Houston I have a Problem

[Bentnail]

I have a new Q45 and love riding it, and been riding recumbents for years. I have about
100 miles on the Q45 and I am finding out the handle bar is just to close to my chest and
just need to stretch out a little bit.

The seat is back as far as it will go and I don't want to lay the seat back any farther. The
slider is all the way forward but it is still just to close. I need a handle bar that will push
the grips about 2 or 3" away from me or some other solution.

Can the tribe give me any ideas on how to fix this problem. I emailed Cruzbike but have
not gotten any response from them.

Thanks Guy

 

[rx7mark]

Try something like a Soma Gator bar, its a off road drop bar, I switched to this bar for the same reasons you mentioned. Do a search on this forum, several of us are using it, and you can see from the pictures it moves the hands forward relative to the bar mount. Here is a pic of my T50 with these bars. Other off road drop bars can be used in the same way, but these are unique in that they can take either off road twist shifters or road Brifters in the bend area. they give me plenty of knee clearance also, but are kind of wide.

 

[1happyreader]

**** WARNING ****
this mod changes the steering response
**** WARNING ****

I tried a longer stem, and never got back to changing over to brifters project for my sofrider.

I might have to try the gator bar with my mtb shifters , brakes, and grips.

 

[Eric Winn]

...I am finding out the handle bar is just to close to my chest...

The seat is back as far as it will go and I don't want to lay the seat back any farther. The
slider is all the way forward but it is still just to close. ...

I'm surprised based on my experience on the Q45 but I'm a short and stout little feller. What size are you and can you post side photos of you on the Q45 holding your handlebars?

I assume you've rotated the bars as far as you feel comfortable?

-Eric

 

[Bentnail]

Thanks all for the input. I ordered the Soma Gator Handlebar and I think that will solve the problem. I
will try and get a picture of the before and after set up when the bar comes.

Guy

 

[billyk]

I am finding out the handle bar is just to close to my chest and
just need to stretch out a little bit.

The seat is back as far as it will go and I don't want to lay the seat back any farther. The
slider is all the way forward but it is still just to close. I need a handle bar that will push
the grips about 2 or 3" away from me or some other solution.

Yes! That describes my situation exactly (including the earlier part about loving the bike, but ...).

I wrote earlier about being slower uphill (than my previous Q2), despite the stiffer front end. I'm convinced that it is the closed-up arm position that keeps me from using my upper body effectively.

Please post the results with the new handlebar when you've had a chance to try it.

 

[benphyr]

I'm having a hard time picturing your situation without a picture. Can one of you who have the Q45 handlebar too close to the chest please post side view pictures with you on the bike with hands on handlebars - regular riding position?

 

[billyk]

Can one of you who have the Q45 handlebar too close to the chest please post side view pictures with you on the bike with hands on handlebars - regular riding position?

Here's a photo showing my riding position (also for @Eric Winn ). The seat pan is as far back as it will go, the slider-handlebar joint is as far forward as it will go, and the bars rotated forward as far as possible without excessive wrist rotation. Like @Bentnail , I don't want to lean the seat further back (to keep a clear field of vision in traffic).

Although my elbow bend does not look tight, it feels cramped. I think I would be much stronger with a more open elbow bend.

Note a quantitative difference from my Q2: The distance from the back of the seat pan to the center of the handlebars is 4 inches less on the Q45.

I am definitely interested in Bentnail's experience with the Gator bar. From the photos on that website, those bars go straight outward, unlike the Q45 stock bars that have an upward bend for knee clearance. I'm afraid the Gator bars would result in banging my upper thighs; Bentnail please report your experience.

(Note: the extra hardware on the boom, and those black bar-ends sticking up from the handlebars are my fairing mount (see thread "New homemade fairing for Quest", Jan 5 2014).

 

[Bentnail]

I put my new Gator Handlebar on and have about 50 miles using them. I must say I like them a lot. The cockpit does not seem to be nearly as
cramped and the bars are a little wider. I had to move the slider back to me about 2" just to set the handlebar to the right place. Billyk I don't
think you will have any problem with the knee room. It seems like my knees can hold a big dance with all the knee room I now have. The bike
does steer different but that was to be expected. I only took a few miles to get use to.

I was very worried I had bought the wrong bike but now I'm happy.

 

[1happyreader]

I put my new Gator Handlebar on and have about 50 miles using them. I must say I like them a lot. The cockpit does not seem to be nearly as
cramped and the bars are a little wider. I had to move the slider back to me about 2" just to set the handlebar to the right place. Billyk I don't
think you will have any problem with the knee room. It seems like my knees can hold a big dance with all the knee room I now have. The bike
does steer different but that was to be expected. I only took a few miles to get use to.


View attachment 6872

wow, that is soooo different compared to the older Q's and the Sofrider.

 

[Robert Holler]

I like this mod.

 

[Bentnail]

Thanks it really works for me. Had a good long ride yesterday and could pull going up the hills and never hit my knees when I turned.
It is so nice to have some adjustment now. I'm really loving the bike now but that may be because it is my first dance with a Cruzbike .