First Vendetta Ride WooHoo!

[ratz]

Great first long ride.You'll

Great first long ride.

You'll find two things occur at once... About the time your Arms don't get tired you'll find your stability goes up. It is natural to death grip in the beginning. We all did it. With time you will need a lot less arm input, and they become more about power on demand. As you need less and less arm input to correct your leg inputs things simply smooth out. Going down hill fast then becomes about two skills:

If coasting at 40mph it's about noodle legs; relax you should be able to shake the hamstrings if you wanted to and just go WhhhhoooooHooooo as you blast down the hill. Ok the whhooohhoooo is optional.

If hammering the pedals accelerating down the hill it's about a smooth push and pull; and consciously having a light touch on the handlebars and relaxing the shoulder. Both come with more time. I didn't pedal down hill until after about 500 miles and that was on a Silvio.

Now everyone hates when we say this; but slow speed figure eights in the parking lots are some the fastest way to to smooth out the skills; something about those helps the brain get more comfortable with less steering input.

Last note; not sure how long your x-seam is; but that looks like a medium frame and the boom is all the way in. Many of us moved the boom out with practice and slide ourselves farther forward on the seat. It is one of those things that comes with comfort on the bike in the position. If you get someone to photo you from the side on the bike leg extended on the pedals; we can see if you position is adding or detracting from the ride.

Let us know about the tires; I'm running 25mm but with my rims that's as big as I can go.

 

[Itripper]

Thanks

Thanks for the replies. I may move the boom one notch forward, it is already very comfortable how I have it. I am oddly built, tall torso, short legs, the boom feels quite good, I am very comfortable with the leg bend right now. I did position myself higher and lower on the seat during the 100k just to use slightly differing muscles. I developed some leg cramps near the end due to using muscles I don't use on my other bikes, almost tipped it over as I came to a stop lol due to cramps.
I put the Ventisit pad on the bike, it makes me sit about an inch higher and is slightly narrower than the stock Cruzbike one. I can tell the bike is slightly more twitchy being that tiny bit higher, but I know I will need the Ventisit by summer here in Tucson. Both the Ventisit and the stock pad were plenty comfortable for me. I did do a bunch of figure eights the first time I rode it on airfield parking area, our MUP has plenty of little twisty spots too, I am not having any problems turning it.
I hope I do not sound like I am complaining here, I knew before I bought it what to expect. It is an extremely fast bike, I can't expect it to be great at everything, it looks good and goes fast, just takes mad skillz to ride! Tell you what it was really fun buzzing by the roadie with aero bars in full tuck grinding away a top speed on the 1% downhill section, I was doing about 28mph he was probably at 26, after I passed him he dropped way back, I think he was trying to keep me off him. That roadie was in much better shape than me, so the speed was all Vendetta.

Watching the pelotons is pretty amazing. Has there ever been, or is it possible to have a peloton with bents?

 

[Itripper]

Commute

Did my first 50 mile rt commute last week. Beat my time by an hour total over the Street Machine for the same amount of leg workout, very impressive! Found the 23mm tires suck on some of the really bad roads around here, hindsight says I should have gotten a Silvio for a commuter. I just put a 28mm Conti 4000 on the back and am putting a 25 mm Gatorskin on the front as the 28mm Conti is physically hitting the front front arch, and the front tire is such a pain to fix a flat on I figured I should go for the Gatorskin for some protection, I am waiting for it to show up to install. Just looking at how much fatter the 28mm rear tire is I am expecting the ride to improve a lot on the really rough old roads. The bike does very well on moderately old chipseal roads, just the extremes found here on some of the very old rural roads are a problem.
I have one very steep short grade that I almost killed myself to climb on, I found I had to maintain 8 mph up it or bike would become too wobbly to ride up it, and 8 mph is fast for the hill I was on, on my other bent I would do 4 mph. I thought I would have a heart attack by the time I reached the top. The 20 deg seat angle makes it hard on very steep hill too, almost like being upside down on seat. I think the only solution for this part is to get stronger and faster. I have some XTR mtb clip ins coming soon and am hoping this helps a lot with stability.
I am hoping to get more relaxed riding this bike still, I am burning way too much energy stressing out on keeping bike straight on the single lane rural roads here; people pass by really closely.

I have been reading that rear wheel disks actually help make many bents more stable, and the aero advantage is nice too, where can I get one at (cheaply), and are they specific to the rim that is being run?

 

[1happyreader]

Parking lot

How much would you pay to be more relaxed, confident, and stable on your vendetta ??

Invest some practice time and reap the rewards.

Step one:

RE-learn ,,, lots of new reflexes to build.

Lean ALL the way back till you can feel the seat and do nothing more than slow pedal around the parking lot.

Be all Zen, roll ,swoop, just go here and there . Your goal is to no longer think about steering and just go there, the bike becomes comforting, invisible.

****************************
Step two:

Almost stops, Low ,,, SLOOOWWW speed turns, how your posture and balance can change things, ect.

