Experiences
04.2011
Paul Worden, Australia
I’ve owned a fairly large number of recumbents in a search for the ‘ultimate’ bike. I live in a small city on the South Coast of Victoria, Australia. The nearest dealer for recumbents is in Melbourne, five hours drive to the East. It’s not possible for me to test ride a range of recumbents so I’ve imported a few. For one reason or another they have not compared favourably to my Lightning P-38. The Lightning short wheel based design is more than twenty years old. It’s a comfortable and relatively fast steel recumbent with a well deserved reputation for efficient climbing. With deep rim wheels and small tailbox, it’s as fast as more modern designs.
There have been two main problems with finding a replacement for the P-38. Sadly most recumbents are poor climbers. My opinion is that it’s because there is too much flex in the bottom bracket or that a very reclined seat reduces rider power on hills – or both. These are contentious issues and not everyone will agree with me. I can only say that this has been my experience. Mesh seats don’t help either. Putting plywood across the back of the P-38 mesh seat showed more than ten percent increase in power output as measured on a TACX trainer.
After purchasing very light and low recumbents and not liking them, I’d become a bit desperate to own a bike that had the features of the old P-38 design but modernized. I wanted a higher bottom bracket, a seat that was adjustable in recline and something a bit lighter than the 13kg Lightning. I couldn’t afford the Lightning R-84. I’d almost decided that I’d have to build my own, when I saw the Metabikes Metaphysic.
The first thing that took my eye was the braced crank tube. The second thing was the minimalist design. It looked much more like a diamond frame road bike than most bikes. Owners were reporting that this bike climbed exceptionally well. The bottom bracket was high, so this should be a powerful and aerodynamic bike. The seat was adjustable right down to a neck straining twenty degrees – or you could set it to a more comfortable and hill friendly thirty or forty degrees.
The second thing was the availability of a frame set. That would reduce the freight costs and I already had a high end DF road bike that I could strip for parts.
Build something? Or buy what appeared to be exactly what I wanted at a cost probably cheaper than the tools and materials that I’d need to build what might turn out to be an inferior mess. That question is what we call in Australia a ‘no brainer.’
I ordered the frame set and Metabikes had it at my door in five days. I can’t get parts from Melbourne as quickly as that!
The frameset arrived in an impressively compact box. The frame and parts were very well packed. There was a cord pre-fitted through the frame for the internal derailleur cable. I fitted the bike with an FSA SLK 33/50 compact crankset with a ceramic bearing. Rear cluster is a Shimano 105 ten speed 12/25. Derailleurs are Shimano 105. Chain is a KMC. Shifters are Durace ten speed bar enders and brake levers with Cane Creek Cross levers. The wheels are FELT deep rim TT; they’re a bit heavy but stiff anf aero.
The only problem I had with assembly was the front fork crown race. It wasn’t pressed on and I didn’t have the correct tool. Neither did the local bike shop. I eventually got it fitted ‘manually’ and we won’t go into that in detail!
This frameset will accept a variety of wheel sizes and can be built to a weight as low as 10.5 kg. My build with the fiberglass seat is 12 kg. In retrospect I should have bought the carbon seat because it’s going to cost me more in the future and the bike deserves it.
It’s always interesting to get on a different bike for the first time. There is a tendency to grip the handlebars too tightly because you don’t know what to expect. The result will always be a bike that feels ‘twitchy’ when in fact a little relaxation calms the bike (and rider!)
The handling is among the best of any of the ten or so recumbents that I’ve owned. At seventy kph the bike feels as if it’s on rails. At speeds above forty kph, you steer the bike by using the slightest possible body weight. At thirty to forty kph, I can place my fingertips lightly on the handlebars and feel the bike self correcting over the road surface. I think with very little practice the bike could be ridden hands off. Slow speed handling feels the same as most recumbents. The Metaphysic is fitted with a tilting stem so it’s an easy bike to mount and dismount. The higher bottom bracket can be intimidating but the seat isn’t too high and getting the feet down is straightforward, due in part to the more upright riding position.
The stability when riding is superior to a well known Dutch built high racer. Observers tell me that there is a lot less oscillation of the bike and rider.
