport. I tell myself that if the sealant dries up, I haven't been riding enough. In practice, I don't ride enough haha. Need to set a phone alarm for 3 months instead of trying to remember when to top up. The 5000 AS sounds like a lovely tire though. A bit tougher than the S, so you should be comfortable with either tubes or tubeless.

Yeah, the sidewall cuts is a curious problem. With tubes, I would sometimes keep the tire despite sidewall damage, even when it should probably be replaced. Tubeless doesn't allow it if it won't seal. In a way it protects me from myself haha.

@@overbikedrandonneuring To be fair, I think that sidewall cuts can be patched from inside the tire. Glue a patch on the cut, basically. I haven't personally done this yet.

Good question! I usually ran race style tires before moving to tubeless, so speed performance is about the same, but with fewer flats. On the few occasions I used slow road tires like OEM brand tires, Clement Strada, or Schwalbe Kojak, there was a noticeable penalty. Anyone moving from something like a Gatorskin to a fast tubeless tire with feel a noticeable improvement.

As a wax enjoyer, it is truly wonderful for daily use but it still has some issues on very long rides. UFO drip had about 200km in an application, and Molten Speed wax has about 300-350 in good weather, meaning reapplication is required on most brevets. Either need to pack a new chain in a drop bag when that service is provided or have a suitably long sleep to let a drip wax top up mostly dry each night. We really need a quick dry drip wax solution to make it a reasonable choice for events of 400km or more, and shorter events that have a spat of bad weather.

@@overbikedrandonneuring I just bring a second chain if I think I'll need it, even if a drop bag isn't available. Also Silca offers a wax additive called the Endurance Chip which can be added to your hot melt pot to boost the wax longevity

Glad to hear you have a good experience with it on narrow tires, but that is not universal. I've had 3 instances of needing to swap in tubes on the road and maybe half a dozen other punctures that wouldn't seal without getting off the bike and pointing the puncture downward. A few of these seals would break when trying to reinflate the tire to a usable pressure, like the thumbnail image. One batch of sealant reacted poorly with the inner layer of the tires and separated, rendering it useless. These problems were with 28c tires (30mm measured). Since moving to 30c (33mm measured) and ~57 PSI, it's been trouble free, aside from sidewall damage killing a tire early, but it would have killed a tube tire too. I prefer tubeless for a primary wheelset and recommend it despite the extra faff and expense over tubes, which are easily repaired and reused. Aside from tools, cores, and sealant, GP5000 and Pro One are 25% less expensive (locally) than GP5000STR and Pro One TLE respectively as well. It can have downsides and still be the best choice. I'll check in on that Tyreglider if I ever get a set of tight fitting tires.

@overbikedrandonneuring yeah, the lower pressures definitely seem better with tubeless sealing. Big tears/ punctures blow out above 70psi even with ample sealant - in my experience. Have been a fan of the Schwable Ones TLE too...Conti 5000s just not worth the 2x price.

That was a topic in my initial recording for the Cycplus pump video, but was a victim of editing. CO2 really seems like a race-only inflation solution.

I've had no problems with up to a bit over 100 psi with 23mm thin tires. Sometimes you may loose pressure or have to turn puncture point down and in extreme cases add air a couple times. Of course, if you have some very large hole (more like a rip), no way to seal it with sealant but I once had about 6mm (1/4") cut that sealed. It held only lower pressure than normal but enough to get me home.

At higher pressures, sealant may be blasted out before it can coagulate to seal the hole. If you live in an area subject to thorns (lots of pinhole punctures) tubeless may still be worth it, but if your punctures are more likely to be tears from road debris which are harder to seal, then maybe not.

I am a rando dinosaur. I still have tubes. I hear a lot of horror stories about people trying to change a tubeless tire. A trick I do especially for winter time when riding through a lot of debris, is to put a slime tube inside my tires. That way I have the possibility for self-sealing and can still change a flat by myself.

Great questions! I believe sealing ability is linked to mostly pressure rather than hoop stress. If a hole is 2mm (.0031 sq. inches), then at 100 PSI the air would exert .31 lbs of pressure on the sealant. Having a wider tire means you can maintain a given hoop stress with lower air pressure, which would benefit sealant performance. I would guess the experience given by @hoggif to be normal for slim tires, but I would call that unacceptable performance and a failed system. When I was using 70 PSI and 28c (30mm measured) tires, several holes would seal on the road losing some pressure, but then give way at home when reinflating the tire. Testing by Fiets (German) found 8/14 sealants failed to hold when reinflated to 100 PSI on a road tire. This is with new tires and fresh sealant. Degredation over time should be considered too.

@@PBPkitty That is a neat trick. Do you put it through the valve of the inner tube? I had tried that a while back, but the sealant I used was pretty poor quality.

Yeah, I've almost always used race tires for randonneuring too, and they just make sense. There is a huge contingent of randonneurs who use slower, more robust tires though, and they are often the same people who would most benefit from a more efficient setup. I hope my videos can reach those folks and improve their experience.

hi, curious about the insert, never heard of it. can you elaborate what it is and where to find guide on how to install them?

I've seen those, but couldn't get past the fear of being unable to remove the tire for replacement on the roadside if needed. Thanks for sharing, I may need to look into how that has developed recently.

