comments below:
"Frank Calloway @earthlink.net>" <flcallowayemail1<nospam> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:(Note that I've posted this response to inquiries about the P-38 at
various
Quoted message said:times. Loyal P-38 owners insist that I'm maligning a great bike, but these were my honest
impressions.)
please, we do want "honest inpressions" and not someone just making stuff up
Quoted message said:
Jim,
I bought a Lightning P-38 XT without having ridden one and it was the most disappointing bicycle
I've ever owned. Note that I'm comparing it to an upgraded RANS V-Rex purchased from Angletech..
lesson: never buy a bike without first riding it.
Quoted message said:
The Lightning seat is nice, and the P-38 is a couple of pounds lighter
than
Quoted message said:the V-Rex. But I've never seen a bicycle with more design or component problems than the P-38. For
example:
* The downturned handlebars make absolutely no sense on a bike without a body stocking. They're
always in the way when turning sharply, especially because the bar-end controls get in the
way too.
I love the downturned handlebars, after the geting used to it phase, I find them the most
comfortable of any of my bikes I've owned. While it is a closed cockpit, I rarely bump anything,
where you properly fited?
Quoted message said:* The brakes (Odyssey A-brake on the front and Shimano XT V-brake on the rear) are simply awful in
comparison with the Avid V-brakes on my V-Rex. They're spongy feeling and difficult to keep from
squealing. (Shimano XT V-brakes, which the P-38 uses on the rear, are notorious for squealing.
Even
Quoted message said:Shimano's Web site says you probably won't be able to stop them from
making
Quoted message said:noise.)
* The shifter for the front derailer is friction, not indexed. The
friction
Quoted message said:screw kept coming loose and threatening to fall out on the ground. (I probably could've fixed this
with LockTite but the design is poor. The shifter needs a captive screw.)
you just have the damnedist luck, don't you?
Quoted message said:
* The rear triangle on a P-38 is so "tight" (tubing is too close together) that there's minimal
clearance for the brake shoes. When the brakes are released, the brake shoes almost immediately
hit the frame. (This is one
of
Quoted message said:those things you'd have to see.) It makes it difficult to add any toe-in
to
Quoted message said:the brakes without them rubbing on the rim. Also, even when the brakes are fully released (the
cable is unhooked) it's a battle to get the tire out between the brake shoes. I can't imagine why
Lightning would build
something
Quoted message said:so mediocre unless the frame design worked better before V-brakes and they don't want to spend the
money retooling the frame.
* I found the Lightning tilting/locking steering riser much less useful
than
Quoted message said:the one from RANS. First, the position I wanted was in between two of the ratcheted increments.
Second, when you loosen the Lightning steering
riser,
Quoted message said:it immediately wants to flop forward into your face. In comparison, the
one
Quoted message said:from RANS has a fixed (but adjustable) forward position and simply swings forward for convenience.
the P-38 works best without the tilting riser as originaly desined
Quoted message said:
* The P-38's funky handlebars require equally funky, custom-bent brake levers. The levers provided
by Lightning lack the "power" (mechanical advantage) adjustment present on others levers used
with V-brakes. I like the ability to tune the performance of the brakes.
I can't argue, the P-38 must use the custom-bent brake levers, BUT they have always worked great for
me, and again, I find this setup vary comfortable
Quoted message said:* Riding the P-38 didn't feel that much different than my V-Rex. I didn't get on the P-38 and take
off like a jet, or anything the least bit
dramatic.
Quoted message said:If it outperformed the V-Rex at anything, I failed to notice it.
ok, the V-Rex I had was prety stock, and my P-83 is maxed out, so I can't compair with the same
componet set, but I find a WORLD of diferance in the performanc of the two.
Quoted message said:
Given the above, I quickly realized that Lightning's vision of the perfect bicycle was
considerably different from mine. I probably could've fixed
most
Quoted message said:of my concerns by rebuilding the P-38, but I was thoroughly disgusted and priced it for a quick
sale instead. (Actually, I was anxious to sell it before I gave in to my impulse to have it
crushed into a paperweight.)
A nicely upgraded V-Rex costs about $1000 less than a P-38 XT. Although I know it has its fans, I
think the P-38 is a poor value. Having owned a
P-38,
Quoted message said:I wouldn't recommend one to anybody.
Frank Calloway
two vary diferant experinces ride one for your self and decide, MY P-38 is NOT for sale!!
Mark