John Tolhurst
Zen MBB Master
Hi John,
the shimano capreo has a 9 tooth sproket, but its so small you have to have the capreo hub as well. You can get an 11-34 which is what is on the V1 8 speed. You can get them 9 speed too.
First ride - New Sofrider
- Thread starter Doug Burton
- Start date
the shimano capreo has a 9 tooth sproket, but its so small you have to have the capreo hub as well. You can get an 11-34 which is what is on the V1 8 speed. You can get them 9 speed too.
KenM
Member
Well I've had my first ride since getting my derailers sorted out. Thanks Kim! 
Anyway it is nice to focus on the bike and the ride and not problems. I've still got progress to make but tackled some seriously steep hills that are between home and work. On the first really big one, which is also a series of curves, I found I was struggling to stay on the correct side of the 3m wide bike path, however by the time I got to the next big one I was doing a good deal better. I also managed the tight U-turns on a pedestrian/cyclist overpass, which was one of the challenges I'd set myself , but not the very tight choke points on either side of a road crossing. That'll come!
I'm finding that the steering on the Sofrider is a bit more twitchy than my conventional bike and that I'm still not taking entirely smooth lines through long curves, especially at speed, and some of the time I tend to gently zig-zag as well. I'm sure that this will get better in time!
As soon as I can get a rack to hold my Topeak MTX Trunkbag for my change of clothes, I'll start taking it to and from work. Does anyone have any knowledge of the pros and cons of the “rat-tail” rack vs the conventional racks – and in respect of the latter, where you attach the front mounts? :?:
In relation to John T's comments about the gearing. I'm sure that the range is pretty good at a technical level, however its not wide enough for my style and the big hills I regularly deal with - there's some even steeper that I tackle occasionally than those today. The lowest gear is almost low enough and I'd probably rarely max out the top gear on the flat, but on big down-hills where there is no real need to peddle I like to keep peddling at a relatively slow cadence rather than just coasting or keeping up a brisk cadence, as it makes me feel more secure and "in control". On my conventional Giant Inova I don't use the very fastest gear all that often but really enjoy it when I do; I suspect that in due course I'll investigate either a third cog at the front or (horrors) a Rohloff, although I suspect that cost will rule out the latter. Alternatively, would it be OK to change the existing big cog at the front to a slightly larger one, or would that upset the ratios too much? I'm still a babe in the woods when it comes to these technical details!
At some stage I'll probably also swap the pedals to give me the option of using cleats.
The bike is growing on me! No aches, pains or hand problems at all - which start anytime after 10km on the conventional bike.
Cheers,
-Ken
Anyway it is nice to focus on the bike and the ride and not problems. I've still got progress to make but tackled some seriously steep hills that are between home and work. On the first really big one, which is also a series of curves, I found I was struggling to stay on the correct side of the 3m wide bike path, however by the time I got to the next big one I was doing a good deal better. I also managed the tight U-turns on a pedestrian/cyclist overpass, which was one of the challenges I'd set myself
, but not the very tight choke points on either side of a road crossing. That'll come!I'm finding that the steering on the Sofrider is a bit more twitchy than my conventional bike and that I'm still not taking entirely smooth lines through long curves, especially at speed, and some of the time I tend to gently zig-zag as well. I'm sure that this will get better in time!
As soon as I can get a rack to hold my Topeak MTX Trunkbag for my change of clothes, I'll start taking it to and from work. Does anyone have any knowledge of the pros and cons of the “rat-tail” rack vs the conventional racks – and in respect of the latter, where you attach the front mounts? :?:
In relation to John T's comments about the gearing. I'm sure that the range is pretty good at a technical level, however its not wide enough for my style and the big hills I regularly deal with - there's some even steeper that I tackle occasionally than those today. The lowest gear is almost low enough and I'd probably rarely max out the top gear on the flat, but on big down-hills where there is no real need to peddle I like to keep peddling at a relatively slow cadence rather than just coasting or keeping up a brisk cadence, as it makes me feel more secure and "in control". On my conventional Giant Inova I don't use the very fastest gear all that often but really enjoy it when I do; I suspect that in due course I'll investigate either a third cog at the front or (horrors) a Rohloff, although I suspect that cost will rule out the latter. Alternatively, would it be OK to change the existing big cog at the front to a slightly larger one, or would that upset the ratios too much? I'm still a babe in the woods when it comes to these technical details!
