HillStarts

[Boat]

I am considering purchasing a Cruzbike after many years and miles on a Suly LHT

When touring and loaded with camping gear my bike usually weighs in at around 40 kgs ,This is managable but it is sometimes a problem doing hill starts on very steep hills .

My question is, how do you manage a hill start on a loaded Cruzbike ?

 

[Cruzbike-in-Germany]

You need balance (a CruzTrike?) and traction (a motor?)

Hello Boat,

you asked:
> I am considering purchasing a Cruzbike after many years and miles on a Suly LHT
>When touring and loaded with camping gear my bike usually weighs in at around 40 kgs ,
>This is managable but it is sometimes a problem doing hill starts on very steep hills .
>My question is, how do you manage a hill start on a loaded Cruzbike ?

First you have to know how to do a hill start normally. It took me about 50hrs to learn how to start the bike from stop in all conditions - without load! I would not expect a newbie to manage that in a week. (I ride a V2/K - like a Sofrider - 26"x1.5 wheels).
To start - also uphill, if the bike is not very heavy, I ...
1) gear down before I stop. I normally start in the 34(custom!)-23 gear, that means I get 1.5 turns of the wheel for every crank turn
2) I raise the pedal on my favorite side so I can push well to get off
3) I counteract the steering of this initial push with the opposite arm, pushing on the handlebar to ride nearly straight
4) I repeat this with the alternating feet/arms until I arrive in "normal riding mode", gearing up in parallel
(OK, for Beginners: do the Fred Flintstone. I did it and I still do it, if I fail starting the normal way. But I think the Fred Flintstone, uphill or even loaded, can become very difficult.)
I did not try to make loaded tours yet, but then I would think: you need to have even lower gears to get the heavy bike started uphills. Also, at low speeds on a loaded upright, I would start making fast extreme steering moves for balancing, and you cannot steer fast and extreme on a Cruzbike-style bike, because the whole drivetrain hangs on the steering - in terms of steering inertia. You cannot use every bike for everything! The Cruzbike-style-bikes - like all recumbent two-wheelers - have a higher low margin for speeds than an upright like the LHT. (By the way the Cruzbikes have a higher high margin for speeds, too - they are generally faster than upright bikes due to their aerodynamics and their good capabilities to climb hills.) Another question mark to uphill starts for heavy Cruzbikes would then be:
Also the front wheel tends to lose traction, because due to the uphill position, the weight automatically wanders to the back wheel. In difficult conditions - like wet or gravel, starting a heavy Cruzbike uphill can become harder than starting a heavy LHT, I would think.
But there are ways - in principle - to attack the problem:
a) add an electric motor in the back wheel hub - like the BionX system
b) Cruzbike finally would present the CruzTRIKE (two back wheels of course), where you would not have to mind balancing nearly at all and could add luggage space between the back wheels, that are - say - 2ft. apart. Wouldn´t that be good also in winter???
Or c): combining a) and b)

I keep dreamin´

Ernest

 

[KenM]

Traction is the big issue

Traction is the big issue starting on hills, especially if the surface is at all slippery. My solution is to start in the highest gear I can comfortably manage on any given slope and in extreme situations leaning forward can also help. Otherwise starting is just one of those things that just gets easier the more you do it. When adding luggage I'd be investigating putting as much of the heavy stuff as far forward as possible; hanging panniers on a custom rods under the seat has been done by someone here and could be useful in keeping the heavy stuff off the back. I think the Sofrider seems to have the strength and durability best suited to touring, although I'm sure someone will make a case for the Quest as well.
Cheers,
-Ken

 

[psychling]

key element not mentioned

Along with starting in the lowest gear (smallest ring up front, biggest ring on drive wheel, i.e., `front') the sooner you're able to get the second leg/foot on the pedal the sooner you'll feel you're well under control.

As a `masher' my learning curve is not much of a `curve' at all. It seems like it's vertical at times, i.e., I'm a slow learner. I've had to relearn by starting with just enough pressure on the pedal to get the bike moving forward so I could get my other foot on the other pedal. THEN I can `mash.'

For me the key element is getting that second foot on the pedal. As I wear clipless pedals on all my Cruzbikes this means that I start out with one foot clipped in but the second foot just has to `push' on the pedal. Once I get forward velocity I can clip the other foot in.

- Dan

 

[sg.smith]

Hill-start hell

I've been using my recent conversion for a few months on easyish terrain, but, living in Brighton, UK, there's no avoiding hills for long - especially if I want to start using it more round town and for commuting. So, I've been adding hills into rides, which are fine so long as you keep the speed up, but I have really come unstuck on hill starts.

If I pick the kind of gear even approaching what I would on a regular bike to start off I just spin the drive wheel; if I go into a gear that's low enough not to spin I don't get the momentum and get serious 'flop' issues on the front and weave about all over the place - and if it's at all wet, forget it. I guess it comes down to pracice as well as getting more in tune with unfamiliar (to me) MTB-style ratios and gear-changing techniques (I've been a roadbike and fixed-wheel rider up to now but this conversion is based on a Specialized Stumpjumper MTB with original gearing taken over onto the Cruz).

I have to say, last Sunday, after no less than 25 attempts to get going on a steep incline in light drizzle (thankfully not on a proper road) I nearly dumped it... However, I did eventually get going, but have little optimism about this not happening every time I'm in that situation. There's no way I can safely go into a really low gear and ride slowly on an urban ride particularly when starting off at a junction on a hill.

Any tips from those who might have mastered a similar problem? I see someone suggests lowering the tyre pressure, which I shall, but any other thoughts?

Otherwise, it's been a real pleasure relearning to ride all over again - and no sore undercarriage at the end of a trip out.

 

[John Tolhurst]

What I find I must do on

What I find I must do on gravel up hill starts is slide forward in the seat a little, put my favoured foot on the pedal and press till the wheel settles into its turned position, and get the right gear, not too low, not too high. Then when I start, think circle pedaling and make sure the second foot lands on the pedal cleanly. Of it not slide forward, then lean forward. On long uphills where wheel spin is troublesome, I slide forward a little.