Learning my S-30

[Robert C]

So…I’m one week and 2 rides in. (Work sometimes gets in the way of Cruzing) and wanted to share my adventures and things I learned along the way.

Day 1- (a Sunday). Found the parking lot of our local community college empty. Having reviewed the helpful Cruzbike videos, Did some Flinstones for 10 minutes. Then rapidly progressed to peddling (very large) figure 8’s. Afterwards neck and shoulders were sore which I attribute to my death grip on the handlebars.

during the rainy week- tweaked the fit of the bike and rotated the handlebars.

Day 2- Figured out that securing the front tire with a strap prevented getting clobbered when loading bike in overhead rack. Bike felt more balanced with the adjustments. And super comfortable.

Did some loops then headed out around campus. Wearing real biking shorts next time- the seating position tends to make you fairly exposed- and don’t want windburn when I pick up some speed!

So NOT ready for clipping-in as I have a tendency to oversteer and go into a wobble. Nice to be able to get my foot down in a hurry. Still, occasionally I will carve a turn correctly and it feels great- you can really lean into it and not do much with the handlebars.

The bike gets a lot of looks and complements. Thanks to @David Most for keeping this bike in such fine shape!

After 45 minutes, I was spent-
Learning to ride a bike again as a 50-something is work!

 

[ChaleJake]

Fantastic! Keep up the good work. You will find joy with this bike.

 

[Frito Bandito]

Good place and way to learn. Take it from me, don't skimp on learning the slow speed maneuvers because it helps you tremendously with balance. Also, it is dangerous to not be able to do them, and it would make ya look silly in public. I wear a face shield so I don't mind so much

 

[chicorider]

This takes me back. Keep at it. Cresting the learning curve is completely worth it.

 

[Robert C]

Day 3. Short afterwork session- about 30 m. More figure 8s - learning to lean a bit outside the turn- not yet intuitive- but definitely smoother towards end of session.

There’s a lot of sway in the seat. When I looked at the assembly video- unless I remembered incorrectly the bottom of the seat is bolted down but the top secured with Velcro- there are a couple of bolts but looks like some washers here would make the seat more secure (don’t laugh if I totally goofed).




Once I had the 8’s dialed in, I attempted the small hill between parking lots. Kept either sliding or wobbling, but got it on the 4th try.

Speed bumps in the parking lot still throw me off kilter. Decided it was quitting time for the day. Ego bruised, body intact.

 

[benphyr]

Day 3. Short afterwork session- about 30 m. More figure 8s - learning to lean a bit outside the turn- not yet intuitive- but definitely smoother towards end of session.

There’s a lot of sway in the seat. When I looked at the assembly video- unless I remembered incorrectly the bottom of the seat is bolted down but the top secured with Velcro- there are a couple of bolts but looks like some washers here would make the seat more secure (don’t laugh if I totally goofed).

View attachment 12193


Once I had the 8’s dialed in, I attempted the small hill between parking lots. Kept either sliding or wobbling, but got it on the 4th try.

Speed bumps in the parking lot still throw me off kilter. Decided it was quitting time for the day. Ego bruised, body intact.

Are those two bolts both on the vertical centreline? Then they are for the headrest and the holes in the carbon seat back are for access to the bolts without removing the seat.

Look at the frame under the top of the seat back near the holes you took pictures of. Some models have little wings sticking out flush to the seat back widening the seat back contact point and with one hole each that can be bolted to the carbon seat (but velcro is adequate). The seat is not really designed to hold you in like a bucket seat. Streamline, weight, simplicity vs. Initial learning curve I guess.

And speed bumps are always going to bounce you at least as much as fully seated on a diamond frame because you cannot suspend your whole body weight by standing up and using legs and arms as shock absorbers.

 

[Robert C]

@benphyr , thank you and sorry for the crummy photo- those are the bolts in the midline at the top and sound like what you’ve described. I can imagine that having more give on the seat will be helpful down the line- I’m just not there yet!

If I don’t update for another week, it’s not that I’ve given up…busy work week ahead followed by a kayaking trip. But I’ve got goals of hitting the roads yet- which probably means delving into fenders.

 

[chicorider]

Hi @Robert C

I did on my S30 what you are thinking of doing--added 1 inch stainless steel washers to allow those two bolts to double as headrest and seat fasteners. I think that was about four years ago, and I haven't had a problem. It works great to secure the seat, and the headrest has remained solid. Don't overtighten the bolts, and you should be fine.

