Product Showcase

Bacchetta Bella ATT features a fully triangulated frame

The Bella ATT is the new touring bike in the Bacchetta lineup. As an avid cycle tourist, I was excited to test this new ride. The design features a long, low, fully triangulated aluminum "truss" frame that will hold up to a hefty load and still remain stiff. I found the stiffness of the frame made for an efficient and speedy ride. The frame is plenty long to absorb road shock. And when the road gets extra rough, the cushy Recurve seat will take care of that harshness extremely well.

The pedal height is perfect for a touring recumbent. They're high enough that I can tip the seat to a fairly laid back position, yet low enough to make starts and stops a breeze. Being able to lay back the seat is critical to being able to comfortably pedal the bike all day long. If you can't lay the seat back, then you end up sitting too upright (on all your weight). This is fine if you're sitting down for lunch, but a real pain for extended periods. You need to be able to distribute your weight between your bottom and back for maximum comfort. We call this cradling and it'll make all the difference on longer rides.

Fast and smooth, the Bacchetta Bella ATT

Touring bikes (recumbent and upright) tend to be extremely versatile bikes. They are designed to carry a lot of gear and tend to have smart componentry suited to every day wear and tear (no matter what the weather is). I'd give Bella ATT designer Mark Colliton high marks on his new bike. The spec of the Bella ATT is fantastic and the frame design will allow a large load of up to 300 Lbs. (rider plus gear!). The Bella ATT will handle loaded touring with ease and the comfortable ergonomics will help the rider get in days and days (or weeks and weeks) of great touring. The seat height and pedal height set up the rider for a comfy fit, but it's really the stem and bars that finish off the fit so well. All Long Wheelbase bikes require large steering adjustments at slow speeds (6 mph or less). Colliton designed an ergonomic stem and handlebar combination that put your wrists in a natural position, allowing some slow speed steering adjustments with slight wrist movement. This makes for a much more stable feel at low speeds.  The B-Pivot riser clamp allows us to easily adjust bar position for a vast range of bodies.

I think the stiff frame, ultra comfortable seat and great ergonomics make the Bella ATT an excellent bike suited for a wide range of use (with touring at the heart of it). It also comes stock with high quality Disc brakes, as well as a good drive train with nice low gearing (real world!). The Bella ATT is available in two frame sizes to fit most everyone. Nice work Bacchetta.
Here's a video that I made while using the Bacchetta ATT for a shop warehouse run. In the end of the video there is a side view of me riding in front of the shop. Notice the easy, comfortable position my body is in. Pay special attention to my wrist and arm position. The neutral position of my arms will always keep the bike going straight with very little steering energy on the rider's part.

I cruise through downtown Minneapolis on route to the warehouse in Northeast Minneapolis. The route back I cut through the University of Minnesota, looping around the new outdoor stadium. Then I cross the Mississippi (again) and jump onto the Greenway Bike path. The Greenway Bridge is especially beautiful with views of downtown (while a light rail train runs under).

Check out the video on our youtube page: Bella ATT on youtube

The June century was scheduled for the last day of the month and was tagged "The Great Cargo Bike Century". Derek has a sweet Utilitarian Transports cargo bike. I have a most beautiful Larry vs. Harry Bullitt cargo bike.

The day before the ride I installed bar-ends, swapped on my clipless pedals, put on an XL stem and installed a cyclometer. Ready to Roll. I did add a few non-essentials for the ride: a couple of pink Flamingos and a cooler with ice, Izzies. San Pellegrino and a variety of snacks. I called Derek to see if he needed any help getting his UT ready to roll. The Heart of the UT is a Surly One x One (which we had converted to a One x Eight last week (see his new derailleur hanger here). Derek's response was to state the obvious in the world before the Bullitt: Cargo Bikes are not designed to do a century ride on. He's on for the ride, but he's going to pretend that his Surly Cross Check is a Cargo Bike : (

For a moment I panicked thinking that I might be setting myself up for more punishment than I could handle, but after a quick think (2 seconds) I decided I was right on track with the Bullitt as the day's steed. I thought for another 2 seconds about stripping off the deck from the Bullitt to save weight, but I decided that was silly and then as mentioned I ended up loading a cooler up (how often can I have fresh chilled grapes 80 miles into a century?).

