Xrad-T50
New Member
NCC-1701. Nice to see that was noticed.
Large capacity aerodynamic tailboxes.
- Thread starter Michael Fasher
- Start date
castlerobber
Zen MBB Master
Well, between that tail number and the radioactive symbol, I figured that was your warp drive.
They don't have as much drop in original use, so they don't provide as much reach on a recumbent. My elbows are more angled now. Also the need for something to keep my hands from slipping, so I don't need to gripp harder is bigger. Also they are a bit wide for ultimate aero (there are chinese carbon clones with more sizes). But the angle (flare) is more comfortable and I can use normal flat bar stuff like dedicated brake levers and shifting (same as I use on my other bikes) or grips. I now use grips with small barends too rest my hands on. Also there is some additional real estate for mounting stuff.
So I think I'll like and keep them. (Otherwise cobble together a contraption out of a flat bar and barends)
Oh right, cables and hoses are less tidy and more in the wind. I use wireless shifting and maybe for the brake hoses there could be angle fitttings to make it run along the bars?
I'm really wanting a hard tailbox on the back of my V20. Does the M5 fit with no modifications or would it require drilling? I like the one on the yellow V20 in this thread.
Derek
Active Member
It requires mods but I’ve made it work with the stock seat copying Larry’s approach and also adding an aluminum support bar underneath.
Attachments
not quite. There has even been a report of one in your corner of the world. They had trouble with fitting the box over the too wide seat struts, though, and noted the noise.....
Wow!! What kind of volume do you have? Weight limit? How's it riding? Would love to see/hear more.
Still not much further with the build and the testing. The wagging of the tail ist noticable depending in technique. I can ride steady and have it not wag. - I want to have it braced to the rear end in the future. Volume should be 70 liters, no idea what freedom unit to convert that to. 18,5 US gallons? I don't think there is a real official weight limit, but it will probably carry significantly less than a rack solution. - Thinking of it: With my other box from the same manufacturer I have carried something like maybe 20kg (44pounds) of milk and juice plus more errands a few times, but only for short rides and on a bike with soft suspension. I think of having it braced not only for wagging, but also sagging, but from the factory it is not strengthyened in the right places for that.
By the way @Karl42 how far are you with your box project?
By the way @Karl42 how far are you with your box project?
Tor Hovland
Well-Known Member
@Derek, did you write anywhere about your process going through various storage options, and ending up with the nice tailbox you used at PBP?
If I'm going to keep up with @LarryOz at the Length of Sweden this summer, I will need to upgrade my storage solution from the Banana Racers (which I like very much) to something more aero.
Also, did you eat on the bike at PBP, and if so, where did you keep the food? That's also nice with the Banana Racers, it's easy to pull out food on the go.
Another thing is that if I put a box behind my head, I'll need to figure out what to do with hydration, because I currently ride with two bottles behind the neck rest. I suppose a hydration bladder inside the tailbox would be the way to go?
If I'm going to keep up with @LarryOz at the Length of Sweden this summer, I will need to upgrade my storage solution from the Banana Racers (which I like very much) to something more aero.
Also, did you eat on the bike at PBP, and if so, where did you keep the food? That's also nice with the Banana Racers, it's easy to pull out food on the go.
Another thing is that if I put a box behind my head, I'll need to figure out what to do with hydration, because I currently ride with two bottles behind the neck rest. I suppose a hydration bladder inside the tailbox would be the way to go?
Karl42
Active Member
Eating on the bike requires access to the food while riding (obviously). When I'm riding without side panniers, I keep the food in the Moose Pack under the seat and refill that when I stop. For me the Moose Pack is very easy to access with one hand while riding.
Another storage place for food is a framebag on the upper slider tube:
After a lot of practice I found that I can access this framebag when I sit up while riding carefully and slowly. If you are taller than me and have the handlebar higher, you could put such a bag on the other side of the fork, closer to the handlebar, and that would make it even easier to access while riding.
Hydration in a bladder in the box behind the head is awesome, and so much more convenient than dealing with bottles (unless they are fitted with a hose). I can't imagine ever going back to bottles that I need to take out of the bottle cage for each sip of water.
Here is my setup with a 1.5l Camelbak in the original Carbon Race Case (it also fits a 2l Camelbak for longer tours). You can't really see it in the picture, but under the headrest is a rectractable key chain holder that pulls the mouthpiece back in place.
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Karl42
Active Member
Today I had a chance to see the M5 57l Tailbag for their Carbon Highracer and see if it might fit the Cruzbike V20.
It looks like it is possible to fit it to a V20, but it would require some custom work. It would be necessary to remove the stock headrest, and perhaps to cut the sides of the stock seat, or use a different seat altogether. And it would probably also be necessary to build some support struts down to the wheel.
