Abbott Smith
Guru
BTW, when are we going riding? New bike is coming this weekend. Want a peanut gallery and/or useful support?
How long to learn to ride?
- Thread starter DuncanWatson
- Start date
DuncanWatson
Well-Known Member
Abbott
Sounds good. I will be assembling on Friday, finalizing and troubleshooting on Saturday. A friend of mine whom I always get in trouble with his family wants to go riding and so I will be driving into the city on Sat/Sun/Mon (day open) to ride with him. I hope he doesn't get in trouble this time. I saw you did your test riding at Molbaks in Woodinville. I may try there or I may just do my training runs on the quiet residential road near me with the appropriate slope. My roads are quiet enough that kids play football, basketball and <run around> on the street. Give me a call or FB chat and we can set something up.
I saw your Vendetta on FB this morning. Test packing for Tahoe. Looks great!
Sounds good. I will be assembling on Friday, finalizing and troubleshooting on Saturday. A friend of mine whom I always get in trouble with his family wants to go riding and so I will be driving into the city on Sat/Sun/Mon (day open) to ride with him. I hope he doesn't get in trouble this time. I saw you did your test riding at Molbaks in Woodinville. I may try there or I may just do my training runs on the quiet residential road near me with the appropriate slope. My roads are quiet enough that kids play football, basketball and <run around> on the street. Give me a call or FB chat and we can set something up.
I saw your Vendetta on FB this morning. Test packing for Tahoe. Looks great!
DuncanWatson
Well-Known Member
You should see me take that turn on the VeloThe parking lot practice is so that when you ride the Sammamish trail and get down near Marymoor and have to cross the bridge and immediately turn downhill into that tight hairpin turn back under the bridge, you don't take out a 10 year old who isn't paying attention.
. The other nasty turn is on the Sammamish trail near where it gets to the Burke Gilman. A 90 degree turn onto the bridge then a sharp 120 turn off the bridge and downhill. I take both of those turns with feet off of the pedals and sitting up. I suspect it will be the same on the Vendetta.
MariposaLand
Active Member
Hello all, I just sold most of my bikes (2017 Specialized Roubaix Pro & 2015 Bucchetta Carbon Aero 2.0) and bought a S40. I just picked it up from getting assembled this afternoon. We are on vacation in San Diego and thought the two weeks we are here would give me time to learn to ride it. Somehow, I thought it would be similar to riding my Bacchetta Aero. Man was I wrong. We are on a busy street and I tried to time my S40 takeoffs between lulls in the traffic. After 5 minutes of that I determined I will find a nice wide parking lot ...tomorrow. I know I can do it
Definitely stay away from traffic. After you're comfortable in the parking lot find a low slow traffic area and gradually add speed and work on control. 100 miles is a big step and you'll feel like you've mastered the bike that's when you might get careless so watch out. You should be well on your way. Beware of front flats as you lose control pretty fast. Two weeks should be enough to get pretty proficient on the bike.
bladderhead
Zen MBB Master
That is the one. The most important thing, and the most difficult. Easy if you live in the middle of nowhere or you propose to only ride on the track. Then you have time to get your brain ready for it. But in San Diego - stress. I had a lot of that when I started using my Silvio for commuting, soon after I got it.MariposaLand said:
How close to your chest are the bars? Can you lean forward on the bike? When I got my Silvio the bars were like the thing that restrains you on a rollercoaster. I modified it and pushed the bars forward and now I can sit up straight. Now, without thinking I sit up when starting or going slow. Made a huge difference.
MariposaLand
Active Member
Thank you @Gary123 and @bladderhead. I got out early Saturday morning and road on the street for 30 min with a small amount of traffic. I at least was able to ride it in a straight line. Sooooo...My son got a new mountain bike and wanted to show me the cool trails where there was" no traffic". We loaded up the S40 and went to Coronado and rode 25 miles. I HAD to learn to ride in a hurry. There were not any cars but everyone in San Diego was riding their bike on a narrow path. I found myself having to use my hands to push and pull the handlebars in order to stay straight. I have a very weak right hand due to nerve damage in my neck. That is why I gave up on the DF bike. The Bucchetta was much easier to learn to ride than the CB. We live in Arkansas where there are many hills and Bucchetta gave me pause about a recumbent on hills. I am committed to learn. At this stage I am in Conscious incompetence. I am going to try some hills today.
