Daydreaming of upgrades

[AlexisBV]

Since it's been snowing outside for more than a month, and it's also been more than a month since the tacx neo is on back order at my favourite LBS, I got in a dangerous habit of daydreaming of upgrades for my S30. Talking with a cycling buddy has only made things worse...

So, I'm wondering what your recommendations (and thoughts/experience) are on the following upgrades for an S30. For the sake of daydreaming, let's pretend that budget isn't too much of an issue.

My use cases for the Silvio are usually century rides in mostly forgiving terrain but with the occasional mountainous event thrown in (such as the 2017 Vermont Challenge). I'm not into competitive racing but I'm looking for above-average numbers (otherwise I wouldn't be riding a CB).

For 2017
- Direct drive trainer - I'm shooting for the Tacx Neo, but like I said my LBS won't have it for at least another week.
- Bigger cargo solution - the CB scarab bag doesn't seem bad for a picnic or similar, and is bigger than my current sling pack. I wouldn't use a big bag for events or challenges, though.
- New helmet - the Giro AirAttack with shield looks real sexy, though I don't know if the shield is going to properly block wind and bugs due to the laid back recumbent angle
- Side mirrors or helmet mirror (or both)?

For 2017 or 2018
- Power meter (probably on new cranks.. like a 2inpower)
- Q-rings (Qarbon and QXL seem to be roughly the same price)
- Wireless shifting, such as eTap

If I win the lottery (assuming I start playing):
- Wheel upgrade for tubeless tyres and disk brakes exclusively

Anyone with similar upgrades done or in mind?

 

[Charles.Plager]

Mirrors are a great idea. I personally have trouble focusing on helmet mirrors (although I think with the right helmet mirror and practice I could make it work).

I have these mirrors and I really like them (I use both because I can keep an eye on both cars with the left one and my kids with the right one).

 

[mzweili]

I tried helmet mount mirrors, Zéfal Spy mirrors and ended up with a Rearviz mirror (https://www.rearviz.com/)
On my Silvio with bullhorn bars the Zéfal mirrors are not high enough, so I was looking at my shoulders.
On the Vendetta with the more inclined position Zéfals seem to work well.
I'm very satisfied with the Rearviz, mounted on the fore arm, there is less vibration and gives the possibility to change the viewing angle.

 

[tiltmaniac]

A number of folks, myself included, run tubeless and have liked it. It improved cornering speed, allowed me to climb steeper hills, and probably decreased the amount I must pedal on the flats. Ditto q-rings. A fair number of folks have tried them and kept them on the bike. Myself included.

I also very much enjoyed cycling with a power meter (I use a PowerTap hub). Mainly I use it for edification and tracking of my fitness. Others on the site use it for effective training (see the Sebring thread), which is pretty awesome.

Other upgrade ideas:
ratz swears by his xd-15 bottom-bracket.
The Bacchetta Brain Box and the BUC Seat Bag look like good options to increase storage too, though they'll do it with a higher CoG and more weight on the rear (instead of 50/50 like the Scarab).

If you do win the lottery and build a new wheel, I'm a big fan of TRP's disc brakes. Both the Spyre and the Hy/Rd have great reviews (I have the Spyre, others run the Hy/Rd. I chose the Spyre since it is also dual-piston, and the adjustment knob I have is good enough for the entire lifetime of the pads (down to metal) without needing to adjust anything with a wrench, and since then I don't need to carry a bleed-kit on a tour). It looks like quite a number of folks on the site use these!

I'll note that the front wheel matters more than the rear w.r.t. braking. You could have a disc on the front and calipers on the rear, and that'd probably work just fine. This could save you the cost of a wheel...

 

[bladderhead]

You could turn it into a tilting trike. For some reason tiltmaniac forgot to mention that.

I wanted hydraulic brakes, so I tried Hylex. When I started my handlebar experiments I found the levers did not fit. Therefore I tried Hy-rd and found that they are good.

