I got me a JONESING!!

[Mark B]

First off, it dawned on me today that in a few days, it will mark 6 years of being a member of the Cruzbike community. That hardly seems possible! I had to work the math out on my fingers three or nine times before I could even believe it!

I browsed through the forum, reading some crusty old threads about builds, rides and just silliness. What fun I had building and riding my conversion. Then, the excitement waiting for my first Silvio to arrive... I remember well the anticipation building to a crescendo before that box got here. I remember even better at being shocked how small that box actually was! And oh what fun putting her together and taking that first exhilarating ride.

I read about what an idiot I was and how Silvio II came into being. How, after being without my Silvio for what seemed an eternity, Silvio II was delivered to my work. On a Saturday. When I wasn't there. I could see the box through the window, but I couldn't get it. I was horrified. But the second build that went oh so fast and what a great bike she's been.

I had the rear triangle apart recently, replacing the ti leaf spring, which kind of jogged this whole reminiscing scene and it occurred to me how much I really have missed this. I haven't been around much the last few years and that's been my loss. I see names now I don't know, but I see that the tradition has carried on here. The tradition of helping one another with all aspects of cruzing. From bike selection, to build suggestions, to riding techniques and everything in between. I am so happy to see not only new names, but oldsters like me that have hung around and helped keep this thing alive. This is just a fabulous community and I realize just how much I've missed out on.

Now I have a Jonesing. I want to build another bike. I've been researching drivetrains and while I have a pretty good idea of what I'm going to do, I have really been enjoying reading up on what many of you have already done. I can't wait to get started. Anybody want to buy a Santana?

Mark

 

[Jeremy S]

Mark, I remember reading your

Mark, I remember reading your enthusiastic posts years ago when I was researching my first Cruzbike (a Sofrider). Welcome back!

 

[chrisblessing]

Welcome back...

The camaraderie hasn't changed a bit. I couldn't have done my conversion without it.

 

[John Tolhurst]

Hey Mark, you very much are

Hey Mark, you very much are an owner of this scene - you set the tone of delight for the rest of us to follow. A pleasure to read you posts again.

 

[Mark B]

Thanks, everybody!
John, it's

Thanks, everybody!

John, it's not hard to get excited about a company like Cruzbike. I mean, really, in this day and age of make a fast buck however you can and to heck with what the customer wants, Cruzbike has broken that mold. The way these bikes have morphed over the years is incredible. You listen to the customer base, sort through the ideas and if it makes sense, you tweak the bike accordingly. Who does that? Now, I look at these hydroformed frames (I really can't wait to run my hands over one, does that sound dirty?) and marvel at how far this bike has really come. The removable seat pan, the extended TFT.... The list goes on and on. I wonder what another ten years will do for this bike? Will the general recumbent crowd ever come to terms with the idea you don't need three chains to get around?

I think it's interesting that the rider base went from straight drop bars, to the flatter cyclocross bars and now seems to be drifting back to the straight drops. I haven't formed a real solid opinion on this, but I'm leaning toward an aging roadie crowd drifting to the Cruzbike and not being able to wrap their mind around that flatter drop bar. Admittedly, that bar does present challenges of it's own, but it's so darned comfortable.

So...... No takers on that Wedgie tandem, huh? This is a tough crowd!

 

[Ivan]

Mark, yours were some of the

Mark, yours were some of the posts that formed my research into bents. I was browsing around never seriously considering buying until I found Cruzbike which made sense to me the more I investigated. After 2 years if following developments, I got the Silvio 2. Quite risky and amazing to put down that amount of money on my first recumbent without a possibility of test ride. But I was so sure it would work for me - and it has! I will be riding a century on my Silvio in 10 days time - the first on a bent for me!

 

[mgraham]

Aging?!

Bite your tongue, sir! Better to say, "smarter and better-looking roadie crowd!" Even at the tender age of 35 this whippersnapper realized that the standard bicycle frame might be efficient, but it certainly isn't anatomically friendly! I have just recently pulled the trigger on a cruzbike and have become an acolyte. (BTW, are there special robes or something I should be wearing?)

 

[Mark B]

How cool, Ivan!  Glad I could

How cool, Ivan! Glad I could help in some small way.

Centuries are fun and this will likely be the most comfortable one you've ever done!!

Mark

 

[Mark B]

mgraham,
To my knowledge,

mgraham,

To my knowledge, there is no special robe. There is, though, some sort of twisted idea you have to have facial hair and an aerobelly to ride a recumbent. I never really bought that, though, so I won't try too hard to sell it to you.

Best you learn the secret handshake, though.

Hmm.. I wasn't much older than that when I went recumbent. Of course, I had a few years where I digressed back to the wedgie, but I eventually wised up again. My foray back into the wedgie world provided the drivetrain for my Silvio, so it was all for a good purpose!

Mark

 

[Peder Torgersen]

Hi Mark I also enjoyed many

Hi Mark I also enjoyed many of your ride reports and a good sense of humor.
I didn't get a Silvio but I did get a Vendetta!
The Vendetta was faster than I had expected and also a better climber than I thought it would be.

I saw a video today from Stockholm Sweden it was about an older man in traffic but he wasn't pedaling but at least it wasn't a car.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19wYCVGJBcM&list=UU3cxv7_V9AJ36q8qeHYcVTg
This is possibly an option when we have difficulty pedaling and need to go somewhere but don't want to use a car?

 

[Mark B]

I saw your post that you got

I saw your post that you got a Vendetta. I know from reading all your posts about following the club members on your Sofride, that if you ever got a Silvio, or Vendetta, you'd put a hurting on them!

I always enjoy your posts, too, Peder. Pretty amazing how you ride in temps that would have me curled up in a fetal position and whimpering uncontrollably.

Mark

 

[keithkling]

Welcome back Mark.

Hi Mark. I've missed your comments and was wondering what you were up to. You're one of the reasons that I got a Silvio in the first place. Now I have a Silvio 2.0 and am having fun with it. I hope to read more of your writings. Keith