MariposaLand
Active Member
Thank you @Gary123. I have a very weak grip in my right hand. I can tell it is going to be a problem unless I learn to push on the bars versus pulling. I tried a steep hill just now and my right hand stopped me. I tried to post my Strava links but I received an error. There is company out of Portugal working on an adaptive device that will artificially give me grip strength. I’m sure that will make a difference. The good news is that after 25 miles I’m comfortable on the flats. I’m not giving up.
Yes @bladderhead I learned about sitting up. It makes a big difference. I haven’t put clipless pedals on yet but that should help as well. Thank you guys for your encouragement. I need it right now
Yes @bladderhead I learned about sitting up. It makes a big difference. I haven’t put clipless pedals on yet but that should help as well. Thank you guys for your encouragement. I need it right now
@MariposaLand sounds like you are making great progress. Keep at the drills when you can. Over time, it will be interesting to see how your grip affects you.
bladderhead
Zen MBB Master
When I ride my Grasshopper and I want maximum power I push my back into the seat. Handlebars are just for steering. This is the wrong thing to do on the Silvio, as I found out. I learned fast to pull on the bars, like on a DF. These days, on the Silvio I use a lot of arm-strength to get uphill. I think you will need help from Portugal. If it works it will probably make a big difference.MariposaLand said:
Balance and control get better with mileage, but I think you have already found that out.
Roads, obviously, not tyres.MariposaLand said:
I have a T50, so it might be a bit different, but I will offer a thought or two.
At least in the beginning, you will benefit on hills with as low of gearing as you can balance. If you spin up the hill with lighter pressure on the pedals, you don’t have to counteract as much force with your arms. I have a 1x11 with a 44T chainring and a 46T sprocket on a 26” wheel for 1st year. I can spin at 80 rpm at 6.2 mph on an 8% grade. I can balance a lower speed, but the lower cadence tends to start requiring more work from my arms. With the right gearing, you should be able to get up hills without straining your weaker arm.
You will be benefit greatly when clipped in. When clipped in you can apply force to the pedals with a vector slightly away from center. This reduces the pedal induced steering force. This is something that happens naturally over time. If I consciously try to do it, I create too much steering force in the opposite direction as normal.
Once your legs get used to minimizing the steering force of pedaling, you can push back against the seat to get the leverage you need to push hard on the pedals. This may negate some of the “benefit” of pulling on the bars, but it may be the best strategy for you with unequal arm capabilities. Bracing your back for the power should let you handle the steering with your clipped in feet and doing push/pull with your stronger arm.
Good luck and enjoy the ride at the pace you can handle. Over time, you will be able to increase your speed up the hills if that is a priority for you.
Brad
MariposaLand
Active Member
Thank you @Brad R. I did put my SPD’s on yesterday afternoon and went up a small hill. The increased control was significant. I may have to revise the gearing if I want to do the hills.
As your skill and experience level on the Cruzbike increase, you will be able to go back toward what you consider normal gearing.
bladderhead
Zen MBB Master
What is your crank length? Standard length is 170mm, but about 140mm seems fashionable around here. I got 145mm and it improved the steering.
Osiris
Zen MBB Master
I was an experienced bent rider when I got the V20. Initially, it seemed very difficult to ride because of the problem of pedal steer. I couldn't figure out how best to counteract it, and making sharp turns was nearly impossible. Finally I took it out on the bike trail for a 30 mile loop. By the time it was over, I had overcome almost all the initial difficulties. Pedaling with small pulls on the bars to counteract pedal steer felt completely natural, to the point where I didn't have to think about it. Making sharp turns, which seemed so difficult before, now seemed easy. By this time the front end actually felt more stable than it did on any of my RWD bents, because my legs acted as a type of damping mechanism which made the front wheel less sensitive to unintended steering inputs from the handlebars. I can't say that everyone's experience will be the same, but that was mine.