It will pay off .

P.S.
You gotta try leaning the wrong way on a slow tight turn,

 

[ratz]

Very very good

Very very good progress.

Sounds very familiar for the mileage you have logged. Brain is saying "I got this, I'm an experienced rider"; but the reflexes have to catch up to the brain. The difference between ride 1 and ride 20 is very noticeable as the high speed stuff in a straight line comes together pretty fast. The difference between ride 20 and ride 200 is even bigger; because one day you'll realize you are not longer fighting the steering at any speed, your arms become loose at all time unless you consciously decide to engage them.

Climbing at slow speeds will be the very last thing to come around; time in the parking lot doing slow speed drills will pay you back huge there. You need all new reflexes for dealing with slow speed where the feet, arms and torso will be working together in a unique way. Experience is the only answer so don't let it frustrate you.

One thing we often fail to mention is. Take A LOT of tiny rides. Got 5-10 minutes jump on the bike in street clothes and go down the block and back. If you sneak 2 or 3 of those in a day; no purpose ride; no drills. Just jump on fly down the street and back and jump off. That will give the brain a ton of input spaced out over many hours; burn a mental path way; wait; burn another; wait repeat. You will adapt faster that way to the subtle stuff. It's actually more useful that long rides in a straight line. When you where a kid that how you road your bike and how you learned.

If you want a 28mm tire on the nose; I would speculate that you would need to get a wide rim wheel probably 23/25mm and optimally run a tubeless tire at about 90 psi depending on your weight. We have nasty roads here; and I run 25mm tires on a 23mm rim, tubeless, at 95psi on my Vendetta. It's not as smooth as my Silvio with the same tires but it not intolerable.

Wheel covers will make you look cool; they might make you faster; they will cost you $99 to $300. For a Vendetta rear you will need Qty 2 non-drive side covers because they don't typically make covers for front wheels which only have a 100mm width verus 130-135mm on a rear so you have to work with the supplier to make it work. They will have to be custom sized.

 

[LarryOz]

better commuting -- perhaps with higher inclined seat

You said something about maybe wishing you had gotten a Silvio for a higher inclined seat.
I got a Silvio first and then a V about 3 months later.
You will be happier with the V I am sure.
If at some point the traffic is just too much and you really feel like you need a higher incline, look though this thread by Rick Y.
http://cruzbike.com/my-adjustable-seat-testing

There are a few V's out there with adjustable seats and it seems like a viable option that does not really add much weight to the bike.

Happy Cruzbiking!

 

[Rick Youngblood]

Echo what Tim, Bob, and Larry

Echo what Tim, Bob, and Larry say.

Climbing gets more stable with practice, and is last thing to learn. In the beginning you want to dash up the hill so as not to have to go slow, but there are hills that simply won't work on, like long climbs. I did these after I felt completely comfortable and stable at slower speeds.

Here is a ride I did today with lots of very steep climbs and a lot of it. https://www.strava.com/activities/263066566 - It's been almost a year since I've done this ride. It just tires me out when I get close to the top, I need to start going real slow - like 5.5 mph - but I'm pretty darn straight and feel very confident that I'm not going to fall over.

As far as tires go - currently I'm running Conti 4000s II 25mm. If I will be riding harsh asphalt (and belive me we have them here) I drop psi down to 90. But if I'm on nicer roads, I bump it up to 110 psi. It make a huge difference. I will run these in the latter Spring and Summer Compass Chinook Pass 700c x 28mm on both wheels, they fit with plenty of clearance - on these rims.

I may try Conti 4000s II 28mm this summer. If I have to, i will shave a little off the front of the fork - I did this on my Silvio to make 28mm tire fit.

 

[Itripper]

Clipless pedals big improvement

Just updating my experiences. I have ridden another 500 miles on the bike now, I put some XTR spd pedals on it, the ones with the cage around them. This made a big difference in the handling, it is much easier to control with clip ins as I am guessing your legs do a lot of the control, on platforms your legs cannot pull up to help with steering. High cadence works a lot better with clip ins too. I really like the cage around the clip in as when I am in traffic I can unclip and pedal with the midsole part of my foot to pedal (unclipped) and get my feet down in a hurry if needed. The cage also helps a bunch on takeoff, I just get going pedaling midsole and then clip in later when I am going. I do not even bother trying to pedal from a stop anymore, it is so much easier to flintstone and slide in, and faster takeoff. I just mastering the stand up stop too. The bike seems to handle a bit better having the 28mm tire on back and the 25mm up front, almost like that tiny bit of rake (lifting the back end up a tad) really helped handling.
I really like that 40 miles feels like nothing on the bike, and 60 miles is a nice ride. I still have to master long uphills, I am burning way to much energy climbing hills.
I switched out rims for some 36 spoke heavy duty ones, as I am 240 lbs and the 16/20 spoke ones I had on it were an accident waiting to happen. One thing I have noticed and it is a concern is the rear triangle is very flexy (laterally)I do not like how easy it is to deflect it side to side. I would guess the Silvio would be much stronger in this regards as it has those very wide vertical carbon leafs.
I can say now I have reached the point where I am comfortable on the bike, in heavy traffic I still get a little freaked out as it is harder to see, but with good mirrors it works well (Zefals on L & R). I had to mount the Zefals on the brifters to clear my shoulders and that made visibility behind me much better. I have lights, water and bags all sorted now too. The only thing I need to figure out later is how to mount some aero panniers for long self supported trips.

