Lightning Phantom Recumbent Bicycle - Record Setting Design.

(This review deals with an earlier version of the Phantom, which had slightly different standard equipment compared to this latest model listed for sale here. Refer to the Lightning Cycle Dynamics website for a complete list of current specifications and equipment.)After twenty years of riding recumbents, I started thinking about what features I liked from each of my bikes, and what I would want in my next bike. As I worked through my wish list, I realized that the only bike that incorporated each of the features on my wish list was a SWB recumbent. Not surprisingly, it wasn't long before I was investigating recumbents from Lightning Cycle Dynamics (lightningbikes.com). Lightning has been making SWB recumbents for decades, and their tremendous success in various forms of racing really opened my eyes.As luck would have it, I came across a great opportunity to obtain Lightning's entry-level bike, the Phantom. Even though I owned five bikes at the time, my wife enthusiastically supported me in getting it.First rideLightning had my measurements, and so had the bike generally set up to fit. They did a great job. I hopped on the bike and off I went. The steering and front-end geometry, being different from my other bikes, took literally a moment of acclimatization, but that was it.SeatLightning bikes come with a hybrid mesh seat. That is, the seat back is mesh, but the seat bottom is padded and covered. The combination is incredibly comfortable, both when riding and when stopped. You may wonder why a seat has to be comfortable when the bike is stopped, and the answer is that the backs of your legs have to get around the front and/or side edges of the seat so you can securely put down your foot. Traditional "lawn chair" style recumbent seats with mesh seat bottoms slung between two side frame members, can make this difficult, or at least uncomfortable.Unlike some recumbents, the only seat adjustment on the Phantom is the seat angle, and even that is pretty restricted. Even so, tilting the seat all the way back resulted in a seat angle that seemed perfect.One of the great trade-offs for not having a bunch of seat adjustment is that the seat stays where you put it. On some of the other recumbents I've owned, it has been a real challenge to get the seat "clamp" to do its job properly.SteeringIf you've spent any time around recumbents, you know that in most cases, adjusting the seat means making other adjustments to match. The Phantom was no exception in this regard, as additional recline moves the shoulders away from the handlebars and the feet away from the pedals. Adjusting the handlebars was trivial on the Phantom, thanks to the locking tilt stem and riser. Even though I eventually set the locking tilt stem back to its "straight" position, it was great being able quickly and easily to change the angle of the riser and then lock it down. While the Lightning seems to favor the "praying hamster" arm position, I like a little straighter arm -- without being in the "superman" position. After getting the angle on the locking tilt stem the way I wanted it, I set the height on the riser, and then the angle on the handlebars for the exact cockpit position I sought.Compared to my LWB recumbent, having the steering pivot so much closer gave the first impression that the Phantom was much "dartier" (is that even a word?) than it actually is. During the first couple rides, speeds over 32 mph seemed mildly insane, but knowing that the Phantom's older brother, the P-38, has been ridden for long distances at much higher speeds gave the needed assurance to press on. Now, even faster speeds seem perfectly controllable, and there is no sacrifice in low-speed handling.If I had to guess, I would say that the Phantom's excellent road manners come from the fact that the seat does not move back and forth on the frame, so Lightning can set the frame geometry the way it ought to be, and it remains that way for riders of all shapes and sizes. Even with the extension boom on the large frame of my Phantom, virtually all the rider weight is right where it's supposed to be (according to Lightning), relative to the wheels. If you've even ridden a recumbent that felt different depending on seat position and even seat angle, it may be difficult to imagine the alternate universe of the Lightning recumbent, but it works great.The biggest accommodation I've had to make is that, as on the high racer, I have to pay attention to avoid hitting my foot with the front wheel during tight, low-speed turns. On my LWB bike, interference simply isn't possible, although I tried not to develop the bad habit of having the "outside" foot forward on turns. Apparently, I was a little lax in this regard, as I have managed to hit my heel with the front tire once on the Phantom. Fortunately, I was going very slowly, so my unplanned dismount was benign, if undignified.FrameWhere Lightning uses a space-frame design on their flagship recumbent, the P-38, the Phantom uses a steel monotube. The P-38 is said to be stiffer than the Phantom, but if the frame on my Phantom is flexing, I can't see it or feel it. This is one stiff frame, and it's the most flexible one Lightning sells!The front boom is adjustable for length, and the bike comes with an optional chain tensioner, developed by Lightning to allow riders to share bikes during its record-setting Race Across America (RAAM) attempt in 1989. The most difficult thing about adjusting the boom is that Lightning does not provide any witness marks on the frame or boom, so you have to set the rotational alignment by eye.DrivetrainThe Phantom has 27 gears (three in front and nine in the rear), handled by Shimano.My Phantom has a 50-cog big gear in front, which is low enough that most of my riding is done in this gear. The downside is that I spin out at around 35 mph, and the bike is clearly capable of more. I love bombing down hill, so not being able to