 

[Robert C]

Day 4- back to parking lot- totally empty today except for a few people learning to drive .
Warmed up with some figure 8s and mostly attacked the short hill between parking lots. With some practice I could often keep from drifting across to the other side. I’m a masher on a diamond frame so learning to balance and not tire while spinning will be a challenge. Kept it to an hour as the to-do list becons. Getting board of the parking lot but all nearby trails are hilly.

 

[chicorider]

You'll get there. And you will also find your preferred cadence with time. I spun more on a DF bike than I do on my CB.

 

[McWheels]

You're very disciplined. I'd have got bored and just gone out on the trail by now. I think I went up and down our side road only 5 or 6 times and after that it was down the hill to work and back up it a few times, plus the odd trip to the corner shop. After 60 miles or so I was pretty much there, as in 80% competent in 20% of the idealised training time.

 

[Robert C]

Not disciplined @McWheels , just practical. My house sits in the middle of a steep hill- until I get better - I’m stranded. I do think I’ll try to find a more level trail this weekend after I practice a front wheel change. There’s some rails to trails in the area with <3% grades

 

[CruzinCambridge]

@Robert C - you've got some company. I just bought my S30 in September and am about 9 rides in. This Monday I did my first ride on the public streets (careful route... with bike paths or bike lanes the whole way... on a public holiday). I only had to stop short to avoid hitting a pedestrian once. My goal is to do my usual DF Tu/Th 30 mile training ride (with a short 10% grade thrown in) by Thanksgiving. What's been killing my progress has been the extra hour to pack up the bike and get out of the city to a decent parking lot. What's your goal?

 

[Robert C]

You're ahead of me @CruzinCambridge! Though bored of the parking lot, I am by no means ready for the mean streets of Tacoma. I'm only 15 m from house to parking lot- but work is what's killing my cycling vibe! My "pie in the sky goal" is to ride the Mary Bridge Courage, a fund raiser for our local Children's Hospital. I did it for a decade straight before injuries made a DF unpleasant to ride. Courage has a 3000 foot climb on two consecutive days (formerly three). To avoid getting my ego crushed I've set a series of smaller goals.

1) A trail ride. Our area has a number of "Rails to Trails" routes (Foothills, Chehalis Western). Pretty. Wooded. None with more than a 3% grade. I'll knock this down with a 10 mile ride in the next couple of weeks. I will try to connect with some Seattle Cruz Bikers by then.
2) Before November is out, I'd like to ride the Five Mile Drive in my local park (Point Defiance, Tacoma WA) It's short but has some (for me) serious hills. And on the weekend mornings- no cars!
3) Cushman Trail. Crossing the Tacoma Narrows Bridge into Gig Harbor and following the hilly grade along a power line route.
4) Leaving my street. It's really steep.

Then, the Courage is within my grasp. If I can get out of my street, I will extend an invitation to you and all Cruzers to join me in Leavenworth, WA for the ride!

 

[CruzinCambridge]

@Robert C I've seen videos of the Tacoma Narrows bridge. Brings new meaning to speed wobble. I expect to make a trip to Portland in the spring... would love to get in some biking while out there.

Here's my hot take on the hardest things about learning to ride a Cruzbike:

1) Does my bike not fit or am I not fit for my bike?
Especially as I got my Cruzbike used and configured and modded for someone else... and I have no experience on how a MBB FWD Recumbent should fit... I spent a lot of time the first couple of rides trying to figure out if it was me or the bike. My first few rides, my arms were sore from wrestling with the bars for control of the bike... but after I lowered the boom by getting a shorter stem riser and then taking it out altogether, I've had a lot easier time. I'm still toying with fit.

2) Unlearning/relearning balance.
This is the hardest part. All my 40 years of riding instincts are working against me. My first few rides I would fall into turns before I realized I need to sit up and lean out instead of in. The countersteering also feels backwards. I assume that's because the bars are behind the pivot instead of in front. I've figured out that to gain control in slow turns especially I need to sit up to get my center of gravity higher and make it easier to adjust... but it's not instinctual yet. Instead, I find myself falling and then remember to sit up.

3) Core strength.
Twenty years of DF riding and a desk job left me with a strong back, a weak core and L4/L5 issues. I've been doing PT to strengthen my core but I guess it's going to take more than 4 months to retrain after a 30 year lapse. On my longest ride to date (12 miles!) I tried to sit up to gain greater control to avoid some pedestrians on the bike path but was too fatigued to make it work and just slammed on the brakes. I assume that it's like skiing and that over time, with greater experience and confidence, I'll build strength and expend less effort on staying in control.

