Review of Rotator Tiger
"I've Got A Tiger By The Tail" Buck Owens

By John Axen

Don't ask me why anyone in their right frame of mind would grab a tiger by the tail but I got exactly what I asked for when I submitted to the boss my wish list of the recumbents that I wanted to test ride.

Sure enough, a couple weeks later the boss called me and stated "You got your wish but you better be nice to this kitty because it is very sensitive about having its' tail touched". In fact I would have believed Chuck if he had told me that it was difficult to finish the assembly due to the fact that it was continually pacing back and forth in its' shipping box just roaring to get out. At this point you've got to be asking yourself: " What is this clown talking about anyway?" I'm talking about the Tiger recumbent, designed and built by Steve Delaire, Santa Rosa, California-based Rotator Recumbent Bicycles.

VISUAL IMPRESSIONS
The Tiger is a short wheel-based (SWB), over the seat steering (OSS), performance-oriented recumbent. This particular Tiger has a beautiful sky blue powder coat applied to a straight, large boomed, chrome-moly frame with monostay chainstays and a straight blade chrome-moly fork. Attached to the frame by way of stainless steel hose clamps ( yes, I said hose clamps which I will discuss in detail later) is a welded chrome-moly seat frame with breathable mesh cloth . The back part of the mesh is attached to the seat frame by way of solid cord and the seat portion of the mesh is attached with elastic cord to provide additional comfort. There is a set of rear seat supports which attach to the rear fork drop-outs and yes, there too Rotator utilize stainless steel hose clamps to connect the supports to the seat frame.

What really distinguishes the Rotator from other recumbents is the drive line, which consists of the first chain between the cranks and an eight speed mid-drive cassette which is mounted mid frame. From that cassette another chain from the inner most cog goes back to another eight speed cassette on the rear wheel. The Tiger utilizes two Shimano 105 rear derailleurs and a single chain ring to handle the shifting, which allows for a wide ratio of gear changes and never a bad chain alignment. The wheels are 20 inch rims (406) mounted to Shimano hubs with a wheel base of 42 inches and are stopped by Shimano Vee type brakes. Changes for 2002 models include the fore mentioned double eight speed cassettes and twin eight speed twist shifters to handle the 64 gear ratios, a new chrome-moly rear bending stem, and beautifully swept back aluminum handlebars which are reminiscent of those on a 1945 Indian motorcycle.

The side view of the Tiger shows that the seat height at 20 inches is quite a bit lower than the crank height of 26 inches. There are water bottle mounts on the frame near the seat in addition to multiple areas to clamp extra mounts. Our Tiger came with some really cool extras which added to the already very sleek package. Steve Delaire crafted a beautiful seat-mounted tail box constructed from black coroplast which is a very light plastic type of cardboard appearing material. In addition a very aerodynamic Mueller Windwrap front fairing attached by some newly designed mounts created a very sleek looking package. Another fine detail about our Tiger was that the wheels were balanced by the application of thin solder wire wrapped to certain spokes on both wheels to allow them to rotate smoothly at high speeds. I am not sure if the Schwalbe tires our Tiger came with are stock or not but they will handle over 110 lbs of pressure, have a nice smooth tread pattern and are very sticky on the pavement. They are a great compliment to the Tiger. Two words to sum up my impression of the Tiger without even riding it would be SPEED MACHINE!

THE RIDE
Before we get into the actual ride characteristics of the Tiger I need to confess that I had some reservations (FEARS) When I first got into recumbents I did allot of reading into design concerns from those who had been experimenting with human powered vehicles and there seemed to be a consensus that the crank height should not be much higher than the actual pivot of the hip when seated. Some of the reasons listed were: power loss when the feet were elevated higher than the seat which would affect climbing and acceleration, and actual numbness of feet and legs due to lower blood flow .
Even before I first sat on the Tiger I had some preconceived notions that I should have left on the pages of those chat rooms I read on the internet. And when I did sit down there were those beautifully swept down bars but I didn't know how I was going to get my clydesdale thighs to fit within them. How was I going to steer at slow speeds . . . or any speeds? I had always used handlebars which were more flat or just slightly angled. It's not that I am opposed to change - just falling down.

With these concerns in mind my first ride on the Tiger was planned for the dark of night on a very seldom traveled street in order to avoid being run down or even seen falling down! I sat on the firm seat, placed a foot on the pedal, looked around to make sure no night-time critters were watching and pushed forward on the first pedal stroke and then another, tentatively, and in just a straight line.

Somewhere along this street I was going to have to make a turn. A couple of good strokes, coast, keeping my thighs away from the bars, and then a wide U turn. Wow, I made it and it really wasn't that bad. And you know what? I hadn't really paid much attention to the crank height due to the self imposed distraction of the handlebars and my thighs.
It's kind of like when you are very young and you have to take out the trash and it's very dark out. All the noises and shadows seem greater than what they actually are and you realize that you are talking yourself through the task 'til it is finally finished and you're back in the safe glow of the porch light. Aw shucks, that wasn't so bad!

After several runs up and down the street and making minor seat and bar adjustments I was really excited about going out for a real test ride, but it was after midnight. I guess I got a bit carried away.

I rushed home from work the next day, got dressed in my finest Lycra, (you've got to look fast at least) and headed out for my first public appearance on the Tiger. The first few yards were a little wobbly and then I remembered to let go of my death grip on the bars and relax a bit. After all, that is the trick with any recumbent! Going through the gears, gaining speed, I found that there really is no wrong gear combination with the double cassette mid-drive. I realized that one of the major advantages of the mid drive is that it accomplishes both a very low gear for climbing and a very big gear for high speeds.

