Learning to ride the S40

[jrs665]

After receiving the S40, my first recumbent bike; tried to ride it in my garden and reconned that gonna take forever to get the hang of it, this is hard..

So decided to ride it down a slight slope to a roundabout and try to ride back up the hill.

1st attempt - not quite there

2nd attempt - SUCCESS

It just goes to show that riding a cruzbike is not as hard as it looks.

 

[Frito Bandito]

Nice going JRS! I can't tell you how long it took me to be able to do what you just did, but I guarantee you that it wasn't even close to the 2nd day lol.

 

[jrs665]

Nice going JRS! I can't tell you how long it took me to be able to do what you just did, but I guarantee you that it wasn't even close to the 2nd day lol.

One thing I do have probems with though is starting on a hill, takes me a few attempts each time.

 

[Mascottrepair]

Haha, that’s the way to do it! Recumbents have a learning curve, but once it clicks—you’re golden. Nice job sticking with it!

 

[Frito Bandito]

Yeah, starting on a hill on any kind of bike is not as easy as starting on the flats. You will eventually get better at it of course and you'll also learn at what slope it is impossible to start from a cold stop on. When you throw in loose gravel, rain, or even wet leaves then it can get pretty hairy. Mainly, I bought my V20 for speed, and where I ride it is about as flat as you can get. I have taken it up towards Mt Fuji area, and I think the total elevation for the ride was 1800 meters. On paper before the ride I have to admit being a little nervous seeing those numbers when I plotted it out on the maps. However, 2 things made the ride enjoyable. I mentally prepared that I wasn't going to be as fast as my road bike on the steeper climbs (which wound up being anything steeper than about 3%), and (2), to just NOT STOP UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES on steep slopes so I do not have to deal with cold starts.


With that said, some complain about wheel slippage on cold starts on FWD bikes including MBB (Moving Bottom Bracket). It does exist. But one way to reduce or even eliminate it other than what I wrote above is ease in to the power when starting from a cold start instead of mashing on the pedals right off the bat with as much as you can muster. On another site this topic came up about MBB wheel slip and I wrote that it is even possible to make a road bike get rear wheel slippage either on gravel or on a cold start in the rain on a slope maybe even with some leaves, but under those circumstances roadies know to ease into the power then. But for some reason they don't want to do the same thing on an MBB. When I got wheel slip on my road bike I didn't throw my bike in the valley and curse the owners of Litespeed. I believe there are other issues at play but you can't teach an old dog new tricks so I mostly stay away from there as they are all about trikes now. Anyway, I digress. Keep up with the low speed maneuvering, starting from cold starts and figure 8s in a parking lot. You'll find that at speed your S40 is going to be very stable.

 

[jrs665]

Yeah, starting on a hill on any kind of bike is not as easy as starting on the flats. You will eventually get better at it of course and you'll also learn at what slope it is impossible to start from a cold stop on. When you throw in loose gravel, rain, or even wet leaves then it can get pretty hairy. Mainly, I bought my V20 for speed, and where I ride it is about as flat as you can get. I have taken it up towards Mt Fuji area, and I think the total elevation for the ride was 1800 meters. On paper before the ride I have to admit being a little nervous seeing those numbers when I plotted it out on the maps. However, 2 things made the ride enjoyable. I mentally prepared that I wasn't going to be as fast as my road bike on the steeper climbs (which wound up being anything steeper than about 3%), and (2), to just NOT STOP UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES on steep slopes so I do not have to deal with cold starts.


With that said, some complain about wheel slippage on cold starts on FWD bikes including MBB (Moving Bottom Bracket). It does exist. But one way to reduce or even eliminate it other than what I wrote above is ease in to the power when starting from a cold start instead of mashing on the pedals right off the bat with as much as you can muster. On another site this topic came up about MBB wheel slip and I wrote that it is even possible to make a road bike get rear wheel slippage either on gravel or on a cold start in the rain on a slope maybe even with some leaves, but under those circumstances roadies know to ease into the power then. But for some reason they don't want to do the same thing on an MBB. When I got wheel slip on my road bike I didn't throw my bike in the valley and curse the owners of Litespeed. I believe there are other issues at play but you can't teach an old dog new tricks so I mostly stay away from there as they are all about trikes now. Anyway, I digress. Keep up with the low speed maneuvering, starting from cold starts and figure 8s in a parking lot. You'll find that at speed your S40 is going to be very stable.