 

[Charles.Plager]

I'll note that the front wheel matters more than the rear w.r.t. braking. You could have a disc on the front and calipers on the rear, and that'd probably work just fine. This could save you the cost of a wheel...

From a stopping point of view, this is very true. From a "how it feels" point of view, you'd have to get used to having very different brakes on the front and the rear. I'm sure it could be done, but it's worth mentioning ahead of time.

 

[LarryOz]

ratz swears by his xd-15 bottom-bracket.

It is the Bomb - just don't over tighten the "outer rings" that hold it in place.
As for brakes - I just find they slow me down - however they are a necessary evil when stopping is mandatory. (Using the shoes like Fred Flintstone gets rather expensive)
It would be nice to really know what the "aero penalty" is for disc brakes over rim brakes.
Something else to add to the wind-tunnel testing I guess, although there is probably some pretty good data already out there from wheel manufacturers.

 

[bladderhead]

You need brake pad material on the bottoms of your shoes

 

[cranky cyclist]

They are now making shoes with imbedded graphite to keep from sliding on ice. They help a little. Maybe they could make enough for soles!

 

[bladderhead]

In an emergency you need to apply your brakes guickly. Getting your feet down is quicker on a diamond-frame. Being clipped in hampers the process. I can free my feet from my heel-clips really quickly. This could save you a couple of metres of stopping distance.

Or lots of metres if you are Larry.

 

[tiltmaniac]

Dear readers:
We're joking around talking about braking with our feet instead of using brakes.

For those of you who don't already know: Don't your legs as brakes on a recumbent, since it will easily lead to leg-suck.
Leg-suck is where your leg gets "sucked" under the seat, and bends farther than it is supposed to.
This will result in torn ligaments/tendons and, if you're lucky, broken bones.
This isn't theoretical-- sadly, I have friends who've proven this.

 

[Zzzorse]

Is leg suck possible on a Vendetta or Silvio?

 

[AlexisBV]

I'm still not convinced on the supposedly better braking performance from disc brakes. I don't have much extreme braking experience on the bent, but on my road DF I can easily lock both brakes with regular caliper brakes. In other words, as long as the friction between brakes and wheel is greater that the friction between wheels and ground, increasing brake pressure won't make you stop any faster.

There's talk of better modulation and such, but I don't think that affects minimum braking distance (unless you're really holding the edge of blocking like an ABS).

My reason for disc brakes is to allow me to use a wheel that's not burdened by the requirement to support rim brakes..

But of course I'm more than willing to be proven wrong

 

[ratz]

I'm still not convinced on the supposedly better braking performance from disc brakes. I don't have much extreme braking experience on the bent, but on my road DF I can easily lock both brakes with regular caliper brakes. In other words, as long as the friction between brakes and wheel is greater that the friction between wheels and ground, increasing brake pressure won't make you stop any faster.

There's talk of better modulation and such, but I don't think that affects minimum braking distance (unless you're really holding the edge of blocking like an ABS).

My reason for disc brakes is to allow me to use a wheel that's not burdened by the requirement to support rim brakes..

But of course I'm more than willing to be proven wrong

Down hill at 12% for more than 1000 yards with a T intersection on to a busy road at the bottom will change your mind as your RIM brakes start to dramatically fade. Aka depends on where you live and ride. Basically if you need disc brakes then you will likely know it; if you don't need them then you won't see the need. It's a very self correcting situation.

 

[tiltmaniac]

Is leg suck possible on a Vendetta or Silvio?

Yup. My friend demonstrated it. If you're putting your leg down while falling, then the distance between the ground and the seat can be arbitrarily small...

 

[tiltmaniac]

Down hill at 12% for more than 1000 yards with a T intersection on to a busy road at the bottom will change your mind as your RIM brakes start to dramatically fade. Aka depends on where you live and ride. Basically if you need disc brakes then you will likely know it; if you don't need them then you won't see the need. It's a very self correcting situation.

