Review of Rotator Pursuit

Steve Delaire could be the most cutting edge recumbent designer in North America today. With his Pursuit, Interceptor and Tiger, he is rewriting the books on performance recumbent design his own way. The Rotator bikes are low, have high bottom brackets, intermediate drives (I.D.) and sling/mesh seats. Oh yes, they are all fast.

Steve is one of the busiest guys in the industry. He welds the Easy Racer Gold Rush Replica frames, builds Lightning Stealth frames and runs Rotator Bicycles. Steve has ideas about recumbents, HPV's and performance that differ from most every other designer in the industry. He likes long and low high-performance bikes. The Pursuit is the result of years of R & D, prototyping and testing new designs. The idea for the Pursuit was the result of the evolution of Steve's race bikes, primarily the "Super-7," which up until a few seasons ago was still a production model. The Pursuit is simpler, easier to build and offers an upgrade path to the streamlined Interceptor. (1)

This review spans three years and several test bikes. We've had our ups and downs and certainly Steve Delaire must be tired of my picky rants about this and that. Well, the hard work has paid off. This is one heck of a cool bike. For '97 the Pursuit with the optional "Interceptor" fairing package is probably the best high-performance recumbent value in the world today.

DESIGN THEORY

Steve believes that recumbents should have 60% rear/40% front weight distribution and that the center of gravity (e.g.) should be low. He thinks that even 50/50 isn't good enough on a SWB/ MWB as the c.g. is too high, and that SWB recumbents are too "quick" feeling and handling at high speeds to suit his personal taste. Delaire said that most all race cars and motorcycles have 60% rear/40% front weight distribution. Basically, his experience shows that the c.g. for any given rider is at his/her belly button. He explains this by drawing a triangle. The lower points emulate the wheelbase and axle points and the upper being the c.g. He demonstrates that the problem with many SWB/MWB designs is that besides having the weight distribution too far forward, it's too high. He says this tends to weight the front wheel and potentially cause problems when road hazards such as rocks, ruts or irregular pavement are encountered. Now, if you bring the seat down to 14 inches, the c.g. comes down and weight distribution is improved and the triangle becomes lower. Interestingly enough, Rotator's new low-seat MWB "Tiger" fits all of Steve's design criteria.

There is no doubt that these points can be argued by those who bring the safety issues of a low seat height into consideration. How low is too low is a personal decision for each individual rider.

The Delaire designs are very seriously rooted in racing. In fact, Rotator is the most active recumbent/HPV manufacturer involved in racing at this time. Performance aspects of Rotator bikes are tested on the race tracks of the world. Steve Delaire has been to Japan to compete in the International Solar Federation's World Solar Rally where he took first place in the Production class this year on the "Solar Cat," which is a production model based on the Pursuit. The Rotator's also did quite well at the World's HPV Championships in Las Vegas, NV this year. Brad Duns won Junior Class-World Champion, Dean Pederson won World Champion in the modified class and Robert Gepford was a bronze medalist in the modified class. 1996 was the year for Rotator.

I am often asked which are the fastest recumbents. My advice is watch the manufacturers who actually race and have the victories and records. This is real, not just speculation.

FRAME/FORK/BARS

In a frame flex test where I held the brakes and applied pressure to the pedals, I noticed that the chain stay/boom joint rises and the stays flex. When riding and powering, I noticed the suspension bounce causes the frame to flex and the handlebars actually come back at you slightly as part of the flex-cycle. Delaire says, "this is an odd quirk that doesn't seem to matter much." The single braze connection between the chain stays and the main tube may be a concern to some as this is where all of the frame-flex/passive suspension originates. The Pursuit has a very active frame and no frame triangulation. Whether this effects the frame-life will remain to be seen. At five years, the Rotator factory warranty is shorter than we'd like to see though Delaire reports that there have been no frame failures.

TILLER STEERING

The custom steel stem and aluminum riser/ handlebar combination works well. It offers a reclining and telescoping stem/bar matched with an integral mountain bike style flat bar that is 20" wide (can be narrowed to suit the rider). I'm over 6' tall and had the adjustable handlebar/stem combo was set-out to 26.5 inches, which demonstrates just how this bike achieves the tiller effect. Riders must learn to control the bike's tendency to wheel-flop(4) by offering counterresistance as you get to the centerpoint. The Rotator's steering is rather heavy until the bike is pointed straight ahead.

