Lightning Riders

I own a large frame Phantom and just purchased a medium P-38 Voyager. I can now setup the Phantom with rack, panniers, fenders and large tires. I'll use the P-38 with lighter wheels for group rides and the Phantom for shopping trips and load carrying.

I also have a Paul rear brake and 700c rear wheel for the Phantom, but may not use it too much now with the P-38 available.

I think you'll be able to fit on an extra-large Phantom or P-38. I really like the Phantom, but either bike may fit your needs.

I have many happy miles on my P-38. I've ridden across the United States, down the Mississippi, and other places far and near. I love being able to pack my Voyager in its suitcase and check it with me on the plane. Last summer I road from St. Petersburg, Russia to Istanbul, Turkey. I had no problems with my bicycle --- not even a flat! The roads were mostly terrible and the terrain and weather challenging. I was the only one out of 24 on a recumbent. I was one of 4 that rode all 2500 miles. You can read my blog and see lots of Lightning pictures at bikelizabeth.blogspot.com

Joseph,

I'm 6'3" and did weigh 250 lbs. After riding several styles of recumbents I wanted to buy a P-38 and noticed the weight limit. I bought the bike anyway and through riding and watching what I ate I got my weight down to 210 lbs. I've been riding my XL fame P-38 for going on 6 years and I've kept my weight around 210-215 lbs while averaging around 3000-3500 miles per year. I can't ride as much as I'd like to because of the snow and I have to carpool a long distance to get to work. So, most of my riding is after work and on weekends. I didn't buy my P-38 for touring, I wanted something that I would enjoy riding as fast as I was capable of riding. I wanted to keep up with my friends on their road bikes.

I've just used the Lightning seat bag to carry what I need for my everyday rides. I have taken my bike on several multi-day supported tours in the summer without panniers because I was concerned about the added weight. I've never ridden with a trailer, but I'd go that route if I was going on a self-supported ride rather than loading down my bike with panniers. That's just my opinion. Others may not think the added weight would be a problem.

While I haven't had any problems with the frame because of my size or weight, I have cracked the seat frame near both bolts that are used to hold the seat to the frame. And, I've broken spokes in the rear wheel. This was probably because of a combination of my weight, potholes in the road, skinny tires, and I inclined my seat a little too much. I took the seat to the local welder, had it fixed, I repainted and re-laced the seat, and I was riding the next weekend. I replaced my stock wheelset last winter with Velocity rims and opted for better hubs and more spokes than the stock wheels had. My new rear wheel has 36 spokes.

Other weight-related issues had to do with the seat lacing and the size of the rear tire. The seat lacing kept breaking. My solution was to double lace the seat using parachute cord and use heavy-duty zip ties every 4-5 grommets. That's worked real well. I haven't broken the lacing since. I switched to to tandem tire for my rear wheel and I haven't regretted it. I was trying to use a 23C tire like my roadbike friends. The ride was very hard. I kept increasing the tire size until I settled on a 32C tandem tire. I'm sure there may be a little bit more rolling resistance, but I can still pass the wedgies on our Saturday morning breakfast rides with this "fat" tire on my bike.

Rick Mandle

1) If you look on the links page of this site, there are articles by Paul Gracey and Bill Vaglienti about cross-USA tours. Paul used a P-38 with a full fairing, and Bill's ride was a Phantom. Other riders have used the P-38 without a fairing for long distance touring too. So it can be done.

2) I agree that the P-38 is adaptable to many different kinds of riding: distance touring with panniers, mix-it-up-with-the-roadies mode with skinny tires and light weight components, commuting to work, and the like. One of my P-38 bikes is set up in urban assault vehicle style, with front and rear suspension and fat tires. Good for the awful streets of Chicago. Not so good for steep hill climbing.

I think the more upright seating position of the P-38 (and Phantom too) make it particularly good for city riding.

3) I have a variety of bikes: 3 Lightnings, a Rotator Pursuit, a home-brew low racer, a beater mountain bike, etc. But if I could only keep a single machine, it would be one of the P-38s.

4) You will want to ride an extra-large frame, possibly with the longer boom. Tim can advise you.

5) If you go ahead a get a P-38, I think you will be favorably impressed. Of course, there is no way to be sure without putting in some real miles. The bike obviously is not for everyone. If you suffer buyer's remorse, you can probably sell the bike on relatively favorable terms. The Lightning P-38 has an intensely loyal following, and resale value is high. It is a classic recumbent design with some history behind it.

Hopefully you will join the Lightning cult though, and want to keep it.

Let us know how your trip to Lompoc CA goes, and what you decide to do.

Safe riding,
Joel