Goodbye gravel bike, hello recumbent

Couldn't resist buying this when I came across it on Marktplaats. I have a weak spot for unusual - not necessarily good looking - retro bike designs and parts and this ticks pretty much all the boxes.

The frame is a Softride PowerWing 650. The bottom section of the frame is aluminium and full of weldporn. The beam is made out of carbon and is quite flexible, hence the softride.

The bike has Magura HS77 hydraulic brakes with Syntace thumb levers on the aerobars. The thumb levers seem to be integrated in the gripshift system somehow.

Plans for now are to change the saddle for something that I can actually sit on comfortably for more than 5 minutes. I also just bought a silver Cinelli Angel aerobar on Ebay to replace the rather uninspiring Syntace handlebar.

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the whole thing is wild but the thumb levers are a particularly esoteric touch! enjoy!

Just looking at that scares the shit out of me, while at the same time making me wish I had one

Just came across this on Pedalroom. It does look a lot better with proper tt wheels...

This is so bloody cool, man!

Some upgrades are coming my way as we speak: a pair of Spinergy Rev-X wheels and a Cinelli Angel handlebar.

Does anyone know what crank is on the bike above? Looks like some kind of Tune Bigfoot crank.

I loved my softride!
Just a complete bitch now to find beam spares... Like the main pin. When they develop play the rattling is fucking annoying.
But I love the ride of them.

By main pin do you mean the thing up front underneith the rubber cover? Haven't checked that yet, but might be a good idea.

Yeah... There's a pin that gets pressed in. Mine developed play, which you could feel if you moved the beam up and down. I tried squeezing a bit of rubber between the bottom of the beam and the top of the frame. Helped a bit.

The Spinergy wheels were delivered today. Luckily the condition is mostly like the seller described. No damage to the carbon and hardly any wear on the brake track. Unfortunately he failed to mention there is significant play in the rear hub. I haven't taken them apart yet. Hopefully the play is in the wheel bearing and not the freehub body. I have replaced bearings on these years ago and I think I actually have some replacement bearings still in the tool box.

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amazing.

That's wild! Pedals are yucky though. Not sure which kind of porn this would belong in....

Those shifters are mad! Love it, the Spinergys are perfect on it.

Looks great on the Spinergys. Are they clinchers or tubs?

Absolutely love it!!!

Sorted out the rear wheel play. Luckily the problem was easily solved by tightening the cup cone assembly just a tiny bit. I took the bike for a second ride right after fixing it, during which I tried to see what the brakes are capable of. The good news is that they are very capable. Bad news is that the brake pads didn't line up with the brake track (rookie mistake). So my pristine Rev-X's are already looking battered after their first ride.

@Thrust. Pedals are just temporary so I could take them for a spin while wrenching. I will take change them for my Look Keo's or silver Wellgo SPD pedals as soon as I am happy with everything.

@ricky2slicky. They are clinchers. I am planning to do some commuting duties on this bike as soon as I'm allowed to go back to the office again.

I am planning to do some commuting duties on this bike

So good to see practical, sensible bikes being put to good use!

Lol. Since I became a dad, the only serious rides I do are commutes. So I figured I could justify riding a fancy bike for commuting.

Nice. I've got a (way less silly but still reasonably silly) 650c Tri bike that I'm making my everyday/town bike. I've been looking for Spinergys here but the few pairs I've found here are way too expensive and mainly tubs.

Good call on the Angel bars! (you didn't pay full price on the one currently on marktplaats I hope)

Luckily not, although mine didn't came cheap either. I bought it on Ebay for around EUR 150 including shipping. A couple of years back you could find them on Marktplaats for like EUR 30. Apparently time trial parts from the 90's are also becoming vintage/retro.

Over the weekend I took the bike out for its first propper ride.

Not knowing I had a new bike, my mate had mapped out a route in the northern region of The Netherlands with loads of gravel and bumby roads. Not ideal for a bike on wheels that are know for exploding and tires 20c wide. Nonetheless the bike handled everything brilliantly. The beam suspension works amazing at smoothing out rough roads and the wheels also seem to be doing something good in the comfort section. Handling was also very good, quite surprisingly to be quite honest.

Yesterday I rode the bike over smooth tarmac. When I was riding at a higher cadence the beam did seem to be bobbing a bit.

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Think I've also got some spinergy bearings knocking about. Let me know if you need them. They were for a 700c set but they're presumably the same

Excellent project, will follow this. Looks of this bike are not my thing but I'm so curious to feel how this rides :)

This looks like an absolute deathtrap and I'm really jealous.