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 Reaching Out - Review of Pacific Reach from Velo Vision |
2006/12/24 |
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Thanks for the kind permission from Peter of Velo Vision.
Velo Vision Issue 24, Dec 2006.
REACHING OUT
Pacific Cycles make a lot of folders – but the Reach is the first to be marketed under their own name in the UK. Is it a promising debut?
BACKGROUND
Pacific Cycles of Taiwan specialize in advanced aluminium fabrication, and produce frames and parts for manufacturers including Birdy, Airnimal, Carryfreedom and ICE. They have a particular liking for taking on ingenious and interesting projects – such as the Smike cycle sidecar we described last issue – and they’re often seen as among the best contacts for designers looking for a "one stop shop’ to manufacture a new bike.
The Reach is one of a series of bikes Pacific make under their own name (the others include a handcycle and a special-needs trike) and it’s being imported by CycleCentric in Cambridge. They’ve chosen the flat-bar ‘Reach for the City’ model to test the waters, but may consider bringing in some of the other drop-handlebar versions in future. The bike, complete with rear rack, costs £599, and mudguards cost an extra £20. A bike bag and matching wheelbags are also available for £45.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The Reach is a light bike, just over 12 kg according to our scales, and with its narrow-tyre, 451-sized 20" wheels it certainly has a much more ’racing’ look than the other bikes we tested. The frame is also striking, compact and neatly welded. But it’s the ‘Trailing Link’ front forks which really catch the eye. Sloping dramatically forwards, they support rubber suspension elements in the ‘pods’ at the very front, while the linkage at the back keeps everything symmetrical and supports the brake bosses. They’re impressively finished too, with well blended joints and smooth curves in deep gloss black.
The rear swingarm is supported on large pivot bearings, and it felt satisfyingly firm and rigid. Usefully it also incorporates a braze-on type front derailleur mount, so extending the gear range shouldn’t be a problem.
As it is, the Reach has a single 56T chainring and 12-25 eightspeed cassette. With the 20" (451) wheels I make that a range of 45" to 94", which fits well with the bike’s role as a sporty city bike.
The rear carrier rack, like the Birdy, uses the top of the suspended swingarm as the lower support point, ensuring that the rack folds away as you collapse the bike. The Reach model is rather plain in comparison to the Birdy’s, and a light/reflector bracket might be a useful addition. I would also have liked to see some cross-beams to help locate pannier hooks: as with the Birdy I’d set the Ortliebs for maximum heel clearance and found it just sufficient. But on the Reach, there’s nothing to stop the panniers sliding along the rack, unless you can cunningly hook the panniers onto the lower support. This worked with the Ortliebs, but other attachment systems may not.
Back to the front of the bike, and the stem uses the same attachment system as the Airnimal – a quick-release stem extension which simply lifts off when folding. The QR attachment also means that it’s the work of seconds to swivel the bars round to ‘flatten’ the bike against a wall. The metalbodied folding pedals are also very easily operated, with a much nicer action than some plastic ones I’ve tried.
The bars accommodate an anonymous pushbutton shifter unit which performed flawlessly, standard but effective Tektro brake levers and some very well-shaped ergonomic grips – the Ergon models on the Dahon perhaps have the edge in comfort, but there’s not much in it.
The seatpost and saddle worked well for me, but shorter riders should note that a shorter seatpost might be needed to lower the saddle all the way – otherwise the end hits the shock unit.
THE RIDE
The Reach does have a rather more ‘big bike’ feel than the Birdy or Brompton, and I struggled a little top in it down. Certainly the somewhat larger wheels help, also the thin racing tyres. A major contribution is also made by the stiffness of the stem assembly: it’s both shorter and fatter than the other designs, and this is reflected in noticeable rigidity. It’s the most rewarding of the three to propel out of the saddle, and I also couldn’t really detect any squirm from the rear suspension pivot.
The bike does ‘dip’ at the back a little under hard acceleration, particularly from a standstill, but on the go the suspension is unobtrusive. The front forks have relatively little movement, but it’s enough to take any harshness out of the 110 psi-rated, 26 mm wide Primo Comet tyres. These roll along briskly. There wasn’t really any significant dive under hard braking, and the brakes did have plenty of bite.
The steering feels particularly stable with the wide, rigid handlebars, and while all three test bikes could be ridden easily enough one-handed for indicating, the Reach was probably the most composed in this regard.
There are three ‘folds’ possible with the Reach. The first is just to undo the stem QR and swivel the bars 90 degrees to line up with the bike, and to fold down the pedals. This leaves the bike usefully flat, perhaps for parking in a hallway. The next stage is to remove the front wheel, unhook the shock unit and fold the rear end under – and in this state the bike stands neatly on the carrier to minimise floor-space. If you want to go even smaller, remove the rear wheel. In this state it’ll fit into the optional carry bag.
This all takes just a few minutes at most. The wheel QRs required unscrewing as well as opening to get the wheels off, and I had to remove the shock QR entirely for the ‘final fold’: otherwise it hits the rack. Removing the wheels is, however, aided by the narrowness of the tyres - they can be slipped between the brake blocks without releasing the brake cable or having to be deflated. Fit wider ones and the process would take a fair bit longer.
CONCLUSIONS
Rather as with the Bridgestone Moulton we tested in Issue 16, I think this frame’s being a little wasted in town bike mode. It would be great if you have secure parking each end, ride fast and don’t carry much luggage, or perhaps if you’re used to road-bike style handling - otherwise something less flashy and more utilitarian might be more appropriate.
As a day ride machine or weekend tourer, the Reach has much to offer too, and extra gears could be easily added if required. Its light weight, nippy acceleration and useful luggage capacity, plus unobtrusive but effective suspension, all make for a spirited and comfortable ride over longer distances.
The ‘fold flat’ functionality is useful in an urban bike, but the bother of removing wheels, and the bulk of the folded package, means that collapsing the bike further would probably be reserved for trips away by car or public transport rather than ‘fold it up when you get to the office’ type use.
The Reach has a lot going for it, and the City model gives a fun, fast ride, with dramatic looks and a certain exotic exclusivity. £599 seems very reasonable for the technology involved, with the (unsuspended, and £100 more) Airnimal Joey, as reviewed in Issue 16, as perhaps its closest competitor.
Peter Eland
Editor and Publisher,
Velo Vision
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