psychling
Well-Known Member
Coming from the flatlands of the American prairie it was pretty much an uninvestigated assumption that going fast under any and all conditions was the mark of a powerful athlete. The faster you can go, with or without a tailwind, the stronger and more skilled rider you are.
But now that I've relocated to the American southwest -- with low basin deserts and high mountain ranges -- at the cost of a great deal of road rash, some stitches and an embarrassingly expensive destruction of bike parts, I've got a firm working knowledge that going `fast' is sometimes the mark of an unwise cyclist.
At this point in my training in the Arizona mountains on the recumbent I'm aware that my real goal -- emotional and ego -- is to be able to be a commanding recumbent cyclist in both the basin and the range. That is, to express physical athleticism, endurance, skill and knowledge on the recumbent in both the baking desert and the ceaseless climbs in the mountains.
I'm drawn to this goal because of my natural physical limits (I'm not a sprinter and I'm not the fastest cyclist) and my capacity for disciplined pursuit of achievements others avoid.
The rear wheel high racer recumbent is a great platform for both the basin and the range. Current and popular repute gives carbon fiber recumbents (Bacchetta and Carbent, to name a few) the front row as flexible and worthy platforms.
I think the `popular' repute is limited and does not credit the Cruzbike Vendetta (and the Cruzbike Silvio, though this platform has a weight disadvantage) with the design features that can best the Bacchetta and Carbent stable.
Bacchetta and Carbent sell a lot of bikes. Good bikes. I've got a Bacchetta. And it is clearly understandable that those owning them put them to a lot of good use. And the mere ubiquity of these recumbents for both casual and competitive cycling is persuasive to the cycling community.
The Cruzbike Silvio has many solid accomplishments to support the conclusion that it is a `contender.' But many cyclists resist learning and become skilled at riding a front wheel drive bike. It's `different' and the average rider mistakenly (I think) concludes that `if it ain't broke don't fix it.'
The absence of evidence is not evidence of its absence.
The fact that the Cruzbike Vendetta has only been sold in a limited (50?) quantity since late April of 2011 means that it hasn't been tested enough to accumulate evidence.
Over the next year I'll be training and competing almost exclusively on the Cruzbike Silvio and the Cruzbike Vendetta. I'm intending to generate evidence as to the worth of the Vendetta as a solid all around versatile performance recumbent -- both on the flats and in the mountains.
Just as it takes time to develop a skill at anything I will need time training in the mountains on these front wheel drive platforms.
So, I consider it a worthy challenge to be a strong mountain recumbent cyclist riding the best performing recumbent bicycle. And, the very feature that causes others to resist building skill on front wheel drive recumbents, is the feature that `drives' my training effort: it's hard, scary and the learning curve may include many painful, embarrassing and punishing `failures.' But, hey! I know the Cruzbike Vendetta is better than the other recumbents because I've both ridden and competed on them.
And I'll prove it.
- Dan
http://psychling1.blogspot.com/
But now that I've relocated to the American southwest -- with low basin deserts and high mountain ranges -- at the cost of a great deal of road rash, some stitches and an embarrassingly expensive destruction of bike parts, I've got a firm working knowledge that going `fast' is sometimes the mark of an unwise cyclist.
At this point in my training in the Arizona mountains on the recumbent I'm aware that my real goal -- emotional and ego -- is to be able to be a commanding recumbent cyclist in both the basin and the range. That is, to express physical athleticism, endurance, skill and knowledge on the recumbent in both the baking desert and the ceaseless climbs in the mountains.
I'm drawn to this goal because of my natural physical limits (I'm not a sprinter and I'm not the fastest cyclist) and my capacity for disciplined pursuit of achievements others avoid.
The rear wheel high racer recumbent is a great platform for both the basin and the range. Current and popular repute gives carbon fiber recumbents (Bacchetta and Carbent, to name a few) the front row as flexible and worthy platforms.
I think the `popular' repute is limited and does not credit the Cruzbike Vendetta (and the Cruzbike Silvio, though this platform has a weight disadvantage) with the design features that can best the Bacchetta and Carbent stable.
Bacchetta and Carbent sell a lot of bikes. Good bikes. I've got a Bacchetta. And it is clearly understandable that those owning them put them to a lot of good use. And the mere ubiquity of these recumbents for both casual and competitive cycling is persuasive to the cycling community.
The Cruzbike Silvio has many solid accomplishments to support the conclusion that it is a `contender.' But many cyclists resist learning and become skilled at riding a front wheel drive bike. It's `different' and the average rider mistakenly (I think) concludes that `if it ain't broke don't fix it.'
The absence of evidence is not evidence of its absence.
The fact that the Cruzbike Vendetta has only been sold in a limited (50?) quantity since late April of 2011 means that it hasn't been tested enough to accumulate evidence.
Over the next year I'll be training and competing almost exclusively on the Cruzbike Silvio and the Cruzbike Vendetta. I'm intending to generate evidence as to the worth of the Vendetta as a solid all around versatile performance recumbent -- both on the flats and in the mountains.
Just as it takes time to develop a skill at anything I will need time training in the mountains on these front wheel drive platforms.
So, I consider it a worthy challenge to be a strong mountain recumbent cyclist riding the best performing recumbent bicycle. And, the very feature that causes others to resist building skill on front wheel drive recumbents, is the feature that `drives' my training effort: it's hard, scary and the learning curve may include many painful, embarrassing and punishing `failures.' But, hey! I know the Cruzbike Vendetta is better than the other recumbents because I've both ridden and competed on them.
And I'll prove it.
- Dan
http://psychling1.blogspot.com/