New riders may question the refinement level of the Pursuit/Interceptor steering geometry, specifically as it relates to the wheel/fork flop issue. Delaire responds, "Anyone who questions the wheel flop hasn't ridden the bike enough to feel how stable it is at speed." Delaire said that he had experimented with different forks and geometries and the current set-up is the best.

Doing away with the "tiller" would mean more upper framework and cable (Super-7) or u-joint steering (Velocar). Another option would be remote steering like Kevin Haupt's "Pencil" homebuilt (RCN#18) or a USS Haluzak. All of these variations offer trade-offs and are more complicated. I once rode Delaire's Super-7 which seemed more difficult to manage than the Pursuit.

Because of the Pursuit's high bottom bracket, the seat must be farther away from the handlebars than on other LWB ASS direct steering bikes. For this reason, the Rotator steering geometry and handlebar set-up work well for the bikes design intention. However, it will be the "tiller" aspect of this design that may or may not closes the sale.

THE RIDE

The Pursuit is a lot like a race car as you climb down into the cockpit. The low speed handling is not the Pursuit's strong point. The wheel flop is very apparent at low speeds and getting going takes some practice. Once rolling, the Pursuit shows its personality. It gets up to speed quickly once you have mastered the 35-gear intermediate drive shifting. It does take more attention to the road than other LWB bikes. I was more confident at speed on the Pursuit as compared to other SWB/MWB test-models .

The comparison to the Easy Racer is inevitable. The Pursuit is noticeably lower. The height of the top of my helmet was 48" compared to our Easy Racer road test bike's 55" (6'1" rider). The low Rotator seat height and wheel-flop/tiller steering make the bike less user-friendly than an Easy Racer or Rans Stratus. The Rotator does not have the fluid handling grace of a Gold Rush Replica.

There is nothing quite like the speed of the Rotator Pursuit with the Interceptor fairing package. It's fast, stable and controllable. With the fairings, expect to cruise along at several miles per hour faster than an unfaired run-of-the-mill SWB/MWB recumbent. It is very comparable to a Gold Rush Replica with body stocking and Super Zzipper, though it's tough to say which is fastest. You can certainly pedal faster on the Pursuit with the 150 gear-inch top gear, though the Pursuit with fairing is a heavier bike.

Delaire tells a story of riding along side an F-40 whose rider was working overtime tending to the bike in a cross wind, while he rode his Interceptor one handed, eating a PowerBar.

DRIVETRAIN

Intermediate drives don't usually shift as well, or as quietly, nor are they initially as intuitive to use. Designers who use intermediate drives tend not to be fans of the Sachs 3x7 (three speed internal hub + 7 gears) which can optimize gearing with 20-inch drive wheels.

This version of Steve Delaire's Pursuit shifted better than any intermediate drive recumbent I've tried. Though it's still less smooth and quiet than most standard drivetrains. The system literally works like two indexed rear derailleurs. There are two chains, both shorter than a standard recumbent. It takes an hour or so to acclimate to the new shift style and having five ranges versus three on a standard 21 speed-and all are indexed!

The '97 version is improved over past models as the intermediate gear is fixed to the frame. The addition of the Shimano hubs and Hyperglide cassettes has improved the Pursuit's shifting. Most riders like the intermediate drive once mastered.

The chain tubes do add friction to the drivetrain. For a demonstration put the bike on a stand and backpedal. Though this does not seem to effect performance.

Some have questioned the life-span of the intermediate gears and bearings. Certainly, the system will need more maintenance than a standard set-up. For this reason, I suggest that users master the art of drivetrain maintenance, derailleur and index shifting adjustments. It will be a good idea to purchase some replacement parts considering the planned obsolescence of bicycle components these days.

