An S40 update 350 miles in

[HeyMikey]

I tinker a lot on the bike...My objective for getting the curved slider was to bring the hands down closer in vertical alignment with the shoulders. I wanted to hide them within the frontal area of the shoulders eventually. I did not achieve that until I bought a cheap (but seemingly durable) 46 cm carbon fiber bullhorn bar as shown and used the shifter grips for hand positioning below the bar. The leg fit is tight and requires un-clipping in slow maneuvers. To raise the frontal area of the feet upward into the chest frontal area I went with a long chainstay. I am 6'2" with long legs and normal arms. This bullhorn bar setup puts my arms slightly bent, level with airflow, and on the front of the shifter covers. I don't push on the shifter covers, my hands wrap around the front. This position may generate too much arm extension for most. I like the upper body rigidity and my hands have grown strong enough to withstand a constant tension from the shoulders. I have low to average leg/lung power and this configuration (with a few other mods) is very slippery in all conditions (...except mountains), but especially fast in strong headwinds.

That's a real different set up. And you have no problem slipping in and out of the seat at stops, correct? How did you fab that front tire skirts/fender?

 

[super slim]

I tinker a lot on the bike...My objective for getting the curved slider was to bring the hands down closer in vertical alignment with the shoulders. I wanted to hide them within the frontal area of the shoulders eventually. I did not achieve that until I bought a cheap (but seemingly durable) 46 cm carbon fiber bullhorn bar as shown and used the shifter grips for hand positioning below the bar. The leg fit is tight and requires un-clipping in slow maneuvers. To raise the frontal area of the feet upward into the chest frontal area I went with a long chainstay. I am 6'2" with long legs and normal arms. This bullhorn bar setup puts my arms slightly bent, level with airflow, and on the front of the shifter covers. I don't push on the shifter covers, my hands wrap around the front. This position may generate too much arm extension for most. I like the upper body rigidity and my hands have grown strong enough to withstand a constant tension from the shoulders. I have low to average leg/lung power and this configuration (with a few other mods) is very slippery in all conditions (...except mountains), but especially fast in strong headwinds.

What is the C/F box on the slider for?

 

[Bill Wightman]

That's a real different set up. And you have no problem slipping in and out of the seat at stops, correct? How did you fab that front tire skirts/fender?

The seat is re-positioned from stock location to be slightly flatter and shifted forward. This moves the seat more under the bars. I have always been flexible and approaching a stop I gear down, sit up, un-click right foot, and slow to a stop. I do not move my bottom position in the seat at a stop and either hold my torso up or stay reclined (keeping left foot clipped in for quick starts). To start I maneuver with the left foot (usually two rotations) then click-in the right. The front fender redirects high speed clean air from hitting the top forward-moving portion of the front wheel. The sides are prefab 1.5 mm carbon fiber boards. The compound bend portions are a mix of glass and carbon fiber cloth overlaid onto an inflated 25mm wheel and (flat) RENN 575 disc wheel with a .25" offset per side for running clearance at the tire.

Without the guard and solid wheels the bike is faster accelerating but has a clear upper speed limit as the spokes egg beat at the upper end. With solid wheels and cover the bike accelerates slower but has a much faster top speed and feels more stable at those high speeds. I will go out this Wednesday and see what it can do with a maxed-out heart rate. Just finished the wheel cover so do not know how much it helps.

 

[Bill Wightman]

What is the C/F box on the slider for?

I just realized what you were looking at. To improve the flow (at least head-on) around the crank arms I flexed some .5mm carbon fiber sheets together, symmetrical fore and aft, and secured them with cutouts for the pedal mount post and retained the leading edges together with Kapton tape. Good stuff that Kapton tape is, almost as useful as Velcro.

 

[3bs]

@HeyMikey actually vw made the iltis. Aka type 183. Also a great little truck

the pinzgauer and the Haflinger and the Mercedes g wagon all made by steyr . Graz Austria childhood home of Arnold.

But there is a connection to vw because of Ledwinka and Porsche through the people’s car read up on that and that will also suck you into Tatra and more air cooled madness.

 

[paco1961]

Would love to see a pic of you on the bike w hands on those bullhorns. I can’t envision how your hands sit

 

[HeyMikey]

@HeyMikey actually vw made the iltis. Aka type 183. Also a great little truck

the pinzgauer and the Haflinger and the Mercedes g wagon all made by steyr . Graz Austria childhood home of Arnold.

But there is a connection to vw because of Ledwinka and Porsche through the people’s car read up on that and that will also suck you into Tatra and more air cooled madness.

