My Q451 special

[pjotr320]

Today I rode my first proper ride on my Q451. I'd practised a little last Thursday and this morning. I used most of the road on my 1st round the block, but with the kilometres, the stability, speed and trust grew. I already have quite a stable of 'bents and the Q451 is a good addition to it. The 'work out' you get on it is totally different I can't turn on a dime yet, but do cruise at a comfortable 27 kph or so. Total distance thus far: 58km. I installed SPD pedals before my first real ride.

Like every 'bent I have, also this one is slightly modified. The photo says it all.

I always liked the concept of the Cruzbikes and at some point, Nanda 'SpinCyclz' Holz pointed me in the right direction. Special thanks to him, and also to the rest of the Cruzbike family.

More photos on my https://picasaweb.google.com/pjotr320/Q451.

 

[echo_anomie]

I love your videos on Youtube! Sounds like you do quite a bit of racing.

I've only had one recumbent (Freerider) but dying to trying out others. I've always liked the look of the Q451 as well and wondered how it compared to other 20" wheel recumbents.

Chris

 

[pjotr320]

Thanks!

There are a lot of 20" 'bents to choose from. The only useful thing I can say is that the Q451 is quicker than you'd expect. Even on rougher pavement, it goes well. And that it comes with everything you'd expect from the Cruzbike concept. And I'd never seen a Cruzbike before. It's even better than I thought it would be.

I now have to seat as reclined as possible, within the original design. This feels good. I think lower would be uncomfortable with this bike.

Just over 200km now. Yesterday, I did my 1st ride in the dark with my little orange 'bent

 

[echo_anomie]

When will we see it on the

When will we see it on the race track?

 

[Paruig]

Short Chain Stays

I have the 451 with short chainstays and find my shoe hits the derailleur.

How do I fix this without fitting the longer chainstays?

 

[pjotr320]

Today I passed the 700km on

Today I passed the 700km on the cyclometer. I had a fun ride of 47km at a 30kph avg.

I'm getting better at it, and it turned out that it's an excellent bike to train on. Using more muscles, a higher heartrate, higher and better cadance, this thing makes me a better engine!

 

[Romagjack]

I like the lower and wider

I like the lower and wider handlebars. Any trouble turning or riding the the bars that low?

 

[defjack]

   I had some cruzer bars on

I had some cruzer bars on a few of my conversions and they worked ok. If you ride really hard there is a lot of bar twist with them so I went with touring bars with my Silvio. Wald 4095. Jack

 

[defjack]

 Woops im using Wald 8095

Woops im using Wald 8095 steel touring bars they are strong and lite. Jack

 

[Romagjack]

Hi Jack,
Have you tried the

Hi Jack,
Have you tried the Wald 8095 on your Quest? Will the grip ends accomodate the 7" necessary for the Quest 2 SRAM Dual drive GripShifter and brake?
I was also looking at the Pyramid North Road touring handlebar as a possibilty.
http://www.amazon.com/Touring-North-Road-Handle-Alloy/dp/B0010VZFJO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312399792&sr=8-1
Wish I could find something in black.
Thanks

 

[defjack]

    Havent tried the Walds on

Havent tried the Walds on the Quest as the stock bars work ok with the stem reversed. The north bars look ok but are 21in wide and the Quest and Walds are both 23in wide. The Walds have about 7 1/2in straightsection for shifters and gtips about the same as the Quest. Jack

 

[Romagjack]

Thanks Jack, hadn't thought

Thanks Jack, hadn't thought about reversing the stem. Sounds like a great idea - I'll try that first. And the 7 1/2 inch straight section on the Walds would work fine for the Dual Drive shifter.

 

[Romagjack]

Reversed the stem per Jack's

Reversed the stem per Jack's tip. Also lowered the seat back one notch. Bending the handlebars down to a comfortable grip position also allowed my arms to hang straight down eliminating wrist and shoulder strain. This also opens up a huge clearance from the shifter and handlebar for legs and knees that had been an issue. This is a quite comfortable riding position for me. I will have to get used to the handlebar being so close to my chest, but I will give it an extended try before trying a different handlebar.

 

[pjotr320]

1st Video

Yesterday I made my 1st video with my Q451. Just some riding around with various camera angles and banjo music on the background. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihaSllxzwic

 

[Romagjack]

Peter, love the video. the

Peter, love the video. the handlebars are geat - riding postion perfect.

Can you tell me what shoes and clips you use. I'm looking for some "walkable" clipless shoes that would allow me to clip on to the bike but still be able to walk around town a bit when I get off the bike. Any suggestions?

Thanks for the great video.

 

[teacherbill]

I use SPDs with my various

I use SPDs with my various bikes.....

 

[pjotr320]

clipless

Normal, cheap SPD pedals and, most often, M075 shoes from Shimano. That model was followed by the M076. I even wore those to school.

When I ride, I see the 'M075' up side down, spelling Slow....

 

[defjack]

  I posted a picture of my

I posted a picture of my bike on Cruzbike facebook since I cant post a picture on this forum. Jack

 

[Romagjack]

Jack, now I see what you mean

Jack, now I see what you mean by your reversed stem. You mean upside down rather facing back like I did with mine. I'll try to attach the your pic from the Cruzbike facebook page.

 

[MootPoint]

"mudflap"

I've been trying to fit a short front fender on my Quest 559, but have found none that work. I noticed, from your video, the little mudflap-thingy attached to the front hub. What is it and where did you find it?

Claudia