rfneep
Well-Known Member
Hi All,
Backstory: After a hiatus of about 2 years, I’ve returned back to the Cruzbike fold. I sold my S30 back then to concentrate on some upright and high racer recumbent riding with a local bike club, with the anticipation of eventually getting an updated Cruzbike in the near future. I was waffling between a V20c or an S40 for months. After talking to Maria and with added input from Robert, I was still indecisive. But then an unused V20c frame kit came up for sale here; I bought it and the seller bought the S40 he preferred. For my riding, I probably should have an S40 but this gives me a chance to try the V20c which I’ve long wanted to do. We’ll see how it works out.
FWIW, I built it with an SRAM 1x12 Force/X01 mullet AXS system. I paid some attention to weight, just as an exercise.
The build is:
Frameset: V20c Gen 2 Race Green
\Wheels: LightBicycle Airia47 700c (1225 gm for wheelset)
Tires: 700c x 32 Continental Gran Prix 5000 S TR
Tubes: RideNow TPU
Drivetrain: SRAM AXS 1x12 speed
Derailleur: SRAM AXS X01
Cassette: SRAM XG-1295 10-52t
Chainring: Stone 38t oval narrow-wide
Crankset: Croder Spirit Carbon crankset 145 mm
Bottom Bracket Wheels Manufacturing T47
Shifter/Brake: SRAM AXS Force 12-speed for mechanical brakes
Brakes: Juin-Tech GT-F Cable-actuated hydraulic disc calipers; Rotors: F/180 mm; R/160 mm
Cable housing Jagwire Pro Brake Housing kevlar compressionless
Handlebar: Salsa Carbon Woodchipper 42 cm
Seat: Thor Seat Easy Carbon
Seat Angle: Adjustable via spacers, roughly 22-28 degrees
Headrest: Cruzbike from adjustable carbon seat
Weight: ≤ 24 lb with no headrest, rear bag, mirrors
Future: Favero MX Power meter pedals; bottle cages; new grip tape; clean up and repaint boom/slider assembly; CB Race Cage (maybe); etc.
I thought I’d want an orange frame but must say that the bright Race Green really pops out, so all is good.
It’s ready for testing in the outdoors. I’ve taken it on a few 10-20 mile runs mostly full of interruptions to tweak the fit, adjust neck rest, etc. The seat angle is presently at 25 degrees, which is close to the 27 degrees I had on my old S30. Similar to what others have reported when comparing the V20c to the V20, the ride feels a little smoother and more refined that what I remember for the S30. I’ve not really opened it up yet since I found, to my surprise, that my MBB skills have atrophied a bit and I’m not as stable as I should be. So, it’s back to some figure-8’s and a bit more acclimation. No big deal.
Two main observations from these initial rides:
1) Using some downhills on my usual conditioning ride path, the bike does not seem (qualitatively) to hold speed in the > 25 mph range as well as my Metabike Mystique high racer does, as indicated by how quickly it slows on the flat bottom path. Assuming weather effects were equal, I suspect that may be due more to the wheels/tires I have on each bike. If so, that would be a bit surprising since I naively expected the new Light Bicycle Airia 47 / Conti Gran Prix 5000 S combo to do as well if not better than the Bontrager Aeolus Pro 49V / Pirelli P Zero Race TRL at 35 mm combo on the Mystique. I’ll try some wheel interchanges to test this out as I get more used to the V20c. It’s useful to note, however, that the Mystique is a fast bike in itself.
2) My V20c exhibits the same loud creaking and squeaking others have discussed. It seems to be localized in the stem, slider clamp area and increases when a heavier load is put on the handlebars. I can easily excite it while stopped by putting a twisting/torsional load on the handlebars. I already tried making sure all bolt torques are up to spec and regreased the slider-to-stem clamp bolt. Still there. This is pretty annoying and has to be addressed. I’ll try some of the fixes suggested on this forum. Any and all suggestions are welcome!
