Cruzbike S40 in Nairobi, Kenya!
- Thread starter ak-tux
- Start date
ak-tux
Zen MBB Master
Very true. It's scary but we learn to live with it, otherwise we would never ride.
bladderhead
Zen MBB Master
Traffic in Nairobi looks no worse than traffic in London. The best way to get used to the bike is to use it for commuting. I thought the videos of @LarryOz looked scary. Kenyans drive on the same side as British. Maybe you Americans should turn your screens round and look at the @ak-tux videos in the mirror.
billyk
Guru
Exciting video. Thoughtful thoughts. Thanks for that.
I also do most of my riding (commuting) in urban traffic. Trucks and buses are scary big, and loud, but at least the drivers know how to use their mirrors and they know where the corners of their vehicle are. Car drivers scare me more because they're sloppy drivers and not paying attention.
I also do most of my riding (commuting) in urban traffic. Trucks and buses are scary big, and loud, but at least the drivers know how to use their mirrors and they know where the corners of their vehicle are. Car drivers scare me more because they're sloppy drivers and not paying attention.
ak-tux
Zen MBB Master
Thanks Billy!
LarryOz
Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
Nice! Yeah - you need to put a 60-tooth ring on that baby for that race! Then you could go draft those trucks that passed you!
billyk
Guru
I guess now that you have an S40 you're too fast for your old cycling friends ;-).
ak-tux
Zen MBB Master
Haha, drafting not allowed on TT! I would be disqualified!
ak-tux
Zen MBB Master
My climbing speed has improved noticeably. But my downhill speed has not, probably because of the 1x gearing. My homemade bike was a bit faster downhill. I spin out occasionally on this 42T chainring. In this race, in particular, I spun out . I also got passed by a couple of road bikes, including downhill. I also believe my body reached it's limit for the day. My average Cadence was 101 ! I was spining 102 - 110 for a significant portion of the time. I'am not sure whether that is efficient or not. But I was slower than my PR's for most of the segments. The bike is fast but something has not quite clicked yet. I will figure it out eventually. I suspect the BB position or the cranks and Chainring.
I recently recieved a bigger and cheaper 48T Chinese chainring from eBay to see whether it improves . Its a Deckas narrow wide ring. But it means changing the cranks because it's not compatible with the SRAM Apex ones (The bolt holes on the SRAM Apex-1 are asymetrical and cannot take bigger rings from other manufacturers). I am waiting for another chinese crankset spider that matches the Deckas ring, then we will see how it goes. I now believe 1X drivetrains require 2 or 3 ring size options that one can swap out depending on the type of ride event.
I am happy all the same, and proud to be an S40 owner. Thanks.
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bladderhead
Zen MBB Master
There is a thread about that on this forum. Is @ak-tux going to Battle Mountain?LarryOz said:
It takes ages and miles to get a Cruzbike to fit you right. Everybody experiences this. Eventually @ak-tux will get it right and it will feel like a total blast.
Was it raining on that TT? Get mudguards. Keep the crap off your drivetrain.I
ak-tux
Zen MBB Master
Thanks! No, it did not rain during the ride, but it was cloudy and cool. It was clean tarmac. Chain was clean and freshly waxed! I had no excuses to make. I just didn't perform to my full potential.
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Mathew Fy
GRU
I considered doing that when setting up my S40 this summer, but I decided to use the double chainring (34-50) I already had. You should be able to go to a 2x drivetrain so you wouldn't have to decide which ring to start your ride with.
When looking at Sram's 1x 12 speed with 10-52t cassette, and still maintain the climbing gear ratio as my current set-up, my top speed would be 16% slower. That may be okay as I added the S40 to have a climbing, social, dirt road recumbent.
That picture is awesome!!!
ak-tux
Zen MBB Master
A little update on the My S40 crankset:
As I had shared earlier, I have been ocassionally spinning out on the 42T that came stock with the S40. This was not an issue on solo rides but on a fast group ride or a race it was an issue. Recumbents are fast downhill and getting passed by roadbikes on a gentle descent becuase I ran out of gears is humbling to say the least. I really like the 1x gearing but I wanted a little more on the top end without having to invest in an expensive XD driver hub or a double shifter and front derailluer. I just wanted to add 4 or 6 more teeth to the chainring.
The challenge with the SRAM Apex 1 crankset is that it only provides three chainring size options: 40, 42 and 44 . It also does not accept third party chainrings because the BCD (Bolt cycle diameter) is asymetrical and proprietary.
I therefore searched on ebay and found some affordable narrow-wide chainrings by a Chinese brand called Deckas using 104 BCD for only $30. They are also available in a wide variety of sizes from 32T all the way to 52T. I decided to first try a 48T chainring. And considering such a low price , and if climbing becomes a challenge I may later try a 46T.
Now the next problem was a matching crankset. Again on ebay, I found an affordable crankset called IXF but due to shipping issues the seller cancelled. I ended up buying another modular Chinese brand direct mount Crankset that looks like a copy of HOPE cranks or Zrace brand. This was cheaper to ship, becuase it packs into a smaller box. It includes an English threaded BB compatible with a Shimano Hollowtech II for 68/73 bottom bracket shells. I am not sure about the quality. Only time will tell.
Considerations:
1. Chainline: The SRAM Apex1 that came with the bike had a 45.5mm chainline. The new crankset was rated at a chainline of 48.5mm. For good shifting, I had to make sure I retain the original chainline or come close to it using the BB spacers. I installed a 2.5mm BB cup spacer on the drive side and two 2.5mm spacers on the none-drive side which brought the new chainline to 46mm which is 0.5mm off the original. Not perfect but close enough.
