Is it a Softrider or a Freerider

[floridabike]

Need a new name.

I have the conversion kit with the V2/k frameset and the Freerider handlebars.

I liked the Softrider style handlebars but liked the openness and what appears to be a more positive control of the Freerider handlebars, however I didn't like the weight of the heavy steel Freerider handlebars.

After some modifications I have the best from the Softrider and Freerider style bikes. I have the openness with the positve control and light weight handlebars.

Now I need a new name.

Phil

 

[jimbo3b]

Nice!

I wish mine were a little further forward. Your mods are highly adjustable.

 

[floridabike]

Flexibility

Jim, what did you use for a donor bike? After about 3000 miles on this conversion kit and several rides with this modification I really like the feel. I'm still trying to find the most comfortable handlebar position. In this picture, Maria looks a lot more comfortable then Jim as he looks cramped up. I like my arms extended more and higher.

 

[Charles.Plager]

 A layback seat post can give

A layback seat post can give you a lot more room as well as a lower seat angle. I also like having my arms straighter than what Jim has.

p.s. Note that Maria isn't riding a Vendetta, but rather the mythical yellow Silvio in that picture.

 

[floridabike]

Charles, not sure what my

Charles, not sure what my seat angle is but riding in Vermont this summer on smother surfaces I ride in a more laid back position but in Florida with the traffic and jumping kerbs I find sitting up straighter, visibility and comfort is better. Being able to move the handlebars forward feels better when sitting up straighter. Have to say, configurations of this bike is only limited by your imagination.

 

[jimbo3b]

Some pics of my geometry

I gotta put a write-up on the brag board...

Phil,

I'm riding a an unknown flavor of Mongoose that I got from the local Bike Kitchen. You can kind of see in this photo that the handlebar grips are right in line (front-to-back-wise) with the head tube, which gives me pretty neutral steering, as far as steering inputs go. With your grips further forward to you consciously push a little more than pull?

Charles,

I think the seat back angle is the next point of attack. I have a lay-back seat post, but it's good for just a couple of inches. You can see that I included the modification for a taller seatback described by John Tolhurst somewhere on these forums. It's an aluminum (aluminium!) panel with the corners lopped off, then drilled to match the seat back and pan, then the edges bent down for strength. Currently the extension is three inches tall; I'm going to decrease it an inch and I think I can get at five to ten degrees of further lay back. Even a couple of inches of arm extension would make for a more comfortable ride.

I think that I could move the seat pan forward, at most, about an inch. I don't recall which bolt-holes I'm using. There's not a lot of room to play with. Here's a photo of me with two bikes on a trailer. By the way, in my granny gear (hauling a total of 500 lbs or so of me, three bikes and the trailer) I could climb anything between the house and the bike kitchen. If anything, the trailer and front wheel drive combination stabilized the ride going uphill.

 

[Charles.Plager]

Hi Jim,Great pictures!  I

Hi Jim,

Great pictures! I really enjoy the bottom one where you show how to get it done!

I sometimes (used to??) pull one or both kids in a trailer (they're both big enough for trail-a-bikes now). I really appreciated my low gearing (less than 17") when wrenching up those hills with an extra 100 lbs of "why are we going so slowly?" behind me.

 

[floridabike]

Freerider handlebar kit

Jim,

If you wanted more room you could get the $60 Freerider handlebar kit from Cruzbike and with your handlebars and stem you could do the same as I did.

After several more rides I'm really enjoying this setup. I'm still trying to understand what happens, far as leverage, when you clamp the handlebars midway to the slider tube vs. the handlebars coming straight up from the pivot point. It feels different and better but don't really understand why.

Phil