Just purchased a Sofrider today-YEAH. Finances are tight and my budget did not cover it, so amidst talk of getting extra tasks done around the house and rumblings of avoiding midlife crisis- I placed the order. Now I have to wait... Guess I can get started on the extra tasks now so I have time to ride once it is here. Do you think it would be helpful for others for me to document the receiving and assembly of the bike as I have not done it before? I guess I would be testing the quality of assembly instructions as well as my ability to read them. I have seen videos of first time riders, but nothing on assembly issues. At a minimum I will make a log of my experiences with the assembly.
Cruzbike-a cure for midlife crisis?
- Thread starter Gromit
- Start date
Gromit
Guru
I didn't assemble my Sofrider but apparently one thing to look out for is a back-to-front seat bracket. They loosely fits the bracket to the frame at the factory as they know that the new owner may need to adjust it for leg length/body size but sometimes they slap it on back-to-front.
The highest part should be at the front.
Edit
Oops!
I forgot to say welcome to the forum.
The highest part should be at the front.
Edit
Oops!
I forgot to say welcome to the forum.
MailSeanBell
Active Member
In the end it is a small price to pay for your sanity. I think you'll love it that much.
Welcome!
Welcome!
I need to apologize by my absence. Free time has been limited- and I have been biking. Wow, it is wonderful. I get out every other day and bike between 15 and 30 miles. I started around 14 mph and am now averaging 15.5 to 19 mph (mounted a gps to the bike). I have perhaps biked 600 miles at this point, but have not been keeping close track.
To back up though, it took me a couple of hours to put the bike together. I was concerned about a couple of holes in the box, but nothing was damaged or missing. The instructions were very good. I put on my old toe clips from my mountain bike and later changed to Power Grips from another bike. I think I like the toe clips better. Perhaps ideally I would get some type of clipless pedals now that my confidence is up (but my account is quite drained so it will be awhile).
Speaking of confidence, it took me a couple of hundred miles before I could really relax for the majority of the trip. I first started on blacktop roads but soon ended up on some loose gravel roads and had white knuckles for much of them. Especially going downhill with dogs chasing me and a bear ahead crossing the road . Yup it really happened but I am still here and loving it. I have since gained some confidence on gravel but would like to try other tires than the Kenda type that the Sofrider came with. One of the posting said how good hills are for us- I do like powering up them, but I cannot but cringe if I am facing a large loose gravel covered hill. After a couple hundred miles I was getting more confidence (perhaps too much?) and was trying a one handed active pedaling powered turn, got a little wide, a car a little too close, and found myself with legs wide and rolling into a ditch. Fortunately there were no obstacles in the ditch and the suspension absorbed much of the energy. Once back under control I turned around and meekly waved -"I'm OK but really embarrassed" at the faces pressed towards me through the car windows.
Minor bike annoyances:
*one of the plastic plugs located where the crank would go on a upright bike fell out.
*the plastic edging around the seats keeps coming of
little things really.
I am not yet confident to go both hands free and find myself wondering why I would really want to. I can remove one hand at a time and get my water bottle or signal, but I find I really use my upper body to help power the bike. Today, as I was biking I started to visualize the combined muscle activity as it spreads diagonally from the powered foot across the torso through the back and lateral stomach muscles into the shoulder and arm. It is certainly not a fixed seat rowing motion that would have more muscle range of the upper body, but it is more than the nothing that my Sun EZ-1 recumbent uses. It is very helpful to spread out the load on a bunch more muscles.
I did run into a physical problem the other day. It was not unexpected, I had just hoped that the different body position would eliminate a past problem. After slightly over 30 miles, I developed sharp pain on the outside of my right knee. A few years ago I saw the doc with this problem (after about 40 miles on my EZ-1 and after 16 miles on my mountain bike). The knee turned out fine, the problem seems to be with the connective tissue between my hip and knee. The tissue must just get heated up and swells from the repetitive motion. I need to look more into if I can do specific exercises and/or stretching and perhaps cold/hot packs. Anyway I have slowed down and do not bike beyond 30 miles at a time-yet. I dream of doing more than 200 miles in a day though.
