Nick Tolhurst
New Member
Make a kids cruzbike called the "Street Rider"
kids cruzbike
- Thread starter Nick Tolhurst
- Start date
John Tolhurst
Zen MBB Master
Good question.
Hmm, would
Good question.
Hmm, would this be a 24" wheel or a 26"? What are the pros and cons?
Hmm, would
Good question.
Hmm, would this be a 24" wheel or a 26"? What are the pros and cons?
Nick Tolhurst
New Member
Probably 24
Yes i guess 24 maybe smaller
Yes i guess 24 maybe smaller
John Tolhurst
Zen MBB Master
Yes, a while since I looked
Yes, a while since I looked at Malric.
Age group 10 to 16, I think. Maybe 8 to 16. Say, 880mm x-seam up to 1150mm on one frameset - if I can manage it.
Yes, a while since I looked at Malric.
Age group 10 to 16, I think. Maybe 8 to 16. Say, 880mm x-seam up to 1150mm on one frameset - if I can manage it.
Doug Burton
Zen MBB Master
I looked at this a little bit...
26" inch wheels seem to put things too tall for quick learning (confidence) but that was with an existing frame. With a purpose-built frame I suspect we could use any size wheel we wanted, the key being seat height when you're done.
Is Nicky doing Autocad yet, John?
Cheers,
Doug
26" inch wheels seem to put things too tall for quick learning (confidence) but that was with an existing frame. With a purpose-built frame I suspect we could use any size wheel we wanted, the key being seat height when you're done.
Is Nicky doing Autocad yet, John?
Cheers,
Doug
Kim Tolhurst
Well-Known Member
Size does matter
26 inch chainstays,put any size wheel you want, long sloping railfor seat to allow many positions to suit X-seam, slider for handle bar.(forward and back) single chain ring x 3 speed casette, steel frame. Kim.
26 inch chainstays,put any size wheel you want, long sloping railfor seat to allow many positions to suit X-seam, slider for handle bar.(forward and back) single chain ring x 3 speed casette, steel frame. Kim.
Charles.Plager
Recumbent Quant
Hi,
For a hardtail bike, I
Hi,
For a hardtail bike, I think if you end up with something with a higher seat height (by about 3") if you designed it for 26" wheels and put on 20" wheels than if you designed and built it with 20" wheels.
If you are planning on swapping out the fork and the swingarm for smaller wheels, then you can probably get around some/most of this gain in seat height.
If you want something now, start with a 20" bike (folder?) and add a conversion kit. A lot depends on both the xseam and seat height desired.
Cheers,
Charles
For a hardtail bike, I
Hi,
For a hardtail bike, I think if you end up with something with a higher seat height (by about 3") if you designed it for 26" wheels and put on 20" wheels than if you designed and built it with 20" wheels.
If you are planning on swapping out the fork and the swingarm for smaller wheels, then you can probably get around some/most of this gain in seat height.
If you want something now, start with a 20" bike (folder?) and add a conversion kit. A lot depends on both the xseam and seat height desired.
Cheers,
Charles
John Tolhurst
Zen MBB Master
Hey Doug, no, Nicky is not
Hey Doug, no, Nicky is not doing autocad yet, but is riding.
In this, his 'assignment' is more to talk to his friends and tell me what 10 year olds think. He complains about the high handlebar - that is a valuable comment. So far, positive responses. Its useful to see what a 10 year old hand can do, how he manages what are very long cranks for him, etc.
alt="child recumbent bicycle"
.jpg width: 793px; height: 514px;)
(This taken on private land at a holiday village, basically a car free environment where lots of kids get around helmet-less on bikes and scooters and the like. Don't ping me about helmets thanks.)
Hey Doug, no, Nicky is not doing autocad yet, but is riding.
In this, his 'assignment' is more to talk to his friends and tell me what 10 year olds think. He complains about the high handlebar - that is a valuable comment. So far, positive responses. Its useful to see what a 10 year old hand can do, how he manages what are very long cranks for him, etc.
alt="child recumbent bicycle"
(This taken on private land at a holiday village, basically a car free environment where lots of kids get around helmet-less on bikes and scooters and the like. Don't ping me about helmets thanks.)
Nick Tolhurst
New Member
To get it popular
To get it popular me and a couple of friends should ride it around Perth to get people interested and when they ask where we got it we'd tell to search up cruzbike.com and have a look around and see what they can find.
And no I am not using CAD but maybe soon.
To get it popular me and a couple of friends should ride it around Perth to get people interested and when they ask where we got it we'd tell to search up cruzbike.com and have a look around and see what they can find.
And no I am not using CAD but maybe soon.
Nick Tolhurst
New Member
I am currently riding a quest
I am currently riding a quest with a few modifications me and my dad cut off a bit of the slider and the boom to make the leg distance shorter so I could reach it. We also shifted the seat forward as well.
