First Silvio Ride

[Mark B]

I finally got the chance to really shake the Silvio out this morning. Certainly not a long ride, but very enlightening. My oldest daughter and I headed out for what was supposed to be an easy paced ride. Instead, we kind of hammered over to the bike path, then followed it for a few miles. I don't have a computer mounted yet, but my daughter said we were running in the mid twenties.

This bike really rocks. False starts are few and far between. High speed handling is effortless and slow speed isn't much worse. One of the few things I found to be slightly disconcerting is my tendency to hit the right chainstay with my heel while pedaling. It's not every pedal stroke, only now and again. I need to develop more of a heel out pedaling style, instead of heel in. I had a couple setup issues, as well. John told me upon seeing the pictures that my cables were too long and would cause some problems with leg rub. Never doubt John, know that. Sure enough, after 25 miles, I have bright red irritation strawberries on the insides of both legs. So, that's my project for this afternoon. I mounted water bottle cages last night and put a pump on the bike. I picked up a Topeak Road Morph G and used the mount that is intended to go onto a bottle bracket mount, or the top tube. I mounted mine on the seat stay, using the rack boss for the top hole of the bracket and the zip tie for the bottom. It works well, but makes it harder to get the left bottle in and out while riding. However, I am able to reach both bottles while riding, in and out of the cage without trouble. Here's a couple pictures to show the setup.

The suspension feels weird on the Silvio. Not bad, just weird. The 23c wheels ride smooth enough, I seen no reason to run right out and buy a set of wider tires. I'm happy with the ride as it is. The thing I noticed most of all about this bike is the power transfer. The front end is super stiff and the bike really responds with just a little pedal input. I have zero regrets about this bike.

Tomorrow will be another ride and more shaking down. Gotta get those cable housing shortened up.

Mark

Mark

 

[Doug Burton]

Looks like fun - well done.

 

[Mark B]

I shortened up the cable housings by anywhere from 1.50" to 3" and oh what a difference!

A couple more notes:

I didn't really sort out the "where to carry tube and tools" issue. I did the "bumbag" trick, which worked OK, but looked so 1990. I really struggled with where to put the pump. Under the seat, on the boom tube, everywhere. I found the seat stay to be the best bet and it should be fairly well tucked in behind the seat and me. I would love to see a bag developed that fit easily in the dead spot under the seat and in the frame. I think THAT would be the hot ticket!
I'm happy with the Origin 8 bars, they are supremely comfortable and the control is otherworldly. I agree with Brian in this regard. These bars are apparently a little more flared out than the WTB bar, but they really are comfy. The 700c wheels roll out so much better than the smaller wheels I've been riding and the suspension took the sting out of it.

A few words about the seat. OK, one word. COMFORTABLE..... If this is the same pan, same back, same pad, why is it so much more comfortable? No really... Why? I could have ridden all day on this bike. As much fun as my conversion bike is; this bike is just a blast. It does things the way things should be done. I want to try a Sofrider now, to see how it handles compared to the conversion.

Fun, fun!!!

Mark

 

[John Tolhurst]

It may not appear so, but one of the keys to the Silvio's speed is the clean air flow. I tried to keep all air disruptions inside the wind profile of the bike and rider and any outside that profile are kept to a minimum. :twisted: This then suggests that bags or accessories are mounted in front of or behind the rider, but not to the outside, or underneath.

I carry my pump on a mount bolted to the underside of the seat pan, so breaking my own principle. But I point it into the airflow and find that it is hardly visible.

 

[Mark B]

johntolhurst wrote: It may not appear so, but one of the keys to the Silvio's speed is the clean air flow. I tried to keep all air disruptions inside the wind profile of the bike and rider and any outside that profile are kept to a minimum. :twisted: This then suggests that bags or accessories are mounted in front of or behind the rider, but not to the outside, or underneath.

I carry my pump on a mount bolted to the underside of the seat pan, so breaking my own principle. But I point it into the airflow and find that it is hardly visible.

I don't think my pump is that much in the wind. I think what isn't sheltered by the seatback is probably sheltered by my fat butt.. I really wanted to mount it underneath the telescoping top tube, but couldn't make the mount work without much fiddling. I may still mount it there, but it's fine where it's at, for now. I'm much more concerned about the water situation as I do not care for traditional cycling bottles. If I have to, I will eventually homebrew some sort of hose adaptation to the water bottles so I can use them like a Camelback.

Mark