Yes it is a cure- at least for me. I love my new Cruzbike Sofrider.
If you ever get up to Northwestern Wisconsin, look me up, I would love to show you some of the wonderful biking we have here.
To back up though, it took me a couple of hours to put the bike together. I was concerned about a couple of holes in the box, but nothing was damaged or missing. The instructions were very good. I put on my old toe clips from my mountain bike and later changed to Power Grips from another bike. I think I like the toe clips better. Perhaps ideally I would get some type of clipless pedals now that my confidence is up (but my account is quite drained so it will be awhile).
Speaking of confidence, it took me a couple of hundred miles before I could really relax for the majority of the trip. I first started on blacktop roads but soon ended up on some loose gravel roads and had white knuckles for much of them. Especially going downhill with dogs chasing me and a bear ahead crossing the road
. Yup it really happened but I am still here and loving it. I have since gained some confidence on gravel but would like to try other tires than the Kenda type that the Sofrider came with. One of the posting said how good hills are for us- I do like powering up them, but I cannot but cringe if I am facing a large loose gravel covered hill. After a couple hundred miles I was getting more confidence (perhaps too much?) and was trying a one handed active pedaling powered turn, got a little wide, a car a little too close, and found myself with legs wide and rolling into a ditch. Fortunately there were no obstacles in the ditch and the suspension absorbed much of the energy. Once back under control I turned around and meekly waved -"I'm OK but really embarrassed" at the faces pressed towards me through the car windows. Minor bike annoyances:
*one of the plastic plugs located where the crank would go on a upright bike fell out.
*the plastic edging around the seats keeps coming of
little things really.
I am not yet confident to go both hands free and find myself wondering why I would really want to. I can remove one hand at a time and get my water bottle or signal, but I find I really use my upper body to help power the bike. Today, as I was biking I started to visualize the combined muscle activity as it spreads diagonally from the powered foot across the torso through the back and lateral stomach muscles into the shoulder and arm. It is certainly not a fixed seat rowing motion that would have more muscle range of the upper body, but it is more than the nothing that my Sun EZ-1 recumbent uses. It is very helpful to spread out the load on a bunch more muscles.
I did run into a physical problem the other day. It was not unexpected, I had just hoped that the different body position would eliminate a past problem. After slightly over 30 miles, I developed sharp pain on the outside of my right knee. A few years ago I saw the doc with this problem (after about 40 miles on my EZ-1 and after 16 miles on my mountain bike). The knee turned out fine, the problem seems to be with the connective tissue between my hip and knee. The tissue must just get heated up and swells from the repetitive motion. I need to look more into if I can do specific exercises and/or stretching and perhaps cold/hot packs. Anyway I have slowed down and do not bike beyond 30 miles at a time-yet. I dream of doing more than 200 miles in a day though.
Yes it is a cure- at least for me. I love my new Cruzbike Sofrider.
If you ever get up to Northwestern Wisconsin, look me up, I would love to show you some of the wonderful biking we have here.
John Tolhurst
Zen MBB Master
Hey, great report, Shawnt!
I think you nailed everything except the need for other tires. You may be right, but my experience here http://cruzbike.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=183&p=1373&hilit=Keating+Road#p1373 reinforces the widely known solution for gravel, which is to reduce tire pressure. With 100 psi, the tires bounce over every pebble, but at 45psi, they float, absorb give a steadiness you might not predict. If you swapped out the tires to mtb ones, it is actually the lower psi as much as anything else that makes it all ride better.
