It was a wonderful ride

[DavidCH]

Well after Sundays torturous ride what with a rear flat and having to walk here there and everywhere, I was determined today to have a ride of my life.

I achieved two personal bests today, the first being speed on the flat 46.03 kph, cadence rate was really good 19% in the high for the whole ride and the recent modifications made to the bike were all very positive. Essentially the turbulent air near my ears (90db - so bad that it was impossible to hear approaching traffic) was not due to the helmet but more to do with the buffeting of air between the space between the headrest and bag. I got some really strong black tape and taped it up. The handlebars and boom were also brought forward so that there would be less drag associated with my knees and elbows. It was a wonderful ride.

I even had the chance to get up close to a roadie and get in the wake. Just tapping the pedals to go the same speed. Never done it before. It was also nice just to take off like a rocket too.

 

[DavidCH]

Guess I should have narrated something on the video but I was concentrated on panning with the other hand and keeping the bike still. Guess I will have to get a camera on the hat as well. Anyways trying to keep the budget down. Still thinking about buying a Giro Air attack shield helmet. Gee that would be even more of a reduction of wind noise.

The elation was something else. Words can't describe the excitement that this bike gives you.

 

[ratz]

Anyways trying to keep the budget down. Still thinking about buying a Giro Air attack shield helmet. Gee that would be even more of a reduction of wind noise.

This:

http://www.cat-ears.com/Elite.html

Yes I just recommend an inexpensive solution.

Look silly work great.

 

[Abbott Smith]

Well after Sundays torturous ride what with a rear flat and having to walk here there and everywhere, I was determined today to have a ride of my life.

I achieved two personal bests today, the first being speed on the flat 46.03 kph, cadence rate was really good 19% in the high for the whole ride and the recent modifications made to the bike were all very positive. Essentially the turbulent air near my ears (90db - so bad that it was impossible to hear approaching traffic) was not due to the helmet but more to do with the buffeting of air between the space between the helmet and bag. I got some really strong black tape and taped it up. The handlebars and boom were also brought forward so that there would be less drag associated with my knees and elbows. It was a wonderful ride.

I even had the chance to get up close to a roadie and get in the wake. Just tapping the pedals to go the same speed. Never done it before. It was also nice just to take off like a rocket too.

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Great. I just watched the video. Anyone know how to get drool off an iPhone!

 

[LarryOz]

Just dip in (i-phone) a jar of denatured alcohol. Gets the drool off, but of course the phone won't work after that!
Yes - cat-ears are nice - have some too!

 

[battleaxe0]

Great. I just watched the video. Anyone know how to get drool off an iPhone!

This should help
Cat-ears are great! The looks you get from people trying to figure out whether you're a bad Elvis impersonator or not are fun too.

 

[JOSEPHWEISSERT]

Still thinking about buying a Giro Air attack shield helmet.

I use the Giro helmet with the shield and I love it. But I don't know if it reduces the noise. I still experience a lot of wind noise. I was thinking of trying the cat ears. The Giro helmet is great, but for other reasons.

 

[DavidCH]

I use the Giro helmet with the shield and I love it. But I don't know if it reduces the noise. I still experience a lot of wind noise. I was thinking of trying the cat ears. The Giro helmet is great, but for other reasons.

My PB is 46.03 kph, My objective is 50 kph .... I can either do it the hard way or the easy way. The difference in speed is 2.485 mph so if I did get that helmet I am pretty sure I've cracked it. The hard way is I lose more weight and look like one of those emaciated roadies. Probably get the helmet

 

[DavidCH]

This should help
Cat-ears are great! The looks you get from people trying to figure out whether you're a bad Elvis impersonator or not are fun too.

ehhhh? Uh haaaaa Jailhouse Rock. emmm I think I will be a bit macho and experiment with bubble wrap.

I am not proficient enough yet to put my finger in front of my ear when doing 30mph.

 

[battleaxe0]

ehhhh? Uh haaaaa Jailhouse Rock. emmm I think I will be a bit macho and experiment with bubble wrap.

I am not proficient enough yet to put my finger in front of my ear when doing 30mph.

The working part of the cat ears is the hair. It's a lot like the big fuzzy microphones you see newscasters or movie makers using that stops the wind from hitting the pickup in the microphone, but allows sound to pass unhindered.