I am currently riding a quest with a few modifications me and my dad cut off a bit of the slider and the boom to make the leg distance shorter so I could reach it. We also shifted the seat forward as well.
Nick Tolhurst
New Member
well its not the handlebars
well its not the handlebars its that the wires are blocking my view a bit but its ok
well its not the handlebars its that the wires are blocking my view a bit but its ok
Kids bike
Recumbents are rather more expensive than standard bikes and whilst Cruzebikes are good value for money for recumbents the price is still rather more than the average bike, particularly kids bikes.
But it does have some advantages in the adjustability for sizes for rapidly growing individuals, which is a marketing plus.
And although only the affluent will be able to buy it, it would increase the recumbent market slightly, plus the catch em young converts could increase the move to recumbent purchasers critical mass.
The picture of Nicky riding illustrates well the problems I am having.
I have a back problem which means that my thigh to back angle needs to be > 90 degrees.
The crank length proportion to leg length means the knee has to move higher to the hip the shorter the leg.
This is the same on a DF bike and in order to manage on that I have to have a very high handlebar stem.
The cranks on my DF bike are probably too long for me but it is less noticeable on the DF.
I bought the V2k frame and conversion kit as I had estimated from pictures and with the adjustability that I might be able to get a position to suit me but I am finding this difficult to do, partly because I have 700c wheels on so the seat is a little high for me and moving the seat forward (and boom) to get a more reclined position also raises the front of the seat making the getting the feet to the floor more difficult.
I'm pondering the issue at the moment to decide what I can do.
I think that a 26" Quest back end with a 20" Quest front end in order to lower the pedals might have done the trick, but then there would be the issue of head tube/fork rake angles.
I suspect I will have to abandon front wheel drive recumbant for a compact LWB one to get it to fit me with my particular problems.
Recumbents are rather more expensive than standard bikes and whilst Cruzebikes are good value for money for recumbents the price is still rather more than the average bike, particularly kids bikes.
But it does have some advantages in the adjustability for sizes for rapidly growing individuals, which is a marketing plus.
And although only the affluent will be able to buy it, it would increase the recumbent market slightly, plus the catch em young converts could increase the move to recumbent purchasers critical mass.
The picture of Nicky riding illustrates well the problems I am having.
I have a back problem which means that my thigh to back angle needs to be > 90 degrees.
The crank length proportion to leg length means the knee has to move higher to the hip the shorter the leg.
This is the same on a DF bike and in order to manage on that I have to have a very high handlebar stem.
The cranks on my DF bike are probably too long for me but it is less noticeable on the DF.
I bought the V2k frame and conversion kit as I had estimated from pictures and with the adjustability that I might be able to get a position to suit me but I am finding this difficult to do, partly because I have 700c wheels on so the seat is a little high for me and moving the seat forward (and boom) to get a more reclined position also raises the front of the seat making the getting the feet to the floor more difficult.
I'm pondering the issue at the moment to decide what I can do.
I think that a 26" Quest back end with a 20" Quest front end in order to lower the pedals might have done the trick, but then there would be the issue of head tube/fork rake angles.
I suspect I will have to abandon front wheel drive recumbant for a compact LWB one to get it to fit me with my particular problems.
Charles.Plager
Recumbent Quant
Hi Hilry and Nick,
The 451
Hi Hilry and Nick,
The 451 Quest (really 22" wheels, not the 20" wheels you see on most folding bikes - not Cruzbike's fault as both are called 20") is what I'd suggest for both of you (I'm guessing Nick is ridng the 26" wheels above). Lower seat height means you can move the seat forward, get closer to the pedals and still reach the ground. I personally like the Quest gear range much better with the 451 wheel than the 559 wheel (the dual drive does really well here).
In your current case, Hilry, switching to 26" wheels from 700c will give you a valuable inch in seat height. This might be enough for you to find the position you are looking for. If this doesn't, try converting a folding bike (more below).
The myth that 700c wheels roll faster is, well pretty much that. A myth. For the same tire, there is a bit more rolling resistance because the tire gets deformed more, but the smaller wheels are lighter and accelerate faster. Many Battle Mountain speed attempts were on "small" wheels.
(It is harder to find good tires for smaller wheels and they do not handle rough terrain as well.)
As I was mentioning in a post above, I think converting a 20" bike has a lot of merit. For those who are worried about the small wheel size, for ~ $250 US, you can buy a new 20" wheel with a 9-26T Capreo hub. When compared to the 11T ring on a standard cassette, this makes the effective size of the 20" wheel 24.4" (much closer to 26") on the high end.
For kids, adding the conversion kit to a BMX-style frame isn't crazy. (It's probably not completely crazy for adults, but a bit of a harder sell...
