My first Cruzbike

[bladderhead]

One urge that I had to fight (at least in this stage of learning) was to peddle into a dive.

I was falling inwards in turns on my Silvio. I forced myself to lean less. It is a weird feeling. You have to feel, as you start the turn, that you are about to fall outwards, and resign yourself to your fate. Then a miracle happens and you complete the turn with your feet still on the pedals. Maybe this is helpful. Maybe not. We each have a different learning-style.

I think this happens because your other bike has a lower centre of gravity.

 

[BentNotBroke]

Day 3

Sorry to be posting "Yet Another First CruisBike Experience" thread. I'm sure that these come up regularly. It's probably more exciting for me to write these updates than it is for you regulars to read them. Oh well, here's another entry.

Today I spent about 1 and a half hours total on parking lot drills. Hardly made it a minute Fred Flintstoning before just laying back and tooling around the lot. This parking lot had two islands that were perfectly spaced for doing figure 8s drills. I did figure 8s around them for about 45 minutes alternating direction about every 10 or 15 times around. After about 15 or 20 minutes it was feeling pretty good. I was peddling all the way around and was finding that I could add some power in the turns similar to my high racer. I also practiced bladderhead's "lean out" technique and that was also helpful - particularly at slower speeds. I'm going to practice that more. I played with gearing a bit and once again found that pushing harder gears for a short time made manuvering much easier when returning to easier gears. By the end I was able to stay quite tightly to the islands and put the bike more closely to where I wanted it to go. Still not ready for prime time, but greatly improved.

I also practiced starts and stops for about 30 minutes. Easier gear = smoother start...up to a point. Too easy and I didn't get enough momentum. I was able to get it going on a white parking spot line nice and strait about 70 percent of the time.

After the drills I took a 10 mile ride on my Ti-Aero. The first 20 or 30 feet were wobbly as my hands were trying to counter my feet. I know that wisdom says not to ride other bikes while learning but I had to stretch my legs out a bit on a real ride.

Once again, the learning experience is fun. I now have to work for the next 3 days and will not be able to practice .

 

[BentNotBroke]

Pics of the islands, the v20 and the Aero.

 

[BentNotBroke]

Is there a thread about setup for the V20? I'm mostly curious about handlebar placement. At the moment they are directly above my crotch. I'm considering moving them forward just a smidge for easier sitting up. However, my arms feel pretty good where they are.

Any general rules about peddle placement for reach and leg extension? Do people tend to set them up similar to a high racer? Closer? Further? I set it up similar to how I'd set up my other bent and it feels OK...maybe just a bit too close.

I'm sure I'll experiment, but was hoping to learn from the wisdom pool.

Thanks!

 

[jond]

Is there a thread about setup for the V20? I'm mostly curious about handlebar placement. At the moment they are directly above my crotch. I'm considering moving them forward just a smidge for easier sitting up. However, my arms feel pretty good where they are.

Any general rules about peddle placement for reach and leg extension? Do people tend to set them up similar to a high racer? Closer? Further? I set it up similar to how I'd set up my other bent and it feels OK...maybe just a bit too close.

I'm sure I'll experiment, but was hoping to learn from the wisdom pool.

Thanks!

bike set up and bike fit has indeed been well documented. Please see cruzbike resource pages from robert holler. Excellent advice and tips. Also many tips in the forum. Simply search forum

edit don’t know how you ride without a neckrest on the vendetta

 

[Bikenutjay]

Congratulations nice bike
Welcome to a new world of riding .
I have had a cruzbike for over 5 years
Now I have two .
Take your time before you go all out .
And you will be fine
Jay

 

[BentNotBroke]

Day 4

Work, weather and family took priority for the last 4 or 5 days. So, back to the grind today. I decided to record these sessoons on Strava.