 

[JOSEPHWEISSERT]

My PB is 46.03 kph, My objective is 50 kph .... I can either do it the hard way or the easy way. The difference in speed is 2.485 mph so if I did get that helmet I am pretty sure I've cracked it. The hard way is I lose more weight and look like one of those emaciated roadies. Probably get the helmet

The helmet is great. The only trick I have learned is that I have to tilt is forward more than a normal helmet. That is, to place the shield in the correct location so it's low for proper visibility, not touch my nose, and fit around my eyeglasses. Once it is tilted forward though, it feels very comfortable. I then twist the knob in back to lock it in place so the helmet won't move around and cause the shield to hit my nose. So I can maintain a small gap between the shield and my nose - the shield never touches my nose (which would be annoying). I think you'll find the helmet very aerodynamic as well.

 

[ratz]

emmm I think I will be a bit macho

LOL.... these things work so well Mrs Ratz wears them without complaint; your macho will be fine. Once you ride with them you'd never ride a Recumbent without them.

 

[DavidCH]

Last night I finished the first and probably last prototype of bat-ears. (b comes before c). I did it out of bubble wrap, tape and thick cardboard.


I chose bubble wrap as it was adaptable as well as an insulator. The bubble wrap - face side had the bubbles squashed and the three layers of bubbles on the other side shaped as like a wing; you can shape it by bursting the bubble on the leading edge. The odd thing about it was that I noticed the air was cooler going over my ears. I was out with Juani on the mountain bikes today but I did one stretch of 44kph which did seem to be quieter.

 

[DavidCH]

Well the prototype cat ears is better than nothing. Just have to wait for the cat ears to get to me. I had a good ride today. I enjoyed it. The wind got up so it was a bit of a struggle for all of us. Especially those roadies who tried to keep up with me. Gee that roadie was really going for it but I had another gear up my sleeve... I know my setup isn't perfect. A helmet that is as light as a feather and probably not so much protection if I were to fall off at 30 MPH and my 55t q-rings aero. I have to be moving quite fast in order to use this but when its engaged its in a class of its own. However the chain does get tight if you try to change down into a lighter gear. So two objectives, get a longer gate on the Shimano Ultegra 6800 rear derailleur, so new derailleur and get a new helmet. What with all the wind today, there was all sorts of stuff getting into my eyes. One fly, particularly hurt and had to stop and get the bugger out and dust flying off the fields up and under the sunglasses.

So does the giro air attack shield visor go right down to the cheek bones? Just wondered what clearance there was with the visor as I was just thinking of getting the giro air attack helmet. That bike is so fast I wonder if anyone uses protection goggles? Funny eh!

My other chain-ring is a 44t q-ring ; Not bad for me where I live because its mainly flat with very strong wind from lunch-time until 5pm. I usually go out early in the morning, not so much traffic and not so much wind and thus more enjoyable.

 

[ratz]

So does the giro air attack shield visor go right down to the cheek bones? Just wondered what clearance there was with the visor as I was just thinking of getting the giro air attack helmet. That bike is so fast I wonder if anyone uses protection goggles? Funny eh!

Discovered this week end there is a pivot adjust on the back of the Air Attack; that lets it be worn in the forward position that we all use on the Vendetta. So apparently that's a support angle. Mine was "stuck" so I didn't even know it was there. Pivoted all the way forward, and correctly mounted on my head the visor just is shy of my nose; and doesn't come close to touching the cheeks. I wear project rudy's under the visor. Keeps my contacts from drying out; debris really doesn't get past the glasses but bugs certainly could.

 

[Bruce B]

I received my GiroAir Attack two rides ago.

The visor does not touch my cheek or the bridge of my nose. For me, the bottom edge of the visor is well below line of sight while on the bike.
Airflow under the shield and through the helmet is very good.

I really like the smaller profile of this helmet as compared to my other one .

 

[Rick Youngblood]

Discovered this week end there is a pivot adjust on the back of the Air Attack; that lets it be worn in the forward position that we all use on the Vendetta.

Ha ha! I found that right away, same as my other Giro helmet. I just thought my head was shaped differently than everyone else, and that it fit perfectly over my face.