The ride went smoothly and the Bullitt was a joy to be on, even at mile 99. I ended the day with 115 miles and put in a 5 hour day of work after the ride. The Gear range was perfect and the Alfine 8 speed hub shifted flawlessly all day long. The Bullitt is just a sweet riding bike that happens to be capable of carrying 200 pounds of stuff when I'm out and about.

This video is also available at our youtube page: Bullitt Century

See a Video of Derek's Utilitarian Transports Bike HERE

Last week we took delivery of Larry vs. Harry Bullitt cargo bikes. We have been anxiously awaiting these newly engineered cargo bikes. Homeland Security decided to put them in the slow lane of our customs office and about the time we were thinking they'd never arrive, a truck pulls up with the goods.

I had Bike Club at the local elementary school  that afternoon and thus raced to get one put together in time to ride with the kids (thanks for the ride Mary. I still can't believe I fit it into our undersized minivan). I hadn't ridden 25 feet and a boy yelled out of a crowd "cool bike!"). What a great start to this new relationship!

Now I've had a chance to shop for groceries, make a few runs to the warehouse, commute to work as well as just riding the Bullitt out and about with the family. My expectations were high (really high). The Bullitt has performed all tasks in an amazing fashion. It's fast as all get out, it's completely FUN to fly around on and then comes the cargo part of the deal. This bike can take your load with hardly a notice of it. My typical loads have been 20 -50 pounds and I'm telling you, it's effect on the handling is a non-issue. The bike has exceeded my expectations by a lot.

Yesterday I was at a stoplight downtown and someone yelled out "Hey guy, what is that?". I responded :"the future" as the light turned green and I took off with a smile. Believe me when I tell you that the Bullitt is special and it will push the Cargo-Commuter category of bikes well beyond its current position.

May was month #9 in the 12 x 100 Challenge (one century per month for a year). It was a busy month (as are all) and we scheduled the ride with a day to spare (whew!). So this past Saturday (May 30th) we set off early. For the first time in 9 rides we had beautiful weather (that's right, we were 0 for 8 as of Saturday morning). JOY!

Being that we have now completed the really challenging months I decided to add a theme to our May Century. I loaned Derek an Airnimal Joey D (drop bar Joey) and I rode my Airnimal Joey Explore 27 and we called it our Joey Century. The Airnimal Joey is a suitcase style folding bike with 24" wheels. I set up Derek's Joey D to match the fitting he has with his Surly Cross Check. I ride my Joey Explore every day as it's my daily commuter set up with fenders and  rack. I have fallen in love with this bike as it's a sporty rocket that can be nicely fit into a trunk with a simple 45 second "trunk" fold. I have suitcased it a couple of times to fly with it, but I don't travel enough to take huge advantage of that aspect of the bike.

The weather was absolutely beautiful  and the only hiccup in the 100 miles was me having a worn out rear tire and thus having to deal with those consequences (shame on me). Derek rocked out on the Joey in spite of the fact that he'd never ridden a folding bike. The transition was pretty seamless for him. I learned that my Joey is just as versatile as I knew. I've said many times that if I had to have one frame for the rest of my life I'd choose the Joey. I Love It!

We met up on the Greenway here in Minneapolis and we headed east through St. Paul and out to Stillwater. Then we followed the St. Croix river south to Afton before swinging west and making our way back to Minneapolis.

Bike Details:

Derek's Joey: 9 Speed Joey D with a bottle cage and a Carradice Nelson seat bag supported with a Utilitarian Transports UT Support Rack. 52 tooth chainring with an 11-32 cassette on the rear. Panaracer Pasela tires (24 x 1", 115 PSI)

Luke's Joey: 27 speed Joey Explore with Salsa Bar-Ends, bottle cage, rack and fenders. This Joey Exp;ore was built up with 520 wheels ("roadie" sized 24" wheels as opposed to the 507 wheels that are the stock Joey Explore size) with Intense Microknobby 24 x 1-3/8" tires.