The handling is superb; the ride firm to rough depending on the road surface. The Bentrider review says “Not the smoothest of rides.” That’s a fair comment. It’s no worse than any aluminium framed DF but as a recumbent rider you feel it more. On a smooth road it’s ….smooth but over chipseal the rider can feel a lot of vibration that’s transmitted up the rigid seat stays and straight into his or her back.
The answer is to fit 25 or 28 mm tyres and on the worst roads run them at 90 psi. Also use a vibration taming seat cushion. I’m using a two layer ‘Ventisit’ with a third layer in the top half of the cushion. Others may prefer ‘Zotefoam’ and Metabikes have just released a softer cushion. This is a fast sports bike. If you want ‘cushy,’ find a recumbent with rear suspension – but it won’t be as fast.
Did I mention that this is a fast bike? We expect recumbents to be fast. Sadly not all live up to our expectations. This bike climbs like a goat. It’s at least 1 kph faster than my benchmark P-38 up a six to nine percent gradient. For the first time I’m beating DFs up hills and I’m not yet acclimatized to the higher BB.
Speed on the flat and downhill will depend on your preferred seat angle. With the Metaphysic seat set at thirty degrees it descends as fast as a P-38 that is fitted with deep rim wheels and a tailbox – which descends as fast as a mid racer without a tail box. I believe that over mixed terrain it would be faster than most low and mid racers. Recumbent speed across the design range is quite dependent on terrain. The most aerodynamic recumbents may excel on smooth flat roads and be unbeatable down hills, but suffer on climbs.
I sum up this review by saying that I love this bike. I’ll accept the firm ride as a trade off for speed. I like the no nonsense looks, the twin 700c wheels, the incredible acceleration and climbing ability and the rock steady handling at speed.
View a short video here:
09.2009
Bentrideronline
By BRYAN J. BALL
Managing Editor
Back in the early days of ‘BentRider… way back in 2001… we specialized in reviewing a lot of low volume, exotic machines from far off lands. We’re still one of the only web sites that has reviewed multiple bikes from the German builder, Zox. We were one of the first in the USA to get our hands on bikes from Challenge, M5 and Nazca. However, in the last few years, we’ve had to focus on some of the more mainstream companies as they’ve become more prolific in their offerings. So when I was offered a chance to review the new MetaBikes MetaPhysic from far off Spain (a country not usually associated with recumbency) I felt a bit nostalgic.
MetaBikes first announced themselves on our very own message board two summers ago. At first it appeared that they may be yet another small manufacturer with big ideas jumping into an increasingly crowded small pond. Despite all it’s great attributes I will reveal later on in this review, the MetaPhysic (the company’s first model and the one they released to the masses on our board) is not a very pretty thing. I’m ashamed to admit that they did not get the best initial reception. In defense of some of my more aggressive message board posters, we’d seen this sort of thing before. Small company… a lot of bold claims… and more often than not the bikes never actually see the light of day. However, MeaBikes kept plugging away and I kept receiving press releases and details. When they offered to send me a bike I was expecting some rough edges and a sort of “work in progress”. I was wrong. This new company delivered me a light, fast, well refined machine that really blew my socks off.
I think that the smartest thing that MetaBikes did was go for an aluminum frame. A lot of these small manufacturers seem to be opting for carbon fiber lately and more often than not, that causes more problems than it’s worth. Aluminum is easier to work with, usually more reliable and almost always cheaper. There is some carbon here and there such as the rear seat stays (taken from a high end road bike manufacturer), the seat and handlebars (from Velokraft), and the fork (from 3T) but all of those bits are outsourced to companies that have a great reputation in working with carbon fiber. The aluminum bits that MetaBikes makes themselves all look great. The welds and machine work are smooth and the triangulated frame is definitely plenty stiff and strong.
The MetaPhysic is only offered in the USA as a framekit for now so I won’t get into the components too much. I only bring them up at all as a point of reference. With mostly Campagnolo Centaur components and some pretty trick Mavic Ksyrium SL wheels, the MetaPhysic weighed about 21 pounds on the nose. That’s not bad at all for a bike with an aluminum frame and boom.
Assembling the MetaPhysic was very easy. I know this may not sound like much, but given that the bike is usually only offered as a frameset, I was not very optimistic that the machine would be easy to build up. I was very relieved when it turned out to be such a breeze and it gave me some hope that this may turn out after all.
