Front Disc Wheel

[Greenspeed]

Had the disc wheel on this morning. Oh boy, it was dangerous. The front end didn't feel stable on the descend.

Quick turn around to get a standard wheel on and much better.

So, is it inadvisable to put on disc wheel with FWD/MBB?

 

[Greenspeed]

Well, can't seem to load

Well, can't seem to load picture.

 

[Rick Youngblood]

Here it is:

Here it is:

 

[Jim Parker]

Front disk wheel not for everyone

My first comment is that if you are going to run with one disk wheel, make it the rear wheel (our non-drive wheel). I've mostly left my disk wheel on the rear for all rides. It's very fast and not been a problem in crosswinds. Getting a non-drive 700c disk wheel is not easy. We had one made by Renn and it was relatively affordable.

Maria is an experienced racer. She raced the 100 mile at Sebring this year and set the course record using two disk wheels. Sustained winds were over 20 mph with gusts over 30. See my blog about it. Sebring is also a flat course. I wouldn't want to mix disk wheels with fast downhills and crosswinds.

Jim


Don't try this unless you are very confident in your handling of a Cruzbike and it's not too windy.
Bike Sebring 100 mile record being set by Maria Parker, February 2014
alt="double disks"

 

[Charles.Plager]

I would think (but have no

I would think (but have no experience) that putting a front disk wheel on a Vendetta would be better than putting a front disk wheel on a 700c RWD bent as you have your legs to help hold it.

All that being said, as Jim and Maria have both ridden with them, their advice is more a point than mine...

 

[Greenspeed]

Thanks Jim. Definitely won't

Thanks Jim. Definitely won't put it back to the front anytime soon. Could have been a very bad outcome last weekend.

 

[Lief]

I used a disc cover on the front

I bought a package from Wheelbuilders.com - Powertap, wheel, build and aerojacket.
Put it on the front of the Vendetta and took it out for a spin.
Great!

Took it out another time - in about 10mph swirling winds. Felt it for sure but, meh - it was ok.
Felt a little bit like a flat tire coming on - strange but ok.

Then I chased Tim Turner down a 1 mile twisty side-hill at speeds in the high 30's - low 40's

[tangent]
I've been riding my Silvio for about 4-5 yrs - fairly experienced in many different conditions and on top of that I think I have a relatively high tolerance for speed - which is really just another way of saying I tend to play fast and loose with the brakes and don't really dwell on, or ever even think about, the real nasty results of high speeds, hard roads, and soft fleshy bodies. I hit 40mph almost every morning of my commute and when I'm out and about and have the space I'll do 50. I think it's fun.
[/tangent]

But on this day, at a somewhat pedestrian 36-38mph I al...most...lost....my....shizzards...all over the road.

I used the WHOLE lane and then some; adrenaline pumping, knuckles...whitening, muscles and tendons aching from the tense straining-stress of it...braking the last half all the way to the bottom.

I took that aerojacket off the next day.

I'll use it on the track if I can, or on a calm long-distance ride when I don't expect much or any down-hilling over 40mph.
But, other than that, I'll run disc-free in the front thankyouverymuch.

P.S. That said - if I were on an upright in that same situation (nevermind that I wouldn't have been attaining 40mph) and only holding on with my hands? I may very well have wrecked or hucked or yard-saled or whatever you like.
I really did feel *more* secure with four good parts attached to that steering assembly!

 

[Supertramp]

Legs up front do help

Charles said:

I would think (but have no experience) that putting a front disk wheel on a Vendetta would be better than putting a front disk wheel on a 700c RWD bent as you have your legs to help hold it.

Having just tried dual fabric disc covers, I'm tempted to confirm that. On a race weekend I rode the fully equipped bike to and from the race tracks. It was a calm weekend wind-wise, with a light breeze and only minor gusts. The few times I could feel something was different were like a tender push to the boom, with a dampened reaction of the front-end, probably because of all that weight. The wide bars give a lot more control than you'd likely have with tillers and the like. No drama, no need for higher pulse.
That said, I was happy I didn't use the covers in heavy traffic on a narrow road a few days later. The first truck would have blown me off the road. The rear cover alone is not problematic at all, you only have to leave a little room for lateral swaying caused by trucks and changing wind around obstacles, but there's no steering input.
I have no experience with discs in high-speed descents, these are scary enough without them, for me and the old V at least. Much shorter wheelbase (105.5cm) than the current breed, btw.