Yeah, starting on a hill on any kind of bike is not as easy as starting on the flats. You will eventually get better at it of course and you'll also learn at what slope it is impossible to start from a cold stop on. When you throw in loose gravel, rain, or even wet leaves then it can get pretty hairy. Mainly, I bought my V20 for speed, and where I ride it is about as flat as you can get. I have taken it up towards Mt Fuji area, and I think the total elevation for the ride was 1800 meters. On paper before the ride I have to admit being a little nervous seeing those numbers when I plotted it out on the maps. However, 2 things made the ride enjoyable. I mentally prepared that I wasn't going to be as fast as my road bike on the steeper climbs (which wound up being anything steeper than about 3%), and (2), to just NOT STOP UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES on steep slopes so I do not have to deal with cold starts.


With that said, some complain about wheel slippage on cold starts on FWD bikes including MBB (Moving Bottom Bracket). It does exist. But one way to reduce or even eliminate it other than what I wrote above is ease in to the power when starting from a cold start instead of mashing on the pedals right off the bat with as much as you can muster. On another site this topic came up about MBB wheel slip and I wrote that it is even possible to make a road bike get rear wheel slippage either on gravel or on a cold start in the rain on a slope maybe even with some leaves, but under those circumstances roadies know to ease into the power then. But for some reason they don't want to do the same thing on an MBB. When I got wheel slip on my road bike I didn't throw my bike in the valley and curse the owners of Litespeed. I believe there are other issues at play but you can't teach an old dog new tricks so I mostly stay away from there as they are all about trikes now. Anyway, I digress. Keep up with the low speed maneuvering, starting from cold starts and figure 8s in a parking lot. You'll find that at speed your S40 is going to be very stable.

Before trying a hill start on a quite street , I waved past a driver who then parked not far ahead.

Fumbled the hillstart first attempt then got told by driver as I cycled passed him that I shouldn't be on the road if cant ride properly, that him having to pass my bicycle makes me a danger on the road - lol

I wonder , would he say the same thing to a learner driver that stalled their engine?

 

[Boreen bimbler]

One thing I do have probems with though is starting on a hill, takes me a few attempts each time.

Confidence is a massive help with this but obviously takes a little time to come.
When I first had my S40 I got up the small boreen to our house maybe 3 out of the first 10 attempts. Thats from a rolling start but it has 13% gradients, loose gravel and grass up the middle which gives you about a foot width of tarmac to ride on. Theres no way you'd ever start from a standstill on the steep bit which is also gravelly. Everything has it's limits but it's surprising what you can get it up on a dry day.

 

[jrs665]

Confidence is a massive help with this but obviously takes a little time to come.
When I first had my S40 I got up the small boreen to our house maybe 3 out of the first 10 attempts. Thats from a rolling start but it has 13% gradients, loose gravel and grass up the middle which gives you about a foot width of tarmac to ride on. Theres no way you'd ever start from a standstill on the steep bit which is also gravelly. Everything has it's limits but it's surprising what you can get it up on a dry day.

Hopefully I will be able to ride up the 15% gradients I need to ride up on my trike

 

[Frito Bandito]

Before trying a hill start on a quite street , I waved past a driver who then parked not far ahead.

Fumbled the hillstart first attempt then got told by driver as I cycled passed him that I shouldn't be on the road if cant ride properly, that him having to pass my bicycle makes me a danger on the road - lol

I wonder , would he say the same thing to a learner driver that stalled their engine?

Hard to say what is worse roadies or drivers

 

[Flying Dutchman]

Before trying a hill start on a quite street , I waved past a driver who then parked not far ahead.

Fumbled the hillstart first attempt then got told by driver as I cycled passed him that I shouldn't be on the road if cant ride properly, that him having to pass my bicycle makes me a danger on the road - lol

I wonder , would he say the same thing to a learner driver that stalled their engine?

Do I detect a British number plate in that video? The Brits are the most polarised between bike vs car. I'm an avid cyclist and even when I'm in the car with my wife she shouts at every cyclist because she finds something wrong with what they do. Very strange attitude towards cyclists.

Anyway, for me the biggest improvement on riding away came when I changed to clipless. You clip one shoe in and you can basically pedal full circle with one foot so that gives you time to get the other foot clipped in once already moving. I'm now happy to ride off on up to 8% hills

 

[jrs665]

Do I detect a British number plate in that video? The Brits are the most polarised between bike vs car. I'm an avid cyclist and even when I'm in the car with my wife she shouts at every cyclist because she finds something wrong with what they do. Very strange attitude towards cyclists.