The MetaPhysic has a pretty short wheelbase for a highracer and that caused a bit of concern amongst observers. I admit that there were a few times on higher speed descents that I thought the bike felt just a bit twitchy but I blame that on the narrow handlebars more than the short wheelbase. Other than that little caveat I have nothing else to report in the handling department. The MetaBikes handled pretty much like most of the other highracers from the “big boys”… No better and no worse.
The focus of this Spanish recumbent is speed. To that end, it’s only available with road brakes and there isn’t much room for skinny tires. The narrow carbon fiber handlebars are also quite purposeful and don’t leave much room for accessorizing.
Even thought it may not be as versatile as some of the other highracer offerings, it definitely does achieve its goals. The MetaPhysic is a very fast recumbent for sure. On our usual test loop it was the second fastest highracer ever. Only the Carbent Sea Dragon was quicker. The MetaPhysic is an outstanding climber. The frame is one of the stiffest I’ve ever been on and when combined with the light weight, it becomes a pretty potent hill conquering weapon. The closed position offered by the very high bottom bracket and slightly more upright seating position is also outstanding for generating a lot of power. This also makes the MetaPhysic a great bike for sprints. The aerodynamics are pretty clean with the narrow handlebars and nothing rolls quite like a dual 700 highracer so flat land speed is also quite impressive.
The MetaPhysic is more about speed than comfort but that doesn’t mean it’s a torture rack either. The very high bottom bracket position will take some getting used to and if you’re already prone to numb toes, it’s probably best to avoid this one. The stiff frame does transmit a fair amount of road imperfections directly to the rider but the large 700C wheels and carbon fork and seat stays to help alliviate this to a degree.
I was speaking to a recumbent dealer friend of mine the other day and we were talking about the fact that many owners of higher end recumbent bikes often upgrade and modify their bikes quite heavily before they even leave the showroom floor. Ordering a framekit like this is probably ideal for that type of rider. The MetaPhysic uses the same wheels, brakes and derailleurs as your high end road bike that may be sitting in the corner collecting dust so swapping parts is pretty easy. All you’ll really need is some flat bar shifters and brake levers and you’re in business. If you’d rather go with 650C or 559 wheels, MetaBikes can provide brake adapters for those size wheels as well.
A lot of these “hardcore” riders also like to have something a bit different than their friends and riding partners so they may appreciate the exclusivity of a rare bike like the MetaPhysic. The downside is not having a stateside dealer to help you out with any issues you may have. That said, there’s nothing about the MetaPhysic that’s really any different than any other recumbent out there so it shouldn’t be difficult to work on. If you’re looking for a fast, purpose built speed demon that no one else at the trailhead will be riding the MetaPhysic is definitely worth a peak.
MetaBikes MetaPhysic RS
Highs - Wickedly fast, Exclusive
Lows - Not the smoothest ride, Hard to get a test ride
MSRP - Approximately $2500 for a framekit
More info - http://www.meta-bikes.com
(Thanks to Fred Larimer for the pics)
05.2009
Arueda.com
The on-line magazine Arueda.com is testing the MetaBikes recumbent. They are publishing their evaluation of this peculiar road bicycle in a series of articles.
Arueda.com is a publication highly specialized in road bicycles, triathlon and racing, with a deep technical knowledge.
Review their articles at Arueda.com, or directly at the link:
07.11.2006
Marc Xicola
On 5th November I was lucky to test briefly the MetaPhysic recumbent bicycle at the Barcelona-Sitges ride. I send you some descriptions and sensations from this test since I found it's a worthy product:
It's a short recumbent bicycle, very short, has nothing in excess and lacks nothing, with 700c wheels, light (a bit over 10 kgs) combining aluminium and carbon parts, it's excellent to navigate on the asphalt. A recumbent with sportive blood without being low. Quality is like any manufacturer from the north of Europe. The sensation is like there is no bicycle, is it a metaphysic bike? I say that because the frame is almost not visible while riding... like entering in a fusion homo-machine state.
Ideal to retire definitely the traditional road bicycle and change it for the MetaPhysic.
Marc Xicola is cycling enthusiast an active difusor of recumbent cycling, particularly over Internet.
Visit his Web sites: Recumbent Bicycles - BR’Spain and The Recumbent Bicycles
Nenad Jovanovic
Nenad Jovanovic, mechanic of Probike shop, puts the MetaPhysic to test.