@@overbikedrandonneuring It would be incredibly difficult to remove and replace the tire on the side of the road. There are special tools to get the tire on/off the rim with the insert in place and I don't carry those tools with me becuase there's no need to take the tire off. You just continue to ride with the insert in place if you get a puncture that the sealant and/or plugs cannot fix.

I wonder if rim set and/or tubes makes the difference with floor pump. Some seem to have no problem, I've used tubeless for long time and rarely have success with floor pump and tend to use compressor for first installation. I have only sets on similar rims and haven't tried on anything other that I've used for ages. To me the the larges benefit of tubeless is having much less punctures. Sealant has always worked fine and sometimes I've only noticed after stopping a white spot indicating a puncture. Some times it has needed puncture spot down position for a short while. Never needed an inner tire that I carry as a backup. I don't race so most speed is not that important to me. I can keep the shape up with slower tires as well. I have no problem with any pressure, be it lower pressure with wider tires or normal pressure with thinner tires. I have found limitations in winter way below freezing point where any liquid tends to solidify. That is where I tend to run inner tubes as all year cyclist.

​@@hoggifnot only does it make a difference I think it entirely determines how easy it is to get the tyre on and off and inflated. Most brands of rim and tyre seem to be trending better, maybe with the exception of GPs. But their clinchers are a nightmare too!

I'm all for respectful disagreement, so thanks for the comments. Accepting the downsides and the learning curve in exchange for better overall performance has simply been my experience though. I used only a floor pump for several sets of tire installs before one set finally forced me to get the booster bottle after exhausting my bag of tricks (no valve core, straps, soapy water). It's great, and makes the seating process a breeze. Wish I had done it sooner. Ruined a pair of cycling socks and almost lost a jersey soaked by sealant out on the road and had to clean the bike covered in sealant multiple times. 3 times I've had to install tubes (and sometimes a tire boot) roadside after sealant and tire worms failed. Still have sealant in nooks and crannies of my office chair wheels and stains on my floor mat from user-error incidents. All that said, I'm still happy to use tubeless on my primary set of wheels. Surely dozens of flats have been avoided. It's just not been all sunshine and rainbows. Cheers!

Tubeless is significantly better RR than conventional butyl tubes. Latex and TPU tubes are pretty close to tubeless in terms of performance. Aerocoach has more testing data on this.

This was already done by bicyclerollingresistance (Search Continental Grand Prix 5000 S TR Tubeless Vs Inner Tubes: Rolling Resistance Tests). As Andrew says tubeless wins

Check the links in the video description to Bicycle Rolling Resistance. One test had latex and tubeless roughly the same. The other had fast TPU and Latex roughly equal, and Conti Race 28 Light butyl tubes only 1 watt slower than those. Top choices from each category are roughly equal, but TPU and butyl can be dogs if slow models are chosen.

I've had to do it a few times, but only with Pro One TLE tires. If you accept that it is a mess, it's not a big deal. They fit snug, but are manageable with levers. My GP5K STR were rock solid their whole life span. I love Cycling About content. I'll go check his sealant video. Thanks!

@@overbikedrandonneuring Tube type Pro Ones are the worst tires I've ever had to fit. Even after 1000km of riding they were almost impossible to put on my rims (moved them to another bike). Will probably retire them soonish before their EOL just because I'm scared of beng stranded with them

Sealant video is really good, I was going to suggest it also.

@Paksusuoli95 It all depends on the rim and tyre combination. I don't think tubeless are necessarily worse anymore either. Tubless offerings from pirelli, vittoria, and specalised all go on and off my brotanger rims easily for example, can normally do without a lever. Wouldn't go near GPs (clincher or tubeless) for this exact reason. Swap out and say goodbye to the anxiety!

@@pip119 Interesting experience. I use Farsports rims and have had a great experience with GP5000 and Schwalbe Pro One TLE. I suppose best fit tire varies by rim. I've heard some people describe Pirelli and Vittoria as being too loose of a fit to be confident. Bontrager rims have a long reputation for being tight fits though, so they must match well together.

I went for tubless as there's a lot of stuff that can puncture my wheels when biking to work. So the amount of preparation/maintenance for tubless is worth it for those days that when you're in a emergency and trying to avoid getting late to work is worth it.

I tell folks all the time that tubeless is AWESOME if you're a high mileage rider (Randonneur) who uses one primary bike and wheelset. Set it up with new tires, top off the sealant once halfway through the life of the tire, and you're pretty much good to go for a full season of pain-free brevets and other long rides.

Haha, I won't go away. But feel free to cycle as you enjoy. Check out your local audax/randonneurs club if you are looking for a new challenge. With your experience and toughness as a vet, you may quite enjoy it.

Hi Frank, Randonneuring is an ultra distance sport that I think is quite tough. It is the subject of this channel. To succeed with any buffer for problems that arise requires more than normal fitness. Lots of friends enjoy the sport immensely or were very interested to try, but several decided to quit or not pursue it further because it was too hard to be fun. I hope through sharing best practices for equipment choice, riding strategy, and perhaps a bit of training, that those interested in Randonneuring and other endurance cycling events can better succeed and enjoy their time on the road more, despite the difficulty.