First Silvio Ride

[murmur]

I did my first real ride today on the S30 that I bought from BattleAxe last year. Prior to today, I had done a few runs up and down the street in front of my house, which is probably a 1-2% grade. Today it was 8 miles around the neighborhood, on what is close to the worst blacktop I'd ever choose to ride a bike on. But it's a low-traffic zone, perfect for my current style of MBB riding: Serpentine!

My basic skills are improving quickly, and although the power hasn't come online yet, I think she's a keeper. Two years on a Volae Club has been a fairly good prep for the transition, I think.

If there's anything that has me a little unsettled about the Silvio right now, it's seat angle. I've never ridden the Club with the seat lower than maybe 30 degrees, and the Silvio is low enough that using the headrest seems like a must for long rides. On the streets I rode today, though, the level of vibration coming through the headrest really makes it difficult to see much of anything smaller than a well-fed squirrel. I'd like to have a more upright head position as a transition from Volae to Silvio also; anybody have hints on how to accomplish that?

Dave

 

[castlerobber]

I did my first real ride today on the S30 that I bought from BattleAxe last year.

Ah, so that was you! Welcome to the tribe.

I'd like to have a more upright head position as a transition from Volae to Silvio also; anybody have hints on how to accomplish that?

Some riders have made a foam wedge to go behind their upper back and shoulders as they make the transition to Silvio or Vendetta. Others have modified the headrest itself; there's a thread somewhere about padding it with an inner tube folded a certain way. (I get better results searching the site with Google than I do with the forum search.) Wish I could give you personal insights, but my Silvio is an older model with a more-upright seat angle and no headrest.

 

[mzweili]

anybody have hints on how to accomplish that?

have a look at this:
http://cruzbike.com/forum/threads/my-adjustable-seat-testing.8060/
or simpler solution:
http://cruzbike.com/forum/threads/silvio-seat-insert.7558/#post-27481

 

[ratz]

I'd like to have a more upright head position as a transition from Volae to Silvio also; anybody have hints on how to accomplish that?

Welcome !!

You may have to bring the headrest inward a bit. It's really more of a neck rest; the rear base of your skull should be the only part of you head the contacts the headrest. If you are looking skyward it's probably out a bit to far; (5mm makes a big difference)

When set in the correct position it does tend to make a rider look like they have a double chin, but DF riders don't have mirrors so they don't notice and you past them so fast you won't get any commentary

As with your Volae you will soon feel like you are bolt upright in the seat. The foam inserts work but avoid them when you do your parking lot practice so they don't slow down your acclimation.

 

[murmur]

Hey, thanks for the responses, all three of you. I'll hit Google up for stuff about extra headrest-padding if adjusting it inward doesn't seem like it's enough. I like the sound of the headrest being more of a neck support; maybe that will transmit less vibration to the noggin and allow me to see what's coming a little better.

Ratz, I need to go and reacquaint myself with your writeup on how not to acquire bad habits during this period. Aside from perfecting my uphill-start technique, about the only form issue I (think I) have right now is the slow left-right weave that happens whenever I abruptly change power levels. Takes a while to damp out, so I need to work on not letting it happen in the first place, I think.

Dave

 

[ratz]

Ratz, I need to go and reacquaint myself with your writeup on how not to acquire bad habits during this period. Aside from perfecting my uphill-start technique, about the only form issue I (think I) have right now is the slow left-right weave that happens whenever I abruptly change power levels. Takes a while to damp out, so I need to work on not letting it happen in the first place, I think.

Low Speed, high cadence practice will give you round pedal strokes and a safe way to practice.
Then when it's muscle memory you can mash and accelerated at speed;

Mental tricks to practice:
1) In the dead spot of the either foot think about scraping mud off the bottom of your shoe.
2) When the foot is all the way back thick about kicking it straight up to the sky
3) When doing pedal form drills don't spend any time thick about the push of the legs; that automatic
4) When pedaling circles how lightly can you hold the handle bars monitor that
5) Keep Loose shoulders don't let them creep up to your ears (they will try)
6) Unclench the jaw
7) Practice accelerating with a "pull" as the initial motion. The "push" will just happened.

It's very safe to practice 90-100 rpm drills at 5 mph in a stupid low gear. Your brain will learn just fine; it's very unsafe to practice applying maximum power at 35 mph down a 10% grade hill.

FWIW I'm on the trainer constantly this winter working on pedaling form. TrainRoad is going to get thrown at the wall soon I'm soo sick of the relentless coaching in the program I'm on. But you know what? It's working. Much of this is stolen from want I'm learning and refining.

 

[JOSEPHWEISSERT]

Walter White was my winter training partner for quite a while. But then he died of a gunshot wound. So now, Saul Goodman is taking Heisenberg's place. Better call Saul! I think I'll ride with Michael Scott after that - he should last until spring. That's what she said!

 

[murmur]

I got tired of TrainerRoad as well. Not only because it was telling me when to stand up and when to sit down ( ) but because it was so boring. Maybe I *should* call Saul, although I wonder if doing anything more than base training would still allow me to follow the plot. Right now I'm doing some Zwift workouts, which don't come with advice but also don't seem to be quite as rigorous as TR. Zwift so far keeps my interest, but I'm not sure it would if all I was doing was the programmed workouts.

Dave