Thursday, September 3, 2009

Bike Lust - Thundervolt M1

Thundervolt Manufacturing is a custom shop that makes a beautiful carbon lowracer. The Thundervolt M1 is available as a frame kit that includes fork, carbon/aluminum tiller, front and rear brakes,headset and front wheel. You can see John Morciglio's ad for it here.

This is a beautiful bike and a dangerous thing for me to look at. Here are some pictures:
Thundervolt M1

Thundervolt M1

Thundervolt M1

Thundervolt M1 - from above



One of the things that intrigues me is how it has integrated storage under the seat and in the shoulder fairings. This bike is designed for racing but it is very beautiful and I find it quite alluring.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jeepers Duncan!
Where do you come up with these things.I originally started looking at your blog for your perspective on the Raptor cos' I was interested too. like you I also have a Corsa but I have always loved the look of a low racer and fwd doesn't seem to be an issue.
Now I have to have a regular peep at your site because you always seem to get the scoop on all things delicious with recumbents.
I need a bigger garage.
Rick.

Anonymous said...

Just notice this bike also uses Durano tires/tyres(?).
Another story...
Rick.

Duncan Watson said...

I like to look at bikes and I like the go-fast recumbents.

A lot of fast recumbents use Schwalbe tires since they are available in so many sizes. The Duranos are the updated version of Silvios and available in the common bent sizes of 406, 451, and 559. They are also available in 520 (24") which is one of the sizes that recumbents use when trying to get bigger wheels to fit smaller riders. The Corsa 24 for instance would use Schwalbe Duranos if I set one up.

I keep an eye on Schwalbe since good tires make a huge difference in performance. I recently switched to Kojaks on my Raptobike. Fatter at 35mm but also very nice rubber. The feel of the road is awesome, smoother, sticky, great cornering and fast.

Other tire manufactures are good too, but schwalbe makes it so easy to search their product line with this tool

Anonymous said...

Out of curiosity how do the Durano tires compare to the increasingly popular Kojaks.

Duncan Watson said...

I like both. I only have about 300 miles on the Kojaks so far but they are great tires. The Duranos are lighter and very tough. I find the Kojaks more supple, still tough and a very nice ride.

For me it smoothed out the road a bit and I am happy with the change.

Unknown said...

It's truly a thing of beauty, but ... how do you steer without hitting the chain?

Duncan Watson said...

Like many dropped chain lowracers there is chain rub when turning. The chain deflects and will run over the tires. As long as the turn isn't too sharp it will not be severe but it is something to be aware of.

My bike is a raptobike lowracer with FWD and it only has chain rub issues when making sharp rights.