I think you nailed everything except the need for other tires. You may be right, but my experience here http://cruzbike.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=183&p=1373&hilit=Keating+Road#p1373 reinforces the widely known solution for gravel, which is to reduce tire pressure. With 100 psi, the tires bounce over every pebble, but at 45psi, they float, absorb give a steadiness you might not predict. If you swapped out the tires to mtb ones, it is actually the lower psi as much as anything else that makes it all ride better.
JonB
Zen MBB Master
I lost one or both of mine as well. It doesnt mean anything. I wonder why they are there, they add weight ;-)
The plastic edging caused me trouble too. I used glue to keep it on, but it still seems to fall off, just much slower. You could get some similar stuff but with metal clamps in it. That ought to hold. I have heard that others drilled holes in the seat and used cable strips to tie it down. I would think that drilling even smaller holes, then you could use rough seweing thread.
teacherbill
Well-Known Member
I must be a minimalist, on my conversion after portions kept coming off, I took the entire thing off and put it in the "collectibles area" just in case .......
I've dedicated my entire life to understanding all the various adhesives ever known to mankind.......
......OK so I get a little carried away at times. LOL
You can get this Weldbond stuff at most any hardware store and it is truly one of the best kept secrets of the trade. Its versatile, strong and easy water clean up. As an old experienced scratch model airplane builder from long ago (Ok so there I go again). As you surely must know modelers glue most everything and anything. LOL Particularly perplexing was the problem of adhering the clear flexible canopies to our airplane models. It was a much more demanding problem than these vinyl strips on the Cruzbike seats yet Similar. There I've just given away one of my most valuable secrets.
I would just dilute a little of this stuff into a bottle cap and with a very small brush I would bush it into the vinyl grooves or slots and hold it on to the aluminum until the glue dries with strips of masking tape. Quickly wipe up any loose glue with water and rag and your done.
Mark i would take that gorilla glue and throw it back over the fence into the Gorilla cage where it came from. LOL The cleanup alone sends chills up my spine. ( I hate acetone.ugggg!!!) Any time I touch glue I spill a little here and there. All late breaking water based technology is leaving the chemical based thinners and cleanups in the dust.
That residual foam you mentioned implies a fill strength and is but a mirage and it is simply not there. I guess you can tell I hate that stuff. I'm not denying the strength between actual contact points but you cant be assure a good contact points with this clue. Everywhere you see the foam is a weak contact point.
PS Heck I even butt joined a 4X4 fence post with this Weldbond stuff 15 years ago. I'll even send you a picture of that if you want. LOL (it and 9 others are still standing in my back yard. LOL
Regards
Bob
......OK so I get a little carried away at times. LOL
You can get this Weldbond stuff at most any hardware store and it is truly one of the best kept secrets of the trade. Its versatile, strong and easy water clean up. As an old experienced scratch model airplane builder from long ago (Ok so there I go again). As you surely must know modelers glue most everything and anything. LOL Particularly perplexing was the problem of adhering the clear flexible canopies to our airplane models. It was a much more demanding problem than these vinyl strips on the Cruzbike seats yet Similar. There I've just given away one of my most valuable secrets.
I would just dilute a little of this stuff into a bottle cap and with a very small brush I would bush it into the vinyl grooves or slots and hold it on to the aluminum until the glue dries with strips of masking tape. Quickly wipe up any loose glue with water and rag and your done.
Mark i would take that gorilla glue and throw it back over the fence into the Gorilla cage where it came from. LOL The cleanup alone sends chills up my spine. ( I hate acetone.ugggg!!!) Any time I touch glue I spill a little here and there. All late breaking water based technology is leaving the chemical based thinners and cleanups in the dust.
That residual foam you mentioned implies a fill strength and is but a mirage and it is simply not there. I guess you can tell I hate that stuff. I'm not denying the strength between actual contact points but you cant be assure a good contact points with this clue. Everywhere you see the foam is a weak contact point.