)
Cheers,
Charles
The 451
Hi Hilry and Nick,
The 451 Quest (really 22" wheels, not the 20" wheels you see on most folding bikes - not Cruzbike's fault as both are called 20") is what I'd suggest for both of you (I'm guessing Nick is ridng the 26" wheels above). Lower seat height means you can move the seat forward, get closer to the pedals and still reach the ground. I personally like the Quest gear range much better with the 451 wheel than the 559 wheel (the dual drive does really well here).
In your current case, Hilry, switching to 26" wheels from 700c will give you a valuable inch in seat height. This might be enough for you to find the position you are looking for. If this doesn't, try converting a folding bike (more below).
The myth that 700c wheels roll faster is, well pretty much that. A myth. For the same tire, there is a bit more rolling resistance because the tire gets deformed more, but the smaller wheels are lighter and accelerate faster. Many Battle Mountain speed attempts were on "small" wheels.
(It is harder to find good tires for smaller wheels and they do not handle rough terrain as well.)
As I was mentioning in a post above, I think converting a 20" bike has a lot of merit. For those who are worried about the small wheel size, for ~ $250 US, you can buy a new 20" wheel with a 9-26T Capreo hub. When compared to the 11T ring on a standard cassette, this makes the effective size of the 20" wheel 24.4" (much closer to 26") on the high end.
For kids, adding the conversion kit to a BMX-style frame isn't crazy. (It's probably not completely crazy for adults, but a bit of a harder sell...
) Cheers,
Charles
Still pondering
Thanks Charles,
Yes, part of the pondering is RE: expenditure. I bought the V2K frame and conversion kit to use all the kit from my 700c bike, thinking I could get to try it cheaper. If I carry on trying too many more options I will be clocking up the total expenditure to 'might as well have bought a Sofrider in the first place' levels.
I'm thinking I will build be a kind of jig to test positions and measurements before proceeding with any more expenditure, meanwhile keeping an eye on ebay for any bargain donor bikes to experiment with.
Could you tell me what is the crank length on the 451 please?
and it has a shorter crank to hub piece diesn't it?
Is the tail piece shorter?
Good to know about the gearing on the 20" Quest.
I do like the Quest, but the seat height in relation to the BB height might still be an issue for me....and I need to win the lottery too first.
In the UK there is 15% import duty on whole bikes (4.7% on bike parts) plus 20% VAT and that is on the total including the carriage charges, so it does get expensive to import from non EU places to here.
Thanks Charles,
Yes, part of the pondering is RE: expenditure. I bought the V2K frame and conversion kit to use all the kit from my 700c bike, thinking I could get to try it cheaper. If I carry on trying too many more options I will be clocking up the total expenditure to 'might as well have bought a Sofrider in the first place' levels.
I'm thinking I will build be a kind of jig to test positions and measurements before proceeding with any more expenditure, meanwhile keeping an eye on ebay for any bargain donor bikes to experiment with.
Could you tell me what is the crank length on the 451 please?
and it has a shorter crank to hub piece diesn't it?
Is the tail piece shorter?
Good to know about the gearing on the 20" Quest.
I do like the Quest, but the seat height in relation to the BB height might still be an issue for me....and I need to win the lottery too first.
In the UK there is 15% import duty on whole bikes (4.7% on bike parts) plus 20% VAT and that is on the total including the carriage charges, so it does get expensive to import from non EU places to here.
Charles.Plager
Recumbent Quant
Hi Hilry,
One last crazy
Hi Hilry,
One last crazy thought: Buy a 20" fork and use 20" wheels on the conversion. You'll have to figure something out for the rear brake. Height should definitely work for you in that case.
Cheers,
Charles
One last crazy
Hi Hilry,
One last crazy thought: Buy a 20" fork and use 20" wheels on the conversion. You'll have to figure something out for the rear brake. Height should definitely work for you in that case.
Cheers,
Charles
Charles.Plager
Recumbent Quant
Hi,
I'd be leary of having
Hi,
I'd be leary of having different sized wheels. You might be able to get some of the difference to go away by adjusting the rear suspension, but probably not enough of it to make the bike behave as intended. I say this with absolutely no experience here to back up this concern.
Cheers,
Charles
I'd be leary of having
Hi,
I'd be leary of having different sized wheels. You might be able to get some of the difference to go away by adjusting the rear suspension, but probably not enough of it to make the bike behave as intended. I say this with absolutely no experience here to back up this concern.
Cheers,
Charles
Nick said:
"well its not the
Nick said:
"well its not the handlebars its that the wires are blocking my view a bit but its ok"
Well done Nick for going with a recumbent .
With Christmas coming up, you could drop a few hints at the dinner table about Shimano Di2 and the wires blocking the view will disappear
"well its not the
Nick said:
"well its not the handlebars its that the wires are blocking my view a bit but its ok"
Well done Nick for going with a recumbent .
With Christmas coming up, you could drop a few hints at the dinner table about Shimano Di2 and the wires blocking the view will disappear
