Anyone using a Cruzbike Offroad?

[thebean]

Wondering if anyone has made an attempt at this. I am facinated by this bike, I love gadgets and this is just one big one! To me, the Softrider might be the best choice for offroad??? Still not completely familiar with the offerings, and if it can take 26 inch wheels.

Thanks

The Bean

 

[John Tolhurst]

The sofrider is very very capable in rough conditions. It has 26" wheels and can take wide
tires.

 

[JonB]

John Tolhurst wrote: The sofrider is very very capable in rough conditions. It has 26" wheels and can take wide
tires.

The front suspension is a little hard though, and has very little travel.

 

[thebean]

Could a different front suspension be ordered with the bike? What is the seat height with mtn tires and how wide can you go with the mtn bike tires to assure fork clearance?

Anyone have pictures with a set up? John if no one has a set up, why don't you make a go of it!

Thebean

 

[JonB]

thebean wrote: Could a different front suspension be ordered with the bike?

No, it can not, and you can not exchange it for something else either. The suspension is fine on cobble stone, but not for hardcore offroading in high speed. I would not jump with it, though i have no problem riding out over the curb.

thebean wrote: What is the seat height with mtn tires and how wide can you go with the mtn bike tires to assure fork clearance?

I think i have 47 mm Schwalbe marathon plus. So pretty slick, not off road tires. I think the seat high is such that i can put both my legs on the ground without trouble. I think my legs are not horizontal, but angled.

thebean wrote: Anyone have pictures with a set up? John if no one has a set up, why don't you make a go of it!

Find some of my posts width pictures.

 

[Doug Burton]

See this topic on BROL:

http://www.bentrideronline.com/messageboard/showthread.php?p=606183#poststop

 

[thebean]

Jon,

Let me define offroad use: hard packed dirt roads and single track. No log jumping, no crazy stuff like Moab. No hardcore mtn biking.

Thebean

 

[thebean]

Doug,

A conversion kit would be great, but the seat height is a huge challenge for short riders. I would rather work with the current Softrider frame rather than use a conversion kit.

Thebean

 

[John Tolhurst]

thebean wrote: Doug,

A conversion kit would be great, but the seat height is a huge challenge for short riders. I would rather work with the current Softrider frame rather than use a conversion kit.

Thebean

Conversion Kit, plus our special V2/K frame, a quality fork of your choosing ....

 

[JonB]

thebean wrote: Doug,

A conversion kit would be great, but the seat height is a huge challenge for short riders. I would rather work with the current Softrider frame rather than use a conversion kit.

Put smaller wheels on it? like 20" with BMX tires.

 

[JonB]

thebean wrote: Let me define offroad use: hard packed dirt roads and single track. No log jumping, no crazy stuff like Moab. No hardcore mtn biking.

That should work. I ride on hard packed dirt roads regularly. I have not tried single track. My current tires are not so good in mud though :-(

 

[thebean]

Good thought Jon! Thanks...

Thebean

 

[Doug Burton]

thebean wrote: Doug,

A conversion kit would be great, but the seat height is a huge challenge for short riders. I would rather work with the current Softrider frame rather than use a conversion kit.

Thebean

This is a conversion kit built on a very commonly-available frame, the Tiara sold by Walmart and other "big box" stores:

I built it partially to find out how low I could get the seat height for a road-use conversion using 26" wheels. The frame is originally made for 24" wheels.

With some sacrifice in seat height from a suspension fork it could have used much wider tires and been well-suited to gravel, hardpack and grass. 1" steerer-tube quality suspension forks are hard to come by, however.

A reasonable hard-tail mountain bike (craigslist is full of them) mated to a V2K frame and conversion kit could produce an excellent bike for the purposes listed here. And the Sofrider does all this very well out of the box.

It can be done...

Best,

Doug

 

[currystomper]

Hi

I ride my conversion on hard packed trails and on an urban commute - I drop it down curbs and ride it over grass short cuts - it works very well. I've put slick tyres on it so I wouldn't want to try anything too "sticky", but you could put knobbies on it to fix this. See the comments on riding up hill in the forum as I guess these are relevant to riding in very heavy conditions.

Happy riding

Currystom

 

[thebean]

Where is this V2K frame you are speaking of?

Doug, that is a great looking Tiara conversion! Well done.

Thebean

 

[John Tolhurst]

The V2/K frame is here, next to the conversion kit:
http://www.cruzbike.com/catalog/conversion-kit

 

[Peder Torgersen]

I have used my Sofrider V1 on off-road riding and entered several races.
I’m not that fast off-road and didn’t have any racing experience before getting a recumbent.

The Sofrider was better on dirt roads then my Phantom which was my first recumbent.
I could ride fast on dirt roads with the Phantom but when the speed was high I felt that I was losing control and had to slow down.
The traction on steep hills is not as good as on a RWD but on most of the dirt roads in good condition I have been able to climb and some of them are steep and very long.

On some steep trails with sand I have had to walk up the hill some of the MTB made it up but many riders also walked up these hills.
The suspension is good for comfort I can ride for many hours without any pain that wasn’t possible on my upright.
I also ride in the winter with the Sofrider with winter tires this winter was long and cold with a lot of snow.

Peder

 

[thebean]

Sorry for all of the dumb questions, I'm not a techy guy like most of you!

Can a complete bike all set up and ready to roll be ordered as a V2K?

Thanks for your patience..

Thebean

 

[Doug Burton]

thebean wrote: Sorry for all of the dumb questions, I'm not a techy guy like most of you!

Can a complete bike all set up and ready to roll be ordered as a V2K?

Thanks for your patience..

Thebean

Hi TB,

That's why this forum exists. It lets the entire Cruzbike "brain trust" weigh in on your questions, none of which are dumb, and all of which the rest of us have asked at one point or another. So ask away.

The Complete bikes, Sofrider and Freerider, use the same frame as the V2K, it's just painted silver instead of white. We don't have the staff in the US to switch the parts over from a complete bike in the warehouse onto a V2k frame. It's really just the four of us, with help from the guy at the shipping place and occasionally Jim and Maria's kids, and my wife on prototype work. Hopefully now I can add my son to that list.

Keep those questions coming. For every one you ask, there are probably several people wondering the same thing.

Best,

Doug

 

[John Tolhurst]

thebean wrote:
Can a complete bike all set up and ready to roll be ordered as a V2K?

Thanks for your patience..

Thebean

Contact our dealers, one may well like to work something out with you. They can make a bit of a margin on the parts so you get more than your dollars worth for any build fee they may charge.

 

[thebean]

Thanks so much, I will phone a dealer!

Thebean