Anyway, for me the biggest improvement on riding away came when I changed to clipless. You clip one shoe in and you can basically pedal full circle with one foot so that gives you time to get the other foot clipped in once already moving. I'm now happy to ride off on up to 8% hills

Yes , in the UK.

Car drivers assume that cyclists are clueless about the road. What he didnt know is that aswell as being a cyclist , I am an advanced driver and motorcyclist.

The driver also told me I must cycle on the pavement, which is illegal demonstrating his lack of knowledge of the highway code.

Only 8% of hills ? Not encouraging as Iive in hilly scotland.

 

[Flying Dutchman]

Yes , in the UK.

Car drivers assume that cyclists are clueless about the road. What he didnt know is that aswell as being a cyclist , I am an advanced driver and motorcyclist.

The driver also told me I must cycle on the pavement, which is illegal demonstrating his lack of knowledge of the highway code.

Only 8% of hills ? Not encouraging as Iive in hilly scotland, daily having to do a hillstart on a 15% hill at traffic lights where I have to be quick as a big junction.

haha hill starts on 15% - on a DF bike that would involve standing on the pedals. I'm in Yorkshire so I also frequently have to get up double figures hills.

BTW love riding in Scotland - did a beautiful tour from Fort William via Isle of Skye to Inverness, including Bealach na Ba. I didn't have my Cruzbike at that point yet so I did that on a DF touring bike.

​

 

[jrs665]

haha hill starts on 15% - on a DF bike that would involve standing on the pedals. I'm in Yorkshire so I also frequently have to get up double figures hills.

BTW love riding in Scotland - did a beautiful tour from Fort William via Isle of Skye to Inverness, including Bealach na Ba. I didn't have my Cruzbike at that point yet so I did that on a DF touring bike.

​

Currently doing it on a recumbent sports trike without issues as cant lose my balance. Hopefully will be able to eventually do it by pulling on the handlebars of the S40.

Do you find balance an issue on double figure hills or is your speed high enough that it isn't an issue?

 

[RAR2]

You did great! I started with flat pedals and tennis shoes which made learning much safer. Also I had a parking lot free of cars to practice in. It does look like you are bending your knees a lot, in the video. Which would mean your pedals are too close. If this is true move them out a bit. I always start in my lowest gear from a dead stop until I get the RPM up then shift up quickly to get to speed. Good luck and stay safe.

 

[Boreen bimbler]

+1 for clip in pedals. They made me feel part of the bike after the first couple of goes with flat pedals.

I was driving the van 2 days ago. I came up on an obviously novice but older (30's?) rider on a shiny new road bike. Could tell he was novice by the un natural technique. I stayed well back. He tried waving me past just before a blind bend on a road I know well, I stayed put. He then got almost around the bend and waved me around again, I thought I'd better look for myself. And as soon as I could see around the bend there were 2 cars right on me. I'd have had a head on crash if I'd taken notice of him. Some cyclists are daft too.
The day before yesterday I was riding a narrow boreen (lane) and a white van came up behind me. I moved in as best I could and offered him to pass which he didn't. Then there was a small pull in so I tried to get him to pass me there as I pulled in. He didn't. So I thought sod him, he can wait. I got to the next junction and heard him shouting at me. Looked around and it was a friend of mine wanting to laugh at my silly bike.

 

[vmi1056]

+1 for clip in pedals. They made me feel part of the bike after the first couple of goes with flat pedals.

I was driving the van 2 days ago. I came up on an obviously novice but older (30's?) rider on a shiny new road bike. Could tell he was novice by the un natural technique. I stayed well back. He tried waving me past just before a blind bend on a road I know well, I stayed put. He then got almost around the bend and waved me around again, I thought I'd better look for myself. And as soon as I could see around the bend there were 2 cars right on me. I'd have had a head on crash if I'd taken notice of him. Some cyclists are daft too.
The day before yesterday I was riding a narrow boreen (lane) and a white van came up behind me. I moved in as best I could and offered him to pass which he didn't. Then there was a small pull in so I tried to get him to pass me there as I pulled in. He didn't. So I thought sod him, he can wait. I got to the next junction and heard him shouting at me. Looked around and it was a friend of mine wanting to laugh at my silly bike.

Communication with other road users is so critical. I’ve been in multiple situations where cars would try to ease by me in blind curves and I waved them back over because I could see oncoming traffic and luckily everyone to this point have paid attention to my hand signals. Conversely, I have also waved cars by in curves if I see the road is clear. I think most appreciate the communication.