 

[Charles.Plager]

Sounds like you're where you

Sounds like you're where you should be!

I completely agree with you about being clipped in.

You'll get better at pedaling from a stop, although I sometimes use a scoot-n-slide where I walk the bike as fast as I can while sitting on it, then slide into position and start pedaling (I do this even with kids attatched via trail-a-bike).

Cheers,
Charles

 

[Itripper]

Two Cruzbikes!

I did a 40 mile or so ride around Tucson with a group of nice roadies and guess what showed up! Another Cruzbike on the same ride! BTW I always use scoot & slide, it is fast and easy. Every time I come to a stop I just stop and sit half way up the seat, then scoot & slide to goet going. Only two skills I really need now are below 7 mph handling, and how to put power to the pedals when over 30 MPH without a massive death wobble. I got the bike to 40 MPH coasting but then a car pulled right in front of me, I had to hit brakes hard and did not get to see how fast it could go. I am sure the car saw me, just did it because they can, I have a headlight that is brighter than an automobile HID light bulb on the front flashing during the day.

 

[Robert Holler]

Represent!
Great

Represent!

Great pictures!


Robert

 

[Itripper]

Update! I have been riding about 150 miles a week on the V now, I am totally comfortable riding it all over. I absolutely love riding it now, last hurdle to get past is Mt Lemmon, a 5-6% grade 23 mile or so uphill climb, I have to get in better shape to go fast enough to safely balance the bike. I have noticed from doing a bunch of group rides that I believe this bike climbs the same or better than DFs on short roller hills. I may need to fab a small wedge for the seat that will allow a 30 degree angle so doing the long climb up the mountain will be (hopefully) easier. The 20 degree seat angle, hot sun, and never ending climb up Mt Lemmon is a tough one on the V.

 

[ratz]

Excellent please return your WHID card and pick up your Big Guns By Bike (BGBB) Card (see Ricks Xmas avatar if you don't get the joke). Just imagine how you will feel after 2k miles.

 

[jond]

i have been keenly following the sage advice in this thread. thanks everyone. i have recently put on an 11-36 to replace the 11-32 with 53-39 chainset to test the steep hills soon. i can toodle around laying back totally in low low and do figure 8s pretty well. time in the saddle cannot be beat. great advice .

soon i will put back on my clipless pedals xtr mtb and risk embarrassment again. practice practice practice.

soon i will fly but not before 1000klm have gone by. up to about 400 so far.

 

[Charles.Plager]

You'll find that clipless pedals make a huge difference as you'll be much more "at one" with your bike. I highly recommend not using them for first learning, but using them one you're comfortable (e.g. no longer pulling your get off of the pedals because you feel like you're losing control).

 

[Rick Youngblood]

You'll find that clipless pedals make a huge difference as you'll be much more "at one" with your bike.

+1...I couldn't agree more with Charles!

 

[SamP]

I'm now wondering if clipless pedals are in Yiggy's future. I've never used clipless before, never heard of them when I got my previous bike (around 1995) and I have problems finding comfortable shoes/sneakers and have serious doubts I'll find any cycling-specific shoes comfortable. I've got short feet (about size 7), but broad in the toes (I use large size toe clips--the very ones I got with my 1995-era bike--on Yiggy).

 

[ratz]

Sam,

Trace your foot on a piece of paper. Measure the widest width and the length in mm. PM me the results; with those numbers it wouldn't take long to run a search on the manufacturers shoe sizes to see if any one has the short and wide combo you desire. Getting a good price is usually harder than finding the size. Some ebay staulking can yield very good over stock or last years models in the odd sizes

 

[LarryOz]

I wear wide 7 to 8 size. I sometime find great deals because not many people with such small feet!
I am wear the "MAVIC MEN'S AVENGE ROAD SHOE" size 8, which since I am really 7.5, it gives me a little extra width. I like the ratcheting tightening system also.
I bought it at Westernbikeworks. Here is a link to something similar same brand, since they did not seem to have that model: https://www.westernbikeworks.com/product/mavic-mens-ksyrium-elite-road-shoe
They will also match any price you find anywhere. I have purchase quite a few things from them. I find what I want on their site, and then just do an internet search and find the lowest price. Stick the competitors web address into the order with price and they match it instantly. Once you buy so much over time they also throw in some kind of leaders discount.
Good Luck

 

[SamP]

Hmm. I don't see how to send a PM, but this isn't very private, but I make my foot to be about 9 1/2" x 4" or about 240mm x 100mm