I was expecting a bit of a slide today since I hadn't ridden the c.b. in so many days and since I rode a high racer that I keep at work. Good news is that it didn't feel that way. Most of the hour was spent doing figure eights. Only difference was that I did ost of them on a slope. This is definitely harder than on a flat. I also did alot of starts and stops on an incline. Also harder that on a flat but doable. These starts, even on an incline, were easier than the during the last practice session. I didn't try, but it seems like a good skill would be to start into a turn. Is this something people try? I don't see it on the practice checklist.

I also tooled around the parking lot which is kind of like roads between buildings. It's a great place to mess around...particularly on a Sunday when everyone is at home.

I got up to 12 mph which is fine for now. I also moved the bars 20mm closer to my shoulders. This actually made a noticeable and positive difference in the handling. This surprised me a little since it was such a small change. I kept the peddles placement as is for now but will probably move them out a bit in the future.

Overall I feel improvement and could ride on quiet roads. For now though, I'll be sticking to more parking lot practice.

 

[BentNotBroke]

I didn't want to bore people with more posts about my parking lot drills and figure 8 practice. They've been happening, but just not reported. Each practice session led to improvement and I can now perform slow speed turns tighter and more easily on the V20 than on any of my other high racers. That's even fully reclined. Sitting up makes it easy to u turn in a parking spot. I'm pleased with the progress from 2 weeks of practice.

I also practiced straight line starts and peddling while sitting up. Starts are strait about 9 out of 10 times.

So, the exciting part, for me anyway, was taking the V20 out on the road for the first time today. I took a route that I regularly ride. It's just a 12 mile loop along fairly quiet roads with some small rolling hills. The ride went quite well. Not perfect, still a bit swervy at times, but overall it went well. Tension set in a few times as cars were passing but it was easy to relax again after they passed and return to open palm riding. I was able to rest my head on the headrest while coasting and gently peddling. But, peddling hard using the headrest needs practice. I hit a top speed of 27mph. It's not too fast, but I see no reason to push it quite yet.

The handle bars needed tweaking to make for less reach while still being able to sit up. I just lowered/swiveled the bars down and it helped alot. I also lengthened the boom so my legs were less bent. Also a big help.

It was fun to have it out on the street. I even tied my third best times on some strava segments without trying.

 

[Frito Bandito]

I didn't want to bore people with more posts about my parking lot drills and figure 8 practice....

It was fun to have it out on the street. I even tied my third best times on some strava segments without trying.

Not boring at all braddah. It helps us reminisce about beginning on our bikes as well.
There will be a little more tweaking along the way to get it just right, but it reminds me of when I was taking shortish 1km-20km local KOMs on my DF, and then not only beating my own DF KOMs on my V20, but continuing on the same ride and taking KOMs up to about 50km along the way as my 'bent legs started coming around and the wind direction and speed was absolutely perfect. I am not even that fast compared to the Speedsters on here. Quite a few on here ride further and faster on their training rides than my silly KOMs. So that is more of a V20 fanboy preaching to the choir than a backdoor brag, but the intention is to motivate you to go for those because what is really important is the enjoyment of ginnin' along and reaching micro-goals, and getting healthier.

 

[BentNotBroke]

Todays report..

I did more figure 8s.

I did alot more tweaking of the setup and fit. Which meant alot more figure 8s between tweaks. I feel like I found the best spot for the handlebar position at this point in my riding. It's a compromise between a comfortable bend in my arms and being able to sit up all the way. I suspect that I'll bring it back a little more as I feel less need to sit up as far.

I put some one sided clipless peddles on which were set to VERY LIGHT. Felt really good to be clipped in. Going to put some double sided ones on for the next ride. I see no reason for the platform side at this point.

I installed the headrest mounting rack and a water bottle cage.

I weaved an old 20" inner tube around the headrest to try to dial in the contact location to my noggin. It's adjustable with my pump, took no cutting or gluing. I didn't even have to remove the headrest. See pictures. I'll try to post a "how to series of pics" in the "my headrest is better than yours" thread for anyone who may be interested. The inspiration came from that. I just wanted to figure out a lazy way to do it. So, I dug out an old tired 20" inner tube and started weaving it on. It starts with a Larks Head knot. You can see the terrible Slime Scab patches on it from a previous owner. What a joke those are.

