Its a road bike, Jim, but not as we know it.

Silvio is the world's only recumbent racing bike that is fully compatible with a road bike groupset and wheels - any grouppos you like.

Silvio is a front wheel drive moving bottom bracket recumbent capable of being fitted with the latest Shimano Durace or Ultegra 10 speed systems, etc, without modification and with all components working as they were designed to. Silvio is sold as a frame set or as a complete bike. The Silvio includes air suspended front triangle, main frame with integrated seat and suspended rear triangle.

A Silvio fitted with FSA wheels, carbon crankset, 39-53 and 10 speed Campagnolo Centaur component set.

Read Doug Burton's Technical Summary

This is the bike that carried Maria Parker to a course record for any woman on any unfaired bike on the Saratoga 12 hour race for distance in July 2009, covering 211 miles for an average of 17.6mph in difficult conditions. Read more.

This is the bike that carried Maria Parker to a UMCA world record for any woman on any unfaired bike for distance covered in 12 hours in October 2009, covering 241 miles for an average of 20.08mph. Read more.

The dual suspension fitted to Silvio has a carbon fiber, elastomer dampened system in the rear and a fusion system in the front, integrating an adjustable compressed air suspension fork, with a carbon fiber chainstay suspension yoke in a patent pending new front triangle assembly. The frame is aluminum 7005 T6 and integrates the seat shells into the structure for added strength and weight savings.

Seat Back angle is 45 degress and is not adjustable, that is, the seat shells form an integral, structural part of the rear frame. The main down tube is a teardrop cross-section.

• Rear travel is 13mm 0.5" by elastomer damping, single rebound titanium leaf spring and carbon fiber rear chainstay.
• Front travel is 40mm 1.5" by adjustable air head shock and carbon fiber chainstay.
• Wheelbase 1020mm 40"
• Weight distribution with 70kg (154lb) rider: rear 50% front 50%
• Frameset weight as supplied is 6.5kg / 14lbs, with final weight in the order of 11.5 to 12.5kg. The total weight of the complete bike will ultimately depend on the components and wheels each person selects.
• The Silvio is designed for a double or triple crankset.

While building a light bike is an objective, it is not the only objective. It must have dual suspension and must be stiff through the drive structure, including the seat. We were asked why we are so keen on suspension, since a road bike without suspension tends to be lighter, stiffer, less complex, and usually faster. A top 10 reasons list to use suspension might look like this:

10) its the 21 century, should be no reason to do without it

9) cruzbikes do not suffer pogo - so low stiction suspension systems work well and decrease rolling resistance

8) the front leg adjustment requires pivots in the triangle and so the pivots to make suspension work on the front are already there

7) FWD needs to get good traction on the front, suspension helps that by keeping an even pressure against the road

6) the hard shell seat is solid to promote good power, so this calls for suspension

5) our Taiwan manufacturing partner has some lovely suspension technology that we've been able to integrate

4) kudos, to build a light recumbent road bike including dual suspension

3) target segment is pretty surely over 40, should have lost the anti-suspension machismo nonsense by then

2) better grip on the road, better handling, better passive safety

1) its nice to ride down staircases! (legal note - not actually recommended)

Removing the suspension would make the bike lighter and give it slightly increased rolling resistance, a slight reduction in consistency of traction, and possibly increased rider fatigue.

Teardrop Monotube frame design with structural seat shells.

The specs show that shorter riders end up with a more closed position, taller riders with a more open position.

In the following video, John Tolhurst, Cruzbike Inc Design Director outlines some of the technical aspects of the Silvio.

The FWD system probably needs a little more closed body angle than other bents. Also, the heart is perhaps better placed if it is not below the legs. You may lose some aero that way, but the key to a quick bike is average speed. If you are 10% faster on the 10 minute climb, who cares about being 2% slower on the 3 minute descent? Anecdotal evidence on the Silvio indicates it climbs roughly as well as a normal upright road bike, and possibly better than a low racer. It has about the same aero performance as an upright rider who is contorted into the best non-pedaling aero position they can manage. The design of the rear of the bike presents very little to the wind, which has paid off. Having riding characteristics that are somewhat like a road bike is important, as the Silvio is designed to be ridden socially in a group with upright road bikes, who share a love of quality road bike wheels, components and riding experiences.

Handlebars are a personal choice, but a center to center grip spacing of at least 44cm 17.3" is recommended. In the set up as pictured below, 2" of handlebar could be removed from either side if preferred.

There are only two things that can change that would affect the suitability of parts for building your Silvio.

1) some front derailleurs clamp around the tube (clamp ons) and some bolt into a brazed on lug (braze-ons). Silvio requires the braze-on.
2) there are two main handlebar clamp widths, 25.4/26.0 and 31.8. Silvio needs the 25.4/26.0."

Please note, Silvio uses the British/ISO 68mm format for the Bottom Bracket, as do most of today's bikes.

Slender, light weight, built for speed.

So beautiful, we understand if you never ride it.