RCN 72.32pg - Steve Briggs

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<strong>RCN</strong> Road TestThe Reynolds T-Bone:Extreme TitaniumBy Bob Bryant“My objective is to make high-performance bikes for the 21st century that willroutinely outperform the modern road bike (ref: 19th-century designs).T-Bones are designed (1) to be road- worthy; (2) to minimize the powerlosses inherent in the recumbent position, with a stiff light frame with shortboom, Euro carbon fiber seat, ergonomic and aerodynamic USS; and (3)to maximize the recumbent’s inherent aerodynamic advantage.”—George ReynoldsIf you want to go fast on a recumbent, thereare just a few folks to see in the USA. One ofthem is George Reynolds. George is basicallya one-man custom shop. He builds Euro-styleperformance machines with a unique Americanstyle.The Reynolds T-Bone is an all-new design.In mid-2002 George discontinued his Wishbonein favor of the lighter, more racy titaniumT-Bone. T-Bones are very custom bikesbuilt to suit the owner. George can build themwith dual 650c, dual 26” (559 mm), dual 700c,a 26/20 or George’s favorite, a 700/20. All ofthe T-Bones are light, fast, and a bit on theextreme (very laid back) side. They are alsothe most refined bikes we’ve ever seen fromReynolds.SystemsFrame—All T-Bones feature an oversizeovalized 2” x 3” titanium main frame thatweighs less than 3.5 pounds. The frame isovalized on the front to accept an aluminumboom tube. George is a master metalworker.Our T-Bone was expertly welded and a veryattractive bike.There are some detail aspects of the bikethat might raise some eyebrows:• Our 26/20 USS version has continuouscable housing (no cable stops or nakedcable).• There are just a few welded-on cableguides (hence cable routing via zip ties).• Some of the component mounts are notthreaded (and use bolts and nuts).• The T-Bone logo is just basic black stickonlettering (though, in contrast, there isa beautiful brass Reynolds Weld Labmasthead on the boom).• Seat struts still have 6061 industrial-brandmarking on them.Though these items detract somewhat from theappearance (refinement) of the bike, they areitems that are all functional—and serve thissmall custom builder well. In the style of <strong>Steve</strong>Delaire of Rotator, George Reynolds designsbikes the way he feels they should be designed.This type of builder is all too rare in the bicycleworld these days. They deserve our respectfor doing what they do.The T-Bone is an exquisitely simple bike.Like the Bacchetta Aero, the T-Bone is designedto accept the best components that thediamond-frame road racers can offer. Our T-Bone came with a CroMoly fork, thoughGeorge can fit a much lighter carbon fiber roadracing fork to his dual-650c/700c models.Steering—Our 26/20 was outfitted withReynolds USS. Unlike most USS, it should notnegatively affect performance. It works bestwith the laid-back Euro seat (which doesn’tlike to go very upright). Our bike came withcustom-width aero-shaped linkage USS. Thebars themselves are the shape of an airplanewing. “L”- shaped bar-ends are attached to theends of the custom bars, and Shimano bar-consdo the shifting. The linkage appeared very robust;micro adjustments are made through athreaded rod. The steering geometry of thisbike had a distinct road bike feel that took afew minutes to get accustomed to and then feltvery natural.The Reynolds seat forward mount/USSmount is Velcroed and hose-clamped to thebike’s frame. It was rock solid once tighteneddown. Hose clamps aren’t my favorite mountingdevice for $2,600 bikes, but they workwell.We did note about half an inch of verticalplay in the USS handlebars. Though this initiallyconcerned me, it’s not noticeable whileriding.OSS steering is also available. With thissystem, the cables are routed inside the titaniumframe.Finish—The T-Bone comes in a natural titaniumfinish. The aluminum on the boom hada fairly rough finish.ComponentsDrivetrain—Our drivetrain was a high-endmix of Ultegra (rear derailleur + bar cons), XThubs, Campy Veloce crank (a classy touch), aSora front derailleur, and a Ritchey Logicheadset. The only marginal component on thebike were Tektro brake levers. They workgreat, but this bike deserves better.George can sell you just the frame ($1,900)and let you build up the bike, or you can chooseevery component on the bike and build it tosuit. My suggestion is to start with the basicspecs and list upgrades on your purchase order,as some component substitutions may bemade (as they were on our test bike).Gearing will also be something to stronglyconsider. The stock gearing is fairly high onthe low end (27-118 gear inches with an 11-28cassette and 30/40/52 crank).Chain Management—For such an extreme/laid-backdesign, the chain path was16 Recumbent Cyclist News 72
managed very nicely and with no drastic bendsor angles. The chain travels over a superbReynolds-built dual- groove chain idler in anX-path (bottom chain over the top, upper chainunder the bottom of the idler). The tolerancesbetween the chain and chainstays are tight, andI would guess that there might be chainscratches on the frame at some point. To addressthis you might want to discuss gearingchanges with George.Braking—The T-Bone’s stretched-out SWBframe with a low center of gravity offered excellentbraking. The front brake was an OdysseyA brake, the rear an Avid disk ($150 upgrade).Stopping power was exceptional. Afront disk is also optional.Wheels and Tires—Our wheels were of excellentquality: Sun rims mated to XT hubs.The rims or spokes did not match on our testbike. The rear rim/spokes were black, and thefront were silver—a match would be betterlooking. The Vredestein S-Licks 1.3’s were fastand smooth. I was impressed with these tires.The only downside was that a reflective stripon the 26" rear tire was peeling off.ComfortThe stock seat on the T-Bone is an Optima orM5 carbon fiber Euro shell. They are light andeasily mount to many recumbent models. Ourtest bike had an Optima seat with George’sstick-on Astro Turf pad (no kidding). Georgelikes this, and I honestly had no problem withit either. George says it is heavy and adds about1.5 pounds to the bike. He had this to say aboutthe Astro Turf: “I like the Astro Turf for a seatmaterial, it’s not the lightest but it is the bestfor three reasons: (1) it breathes very well,when your coasting you can almost hear it; (2)it holds me in place very well, all 10,000 bladesworking together; (3) it cushions me goodenough. Most of my customers love it; and afew hate it. One recent customer, Ed Calcutt,told me `the crab grass has to go,’ and now heis using a light poly foam pad. Ed’s a strongCat 2 roadie.”