Lightning P-38 Voyager

Now you can take it with you!

Barclay Brown aboard his Voyager

The outcome of some discussions between Tim and those who love to ride and race his bikes, but hate the hassles of travel, the P-38 Voyager makes flying to far away bicycling events and tours as easy as packing your suitcase! By adding the Voyager option to any new P-38 (we can also retrofit your P-38) the entire bike collapses into a 26×26×12″ hard-shell case (included). Generally airlines take the case with no questions asked and no extra bicycle charges (see note below for more info).

The case fits in any car trunk or on the front seat of even the smallest compact rental car or taxi, so there’s no hassle taking it to the airport. Assembly and disassembly take as little as 30 minutes, when you get some practice at it, and you don’t need to be a bike mechanic to do it — you don’t even have to remove the cables!

Consider these advantages:

  • Convenient — case fits in any car, taxi or rental car
  • High Performance — bike reassembles into a no-compromise P-38
  • Safety — the bike is fully protected in a hard-shell case
  • Quality — Lightning engineering in every part; you know it will work
  • Race Proven — we tested the prototype Lightning Voyager over many trips and thousands of miles of races for nearly a year before general release
Voyager couplers

Here’s what you get with the Voyager option:

  • Three frame couplings, made by industry leader S&S Machine, allow frame to separate into two halves
  • Lightning-designed seat frame couplers, allow seat to separate into two parts
  • Thumbscrew-type clamp mounts for seat allow no-tools seat removal (same kind of seat mounting as on the Phantom, a proven design)
  • Quick release levers on boom and steering stem for no-tools assembly
  • Allen wrench and special wrench for the frame couplers
  • Wind-up spool on crankset for chain with no-tools chain quick-link; chain winds up with no twists or kinks or oily mess
  • Heavy-duty hard-shell case with two wheels, and lever handle lets you roll it with one hand
  • Case locks with included keys or your heavy-duty padlock for extra security
  • Special Velcro frame pads for each frame member mean no scratches in transit

For pricing and options, see the Lightning P-38 page.

Check out our videos of Tim Brummer doing a complete disassembly and packing.

From case to race in 30 minutes …

Voyager case
Close-up of the Voyager in its case
Voyager unpacked

Note on case size: Strictly speaking the airline size limit is 62″ (length + width + height) but our Voyager field tester says they’ve never questioned the extra 2″ of thickness in the case. As an option, you can put the rear wheel or seat in another piece of luggage and then fit the rest of the bike in a 26×26×10″ case. Your choice.

Note on frame size: XL frame or seat requires a 26×26×14″ Voyager case, however if you are under 220 pounds you can achieve the same rider fit by using a large frame and seat with a XXL bottom bracket extension, this will fit in the 26×26×12-inch case.

And it’s still a Lightning

The first-ever Lightning P-38 Voyager, ridden by Barclay Brown (shown in the photo), won the recumbent division at the 1999 Ultramarathon Cycling Associations World 24 Hour Championships in Eldridge, Iowa.

Barclay beat the previous year’s UMCA recumbent 12 and 24 hour records by some 25 miles!

Barclay Brown and his purple Voyager

Len Zawodniak rode his Lightning P-38 Voyager across the Andes in Peru. Check out his great story and photos here.

ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL BIKES!!! Just got home from touring in Africa on my Voyager, where it handled on and off pavement with cyclocross tires. The cold at home has me in my F-40 (at least until my F-90 build is finished).

Len Zawodniak (via Facebook)
Len Zawodniak’s P-38 Voyager in the Andes

Other stories and photos