maximize my descending speed is a bit of a bother, but considering that I'm "bombing" only about a minute or two in each hour of riding (if that much), it's a trade-off I'm willing to make to be able to leave the front shifter alone.As mentioned above, Lightning offers an optional spring-loaded chain idler that keeps the chain at the right tension as you change the boom length for different riders (or for yourself, for that matter). I expected it would introduce a lot of drag into the drivetrain, and thus slow me down, but if it has I can't detect it. It does make an odd noise, though, which I found unsettling at first because it's not coming from the cranks nor from the rear derailleur. After a few outings, I became accustomed to it to the point that now I rarely notice it.Wheels and tiresThe Lightning Phantom comes with Primo tires, about which I know nothing. I can tell you one thing, though: They feel faster than the stock Kenda Kwests that came on my Bacchetta Giro 26 (and faster than the Schwalbe Marathons that replaced them, too). The carcasses of the Primos seem very thin and flexible, so maybe that's their secret.MiscellaneousAs mentioned above, I got the optional Ballistic 600A suspended front fork, which according to Lightning weighs two pounds more than its stock cromoly fork. I've never ridden one without the suspended front fork, but with the fork the ride is extraordinarily good. Between the padded seat and the Ballistic fork, the Phantom is the most comfortable recumbent I own.I ordered my Phantom with the Lightning seat-back bag. The first thing you notice about this bag is how securely it attaches to the seat. This is no after-thought, slip-on bag; it's really lashed on. There's a black strap on top that allows you easily to carry the bag after undoing the Velcro attachment strips underneath. The bag features a large-ish main compartment, and three pockets. At the top, there is a vent you can use for headphone cables, if you ride with your headphones in.The Phantom experienceSo you've probably gotten by this time that the Phantom is comfortable and stable. For me, it's also fast. Now, I'm not a fast cyclist, so "fast" is a relative term. However, in 2010 I did an organized 30-mile ride for time on my Bacchetta Giro 26 and finished in what I thought was a great time ... especially compared against my previous year's time on a then-new Trek 7.3 FX. I kinda pushed myself, though, and my knees were upset with me by the time I was done. In 2011 I rode the Lightning Phantom in the same ride over the same course. With the more upright seating position (and a little less training time), I was expecting to be slower, so I didn't push myself the same as I had the year before. Even so, I crossed the finish line with a lower time (and -- obviously -- faster average speed) than on the Giro 26.And then there are intangibles. I like the position of the handlebars. I like having a place to mount my Garmin cycling computer. I like being able to put my feet down at stops and feel really secure.There are a couple of areas in which I did not expect the Phantom would improve my cycling experience, only to be pleasantly surprised.The first thing is that I didn't expect it to be far easier to clip in (using Crank Brothers Eggbeaters) on the Lightning Phantom than any of my other bikes, and that includes the uprights I used to own. For some reason, when I put my foot up, the cleat is almost always lined up with the pedal -- or at least close enough that I can wiggle them into engagement. For that matter, even when I don't get clipped in immediately, I can still pedal just fine as long as needed (to get across a busy intersection, for example). I put this down to the relationship between the seat height and the bottom bracket height. With other bikes there's always a lot of hunting to get clipped in, but not with the Phantom.The second thing I didn't anticipate was how much easier it is to get started on the Phantom when going uphill, on when you accidentally stop in a too-high gear. Again, this must have something to do with the relationship between the seat height and the bottom bracket height, although there may be some part of the bike's inherent stability (in this case, as it applies to low-speed balance and maneuvering) that contributes, too. On the Bacchetta high-racer the bottom bracket is higher, and on the LWB Slipstream the bottom bracket is lower. On each of these, starting from a dead stop going uphill (or even in the wrong gear) can be a real adventure. With the Phantom, there is tremendous latitude in terms of hill steepness, gearing, mood, energy ... you name it.One other benefit of the upright seating position afforded on Lightning recumbents is the excellent forward view over the handlebars. With the seat fully upright (as it was on my bike when it arrived), forward vision is excellent. Reclining the seat reduces this benefit to a degree, but my forward view is still better on the Phantom than on the Giro 26, in part because the Giro 26 seat reclines so much more.The result of all these seeming disparate factors is that exploring unknown territories is much more relaxing and fun on the Phantom than on my other recumbents. With the trike, the worry was wandering onto an unfriendly road. With the high-racer and the LWB, there was always the nagging fear about rounding a corner to find an inconvenient stop sign or steep hill. With the Phantom, it seems that anything is manageable.ConclusionIf the high bottom bracket on a traditional high racer is not for you, check out the Lightning Phantom. Tim Brummer, the brains behind Lightning Cycle Dynamics, has been building and racing recumbents for decades, and it's clear that nothing appears by accident on a Lightning product. Before you buy, I encourage you to check out the Media and Racing sections of the Lightning website, to get a sense of the history of Lightning's current products offerings, and the thoughtfulness that goes into its bikes.