The visor does not touch my cheek or the bridge of my nose. For me, the bottom edge of the visor is well below line of sight while on the bike.
Airflow under the shield and through the helmet is very good.

Same for me. The only problem is the bright sun in my eyes on early morning rides.

 

[DavidCH]

Hey, I have been playing around with these Jabra sport heart rate earphones...


I think I have been kidding myself that I have had a workout on the bike. I must be healthier than I thought - thanks to cruzbike.
Just love how the V with its 20degree seat exercises the abs. Much more than a conventional bike.

Just got back this morning after a 40km ride on the mountain bike, thought that I would go out on this and see different heart rate data.
I got rather hot but the stats say I hardly got my ticker going.


I guess now would be the time to ditch the 44t q-rings on the V and get a 55t-16t = 39t q-ring???? I would prefer a 32t Q-Ring but guess it should be 16 teeth less than the large chaining? I am running with a Shimano ultegra 6800 groupset ... certainly be changing the rear derailleur to be long gated. The chain already has 2 extra links. The cassette used is a 32t. Thoughts please? I need to head up in them hills and start doing some climbs, that would quickly improve stamina, weight loss and endurance. After seeing Larry going 54mph... it has to be a must. (Really excited by that video).

Going down that hill at 54MPH must have got his ticker going with all that adrenalin???

 

[ratz]

The best wide range climbing combo for the Q-rings is the 52/34 which while 18T spacing it does shift on most setups but it's not available for the Ultregra 6800. So the best you can do is a 50/34 or a 53/36. See list at end of post.

So for Ultegra: you can convert that with a wolf sprocket and Shimano XTR 11-36t (CS-M980) on the back. Tech Details here:
http://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/collections/cassette-cogs/products/40t-gc-cog-for-shimano
http://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/pages/giant-cog

IF yo want more then go with the 42T which will get you the equivalent low end of the 50/34 you can't get on ultegra. I'm guess that's almost too low and the gap from 36T to 42T is going to be brutal. if you can't climb in 34T/40T combo it might be faster to walk up the hill since walking is 3.5mph usually.

http://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/collections/cassette-cogs/products/giant-cog-for-shimano
http://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/collections/small-components/products/goatlink

Then put a 53/36 or 50/34 on the front and swap in a long cage derailleur and you now will go up hill just fine. Just about no matter what you do you'll be adding about 10 links of chain so don't sweat that part because it just what it is.



For the 6800 you need the 110x4bolt type.

110x 4 Bolt sizes:
============
53/38
53/36
50/36
50/34



For the reference of other 5 bolt cranks use these.
110 BCd combinations
===============
53/38
52/38
52/36
52/34
50/36
50/34

130 bcd combination
===============
54/42
55/42
53/39
52/42
52/39
50/39

 

[Abbott Smith]

The best wide range climbing combo for the Q-rings is the 52/34 which while 18T spacing it does shift on most setups but it's not available for the Ultregra 6800. So the best you can do is a 50/34 or a 53/36. See list at end of post.

So for Ultegra: you can convert that with a wolf sprocket and Shimano XTR 11-36t (CS-M980) on the back. Tech Details here:
http://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/collections/cassette-cogs/products/40t-gc-cog-for-shimano
http://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/pages/giant-cog

IF yo want more then go with the 42T which will get you the equivalent low end of the 50/34 you can't get on ultegra. I'm guess that's almost too low and the gap from 36T to 42T is going to be brutal. if you can't climb in 34T/40T combo it might be faster to walk up the hill since walking is 3.5mph usually.

http://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/collections/cassette-cogs/products/giant-cog-for-shimano
http://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/collections/small-components/products/goatlink

Then put a 53/36 or 50/34 on the front and swap in a long cage derailleur and you now will go up hill just fine. Just about no matter what you do you'll be adding about 10 links of chain so don't sweat that part because it just what it is.



For the 6800 you need the 110x4bolt type.

110x 4 Bolt sizes:
============
53/38
53/36
50/36
50/34



For the reference of other 5 bolt cranks use these.
110 BCd combinations
===============
53/38
52/38
52/36
52/34
50/36
50/34

130 bcd combination
===============
54/42
55/42
53/39
52/42
52/39
50/39

This data would make a cool shop poster.