 

[Boreen bimbler]

Communication with other road users is so critical. I’ve been in multiple situations where cars would try to ease by me in blind curves and I waved them back over because I could see oncoming traffic and luckily everyone to this point have paid attention to my hand signals. Conversely, I have also waved cars by in curves if I see the road is clear. I think most appreciate the communication.

Very true. As long as you have some common sense about you but the first bloke was nuts and very dangerous.
I do wave people by but only when I can see very far ahead before they can.

 

[Flying Dutchman]

Currently doing it on a recumbent sports trike without issues as cant lose my balance. Hopefully will be able to eventually do it by pulling on the handlebars of the S40.

Do you find balance an issue on double figure hills or is your speed high enough that it isn't an issue?

Up to 15% I'm ok with balance. I have a 1* setup with the biggest ring being 50 on the cassette and the standard chain ring (42 I believe). So the cadence is quite high but it does get you up (albeit slowly).

 

[kirby]

Newbie here... I have 45 miles on my new S40. I still wobble and swerve a lot starting from a stop and I am still white knuckling the handlebars. I still am nervous about tight turns too. I chose the S40 because the roads here in Central Cali are some of the worst in the country. They are literally cobblestone-ish and have destroyed my wrists and lower back from riding my Specialized carbon race bike with electronic shifting. My thoughts on the S40 are that it is comfortable and the SRAM shifting is tight. I love the heads up view! But I feel like I traded in my Ferrari for a station wagon. Last Wednesday I took the S40 for a 15 mile ride. It took me a little over an hour. The next day, my orthopedic doc did a temporary numbing of the nerves in my lower back. I felt like a million bucks! I took the Roubaix out for 22 miles. It took me about the same amount of time as the 15mi on the S40.

Questions for the pros
* should I expect to get faster on S40?
* in a few weeks, the temps here will be very hot (>100F) Any comments on the Cruzbike vent seat?
* is there any way to make this bike lighter? It is literally 2x the weight of my carbon bikes.
* I hang my carbon bikes on the wall using a front wheel hook. How do you guys store your Cruzbikes?
* Is it possible to ride hands free? Or, will I eventually be able to grab a water bottle and take a drink on the fly?
* is it possible to be nimble on the S40? It seems best suited for straight riding.
* Last riding season, I regularly did 50-60 mile solo rides into the Sierra foothills on my Roubaix. This year, my longest S40 has been 18 miles and I was out of gas by the time I returned home. Do you think my endurance on the S40 will rival the carbon bike?
* How does the S40 climb hills vs. traditional bikes?
* as mentioned above, I struggle with starting on flat ground. Is starting going uphill possible?

Thanks for any advice.
Kirby in Chowchilla

 

[Jamon Smallgoods]

Views from another newbie (S40 Gen 6 - March ‘25)
I’ve been lucky and found the S40 a fairly easy transition - I did 6 hours around my streets before putting on the cleats and venturing out on proper rides. I‘m up to 370 km (230 mi), but have been away travelling a lot.

I’ve found it fairly easy to keep the bike straight up to 50kmh (30mph), but had to lock my knees to the steering column to keep it stable above that. But I have now had a better bike shop go over the build of a less good bike shop (there were loose caliper mountings, loose front derailleur stalk, tyres not bedded in properly), so I’m hopeful for better.

The S40 corners like it’s on rails.
Starting uphill (up to 15%) works for me, but needed learning not to push too hard or I wheel spin, and do need a bit of space, but no different to a diamond frame on same hills - I think we forget how much wobble and weave we do on DFs, because we just get used to it.
I’m not yet at top pace compared to my Carbon Fibre Bianchi/Campag road bike, but I can see it from here.
As others have said, ‘locking-in’ by pulling into the handlebars transmits power to pedals, especially uphill; though I do find I’m at lower heart rates, but more out of breath - but that could just be my current lack of fitness from lots of travel.
I’m often using just one hand steering so I can signal turns etc. I have seen CruzBike videos of no hands riding, but I have no desire for that.
I store mine upright against a wall, same as my DF - so I’m no help there. But it does fit well on my Thule car bike rack.
I haven’t yet done any 100km 1500m climb rides that I usually do, but expect to be there in the next week or two.

So my view is keep trying and practice the sharper slow turns and leaning through curves, give yourself time to learn starting uphill (cleats really help) and recognise that wobble occurs on DFs uphills too; and as Douglas Adams advised in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - DON’T PANIC.