 

[Kenneth Jessett]

I have no personal experience

I have no personal experience with the discs, but a few years ago on a Bessies Creek race, a racer with an HPV was blown on her side by the wind effect of large trucks, so I imagine that any kind of wind blocking device on a bike would be a problem on a road course.

Ken.

 

[Lief]

Anyone else interested in

Anyone else interested in similar could email justin@catalyst.bike

Sending him something right now!
Thanks.

 

[MrSteve]

Jim Parker

-is correct.

My home-made rear disk stays on my rear wheel.
My bike is more sensitive to side winds and truck-gusts,
but the bike self-corrects: The added side area in the rear does this.
I'm pretty sure that the rear disks act like a splitter, helping
to calm the turbulent air in the wake of the bike.
So, no problem with wind or wind gusts.

With the rear disk installed, the bike is faster and
is much more stable.

My experience with motorcycle front fairings is extensive:
I don't like the added sail area in the front.
You riders who have experience running disks on
your front wheels echo my experience with
handlebar mounted fairings.

Have fun!

-Steve

 

[ratz]

Concur

I'd have to concur the front is definitely more stable in an aero configuration with the aid of the legs. Around here with our winds and hills running just 50mm rims can be "exciting" when one clears the trees on a descent, should the wind have snuck up on you. But it's very do-able if you focus. Very few DF riders run 50mm rims out on our road rides; they save them for race day.

For me, I can't see running a full cover on the front unless it's dead calm or very flat so the speeds stay human powered. Under those conditions sure; but if there are winds and speeds then I'll stick with just a rear cover and front aero wheel that will be hard enough to handle.

I have a wheelbuilder cover made from Qty 2 non drive side pieces; it's ok but it's noisy and doesn't fit the new 50mm Aura 5' so I'm looking to improve on that; Thanks to a lead here on the forums I'm chatting with Justin over at Catalyst.bike to see if they will make symmetrically dished wheel covers. I don't know if we'll get that done before the snow flies. But he seems really interested in coming up with something that will work for the Cruzbike "back" wheels. Anyone else interested in similar could email justin@catalyst.bike

 

[LarryOz]

               Anyone else

Anyone else interested in similar could email justin@catalyst.bike

Also sending him something now too!
Thanks.

 

[Lief]

I see that Catalyst has bulk discounts

Larry?
Bob P.?
Rick?
Ivan?
Anyone else?

I wonder if they have to be all the same wheel?
Perhaps we could get a "Team Cruzbike Forum" order together?

 

[LarryOz]

I have already established

I have already established contact with them. I will ask the question and post back to this thread.
Larry

 

[LarryOz]

I have emailed back and forth

I have emailed back and forth with Justin at catalyst and he is anxious to work out a volume discount for Cruzbike's.
I need to know how many people are truly interested in doing this with them, so I can get back to him with a number.
Thanks,

 

[ratz]

Too Late for me.

Sorry you'll have to drop me from the list; I already ordered and paid; but if you can get me a retro discount or future considerations feel free to throw me in there.

 

[LarryOz]

Here is the discount tiers from Justin at catalyst

From Justin
If we end up taking a group order, we'd treat them all as individual orders. So, we'd still customize a set of covers for each specific wheel.

Here's the breakdown of our group discounts:

4-6 Sets: 10% off
7-10 Sets: 15% off
11+ Sets: 20% off

Please let anyone who's know they can contact me with any questions!
...........................

 

[Lief]

I'm in - with 2 caveats.

Caveats:
#1 I still would like to hear back from Justin about whether my rear wheel will even really work (old-ish Siestre - pretty small profile).
I'll find out on that one soon.

#2 I'm not in a rush (riding season is basically over this far north) So - as soon as we get into a discounted price I'll join you or I'll get it sans discount sometime next March-ish.

Thanks Larry for doing the legwork!

 

[ratz]

smalls should work.

Lief,

They'll probably get it to work; my Bontragers have an supper tiny hub and they should be here in a few days. Pictures to follow once installed. Their going to retro me into any group discount; pretty darn nice shop.