At some stage I'll probably also swap the pedals to give me the option of using cleats.
The bike is growing on me!
No aches, pains or hand problems at all - which start anytime after 10km on the conventional bike.Cheers,
-Ken
Doug Burton
Zen MBB Master
Hi Ken,
If you want to go to a triple crank and retain the short crank arms, this crank is available in 145mm, 155mm, and 165mm:
http://www.calhouncycle.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=70&idproduct=1725
You'd also need a small ring, probably a 24t. And addtional chainring bolts.
I used an IRD "Triplizer" ring on an SRV2 I converted to disc brakes and triple chainrings fot Jeff Parker to research ergonomics for the Quest. The Triplizer only works on 110mm bolt circle cranks; yours is a 130mm BCD.
Best,
Doug
If you want to go to a triple crank and retain the short crank arms, this crank is available in 145mm, 155mm, and 165mm:
http://www.calhouncycle.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=70&idproduct=1725
You'd also need a small ring, probably a 24t. And addtional chainring bolts.
I used an IRD "Triplizer" ring on an SRV2 I converted to disc brakes and triple chainrings fot Jeff Parker to research ergonomics for the Quest. The Triplizer only works on 110mm bolt circle cranks; yours is a 130mm BCD.
Best,
Doug
John said "As a boom fitted with a tandem BB shell to provide chain tension adjustment, yes a good chance". I'll expose by ignorance by admitting that this is Greek to me. I don't know what you mean by "a tandem BB shell" and I'm wondering what the implications of "yes a good chance" are. Does this bode well for some kit parts that would support building an internal geared Sofrider?
Doug Burton
Zen MBB Master
Tandems sometimes use an "eccentric" bottom bracket, where the BB axle isn't centered in the shell. This allows chain tension to be adjusted by rotating the shell, thus moving the axle fore-and-aft.
Most of these require oversized BB shells with pinch bolts.
http://www.pvdwiki.com/index.php?title=Shimming_Eccentric_Bottom_Brackets
I've heard of one that will fit in a standard 1.37" BB shell, but haven't been able to find a picture or a purchase link.
Gromit
Guru
There is a thread about fitting racks onto the rear swing arm of the Sofrider/Freerider here.
Before I fitted my swing arm type rack on my Sofrider, I used a seat post mounted, Topeak MTX BeamRack (A-Type).
Doug,
Thank you very much for the explanation. Now that I understand what John was talking about, I'm wondering if the fore-aft travel provided by the tandem BB would be sufficient to accommodate the chain length change over the full range of adjustment of the Cruzbike front triangle.
Thank you very much for the explanation. Now that I understand what John was talking about, I'm wondering if the fore-aft travel provided by the tandem BB would be sufficient to accommodate the chain length change over the full range of adjustment of the Cruzbike front triangle.
John Tolhurst
Zen MBB Master
Good question.
The axle BB length changes 5mm over the leg adjustment range, with the longest being at about the mid point of the adjustment range.
We could specify a half pitch chain, whose length can be adjusted in 0.5" increments. So making it possible to remove a half link at the extreme adjustment points, if needed. Some of the versatility of quick changes in adjustment for different riders will be lost unless a chain tension is used, in which case its obiously fine without the tandem BB.
The axle BB length changes 5mm over the leg adjustment range, with the longest being at about the mid point of the adjustment range.