Those are some great vehicles, especially for having some fun in the dirt. I lived the first 30 years of my life in Scottsdale, AZ and all of us owned/drove some sort of 4x4 truck, Jeep, FJ series Landcruiser, Broncos, IH Scouts, etc. The one vehicle that a high school buddy drove that no other vehicle in our group could keep up with while flying through the desert was a VW Thing! That Thing would fly (literally at times) and could go anywhere even thou it was only rear wheel drive.

 

[3bs]

@HeyMikey since i was legally licensed to drive i have only been without a 4wd about 6 months. most of my life has been off roading in the great lakes and colorado, with a few excursions beyond that, but my two regions great off road areas, and many roads still require off road capability. things i have owned over the last 42 years is a pretty good list. you hit on one of the best kept secrets in off roading. 95% of all offroading can be done perfectly in a 2wd that has the necessary characteristics. the vw thing aka type 181 started out its life as a german milspec. and of course it is a descendant of the kubelwagen. fundamentals, simplicity, light weight, rear weight bias, good gearing and good ground clearance long suspension travel, and preferably a limited slip diff.

the very first vehicle i really did any significant off roading in was actually an AUDI FOX. and that was FWD, but also front engine. it took a lot more thinking, but we even ran that thing into the back bowl sand dunes.another vehicle i had was a 2wd 1948 willys jeepster. front engine, but everything else, fit the mold, and it was great. i have set up several 2wd american trucks as pre runners, saving their owners a lot of gas money, and yet still a killer look and capability.

but overall for me 4x4 and 6x6 have been the best as i use the trucks and jeeps all year round, and often the the roads (i use the term loosely) have not been plowed. and i use them for chores, and in the great lakes woods you have lots of situations where you are in muck and mud. my two favorites are any model of pinzgauer, although i am partial to the 712, and the american 3/4 ton pre electronics. both trucks are super easy to work on, don't break much, and while not the best at anything great at everything.

here is my current chore truck. 86 square body short box. crate 350, 6" 3/4 ton spring kit 36" tires, 700r trannie, vintage air and dakota digital dash. i found a stock bench seat and recovered it totally rewired engine bay.it has a few leaks, the paint is peeling off, rust here and there, and it has a checkered history prior to my purchase. but, when you pull into menard's, you better be ready to talk about it.

 

[HeyMikey]

@HeyMikey since i was legally licensed to drive i have only been without a 4wd about 6 months. most of my life has been off roading in the great lakes and colorado, with a few excursions beyond that, but my two regions great off road areas, and many roads still require off road capability. things i have owned over the last 42 years is a pretty good list. you hit on one of the best kept secrets in off roading. 95% of all offroading can be done perfectly in a 2wd that has the necessary characteristics. the vw thing aka type 181 started out its life as a german milspec. and of course it is a descendant of the kubelwagen. fundamentals, simplicity, light weight, rear weight bias, good gearing and good ground clearance long suspension travel, and preferably a limited slip diff.

the very first vehicle i really did any significant off roading in was actually an AUDI FOX. and that was FWD, but also front engine. it took a lot more thinking, but we even ran that thing into the back bowl sand dunes.another vehicle i had was a 2wd 1948 willys jeepster. front engine, but everything else, fit the mold, and it was great. i have set up several 2wd american trucks as pre runners, saving their owners a lot of gas money, and yet still a killer look and capability.

but overall for me 4x4 and 6x6 have been the best as i use the trucks and jeeps all year round, and often the the roads (i use the term loosely) have not been plowed. and i use them for chores, and in the great lakes woods you have lots of situations where you are in muck and mud. my two favorites are any model of pinzgauer, although i am partial to the 712, and the american 3/4 ton pre electronics. both trucks are super easy to work on, don't break much, and while not the best at anything great at everything.

here is my current chore truck. 86 square body short box. crate 350, 6" 3/4 ton spring kit 36" tires, 700r trannie, vintage air and dakota digital dash. i found a stock bench seat and recovered it totally rewired engine bay.it has a few leaks, the paint is peeling off, rust here and there, and it has a checkered history prior to my purchase. but, when you pull into menard's, you better be ready to talk about it.

That truck looks very similar to a friends 78/79 Chevy Scottsdale Short Box 4x4 which was also silver in color. Great vehicles, they'll just keep going and going.....

I frequent this classic cruzer car show that happens every Friday evening in North St. Paul, MN. They shut down the main drag to regular traffic and only allow cars from 1975 or older on to the street and available parking. One evening last summer my wife and I came across this beautifully restored Thing with all the trimmings. Beefed up suspension, BFG All Terrains, full roll bar cage, all new interior, beautiful copper metallic paint job, complete overhauled engine, and it was for sale! IF only I could have convinced my wife that I could work another 5 years beyond my intended target retirement date.........