So, it’s all OK for now. I’m eager to resolve the remaining issues and get a feel for the bike’s real potential as my riding skills recover and the weather turns to Spring. Should be interesting…
Ray
Backstory: After a hiatus of about 2 years, I’ve returned back to the Cruzbike fold. I sold my S30 back then to concentrate on some upright and high racer recumbent riding with a local bike club, with the anticipation of eventually getting an updated Cruzbike in the near future. I was waffling between a V20c or an S40 for months. After talking to Maria and with added input from Robert, I was still indecisive. But then an unused V20c frame kit came up for sale here; I bought it and the seller bought the S40 he preferred. For my riding, I probably should have an S40 but this gives me a chance to try the V20c which I’ve long wanted to do. We’ll see how it works out.
FWIW, I built it with an SRAM 1x12 Force/X01 mullet AXS system. I paid some attention to weight, just as an exercise.
The build is:
Frameset: V20c Gen 2 Race Green
\Wheels: LightBicycle Airia47 700c (1225 gm for wheelset)
Tires: 700c x 32 Continental Gran Prix 5000 S TR
Tubes: RideNow TPU
Drivetrain: SRAM AXS 1x12 speed
Derailleur: SRAM AXS X01
Cassette: SRAM XG-1295 10-52t
Chainring: Stone 38t oval narrow-wide
Crankset: Croder Spirit Carbon crankset 145 mm
Bottom Bracket Wheels Manufacturing T47
Shifter/Brake: SRAM AXS Force 12-speed for mechanical brakes
Brakes: Juin-Tech GT-F Cable-actuated hydraulic disc calipers; Rotors: F/180 mm; R/160 mm
Cable housing Jagwire Pro Brake Housing kevlar compressionless
Handlebar: Salsa Carbon Woodchipper 42 cm
Seat: Thor Seat Easy Carbon
Seat Angle: Adjustable via spacers, roughly 22-28 degrees
Headrest: Cruzbike from adjustable carbon seat
Weight: ≤ 24 lb with no headrest, rear bag, mirrors
Future: Favero MX Power meter pedals; bottle cages; new grip tape; clean up and repaint boom/slider assembly; CB Race Cage (maybe); etc.
I thought I’d want an orange frame but must say that the bright Race Green really pops out, so all is good.
It’s ready for testing in the outdoors. I’ve taken it on a few 10-20 mile runs mostly full of interruptions to tweak the fit, adjust neck rest, etc. The seat angle is presently at 25 degrees, which is close to the 27 degrees I had on my old S30. Similar to what others have reported when comparing the V20c to the V20, the ride feels a little smoother and more refined that what I remember for the S30. I’ve not really opened it up yet since I found, to my surprise, that my MBB skills have atrophied a bit and I’m not as stable as I should be. So, it’s back to some figure-8’s and a bit more acclimation. No big deal.
Two main observations from these initial rides:
1) Using some downhills on my usual conditioning ride path, the bike does not seem (qualitatively) to hold speed in the > 25 mph range as well as my Metabike Mystique high racer does, as indicated by how quickly it slows on the flat bottom path. Assuming weather effects were equal, I suspect that may be due more to the wheels/tires I have on each bike. If so, that would be a bit surprising since I naively expected the new Light Bicycle Airia 47 / Conti Gran Prix 5000 S combo to do as well if not better than the Bontrager Aeolus Pro 49V / Pirelli P Zero Race TRL at 35 mm combo on the Mystique. I’ll try some wheel interchanges to test this out as I get more used to the V20c. It’s useful to note, however, that the Mystique is a fast bike in itself.
2) My V20c exhibits the same loud creaking and squeaking others have discussed. It seems to be localized in the stem, slider clamp area and increases when a heavier load is put on the handlebars. I can easily excite it while stopped by putting a twisting/torsional load on the handlebars. I already tried making sure all bolt torques are up to spec and regreased the slider-to-stem clamp bolt. Still there. This is pretty annoying and has to be addressed. I’ll try some of the fixes suggested on this forum. Any and all suggestions are welcome!
So, it’s all OK for now. I’m eager to resolve the remaining issues and get a feel for the bike’s real potential as my riding skills recover and the weather turns to Spring. Should be interesting…
Ray