2. Chain length I was going to have to get a longer 11-speed KMC chain becuase it needed 4 additonal links added to the original chain. So I also ordered another KMC chain.
3. Crank length: The new Cranks did not offer 165mm arms. Only 170mm or 175mm. Oh well, I was back to the 170's that I had ridden for years. No problem.
4. Q factor: The crankset spindle is rated for MTBs so a bit wider Q factor. It was going to increase by 18mm. Not a big problem.
Additionally I changed my shoes to one size higher(45) becuase I was getting hotfoot while wearing my older 44 size shoes. I tried moving the cleats towards the middle of the foot but the problem persisted. Then after some research, I noticed that when I undid the straps it eased the discomfort and learned that my old shoes were too snag. I have a wide foot. This problem was there even before I got the S40 though.
My first test on a short ride today felt good. Iam seeing good potential. I think I am generating more torque with the 170mm cranks and my cruzing cadence has not dropped too much, may be only by about 5 rpms. I will see with a longer test.
Here are a few pictures :
Installed:
Chainline:
As I had shared earlier, I have been ocassionally spinning out on the 42T that came stock with the S40. This was not an issue on solo rides but on a fast group ride or a race it was an issue. Recumbents are fast downhill and getting passed by roadbikes on a gentle descent becuase I ran out of gears is humbling to say the least. I really like the 1x gearing but I wanted a little more on the top end without having to invest in an expensive XD driver hub or a double shifter and front derailluer. I just wanted to add 4 or 6 more teeth to the chainring.
The challenge with the SRAM Apex 1 crankset is that it only provides three chainring size options: 40, 42 and 44 . It also does not accept third party chainrings because the BCD (Bolt cycle diameter) is asymetrical and proprietary.
I therefore searched on ebay and found some affordable narrow-wide chainrings by a Chinese brand called Deckas using 104 BCD for only $30. They are also available in a wide variety of sizes from 32T all the way to 52T. I decided to first try a 48T chainring. And considering such a low price , and if climbing becomes a challenge I may later try a 46T.
Now the next problem was a matching crankset. Again on ebay, I found an affordable crankset called IXF but due to shipping issues the seller cancelled. I ended up buying another modular Chinese brand direct mount Crankset that looks like a copy of HOPE cranks or Zrace brand. This was cheaper to ship, becuase it packs into a smaller box. It includes an English threaded BB compatible with a Shimano Hollowtech II for 68/73 bottom bracket shells. I am not sure about the quality. Only time will tell.
Considerations:
1. Chainline: The SRAM Apex1 that came with the bike had a 45.5mm chainline. The new crankset was rated at a chainline of 48.5mm. For good shifting, I had to make sure I retain the original chainline or come close to it using the BB spacers. I installed a 2.5mm BB cup spacer on the drive side and two 2.5mm spacers on the none-drive side which brought the new chainline to 46mm which is 0.5mm off the original. Not perfect but close enough.
2. Chain length I was going to have to get a longer 11-speed KMC chain becuase it needed 4 additonal links added to the original chain. So I also ordered another KMC chain.
3. Crank length: The new Cranks did not offer 165mm arms. Only 170mm or 175mm. Oh well, I was back to the 170's that I had ridden for years. No problem.
4. Q factor: The crankset spindle is rated for MTBs so a bit wider Q factor. It was going to increase by 18mm. Not a big problem.
Additionally I changed my shoes to one size higher(45) becuase I was getting hotfoot while wearing my older 44 size shoes. I tried moving the cleats towards the middle of the foot but the problem persisted. Then after some research, I noticed that when I undid the straps it eased the discomfort and learned that my old shoes were too snag. I have a wide foot. This problem was there even before I got the S40 though.
My first test on a short ride today felt good. Iam seeing good potential. I think I am generating more torque with the 170mm cranks and my cruzing cadence has not dropped too much, may be only by about 5 rpms. I will see with a longer test.
Here are a few pictures :
Installed:
Chainline:
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billyk
Guru
I used to get hotfoot after an hour or so and fixed it by putting a rubber "button" below the insole, under my metatarsal joint, as described in the article linked below. Just a round flat piece of stiff foam rubber about 2cm across and maybe 4mm thick. Somehow it spreads the metatarsals and prevents the bones from pressing together. Others here may understand this better but I found good relief.
Also roomy enough shoes are really essential.
https://www.roadbikerider.com/how-to-deal-with-hot-foot-tips/
Or search "hotfoot metatarsal" to find diagrams of exactly where the button goes.
ak-tux
Zen MBB Master
Thanks Billy.
I must clarify that I don't think my hotfoot issue was cuased by the S40. I had been having the issue on my homemade recumbent too. Especially torwards the end of a long ride on a warm day. But it had become more pronounced lately and I was suspecting the shoes. Maybe the leather had become brittle. I have had the same shoes for several years. I tried to move the cleats as far back towards the centre of the shoes as I could but no relief. I tried to put a piece of rubber under the insole to spread the toes but also didn't work, made it even more uncomfortable. Strangley enough, the same shoes on my DF roadbike did not cuase the same discomfort. Beats me. Maybe my leg engages differrently while on the roadbike.
I researched and found that for some, they need wider shoes. So I first tried to completely loosen the straps and wore very thin socks. That seemed to work. So that gave me an idea to try a shoe one size bigger than what I had. Thats what I did and so far it feels very good. I am yet to try a long 5 or 6 hour ride in warm conditions. But the signs are good.
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