When I used to tour the Alps I had a rim-brake bicycle.
Interesting things discovered:
1) Rim-brakes fade when it is wet (which happens unpredictably on tours..)
2) Rim-brakes fade when the rim is too hot.
3) The air in the tube, when it gets warm, expands. This can cause the tube to violently fail (basically explode). It sounds remarkably like a gun-shot when this happens.
Luckily, this last one I verified before going to the Alps and I was lucky enough to have it happen on the rear instead of the front...

Since having violent tire failure is scary:
4) I had to stop periodically to let my wheels/rims cool off to avoid #3.
5) Or I had to get close to terminal velocity to waste more energy into wind resistance, and putting less into the wheels. This was workable only on a few (straight, beautiful, Swiss) roads. On Italian roads, especially the steeper ones, I had to stop regularly since I had to go slowly down these hills (the road surface was often crap) ... which meant more energy into the wheels, less air to cool 'em off, and basically no energy going into wind resistance.
My wheels were often too hot to touch comfortably.

Moral of story?
I use disc-brakes on all my bikes now.

 

[AlexisBV]

Fair points for the disc brakes (thanks!), and makes sense if you ride in hilly terrain. Not really the case here in Montreal (which explains why I've never had issues with rim brakes before)

 

[AlexisBV]

It's a very self correcting situation.

Meaning mountain bikers with rim brakes don't get to pass on their genes, while those with disc brakes do, so eventually the gene pool in mountainous regions becomes dominated by disc genes.

(married to a biologist)

 

[Robert O]

Since it's been snowing outside for more than a month, and it's also been more than a month since the tacx neo is on back order at my favourite LBS, I got in a dangerous habit of daydreaming of upgrades for my S30. Talking with a cycling buddy has only made things worse...

So, I'm wondering what your recommendations (and thoughts/experience) are on the following upgrades for an S30. For the sake of daydreaming, let's pretend that budget isn't too much of an issue.

My use cases for the Silvio are usually century rides in mostly forgiving terrain but with the occasional mountainous event thrown in (such as the 2017 Vermont Challenge). I'm not into competitive racing but I'm looking for above-average numbers (otherwise I wouldn't be riding a CB).

For 2017
- Direct drive trainer - I'm shooting for the Tacx Neo, but like I said my LBS won't have it for at least another week.
- Bigger cargo solution - the CB scarab bag doesn't seem bad for a picnic or similar, and is bigger than my current sling pack. I wouldn't use a big bag for events or challenges, though.
- New helmet - the Giro AirAttack with shield looks real sexy, though I don't know if the shield is going to properly block wind and bugs due to the laid back recumbent angle
- Side mirrors or helmet mirror (or both)?

For 2017 or 2018
- Power meter (probably on new cranks.. like a 2inpower)
- Q-rings (Qarbon and QXL seem to be roughly the same price)
- Wireless shifting, such as eTap

If I win the lottery (assuming I start playing):
- Wheel upgrade for tubeless tyres and disk brakes exclusively

Anyone with similar upgrades done or in mind?

I've run the Air Attack Shield helmet, and currently I'm using the Bell Star Pro Shield. Both work well, although I had to get extra thick pads on the Air Attack to give my glasses clearance. I like helmet mirrors, although if you go with a helmet with a face shield, mounting the mirror can be tricky (but doable). I'm also running tubeless, but with rim brakes. Love the tubeless tires!

 

[Charles.Plager]

Dear readers:
We're joking around talking about braking with our feet instead of using brakes.

For those of you who don't already know: Don't your legs as brakes on a recumbent, since it will easily lead to leg-suck.
Leg-suck is where your leg gets "sucked" under the seat, and bends farther than it is supposed to.
This will result in torn ligaments/tendons and, if you're lucky, broken bones.
This isn't theoretical-- sadly, I have friends who've proven this.

Leg suck is really dangerous when you'r on a tadpole trike and your feet get sucked under the bar holding the front wheels. It's ocnsiderably less dangerous on other recumbents.

That being said, I'm convinced you could do real damage dragging your feet on a Cruzbike at speed (just like you could on a DF bike), so don't do that.