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Press room - Recumbent & Tandem Rider 03/04/2003
HP Velotechnik in the news: the following text is an excerpt from the magazine Recumbent & Tandem Rider, issue 03/04/2003. We recommend to order the complete magazine from the publishing house to read the whole story.
RECUMBENT & TANDEM RIDER
MAGAZINE
Review #55:
HP Velotechnik
SPIRIT
By Erik Wilhelm
Bicycles are an interesting subject around my house. The latest test bike are regularly mentioned and talked about. Frames, derailleurs, wheels, brakes and shifters. Performance and style versus comfort and utility. Aluminum versus steel. Underseat steering versus above. And don´t forget the endless comparsions to my personal bikes. The whole deal is, I´m the one doing all of the talking. And there are my long suffering wife and daughters, dutifully listening. (At least I like to think there are.) But lately around home things are different. There´s a new spring in my step; a hint of a smile on my face. My wife loves the spirit!
Allow me to set the stage. While returning from a pleasant afternoon ride with my wife one Saturday she mentioned the usual discomfort from riding her bike, a Giant hybrid. Her neck, shoulders and personal parts. As soon as we got home I headed off the garage to adjust the seat on the Spirit recumbent, one of RTR´s latest test bikes. I then rolled up the driveway and invited her to hop on and give it a try. To my surprise she did! Not only that, she then proceeded to ride it up and down the street. When finished, she coasted up to me and the first thing she said was "This sure is comfortable!" "Of curse," I told her; "That´s why we ride these things." The following Saturday we went back to the same place for a ride, only this time with the Spirit. She had a much more enjoyable ride, and imagine my thrill to overhear her telling her sister later how much fun she had riding it. Now if I can just get Chuck to talk those HP people into making this "permanent" part for the RTR stable.
The Spirit hails from Kriftel, Germany, where HP Velotechnik manufactures it along with four other models of recumbents. In RTR Issue #4 John Axen reviewed the HP Velotechnik Speedmachine, a fully suspended hot rod that left us clamoring for more with its excellent performance. The Spirit is a short to medium wheelbase, above seatsteered recumbent designed with versatility and function in mind. It also features the "No Squat" suspension design which effectively eliminates any pogo action during hard pedaling. Similarities pretty much end at this point, though. Where the Speedmachine was low-slung and fast, the Spirit is upright and more practical for everyday riding and commuting.
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