BRAKES

SLING/MESH SEAT

The seat frame is elevated above a half-round tube that is hose-clamped to the frame. The concern about the hose-clamp fastening has always been the possibility of the seat twisting on its mount, as there is no fixed or flat track to hold the seat on a horizontal plane. During our time with this latest Pursuit, the seat slipped only once. It happened on the last test ride up our steepest test hill. Delaire said that he would not be replacing the hose-clamps anytime soon. Concerned about the hose-clamp reliability, I asked Delaire how long the hose clamps last, his response was, "At 80 cents each, who cares?" We recently heard comments from Peter Ross about hose clamps being used on Rolls Royce radiator hoses (The Trice has hose-clamp seat fasteners). I've also heard the stories about how they are used in the aerospace industry and survive rocket crashes. I still don't like to see them on $1300+ bikes.

WHEELS

OPTIONS

As for front fairings, a Super Zzipper ($190) is offered as well as the Interceptor front fairing ($400). The Pursuit's new "Interceptor" package ($900 in fiberglass) consists of the front and rear fairing pictured. We were able to try three Interceptor tail fairings sets over the course of the last year. The first was a prototype done in natural clear fiberglass with no color or trim. The second was pigmented with yellow coloring (bike on page #5). It had a misaligned mounting hole, an extra hole as well as spider web cosmetic cracks. The fit, finish and trim needed some improvement.

At the People Movers Bent Bash we were able to see a new kevlar Interceptor fairing that was done in natural gold, with gold edging and a black stripe down the rear fairings center-seam. This version had all of the flaws corrected. It was trimmed better and near perfection.

I didn't care for the appearance of the pigmented fiberglass yellow finish of our test fairing. The easiest way to correct this is to upgrade to kevlar. The natural gold tone is beautiful and the stuff is very strong. There is no weight difference between the standard fiberglass and kevlar. The fairing front and rear set weighs nine pounds. The kevlar material upgrade adds $250 to the Interceptor package ($125 each, front and rear). The design and performance of these fairings is excellent and matched perfectly to the Pursuit design. This package makes the "Interceptor" one of the hottest performance recumbents in the world today. Delaire has put a lot of time and effort into the design of the Rotator fairings.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Rotator is a small company and long delivery times are possible. Our experience on the early test bikes was that Rotator places the emphasis is on functionality and performance more so than aesthetic refinement and details. The most recent bike we saw at the Bent Bash was a truly refined machine with lots of attention to detail.

My only pet-peeve with Rotator bikes are those hose clamps. The lack of a seat-mount/clamp that locks the seat onto a horizontal plane leaves the possibility for slippage under heavy torque. Correcting this would be the optimum update for this bike.

The only thing left to rant about is that sometimes unpredictable KMC chain. See the continued chain rant in the Rocket review (this issue). The best fairing choices are the custom Interceptor fairings or a combo AeroPannier and Interceptor front fairing, though I highly recommend the upgrade to Kevlar for the Interceptor package.

RANT OF THE LONG AND LOW

After you've ridden a LWB for many years, you start sketching your ultimate dream bike. For fans of the long and low, your considerations can be a lower seat, sling/mesh seat and a slightly higher bottom bracket. If you want to make he bike more compact, you add smaller diameter wheels. If you want wider gearing you add an intermediate drive. Amazingly enough the bike comes out looking like a Rotator Pursuit. If this is you, you've found your bike.

Footnotes (1) A Pursuit can be upgraded to an Interceptor with the purchase of front and rear fairings. (2) The Coaster is Rotator's one speed square tube version of the Pursuit. This is the least expensive LWB recumbent that is listed in our '96 buyers guide. (3) We were unable to define the 'flex" until we did a stand still flex test while an onlooker carefully studied the frame movements. We did this by sitting on the bike, applying the brakes and pedal pressure at the 1:00 crank position. We found that the bottom bracket cannot really twist or flex inside that big 2" tube, so the flex comes at the chainstays and chain stay/main tube intersection, which causes a slight frame arch-thus built in suspension. (4) Wheel flop makes the handlebars swing right or left without rider input. The Rotator bars will swing a full 12" without help from the rider, When you initiate a turn, you actually need to hold back on the bars to control the turn and keep the flop from going too far! (5) The Rotator Pursuit has a similar riding position to a Lightning P-38 in a LWB format. The main difference is that the seat recline is more adjustable.