Finally, after all that, I went for another on road ride and beat a few of my second best segment times. I'm still not skilled enough to really push it. At times, there was some peddle induced weaving. Even at moderate speeds it's pretty disconcerting. Time and practice needed. During the ride, I practiced with my head resting more and more on the headrest. It's a different feel than any other bents I've had headrests on. Seems like more feedback from the bike to the ears. It'll take some getting used to. That said, it felt better by the end of the ride.

Synopsis: Noticable improvements by the day. Parking lot practice is much more confident than on day 1. Learning is still a great deal of fun.

 

[BentNotBroke]

Added about 60 miles over the last couple of rides while continuing the parking lot drills.

I've been actively working on keeping my head on the neck rest. The feedback from peddling to the neck rest is much more pronounced than on a high racer. It took more getting used to and I still raise my head if things get squirrely or I need better control. The 20" inner tube added to the stock neck rest is working out well. I still feel like my arms are reaching a little too much with my head resting back. They get tired after a while. I don't want to move the bars back anymore since I can barely sit up at their current placement. I may try a bit of padding behind the seat. I'll add that I find the stock seat very comfortable.

Strava shows speed improvements with each ride. I still don't feel ready to go all out. The V20 is a handful.

That's all to report for now.

 

[BentNotBroke]

Well, I couldn't find the "My Headrest is better than yours" thread so ill post my inner tube wrap pics here.

It starts with a Larks head and then just feeds in from the front 3 or 4 times. After inflating it, the last wrap is pulled up near the bend of the stock neck rest tubes. This forms a nice bubble to rest the base of your skull against. For a finishing touch I tied a cloth covid mask on to it as shown in the pictures.

The long tube creates quite a bit of cushion. More than a short tube since there is more air capacity acting as a shock absorber.

Hope this might help someone.

 

[Mathew Fy]

My Headrest is better than yours

It could be this one:
https://forum.cruzbike.com/threads/my-neck-rest-is-better-than-yours.8751/

 

[Harry Spatz]

I like the Wahoo CORE, but if you have front Disc Brakes you will have to remove the caliper. Not a huge deal to unscrew a couple bolts. But the Wahoo KICKR is such that I don't think yo need to remove the caliper. It is just a little more expensive since it is adjustable to different size drive wheels.

On my 2018 S40, I must remove the caliper to use my Wahoo Kickr trainer. The caliper is attached using an adapter plate and that plate is in the way. I have found that if I remove the two screws holding that plate, that I do not have to readjust the caliper when reattaching it.

 

[1happyreader]

I decided to let the bike lead the dance and just flow with the music. It was fun and relaxing to just glide in the directions that the bike wanted to head. Before too long, though, I was able to guide the bike where I wanted

Yeah,,,, I applaud you for paying attention to the FEEL of what the cruzbike is good at, instead of fighting to force the cruzbike to act like a DF.
Have fun, and be one with your new toy !!!
You gotta try leaning outboard on some turns.
shoulders down, chin up , and smile

 

[jgaerlan]

Finally dove into the world of FWD bikes. Been working on a DIY FWD when I saw an ad for a hardly ridden Sofrider v2k for $400 on Craigslist. REplaced the drivetrain with a 1x12 (11-5oT) Sram drivetrain from the parts bin with a small 32T front ring to tackle the hills of San Francisco. My first ride was inside a garage practicing turns, stops and starting. Yesterday took it for a spin on the road. Only time I had to walk the bike was when I had to stop midway a very steep hill. Encouraging start.

I changed the stem from a 120mm to a 145mm and could feel a pronounced tiller effect. Might bring it back to the 120 to see how it feels. Knowing how the real Cruzbike rides, I will go back to the DIY project and see how close I can build it. Picture shows its present state. Have to shorten the seatback height to make it look proportional, maybe angle long stem slightly forward. The donor frame on the DIY is a mini Velo travel bike.