4) Speed wobble.
There are some rolling hills on the access road between the office parks where I've been practicing and I was able to get up enough speed to start running through my cogs on the big ring. I don't know if I was going super fast or it just felt super fast, but I experienced some crazy wobble. I tried pedaling, not pedaling, pushing on the bars, pulling on them... nothing worked except staying calm, staying loose and waiting to get to the uphill side of the road.

 

[Robert C]

@CruzinCambridge Let me know if you can get in a ride this Spring! Tacoma is not Portland- but we've got our share of trails and pubs. By then, I'll hopefully be safe for the road.
Totally agree on points 1-3. As a workaround for #3, I did purchase the foam wedge from Cruzbike (I know a lot of folks on this forum have rigged their own), which would bring the angle up to more like 40 degrees. It might be an intermediate phase for me- as I get "used to" recumbent riding.
It should also give me a bit more confidence as I look around intersections at stop signs, and try to handle slow speed evasive maneuvers.
I have not gone fast enough to experience #4!

 

[chicorider]

The bike is remarkably adaptable to to a wide range of heights. I would start out with the bike in its original configuration, with no wedges or extensions, and go from there. It does take a bit of tinkering to find the best fit, but you should be able to find it.

Learning how to ride this bike involves creating new brain circuitry, much like when you learned to ride a bike as a kid. It's hard at first, but over time and repetition, the brain figures it out. There was one long stretch a few years back when I had to nurse a slow-healing injury, and could not ride. I was afraid that I would have to relearn how to ride my V20. But it wasn't an issue at all; my brain circuit was still there.

"Bent legs" and core strength come with miles. You can work on your core, sure, but simply riding with at least consistency will help too. I love what riding my V20 and S30 have done for my abs, with no other added exercises. Winter is coming here, meaning that I'll be backing my mileage down a bit, and I'll become a little doughy. But when I start up again in the second half of February, I'll be close to back on form by mid March just by riding.

Speed wobbles could be the result of body tension or body rigidity. Eventually you should find yourself moving more with the bike rather than fighting it. A kind of fluid relaxation sets in, everything starts to flow well, and the wobbles go away.

Enjoy the journey. It's worth it.

 

[Robert C]

Got out on the street yesterday! I did use the wedge which gives me a bit more confidence as I approach intersections due to visibility. Eventually, I’ll ditch it as the reclined position is more comfortable.

Found another development with quiet cul de sacs and small hills. Best part is I didn’t need to transport the bike. I still pull over when a car approaches as I can wobble without warning.

 

[CruzinCambridge]

@Robert C How's it going?

I hit my milestone of doing my old df weekday training ride on the Cruzbike before Thanksgiving! Maybe 3-4mph below my old average... which is half the new bike, half taking it easy, half six months of not riding.

I've gotten the bike fitted reasonably comfortably. I had to move the bottom bracket in 2 cm to account for the shorter sole of my new clipless SPD shoes vs. my sneakers. Toward the end of the ride, my right wrist was sore, so I think I need to change the bar angle a little.

I avoided the steepest hill and only had maybe 3 close calls... one going uphill where I was worried I'd fall over since I was going so slow and then lost traction on some leaves. Another time going uphill where I threw the chain off the bottom cog into the wheel (a little dangerous... have to adjust the limit screw). A third time when I was in the wrong gear at a stop sign and couldn't get going with an impatient pickup truck behind me. All three times I just put my feet down and caught my breath. I've also decided to stop trying to pedal going downhill as it just serves to get the speed wobbles started. Will have to work on that.

 

[Robert C]

@Robert C How's it going?

You’re quite a bit ahead of me! 35 miles at nearly 15 mph, you’re slaying it!!!

It’s been pouring rain much of the past few weeks here in Tacoma, and I have yet to fit the bike with fenders (good excuse). I’m bored of the parking lot and don’t feel like loading up the bike, so I’ve made a few excursions into a local housing development. There’s smooth pavement, less traffic, and some modest climbs. Wet leaves often cause me to slip and wobble. I haven’t felt brave enough to make the switch to clip ins…BUT- by keeping the sessions short and focusing on climbing the smallish hills, I am gaining more confidence in my control. And my legs are sore, which oddly, I missed. A few more sessions, and then I’ve got Five Mile Drive in Point Defiance in my sights.