 

[benphyr]

...I bought a cheap (but seemingly durable) 46 cm carbon fiber bullhorn bar as shown and used the shifter grips for hand positioning below the bar. ... This bullhorn bar setup puts my arms slightly bent, level with airflow, and on the front of the shifter covers. I don't push on the shifter covers, my hands wrap around the front. This position may generate too much arm extension for most...

Hi Bill, I love your avatar picture by the way aero, slick, and aesthetically pleasing too. Anyway, how do you hold onto the bar/shifters? How do you use the brakes/shifters in that configuration. My brain keeps saying that it would be 90 degrees off from possible but you obviously do it well. I guess I'm hoping for additional pictures too.

 

[HeyMikey]

Hi Bill, I love your avatar picture by the way aero, slick, and aesthetically pleasing too. Anyway, how do you hold onto the bar/shifters? How do you use the brakes/shifters in that configuration. My brain keeps saying that it would be 90 degrees off from possible but you obviously do it well. I guess I'm hoping for additional pictures too.

Yah! ^^^^^^What he said^^^^^^!

 

[3bs]

i thnk he holds them like dueling pistols with the thumb over the top bar and the wrist extended like on aero bars. i need to hook my thumbs on stuff so i couldn't do it.

 

[Bill Wightman]

i thnk he holds them like dueling pistols with the thumb over the top bar and the wrist extended like on aero bars. i need to hook my thumbs on stuff so i couldn't do it.

Yes, that is it, and the brake levers point aft instead of ~down. Very much dueling pistols with the thumb upward on the striker. Not for everyone but works for me. I break by pitching my wrist down/back and squeezing between the handlebar and the levers. Shifting is done with the palm near the wrist and little finger side.
I tried to see if the wheel guard helps by riding last night in some still air. I did get up to 29.5 mph but did not max out because I was getting an intermittent rubbing noise from the tire from epoxy flashing I had never sanded out. Did not want to slice my front wheel at speed. The front triangle moves a lot when you are pedaling hard. I also put a 2L Camelbak bladder on a platform that goes behind the bike. It works really well and strangely does a good job of road damping. It is a big bungee chord preloaded bag of water at the end of a long lever arm, so that makes a lot of sense. The bike rides more like a BMW and less like a VW and is more longitudinally stable.

 

[cpml123]

Is the back wheel disc originally or you built a wheel cover to cover the spoke area?

 

[Bentas]

That looks like a tight cockpit , not much margin for error, pretty aero though!

 

[Bill Wightman]

Is the back wheel disc originally or you built a wheel cover to cover the spoke area?

That's a wheelbuilders.com cover. Instead of using the plastic attachments which make it all lumpy I just ran 1/4" wide x .002" Kapton tape all around the outer edge to attach and make a nice fillet with the wheel. Also covered over the holes on the covers with the same but wider tape. Kapton tape is a great engineering tape because it is stronger than any other retail tape and will not stretch over time, is temperature insensitive, and the adhesive essentially does not age. I was sanding out the front wheel homemade wind cover and my RENN disk wheel was leaning against a chair and fell over and the cassette assembly fell off with the internal ratchet assembly exposed. It was a good opportunity to clean and repack the internal gear and wheel pawl assembly with water proof grease. After I did that and added a little extra grease it runs super smooth and much more quietly. It was always really noisy coasting but not now.

 

[Bill Wightman]

That looks like a tight cockpit , not much margin for error, pretty aero though!

I had a 44 cm bullhorn TT bar and that was barely too small, my thighs hit my fingernails, the 46 cm wide is perfect and good thing because there is not a larger size.

 

[Meistrovich]

The curved slider has a lot to do with the rider's height and the length of the chainstay. At 5'5" I use the short chianstay, and by the time I adjusted it to where I wanted it for my x-seam, the handlebar was too high for my liking. It even obstructed my view. Using the medium chainstay would bring the handlebar down, but then my feet would be too high. Cutting the fork steerer tube all the way down and installing the curved slider did the trick, putting the handlebar right where I wanted it.

I have also seen pictures of tall riders using the curved slider as well, but turning it upward to raise the hands. Such riders often use the long chainstay, which tends to lower the bars. An upturned slider reverses that at least some.

Hi!
How do you use a shorther chainstay? I dont see an option on the site, or at sparparts as curved slider..
Many thanks!

 

[Pollock]

Hi!
How do you use a shorther chainstay? I dont see an option on the site, or at sparparts as curved slider..
Many thanks!

I would suggest sending an email to CruzBike. Or just invoke @Robert Holler and see if he provides guidance here.

 

[Mathew Fy]

I dont see an option on the site, or at sparparts as curved slider

https://cruzbike.com/collections/all-products/products/curved-slider