“Laid-back Euro shell seats like the M-5carbon fiber work best for top performance,but I can put your favorite seat on if youchoose,” says George. He has also installedaluminum-framed Lightning P-38 mesh seats(OSS model only). These sit more upright (lesslaid back) and offer more comfort, though perhapsless performance on this bike. George hadone customer who used a Rotator mesh seatas well but eventually went back to a carbonshell seat for performance.ErgonomicsLook up the word “extreme” in my recumbentdictionary, and there will be a picture of the T-Bone. This is not a negative comment, just adescriptive term. The bike has a 55” wheelbase(off the charts as SWB’ wheelbases go),a 19” seat height, and a 28.25” bottom bracketThe T-Bone controls are fixed positioncustom bar-endsThe Optima seat comes with an AstroTurf padding. This was the most uprightwe could position the seat with theUSS model.height. This means that your footies are morethan 9” above your hiney. I’ll bet you allthought this was against my religion. Well, Iactually enjoyed riding it, and if you’re so inclined,this bike works as intended.I adapted to the seat angle and even the bottombracket height. What I couldn’t handle wasthe lack of neck support. With this super-reclinedposition, you must drop your chin toyour chest to look straight ahead. Having aneck/shoulder injury from my previous career,I just don’t adapt very well to the added neckstrain. A headrest or slightly upright positionwould have helped a lot.George says, “I recommend to my customersto start doing sit-ups and set the Euro seatsat a maximum of 30 degrees and then graduallylower as they adapt to the more efficientposition.” He continues, “The human body isamazing in its ability to adapt. I have and cancomfortably do centuries with this position; myheart legs and lungs seem to fatigue a lot fasterthan my neck. The passive rear suspension ofthe T-Bone helps smooth things out. The Wishboneswere a much harsher ride.”I’d wished I could have tried the OSS versionwith a Lightning seat (more upright ridingposition) and/or George’s headrest option.User-friendliness—This is not the forte ofthe Wishbone. This is an all-out performancebike. However, it was not as difficult to rideor get accustomed to as it might appear. I wasable to get going on my first attempt, and Irode it all over town in traffic and out into thecounty for a good test.Ride and HandlingStability—The T-Bone is a very stable SWB.Initially it may feel twitchy, but this is mainlybecause of the upright head tube angle andlinkage steering, and I quickly got used to it.The bike then becomes steady, stable, and veryfast. Even with our requested “fat” tires, theT-Bone ride will rattle your teeth. This is a verystiff bike. George says the T-Bone offers a lessstiff ride than the previous Wishbone. He hadthis to say about the ride, “On the T-Bones Iprefer the 700 rear. Notice the titanium chainstays are much longer (21” T-Bone vs. 15"Wishbone) and seat supports connect furtherforward from the axle. This, combined withthe springier material, greatly reduces roadfriction. On the big bumps I sit up and let thebike absorb the shock.”Maneuverability—I didn’t find maneuverabilityto be one of the T-Bone’s strong points.Being that far laid back with feet skyward isnot the most maneuverable or user-friendlyriding position. Though it is not advertised assuch, this is an all- out performance bike.Weight—At just over 26 pounds (no pedals),our T-Bone was not superlight. Georgesays that you can cut 1.5 pounds by not usingAstro Turf, 2 pounds by going to lighter racingwheels/tires, and even more weight byopting for a carbon fiber fork and the lighterhandlebars. The listed weight for a T-Bone is23 pounds, but this will vary according to howyou set up the bike. One owner of a dual-650T-Bone with a Lightning seat (lighter than thecarbon seats) claims that his bike weighs just20 pounds.PerformanceThe T-Bone is a very fast bike, certainly oneof the fastest I’ve reviewed. It is most likelyfaster than any of your average CLWB, LWB,SWB, LWB, OSS or USS, trikes, or tandems.The only bikes that may be faster are the onesin its own league—which are actually quitedifficult to find, as most lowracers are heavierthan the T-Bone. From a different design standpoint,the highracers will give the T-Bone arun for its money, and the folks who can’t (ordon’t want to) adapt to this rather extreme andaggressive machine can opt for more traditionalfast recumbents like an Easy RacersGold Rush with a Zzipper fairing. Many wouldargue that the GRR isn’t in the same league,and perhaps it isn’t, but for some of us “nonadapters”it will still be faster.“There is no question in my mind that my700/20 USS T-Bone is the fastest,” saysNovember/December 2002 17
Page 10 and 11: RCN Road Testbe mounted on the seat
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Page 14 and 15: Lay back and relax. The Penninger T
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Page 28 and 29: Come Visit Us — Over 100 miles of
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RCN 72.32pg - Steve Briggs

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