We could specify a half pitch chain, whose length can be adjusted in 0.5" increments. So making it possible to remove a half link at the extreme adjustment points, if needed. Some of the versatility of quick changes in adjustment for different riders will be lost unless a chain tension is used, in which case its obiously fine without the tandem BB.
KenM
Member
First ride home from work today. I'm impressed! :shock:
I wasn't trying for speed, just a good, efficient ride, yet it was the 3rd fastest ride I've recorded! :lol:
I still don't feel as strong going up the hills as on my standard bike and there doesn't yet seem much reserve for really steep hills, but I think I'll get there in due course; just more more time in the saddle!
With the help of my friendly bike shop I got my Topeak luggage rack mounted onto the rear axle point successfully. We used an extra set of the supplied front stays joined to the existing ones and bolted them into the small triangular holes just below the rear suspension point. So far it seems to be working well. If it proves reliable I might make something that will look more like part of a fender/splash guard, which, with the solid top of the rack, should keep my back and the seat dryer than otherwise. Given that many luggage racks are fairly similar, would you like to take this as a suggestion for the first Cruzbike accessory? In future production runs you might also like to consider the shape of these holes to make mounting racks neater.
I mounted a couple of bottle holders on the seat but find it hard to extract my existing bottles without scraping them on the main seat bracket. Are Australian drink bottles taller than others? They're just 750ml. My suggestion would be to relocate the holes a little lower and angle them out a bit. I may end up getting the drill out to accomplish this for myself. A minor side benefit would be that there'd be less interference with the stick-on velcro if this was done as a standard (I had to slice a bit off both sides to clear the holes).
Anyway I can't really justify any more posts to this "First ride" post so if I raise anything else I' use other, or new threads.
Cheers!
-Ken
I wasn't trying for speed, just a good, efficient ride, yet it was the 3rd fastest ride I've recorded!
:lol: I still don't feel as strong going up the hills as on my standard bike and there doesn't yet seem much reserve for really steep hills, but I think I'll get there in due course; just more more time in the saddle!
With the help of my friendly bike shop I got my Topeak luggage rack mounted onto the rear axle point successfully. We used an extra set of the supplied front stays joined to the existing ones and bolted them into the small triangular holes just below the rear suspension point. So far it seems to be working well. If it proves reliable I might make something that will look more like part of a fender/splash guard, which, with the solid top of the rack, should keep my back and the seat dryer than otherwise. Given that many luggage racks are fairly similar, would you like to take this as a suggestion for the first Cruzbike accessory? In future production runs you might also like to consider the shape of these holes to make mounting racks neater.
I mounted a couple of bottle holders on the seat but find it hard to extract my existing bottles without scraping them on the main seat bracket. Are Australian drink bottles taller than others? They're just 750ml. My suggestion would be to relocate the holes a little lower and angle them out a bit. I may end up getting the drill out to accomplish this for myself. A minor side benefit would be that there'd be less interference with the stick-on velcro if this was done as a standard (I had to slice a bit off both sides to clear the holes).
Anyway I can't really justify any more posts to this "First ride" post so if I raise anything else I' use other, or new threads.
Cheers!
-Ken
KenM
Member
Probably the best place to see a photo of the holes is on Doug's "Kit Happenings" Blog. http://www.cruzbike.com/content/kit-happenings. The 4th picture (If the frames do odd things you may need to scroll to the right to see the holes.)
I'll see if I can get a photo of my rack but my decent camera is out of action at the moment. I'll see what I can organise.
Cheers,
-Ken
I'll see if I can get a photo of my rack but my decent camera is out of action at the moment. I'll see what I can organise.
Cheers,
-Ken
John Tolhurst
Zen MBB Master
Or you could pull the M6x8 seatpost pin to release the lower suspension unit and replace with a longer through bolt of 8mm OD that can take the rack mounts.Gromit wrote:I dont think that my old Sofrider V2 had those triangular holes.
Any chance of a picture?
