Hi everyone,
It’s been a couple of weeks and I hope everyone is doing well. I wanted to share my thoughts after my first couple hundred miles or so on my S40.
Learning Curve – This was the issue that kept me from trying a Cruzbike sooner. Other than the prosthetic issue, there were/are so many detractors that talk about this issue as you all know. Many I found had never even tried a Cruzbike and others, the bike just wasn’t for them. I found it different, but not difficult. I know what difficult looks like, this ain’t it. That being said, it did take some re-wiring on my brain to get use the upper and lower body working together. Once we got that figured out, then it was a matter of getting use to the handling capabilities and getting comfortable on the bike. After three days, I took it out on one of my local trails and did a 21-mile ride. The key for me is lots of practice and I ride as often as I can, even if I only have time for was just a quick spin around the neighborhood, the short trips are beneficial and the minutes and miles all count.
Comfort – I like that fact that the bottom bracket is lower than my Freestyle. This allows me to get my feet up and down to the ground quicker. I also like the fact that my legs don’t interfere with the handlebars while pedaling. With the J-Bars on the Freestyle, if my feet, particularly my prosthetic foot, did not hit the pedals just right when starting off, my legs would get caught in the bars. With my S40, my foot can land just about anywhere on the pedal and I am able to get a good pedal stroke to keep up momentum without hitting the handlebars. As far as the seat is concerned, I have broad shoulders and find the seat is not as wide as I would like. Thor seat has been ordered and is on the way and by on the way I mean I hope to see it sometime in 2021. It’s not uncomfortable, but could be better. I am coming from a Bacchetta B3 seat which is nice and wide across my back and supports my shoulders very well. As far the comfort of the ride, I can tell the bike is more ridged and has a slightly rougher ride but I believe the upgraded seat will help smooth some of that out and if it doesn’t, the ride isn’t terrible, just different.
Speed – I do not have a cycling coach or anything but have read and heard enough of them talk about speed being a red herring as it relates to using speed alone as a benchmark for how you are performing on any given ride and training to effort is more beneficial and will naturally result in an increase in speed. I tend to pay more attention to my heart rate zones, cadence, and my RPE. That being said, given those factors, I feel that I get more bang for my buck. Having ridden familiar routes, I have noticed my heart rate is higher on certain sections on the route then before, but it is translating into increased speed. It feels like the power that I am able to produce translates more directly to the wheel. I feel I can attack hills if I choose to and can shift into a higher gear, mid hill which is nice. I can only imagine how great it will be on the hills once I get my climbing technique down. Don’t get me wrong, I want to maximize my speed but also realize the S40 wasn’t designed to be an all-out speed machine and the versatility is what attracted me to the bike in the first place, I think it checks a lot of boxes.
Handling – This is the part that I think will take the longest to get used to. I am still working on my low-speed drills and find that sitting up in the seat definitely helps with handling at low speeds, turns, and on steeper hills. I still haven’t gotten to the point where things are instinctive but I’ll get there. I quickly discovered that the bike likes a nice smooth pedal stroke, whether that be at slow or faster speeds, nice and easy and the handling and the ability to hold a straight line is no problem.
I’m sure there is a lot more in store as I get more miles in and I’m having a lot of fun riding the bike and getting more use to it with every ride. All of you guys on the forum have been extremely helpful and it’s great to be part of this community. That’s all for now. Be safe out there everyone!