These extremes worked to my advantage many miles later when riding with groups of riders. The shifting is very smooth and relatively quiet. The miles I put on the Tiger on that first ride eliminated all of my preconceived notions, and helped me to be more objective.

The other riders on the road that day provided me with some entertainment as well. The combination of the low seat, sleek tail box, and Mueller fairing caused comments to range from "far out", "cool bike", "what's that" to blank stares and total distraction to the point of near collisions with other riders. The Tiger was very fast and nimble and I enjoyed the acceleration. A word of caution is necessary at this point. I learned very quickly that the Tiger is a very quick and fast handling recumbent that handles like it is on a rail at times and loves to be slammed into turns almost like a skier carves into a very fast slope. It is also a very sensitive recumbent which requires smooth movements in both the application of power and steering. You need to pay attention because it will respond quickly to the input you give it whether it be good or bad. After saying that, I found that my learning curve adapted quite well to the Tigers' personality. I found myself wanting to chase down other riders as well as providing a hard target for those who wanted to chase me. This Tiger likes to run down its' prey. Now if only my body was able to match its' abilities! Twenty miles later and with a more casual return home I began to realize the stiff frame transmitted power efficiently to the rear wheel, and while the road was bumpy the seat absorbed the jolts well.

While the back is very comfortable it provides a firm support to apply power to the pedals. At the same time the more elastic nature of the lower seat soaked up the bumps quite well. I said that I was going to address the use of the stainless hose clamps and here it is. Hose clamps are inexpensive and do not require additional welding on the frame which may weaken it. In addition, I found the clamps to function flawlessly and provide great flexibility in fine tuning the fit. To those who might think they look cheap, forget about it. My second ride on the Tiger was with fellow recumbent rider "Big Steve". We played the usual cat and mouse games, often trading the lead position. I was in the lead at a pretty good clip and " Big Steve" pulled in close behind me to draft and found that there was absolutely no advantage, and in fact may have been a disadvantage. I had heard over the years that a well designed tailbox could be as efficient as a fairing, smoothing out the flow of air around and behind the rider. We had never realized what a great advantage that was. Most of the home-brew tail boxes I had seen were pretty hoaky looking and no way was I going to have one on my recumbent. Steve Delaire has created a very sleek and solid box for this Tiger and now I am hooked! It is very cool and with the addition of the Mueller Windwrap fairing there is not much more one can do to be more aerodynamic.

I wanted to get some other opinions from other experienced recumbent riders so "Big Steve" took the Tiger for a week of riding with our local road club. You've got to understand that Steve is the only recumbent rider to regularly show up on the local club rides. This may be a slight problem in that he doesn't look "normal" and is often the one they want to "hammer". We have got a very fast group of riders who just love to try dropping Steve, but quite often it is he who pushing the pace.

On one particular ride of about 60 miles Steve unleashed the Tiger. They were going along at a very good clip and Steve worked his way up toward the lead rider who was pacing the pack at between 34 to 36 mph over the fast course. As Steve approached, the leader glanced over at him and slightly picked up the pace while showing a bit of strain from the effort. Steve truthfully responded with "I can keep this up all day. I've got 8 more gears to go!" Needless to say, the lead rider was astonished. It was Steve's first ride on the Tiger and it was a 60 miler! He paid the price later but it was worth it. His comments on the Tiger were: "It loves to carve into tight turns and stays in them 'til you tell it to straighten and is ready for another in just the opposite direction." "It accelerates very well and is stable on fast downhills." "You can push big gears or spin smaller gears. The Tiger handles both tasks equally". He also agrees that it is a very sensitive bike and you need to pay attention to how you treat it With the stiff frame and the pedal position it is a good climber and a very stable descender which still requires attention. We both agreed that the Rotator Tiger would make a great daily rider or even great for touring.

PARTING SHOTS
After riding the Rotator Tiger nearly 300 miles in a little over 3 weeks time I have come to some conclusions about both the Tiger and myself. I think that taking Buck Owens 1969 hit " I've Got A Tiger By The Tale" as the title was quite appropriate. In his lyrics he says: "There ain't no way to slow you down" and "It looks like I've got a tiger by the tale". In the Tiger I found a recumbent that can make me shine and use my talents to their fullest but at the same time humble me with its own personality. I found that I cannot rely on preconceived notions but must instead rely on the balance between man and machine. The experiences I have had with the Tiger can best summed up as a relationship. Or at least as best as one can have with an inanimate object.

Who should ride the Rotator Tiger? I believe that just about anyone with some refinement can grab the Tiger by the tale and be rewarded with many years of adventure and reliability. In fact, I met two young ladies who both own Tigers. One who has toured from coast to coast and found the Tiger to perform flawlessly. The other lady is a newer owner who found that Steve Delaire will readily make modifications to fit the unique physical nature of individual riders. In her case Steve modified her Tiger with a fork to handle a 16 inch wheel which allowed her feet to reach the ground better. Steve has also made the Tiger available in several different configurations which provides different weights and components. Now here is the big newsS.. The Tiger is now available in a 3.2 pound titanium frame upgrade Now if that doesn't make you techno-freaks drool. So be a little bold and grab a Tiger by the tail but just make sure it doesn't have orange fur and stripes! Now Boss, about that Christmas wish list of mine. I want to modify it a bit. I would like to see something in titanium and a mid-drive under my tree. With my luck it would be something in unobtainium!!!!!

Contact: Rotator Recumbent Bicycles, 3200 Dutton, Suite 215, Santa Rosa, California 95407
Phone: 707-591-0915 FAX: 707-591-0916. On the web at: www.rotatorrecumbent.com.

John Axen can be reached at jaxen@rtrmag.com.