PS Heck I even butt joined a 4X4 fence post with this Weldbond stuff 15 years ago. I'll even send you a picture of that if you want. LOL (it and 9 others are still standing in my back yard. LOL
Regards
Bob
Thanks for your advise. Now that I have had some experience on gravel at 100 psi, I look forward to trying with lesser tire pressure. As my routes frequent both blacktop and gravel I will need to find a balance, or just give my handpump a work out. I also will think about removing the extras. I can always put them back on. Weldbond, hmmm. I do like sticking things together. Wouldn't it just make more sense for Cruzbike to bevel the edge of the seats instead of the trim?
Mark B
Zen MBB Master
You want the seat edge, at least on the pan, to protect the bike from itself. I frequently fold my bike in half for transport in my Toyota Matrix; allows the bike to become a small package and can be hauled like this without removing any wheels. Without the trim on the seat pan, you would get paint damage to either the seat, or the TFT. It serves a purpose and once you get it to stay on, you'll never give it another thought.
Mark
super slim
Zen MBB Master
Shawnt,
You are correct about the Softrider giving you upper body a good work out, and MORE speed than a recumbent with under frame bars (HP Scorpion FX trike).
I enjoy hills up to 9% on the Softrider, where on the trike I HATE any hills as ALL the work has to be done with my legs only!
Bob,
I will try the Weldbond out in Australia, and see if it works upside down!
Regards
Super Slim
You are correct about the Softrider giving you upper body a good work out, and MORE speed than a recumbent with under frame bars (HP Scorpion FX trike).
I enjoy hills up to 9% on the Softrider, where on the trike I HATE any hills as ALL the work has to be done with my legs only!
Bob,
I will try the Weldbond out in Australia, and see if it works upside down!
Regards
Super Slim
Hi Shawnt;
I like the vinyl trim just fine. Its tons cheaper than tooling that lip or bend into the aluminum your talking about. Point is that the vinyl actually adds an nice visual touch(in my opinion) once you've Welbonded it. Mine originally had a little adhesive in key places so I just reinforced it where needed. Teacherbill has no trouble pulling the vinyl completely off. Of course teacherbill has been caught driving completely naked. I mean with a naked or no cushion on his seat that is. LOL
Bob
PS Although I must confess this is a little over kill I did the cute little holes with the cute little ties too.
To Super Slim;
I did not think about the Australian problem. Perhaps if they were to put the instructions on the bottom it would be oozing out in you lap as you read. Or is it the other way round. Let me get back to on this. :roll:
I like the vinyl trim just fine. Its tons cheaper than tooling that lip or bend into the aluminum your talking about. Point is that the vinyl actually adds an nice visual touch(in my opinion) once you've Welbonded it. Mine originally had a little adhesive in key places so I just reinforced it where needed. Teacherbill has no trouble pulling the vinyl completely off. Of course teacherbill has been caught driving completely naked. I mean with a naked or no cushion on his seat that is. LOL
Bob
PS Although I must confess this is a little over kill I did the cute little holes with the cute little ties too.
To Super Slim;
I did not think about the Australian problem. Perhaps if they were to put the instructions on the bottom it would be oozing out in you lap as you read. Or is it the other way round. Let me get back to on this. :roll:
teacherbill
Well-Known Member
Now wait a minute, I feel that my reputation is going downhill or since you were speaking to someone from down-under is going up-hill. Anyway I thought this was a family oriented forum. I will confess that yes I ride the conversion without the seat padding, I even took the vel-crow off so that my nylon shorts wouldn't pull from the little "catchers".
Onto a more serious note, what do the cold weather riders, below 55 degrees wear on the exposed flesh. I moved to Florida to stay away from anything below 60 degrees. Suggestions?
John Tolhurst
Zen MBB Master
Bob,
what's your expectations for weldbond on the sigma where the seat is painted?
John
what's your expectations for weldbond on the sigma where the seat is painted?
John
Peder Torgersen
Guru
Wool as Jon mentioned is good in cold weather the other important thing is to keep peddling.
http://www.cruzbike.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=578&p=4757#p4757
Peder