Apart from that, this 57l box is incredibly lightweight. The finish of the carbon fiber is ok but not outstanding, it has some rough spots that have been sanded, but they are mostly on the underside. After any amount of use it would accumulate some scratches anyway.
Here is the box mounted to a M5 CHR as intended:
Views to the inside and underside:
Size comparison to the smaller 20l M5 Tailbag:
Possible fit to a V20. The stock headrest is in the way here, so the box cannot move forward enough. Also, the inner space of the box could be much narrower, as there is a lot of clearance between the V20 frame and the sides of the box, so there is some wasted potential storage space:
This is what it would look like from the side. The wheelbase of the CHR is much longer (~10cm) than that of the V20, so on the CHR this huge box looks more elegant. Since I didn't take out the headrest today I also cannot say for sure if the box would fit perfectly over the rear wheel as intended when touching the back of the V20 frame. It looks like it might fit, but perhaps it would be necessary to remove some material either from the box or the frame.
It looks like it is possible to fit it to a V20, but it would require some custom work. It would be necessary to remove the stock headrest, and perhaps to cut the sides of the stock seat, or use a different seat altogether. And it would probably also be necessary to build some support struts down to the wheel.
Apart from that, this 57l box is incredibly lightweight. The finish of the carbon fiber is ok but not outstanding, it has some rough spots that have been sanded, but they are mostly on the underside. After any amount of use it would accumulate some scratches anyway.
Here is the box mounted to a M5 CHR as intended:
Views to the inside and underside:
Size comparison to the smaller 20l M5 Tailbag:
Possible fit to a V20. The stock headrest is in the way here, so the box cannot move forward enough. Also, the inner space of the box could be much narrower, as there is a lot of clearance between the V20 frame and the sides of the box, so there is some wasted potential storage space:
This is what it would look like from the side. The wheelbase of the CHR is much longer (~10cm) than that of the V20, so on the CHR this huge box looks more elegant. Since I didn't take out the headrest today I also cannot say for sure if the box would fit perfectly over the rear wheel as intended when touching the back of the V20 frame. It looks like it might fit, but perhaps it would be necessary to remove some material either from the box or the frame.
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Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
I use the performance adjustable headrest on my V20 so that big gap would likely be beneficial fit wise. How to connect the tailbox would be my concern though. By itself the tailbox weight is likely fine, but I'd be very careful about how much weight I put inside. Not so much for speed or balancing except on big crosswind days, but more so for the frame's weight limit and having the connectors fail. Just with the weight of my head, and I am sure the weight of all of my various tail bags or hydration attempts contributed to this also, but the weld on the top of the small backplate on my V20 failed. This is the one that has the holes for the head rest bars to pass through. It simply separated from the flat plate the seat connects to. This is why I feel hesitant to put a hydration bag or anything else heavy in my tail bag.
LarryOz
Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
I built this tailbox for my Magic, but it also fits on my V20 as your can see . It is not really large capacity, but I can can 2 1-liter bottles in each side, with some extra room for tools and other snacks. It has a flap on each side I can lift and oull the bottles out while riding. I can usually ride 6 hours pretty hard with 4 liters of fuel. I'm going to work on one (perhaps 3x larger that comes all the way down the bottom edge of the seat and wll probalby cover the top half of the back wheel - hoping to have it ready for the Sweden N-S ride in July
Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
I have been thinking of something similar but haven't gotten around to it. Similar in shape and size to the M5 57L tailbox, but a 2 piece that fits snugly to each side of the frame by velcro because I don't feel comfortable drilling any holes in the frame and haven't found any other type of connectors that are durable enough that won't damage it. I mocked one up out of black vinyl and I believe it would look pretty good in CF.
I have some photos of my mount here: https://forum.cruzbike.com/threads/adrians-v20-tail-box.14393/
It has been very strong and durable. I did it this way to support the weight of the box from underneath it to prevent bolts in carbon from cracking and failing.
It has been very strong and durable. I did it this way to support the weight of the box from underneath it to prevent bolts in carbon from cracking and failing.
Karl42
Active Member
On the M5 CHR, the 57l tailbox sits snugly on the frame and is connected only with velcro. Taking it off just takes a few seconds. Making something like this custom fit to the V20 might work in a similar way, but designing a carbon fibre box from scratch would be advanced (certainly for me).
For my first carbon fibre project, I am building a support mount for the smaller M5 tailbox, similar to what @vosadrian has built in alu. Yesterday I made a mockup out of plywood, which seems totally functional, but quite heavy.
Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
Can't wait to see it Karl.
LarryOz
Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
Build it so you can mount it to the seat
